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[Troy Seal]

I apologize for all of the questions lately. I just have one more.

I came across this Bible verse recently...

1 Corinthians 10:13

13 No temptation[a] has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted[b] beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,[c] he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

I don’t understand this verse. There have been instances where I have sinned where there seemed to be no “not letting me be tempted beyond what I could bear.” What does this verse mean? Could you shed some light on this verse?

Thank you so much for your time

[jimwalton]

Don’t feel bad about asking. I’m glad to talk. Ask as much as you want.

1 Corinthians 10.13. First of all we recognize that the Corinthian church was riddled with problems, and the whole letter is addressed to Paul trying to help them work through them and be rid of them. This section of chapter 10 (vv. 1-13) is about good and bad examples to help us resist temptation.

Paul talks about Israel, and all the advantages they had (God’s direct revelation, seeing miracles, Moses’s leadership), and yet they blew it big time “and their bodies were scattered across the desert” (v. 5). “These things,” Paul says (v. 6), are “examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.”

So one way to resist temptation is to set your hearts on things above, not on earthly things (Col. 3.1-2).

Then he talks about idolaters (again, the children of Israel in the wilderness). The second way to resist temptation is to have a proper view of God (Ex. 20.4-6)

He moves from there to sexual immorality. He’s referring to the event of Num. 25.1-9. A third way to resist temptation is to keep our bodies pure and stay away from anything that will put us on a path other than Godward.

Next: the Children of Israel tested God (lack of trust in His wisdom). This is in Numbers 21.6. A fourth way to resist temptation is to trust God’s wisdom instead of our own desires.

Next: They grumbled (the complaint motif, prominent in the book of Numbers) against God, implying that He didn’t seek what was best for them. A fifth way to resist temptation is to be content in every situation (Phil. 4.11-12; 1 Tim. 6.6; Heb. 13.5).

Then he warns in v. 12: Don’t think you’re immune or invulnerable. These human responses are so common they have the ability to catch any one of us if we don’t live carefully (Eph. 5.15).

Remember that most temptation comes from our own hearts (James 1.14). So often the escape has to also come from our hearts, but it’s also something we have to do mentally and physically.

So we have learned some escape routes:
Set hearts on things above, not on earthly things
Have a proper view of God, and it will help to keep you on the narrow path (Heb. 12.2-3)
Keep your bodies pure, and avoid stuff that will trip you up (Heb. 12.1). Tame your desires.
Trust in God’s wisdom. Your own idea of what makes sense can get in the way.
Learn to be content. It’s that feeling that I’m missing out on something that urges us to make poor decisions.

Scripture teaches us other escape routes:
Run away (Joseph, Gn. 39.12)
Resist (1 Pet. 5.8)
Confront it head on (Mt. 18.15-20; Gal. 6.1)
Always stay spiritual alert and sharp (Gal. 6.1)
Test your own actions (Gal. 6.4)

In other words, there is always a way to avoid the temptation. None of us can ever say, “I had no choice.” Here’s what the verse is saying:

1. Temptation is common, and any temptation you face has already been faced by someone else. Temptations are not only real, but also common. The world is full of evil desires and evil ways. Everyone is tempted to do wrong. Welcome to the human race. But that also tells us that others have faced this same temptation and beaten it (Heb. 12.1).

2. God is faithful. We get a few things from this: (A) God has promised to preserve His people. It is possible to resist the temptation. (B) Learn to see God as He is (a proper view of God) and trust His wisdom. Never have the feeling that He’s trying to keep something good from you (whatever the temptation is). (C) God hasn’t promised to protect you from temptation, but rather to help you through it. He will let it hit you so you learn how to walk (ISa. 40.30-31).

3. He will no let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. This doesn’t mean, as many Christians mistakenly say, that God will never let you go through anything you can’t handle. That’s not what the verse is saying. The text never says that God will never give you anything you can’t handle. The text is about temptation, not situation. We must maintain the distinction between hardship and temptation. Every temptation is a hardship, but not every hardship is a temptation (Rom. 9.20-21; the book of Job; Rom. 8.26). God may very well allow you to go through things you can’t handle, even to the point where you may die, even of such things as starvation or torture. These are not to be confused with temptation, which stems from evil desires and your tendency to sin. Instead it says that every temptation that hits you (which, as I said, are mostly from our own hearts) is manageable. It’s resistible.

Many temptations are really our mind games trying to rationalize sin. Others are pleasures (more mind games) that we don’t want to miss. We just want to do stuff. The battle is in the mind. God says it’s resistible. We can be of transformed minds (Rom. 12.2)

4. There will always be a way of escape—not from the temptation, necessarily, but from giving in to it. The temptation has its limits, but God’s faithfulness does not. In other words, the temptation is such that not succumbing to it is possible.