May 29, 2015 Words of Grace – Our Exodus in Temptation
We are promised that with every temptation we face, God is faithful to provide a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). The way of escape is not a way that avoids temptation, but a way through it and a way to endure it.
Temptation is a given for every follower of Jesus. We won’t be beyond temptation until we are beyond this life. The way of escape in every temptation is ever present. Jesus is that way.
When Paul talks about our temptations in 1 Corinthians 10, he uses the temptation God’s people faced during the Exodus as the example of failure. They got out of Egypt (the place of bondage and oppression), but because of their sin most of them did not get into the Promised Land.
The gospel of Luke tells us that Jesus fulfilled his exodus (departure from this world) in Jerusalem where he died on the cross (Luke 9:31). Since the cross was for our sin and our salvation, Jesus also fulfilled our exodus.
Jesus is our exodus, our way of escape. He is our way out of sin by redeeming us from it. When we are tempted to sin, we can remember that Jesus died to deliver us from it.
Jesus is our way through temptation by suffering it with us. In our temptations we can talk to him and draw strength from him because he is with us.
Jesus is our way into God’s glory by bringing us into right relation with him. When we are tempted to sin we can cast our vision to the glory that awaits us and away from the sin that so easily entangles us. No wonder we are told to “look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2).
This weekend, read 1 Corinthians 10. Join us Sunday as we talk about how to look to Jesus as our way of escape.
– Scott
PS: Don’t forget the “Honoring Your Aging Parents” discussion this Sunday afternoon from 4:00-5:30pm.