What pastor has not heard...
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What pastor has not heard some person, who has faced difficulties and troubles, say in effect, "The Bible promises us that God will not let us be tested beyond our endurance, but sometimes I wonder if God has overestimated my strength!"
This passage, however, is not about general troubles that may come our way. The testing (v. 13) that Paul's readers faced came not from misfortune but from family and community. In Corinthian society, home festivals celebrated family deities, city assemblies and sidewalk altars honored local gods, and temples provided sacred prostitution. In remaining faithful to Christ, the head of a Christian household (a male in that culture) would be forced to dishonor the religion of his ancestors, turn down invitations to neighbors' parties, remain apart from community gatherings, and avoid sexual enticement from temple call girls.
Paul reminds his readers how the Israelites persuaded Aaron to make them a golden calf. They wanted to return to their pagan worship practices. They failed the test, and they suffered for their failure.
A Christian college in Texas once advertised that its campus was located forty miles "from any known form of sin." Because our culture is so different from that of Corinth, do we today no longer face great tests of our faithfulness to God? Because we do not have to withdraw from our society in order to be Christians, are we spared any other forms of testing of our faith? -- Bristow
This passage, however, is not about general troubles that may come our way. The testing (v. 13) that Paul's readers faced came not from misfortune but from family and community. In Corinthian society, home festivals celebrated family deities, city assemblies and sidewalk altars honored local gods, and temples provided sacred prostitution. In remaining faithful to Christ, the head of a Christian household (a male in that culture) would be forced to dishonor the religion of his ancestors, turn down invitations to neighbors' parties, remain apart from community gatherings, and avoid sexual enticement from temple call girls.
Paul reminds his readers how the Israelites persuaded Aaron to make them a golden calf. They wanted to return to their pagan worship practices. They failed the test, and they suffered for their failure.
A Christian college in Texas once advertised that its campus was located forty miles "from any known form of sin." Because our culture is so different from that of Corinth, do we today no longer face great tests of our faithfulness to God? Because we do not have to withdraw from our society in order to be Christians, are we spared any other forms of testing of our faith? -- Bristow
