1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
Passage Context
Verse 1 to 4 describes the blessings that God gave to Israel and the miracles that God did among them, but in verse 5 Paul tells us that despite these blessings and miracles, God destroyed most of them, in fact the word literally means to kill or to lay down. Despite all the blessings and the miracles, God killed most of them in the desert.
Paul says in verse 6 that all this took place as an example for us, so that we too might not desire evil as they did. Meaning that God killed most of them for desiring evil and this serves as a warning to us that the same will happen to us, if we desire evil.
From verses 7 to 10, Paul describes some of the things that the Israelites did to deserve God’s wrath and says they included idolatry, sexual immorality, putting Christ to the test, and grumbling.
In verse 11, Paul says that when God punished the Israelites in the desert, in addition to that serving as a warning to us, it also served as a warning to them but, also, it was written down, for our instruction. The word instruction here means counsel about avoidance or cessation of an improper course of conduct. In other words, this event that took place in the dessert, where Israelites desired evil and God killed them for it, this event, was written so that we today, can be warned, trained, encouraged to avoid or to stop desiring evil.
In verse 12 Paul then gives a warning to all,of us who think that this cannot happen to us because we are so faithful. We can never fall into sin because we are so godly. Paul says, be careful because you might just fall from your high horse. Watch yourself. Don’t relax and fool yourself into thinking that you are too faithful to fall into idolatry, sexual immorality, putting Christ to the test, grumbling or any other sin. Guard yourself. Be always on the lookout.
I will give you 4 points why “I am just a human being” is not an excuse to sin
Now let’s look at our passage 1 Corinthians 10:13
Paul says in verse 12 that not only should you watch out because no matter how faithful you are, you might still fall into sin, he adds in verse 13 and says, even if you were to fall into sin, you can never use an excuse like, I could not help it. The temptation was too much for me. Paul says, that will not be an acceptable excuse and gives reasons why.
• It took me by surprise hence I sinned
Firstly Paul says that you will never face temptation to sin that no one else has faced. You can learn from other people’s experiences and use that to avoid succumbing to temptation.
• I could not help but sin
Secondly, since God is faithful, and because He is faithful, He will not allow you to be tempted to sin beyond your ability to resist. In other words, whatever temptation you face, you will always be able to resist it. You can never ever be able to say, you could not help it but to sin.
• I did not have a choice but to sin
Thirdly and on top of that, God will provide you with a way of escape. In other words, you will never be in a position we’re you are so trapped by a temptation to sin such that there is no way out but to sin. There will always be a way out of sinning. Why? Because God says that he will give it to you. Therefore, you can never ever says I did not have a choice but to sin.
• God provides the ability to resist temptation
Please take note of the most important purpose why God gives us a way out. God does not give us a way out because He wants us to avoid being tempted. God is not providing a way out so that we can be protected from being tempted, so that we can be free from being tempted. That is not the reason why God provides us a way out. God is providing us a way out so that we are able to endure the temptation. God gives us a way out so that we can be strong and be able to resist and not be trapped by temptation. This way out removes from us an excuse that I could not resist it. I was too weak. You can resist temptation and you are not too weak, because God gives us the ability to resist the temptation.
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