How many times have you found yourself committing some sin, whether an ungodly statement, an unholy thought, or something else, and thought to yourself, “How could I have been a Christian this long, and still commit such a sin?” Sad to say, but if you are like me, it’s more often than we admit. And then, in resisting the temptation, we are driven back to I Corinthians 10:12-13: “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are you able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”
 
Our Friend Robert J. Morgan in his book One Hundred Bible Verses Everyone Should Know by Heart focuses on I Corinthians 10:13 in chapter 40. Here is his account.

As I pored over this passage, I was surprised to discover that while it’s a great verse for every Christian in the world, it’s particularly addressed to veteran Christians who have been on the road awhile. At the end of the previous chapter, Paul admitted, “I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself should not be disqualified.”

In chapter 10 he brought up the subject of the Israelites, who, having started toward the Promised Land with soaring aspirations, messed up en route. They passed through the Red Sea, feasted on manna, and drank water from the rock. But they were detoured by their own failings and faithlessness.

“Now these things ... were written as a warning to us, on whom the ends of the ages have come,” Paul said. “Therefore, whoever thinks he stands must be careful not to fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common” (I Cor. 10:11-13).

Paul, a veteran missionary, struggled to remain disciplined in his life. The Israelites, having experienced the most unique set of miracles in the Old Testament, stumbled. However mature our Christian experience, we are not beyond the danger of those temptations common to everyone. But God is faithful. He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to bear but will provide a way of escape.

The Greek term of “a way of escape” was the word used for a passageway out of a canyon. Sometimes people wandered into ravines and couldn’t see any pathway out. They thought they were trapped. But if they looked hard enough, there was a goat path somewhere, a way out. Our best escape route is intentionally staying close to Christ on a daily and hourly basis. Having successfully resisted temptation Himself, He knows the way out of the canyon.

When athletes are arrested during brawls at places like strip clubs and dog fights, we say, “How stupid! Why would they risk their millions of fans and million-dollar contracts by deliberately putting themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time?” Yet we do the same thing when we go anywhere that exposes our hearts to needless temptation. It could be an entertainment venue, a girlfriend’s apartment, a computer screen, a night spot, some sort of catalog, or even a shopping mall. It’s like the man who told his doctor that he had broken his arm in two places. The doctor said, “Well, stop going to those two places.”

Morgan then ends his chapter with the following quote from J. Wilbur Chapman:

“Temptation is the tempter looking through the keyhole into the room where you are living; sin is your drawing back the bolt and making it possible for him to enter.”

Morgan’s account ends there.

I think it is important that we focus on the last portion of I Corinthians 10:13 ... “so that you will be able to endure it” (I Cor. 10:13b). The Lord’s choice of words here is peculiarly insightful. Notice that God does not promise that He will provide a way of escape that immediately lifts you out of the problem or the temptation, but that you, if not so lifted out, will be able to endure it. It is by living through and successfully resisting temptation while in the midst of trials and other pressures, that we exercise our spiritual muscles and become that much stronger. Just as in getting physically old, you can become chronologically mature in Christ but allow your spiritual muscles to atrophy if they are not used. Just as atrophying physical muscles can cause greater and more significant falls in our earthly life, so the atrophy of our spiritual muscles can do the same in our spiritual life as well. Let’s humbly submit to the Lord’s direction, asking Him for grace and mercy to obey His precepts and rely upon His promises as set forth in His word no matter what our circumstances, and thereby experience once again the joy we knew in those first few days of our salvation. Soli Deo Gloria!
 
Love,
 
John & Terri
I Cor. 10:13