A Careful Walk with God

A Careful Walk with God
Words of Faith 6-25-25
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2025
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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1 Corinthians 10

    [1] For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. [2] They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. [3] They all ate the same spiritual food [4] and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. [5] Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. [6] Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. [7] Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry." [8] We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did--and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. [9] We should not test the Lord, as some of them did--and were killed by snakes. [10] And do not grumble, as some of them did--and were killed by the destroying angel.

       The Corinthian believers might easily have assumed that they would never be disciplined by the Lord. They were complacent. After all, they had experienced such a remarkable blessing from God. They had been enriched in Him in every way (1:5). Why would God ever turn against them?

       But Paul saw the situation quite differently. He did not want the Corinthian believers to be ignorant because of such an assumption. The truth is that the Lord disciplines those He loves. He punishes everyone whom He accepts as a child (Hebrews 12:6).

       Paul outlined a sobering parallel with the Children of Israel. The Israelites had also been incredibly blessed by God but experienced His severe discipline. After escaping from the tyranny in Egypt, the Israelites gained unprecedented physical and spiritual freedom but were reckless and unrestrained. As a result, God applied severe discipline by cutting short the lives of many Israelites. They were all in the "race," but almost all were disqualified despite their advantages (9:24, 27).

        The presence of supernatural privileges in the lives of Old Testament Israelites did not produce automatic success. On the contrary, despite their special advantages, most experienced God's discipline, were disqualified, and died in the desert (Numbers 14:29). All but two members of that generation, Joshua and Caleb, were punished. Even Moses was disqualified for the prize (Numbers 20:12). In light of this, Paul lifted the need for personal self-discipline (1 Corinthians 9:27).

         The Corinthians' complacency in self-discipline and their corresponding penchant for self-indulgence required immediate remedial action. Christian freedom was not meant to lead to self-indulgence but to selfless service. As Paul wrote to the Galatian believers, "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love" (5:13).

         The instruction was clear: Do not do as the Israelites did, do not fall into idolatry and sexual immorality, do not test the Lord, and do not grumble. These paths could result in the discipline of the Lord and disqualify the Corinthian believers from the race they had begun.

         Many today have enjoyed similar blessings from God. God has been good in bringing us out of bondage and delivering us with great favor. But we should not assume that this means we will not be disciplined by the Lord if we abuse that freedom or turn away from Him. We also must be vigilant to avoid idolatry and sexual immorality. We must make every effort to walk carefully. We must not test the Lord or grumble against Him.

        How is your race going? Are you in strict training? Are you running so as to get the prize? Or are you running aimlessly? Are you beating the air? Are you disciplining your body so that you will not need to be disciplined by the Lord? Are you doing everything possible to avoid idolatry and sexual immorality? Are you shunning those actions that test God and the grumbling that puts our hearts far from His?

       Father, show me the careful walk of disciplined living. Teach me the way that is as close as Your breath. Keep me on the path that You have set out for me so that I may take hold of the prize that You have set before me. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2025
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2025 Jeffrey D. Hoy.