As followers of Jesus, we are free from the Old Testament laws, or so Paul says.  But this leads us to a conundrum: what guides our behavior and beliefs if we no longer have the OT Law?

Paul says our freedom as Christ followers is not for our sake but for that of others.  Our freedom does not mean we are free to run out and indulge our every carnal lust as the Corinthians did.  Instead, we are free from the punishment of the OT Law as we go about our work of winning everyone to Christ.  If winning a non-Christian to Christ means having a beer with them, we do so because we are free to drink.  However, this does not mean we are free to go get drunk on Friday night at the local bar.  If winning a non-Christian to Christ means we see a godless movie or play with them then we do so because we are free.  But this does not mean that our free time should be spent reveling in godless entertainment.

The difference, Paul says here, is in the purpose and motive of the behavior more than the behavior itself.  We are not free to indulge ourselves because that is not Christ-like.  But our work of evangelism may take us to some seedy places and build relationships with some seedy people.  And we are to build them because God loves them, too.  Do we think Jesus met with prostitutes and sinners at the local synagogue potluck?  No, he had to go into their homes, forbidden by OT Law yet allowed by Christ when the purpose was evangelism.

So first of all, evangelism needs to be our top priority not just when we are sitting in church but even more so when we are at the local PTA meeting, at a block party, or hanging with our unchurched friends. Second, we have to be wise about the balance between being a godly example and losing the voice with which to speak God’s truth into someone’s life.  And finally, we HAVE to quit judging others for their choices in these matters and worry about our own.

Call them from where they are into a life with Christ.  Build them up in their faith.  Send them out into their world in their way to call the next generation.  This is evangelism and this is our calling.

I have used and taught 1 Cor. 10:13 as almost a mantra for those facing temptations.  From gluttony to pornography to gossip, this verse has helped many people “stand up under” their particular temptation.  But this is one more example of the way we use the scriptures for our own personal battles instead of truly reading it for what it says.  We take verses out of context and while they are still effective, this is not why they were written.

This verse about temptation is not a general rule for standing against any temptation but is rather targeted toward specific ones.  Four, in fact.  You see Paul has just offered us a way to stand against the temptation to turn away from God, but not in this verse.  Rather, he tells us to learn from our past.

Though the Israelites saw God’s salvation from slavery in Egypt, and passed through the miraculously parted Red Sea, still they turned away.  And they did so in 4 specific ways that we must avoid:  idolatry, sexual immorality, testing God, and grumbling.  By citing these four examples, he puts them on par with one another and tells us to learn from the negative example of our spiritual ancestors.  As they followed these wicked practices and paid for them with their lives, so we must avoid them.  Don’t learn a verse that might keep you focused enough to get out of your temptation; study the history of our people so you avoid getting yourself into that temptation to begin with.

But beyond that, this is a lesson for us in parsing our sinfulness and ranking our sins.  We hear sermons, bible studies, and confessions all the time about idolatry (“I put _______ before God in my life…”) and about sexual sins (“I was a slave to porn, or had an affair, or…”) but when was the last time you heard someone confess to the outrageous sin of grumbling?  How many of us even consider this a sin anymore?  Aren’t church people even known for being grumblers?  Let’s not rank our sins and only condemn some when Paul places them all side by side, equal in their offense to God and in their punishment.