In our last article, we saw how Paul willingly laid down his rights for the sake of the gospel. This attitude of self-denial is one the entire church must adopt. Denying our desires is for the good of others, but is also for our own spiritual good. In 1 Corinthians 9:24-10:13, Paul warns about the damage done to our souls when we do not live self-controlled lives.
The Corinthians were proud and theologically knowledgeable, but lacked love. They were comfortable Christians who gave no serious thought to the reality that they, like David, Abraham, Noah, and many other saints before them, could sin in grievous ways. Therefore, Paul exhorts them, “take heed, lest you fall” (v. 12).
These warnings in Scripture serve a purpose: They are a means by which God preserves his children. Scripture makes clear that God foreknows and predestines individuals to be conformed to the image of Christ, and those whom He predestines he calls, justifies, and ultimately glorifies (Rom. 8:29-30). No one whom Christ saves will not make it to the end. But how is it we are kept and ultimately glorified? One means is the warning passages of Scripture. (Jess and I recorded a podcast on this very subject. You can listen to that here for a fuller discussion of the warning passages in Scripture.)
The need for self-control (9:24-27)
The church in Corinth is teetering. One reason they are in such spiritual turmoil is because of a lack of self-control. The Holy Spirit produces self-control in the Christian (Gal. 5:23), and with his help, we are to continue to grow in it. A Christian without self-control, at best, will be ineffective and unfruitful in their Christian life (2 Pet. 1:8-11). At worst, a lack of self-control suggests a person may not be genuinely born again.
Paul uses the illustration of an athlete training for a race to show the diligence with which the Christian is to pursue self-control. Every athlete enters an event with the mindset they can win, even when the odds are stacked against them. This is, in part, because of their diligence in training. They have exercised self-control to prepare themselves for such an event. Very few athletes are natural-born athletes, and even those that are still train extensively. They eat right, get adequate sleep, and train their bodies. In the same way, no Christian is naturally self-controlled, so we must discipline ourselves.
Athletes have a desire to win, so they compete accordingly. Sprinters, at the sound of a gun, do not begin walking—they run. Boxers who want to go the distance do not waste their energy throwing punches that will not land. They are strategic and pace themselves to make it to the end and deliver that knockout blow. The same discipline they train with, they compete with. If athletes are willing to discipline themselves and exercise such self-control to win a perishable prize, how much more should Christians live self-controlled lives when the prize is imperishable—eternal life? This is why the Apostle Paul says, “But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified” (1 Cor. 9:27).
An illustration of those who disqualified themselves (10:1-10)
We have an expression, “those who play with fire will get burned.” The point is, you cannot mess around with dangerous things and at some point not get injured or worse. However, humans have the uncanny ability to assure ourselves of our invincibility. We will be the first to not get hurt, the first not to fall, the first to succeed where others failed. However, accounts of others’ failures should humble us.
The Corinthians are playing with fire, but the history of their fathers, the Israelites (who are our fathers too), proves otherwise. In 10:1-10, Paul recounts events recorded for us in the books of Exodus and Numbers. Despite Israel’s baptism in the Red Sea, the presence of Christ with them, eating spiritual food, and drinking spiritual drink, many of them disqualified themselves through lack of self-control. They were idolatrous, sexually immoral, tested Christ, and grumbled against the Lord. “Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness” (1 Cor. 10:5).
What Israel experienced (the Exodus, manna from heaven, and water from a rock) were types pointing forward to what the church has now. Paul’s point is this: Just because you are part of the Christian community does not mean you are past falling. Christians must keep watch on themselves, disciplining their bodies and minds.
Take heed (10:11-13)
Do you realize that the Old Testament is primarily written for the church? Paul says, “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come” (1 Cor. 10:11). God gives us these accounts to point us to Christ and the establishment of the church. The church is the culmination of God’s purposes in the world. If accounts like those of Israel in the wilderness are for us, and are pointing to even greater realities which we now experience, we need to learn from those who have gone before us, and specifically from their failures. What is it we need to learn? “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12).
Paul is warning us against a foolish presumption. This is not, as the Roman Catholic church teaches, that one can sin by presuming they have the grace of God entirely because of Christ’s mercy. That teaching is contrary to the gospel. What Paul is addressing here is presumption rooted in pride. Many Christians presume the salvation they have received does not require continued effort on their part. Just like it is presumptive for a person who plays with fire to think they will never get burned, so it is presumptive for the Christian to think they will never fall. As Tom Schreiner has said, the Corinthians “will only ‘stand’ if they consider and avoid the prospect of falling” (Schreiner, 206).
If we are honest, we all have many areas of our lives where we are not self-controlled. However, do not despair; instead, take heed! The Christian who battles many temptations is called to look to God’s faithfulness (10:13). We will examine in a future article how the Lord helps us in temptation, but for now, consider Christ, to whom you are united. His life has become your life. By his Spirit indwelling you, he strengthens you and gives you the grace needed each day to take heed and bring your body, and all of its desires, into subjection so that by the grace of God you will make it to the end. The Christian life is a marathon, and through our lack of self-control we are often crawling towards the finish line. Our endurance is not built up, and many things distract us from the race we are running. Therefore, take heed, and look to your Savior Jesus who has run the race, and set the pace for you to follow.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-2