Tag: warnings

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1 Corinthians

The point of all these stories

1 Corinthians

A lot of times Christians tend to avoid the Old Testament, and only read the New. After all, isn’t that where all the important stuff really is?

While it is true the ideas of Christ’s work on the cross, salvation by grace through faith, and other things are more clearly spelled out in the New Testament, I think it’s important to point out that the New Testament writers didn’t just chuck the Old Testament as unimportant.

Rather, time and again, they keep pointing back to the Old Testament. They quote from it, recall stories from it, and draw application from it. Jesus did this, and so did his apostles.

My point? So should we.

Paul starts this chapter by recalling Israel’s journey through the desert on the way to the promised land. He then tells the Corinthians,

Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. (1 Corinthians 10:6)

And again,

These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. (1 Corinthians 10:11)

In particular, Paul was talking about idolatry, sexual sin, and failing to trust in God.

And he said, whenever we read these kinds of stories and the consequences the Israelites incurred because of them, we should take warning and “instruction” (NASB) from them.

For that matter, that’s true of any “Bible story” we read. We are not to read them simply as fairy tales as unbelievers often do. Nor are we to read them as we would read a history book.

But as we read them, we are to pray and ask, “God, what are you trying to teach me here? What are you trying to say?”

And when we come to these stories with that kind of heart, God will teach us.

It’s the one thing I’ve tried to do throughout this blog. Not simply to relate the facts, but to relate the application to our lives as well.

But as much as we are to read this way for ourselves, we are to do this for our children as well.

It’s great, of course, to read Bible stories to our children at night. My wife and I try to do that every night with our daughter.

But one thing I always try to do is put in some application, no matter how simple it might be (and it needs to be simple, since my daughter’s only 5 years old).

It might be, “God can provide our needs if we ask.” (Feeding of the 5000, or God feeding Elijah in the desert).

Or, “It’s important to obey God.” (The story of Adam and Eve).

In short, remember that these are not just “stories.”

God meant them for our good, for our instruction.

Do you read them that way?

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Luke Luke 22

Preparing to face a hostile world

Luke

As Jesus led his disciples out of the upper room, he asked them,

When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything? (Luke 22:35)

This is referring to the two times he sent out the disciples to preach the gospel throughout Israel (Luke 9 and 10).

At those times, he told the disciples to bring no provisions with them, but to rely on the hospitality of those they were reaching out to.

And at that time, at the height of his popularity, that was perfectly fine. Despite hostility they might face, there would always be people to welcome them. (Luke 22:35b)

But now, the situation would be changing. Jesus would be “numbered among the transgressors,” (37-38) and they would face more hostility than ever. People who once might have welcomed them would do so no longer.

So Jesus warned them, saying,

Now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. (36)

In short, “It’ll be even more dangerous for you out there than ever before because you follow me. Be prudent. Be careful.”

But Jesus’ disciples responded,

See, Lord, here are two swords. (38)

In other words, “Lord, don’t worry. We’ll take anyone down that comes after us.”

Peter would later show that exact attitude in the garden of Gethsemane.

So Jesus curtly and perhaps exasperatedly told them,

That is enough. (38)

Jesus’ point wasn’t that they should turn to violence against those who attacked them, but simply that they should be prepared to face a hostile world.

But Jesus’ words were not just for the disciples, they were for us.

As we’ll see later in John, Jesus specifically warns us that people will hate us on account of him. There will be persecution. And he basically tells us that we shouldn’t be surprised by this when it happens.

So while we are to love and reach out to those who are lost, we are also to be on our guard. People will hate us. People will betray us. People will hurt us. Even those we love.

Because of this, let us always remember the words of Jesus when he told his disciples,

I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard against men… (Matthew 10:16-17)

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Proverbs

When we fail to warn the lost

Solomon writes some very poignant words here in these verses.

Rescue those being led away to death;
hold back those staggering toward slaughter.

If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,”
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?

Does not he who guards your life know it?

Will he not repay each person
according to what he has done? (Proverbs 24:11–12)

Every day, people are going to hell. They’re being led away to eternal death. They’re staggering toward their own slaughter. What are you doing about it?

Because hell is such an unpleasant subject, people don’t want to talk about it. But not talking about something does not make it go away.

And God will hold us accountable if we don’t warn people about where the path they’re taking is leading.

We cannot force people off the path they are taking. That’s not our responsibility. We can’t make people change. But God does call us to warn them.

He will not accept the excuse, “But I didn’t know they were going to hell.”

Many people try to convince themselves that their loved ones will go to heaven even though they haven’t put their trust in Jesus.

People try to convince themselves because they are afraid to confront their friends and family with the truth. They’re afraid that they’ll be rejected. That the people they love will get angry with them if they share the truth.

But deep down, they know what God has said about the matter. And Solomon warns us that God knows our heart. We can hide nothing from him.

And so what God once told the prophet Ezekiel concerning Israel, he now tells us concerning our loved ones. Paraphrased, here is what he says.

I have made you a watchman for those around you; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.

When I say to your father or mother, your brother or sister, your husband or wife, your child, your friend, or your coworker, when I tell them “You will surely die,” and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their lives, they will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.

But if you do warn them and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself. (Ezekiel 3:17–19)

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Isaiah

Something worse

Isaiah

We get a peek at the timeline in this passage, and find that Ahaz has just died as Isaiah writes this. But it’s probably not of Ahaz’s death that Isaiah writes about in verse 29.

The Philistines were probably rejoicing at the death of the Assyrian king who had caused much suffering among them.

But Isaiah warned them that although this particular king would no longer cause them grief, their troubles were not at an end. Rather it would only get worse.

His son would take over from where his father had left off, and in addition, famine would hit the land. As a result, the Philistines would be wiped out from the earth, and there was no hope for them.

On the other hand, the people whom the Philistines had caused much harm to over the years, the Israelites, would find refuge and safety in Zion once more (Isaiah 14:30, 32).

What can we learn from this? God often brings discipline in our lives in order that we might repent.

One of the reasons he sent the Assyrians against the Philistines (and the Israelites, for that matter) was that in their suffering, they might turn from their sins and turn to God. But when the Philistines refused to repent, they were utterly destroyed.

The only reason why God spared the Israelites was because of his own promises to Abraham and their forefathers, that their descendants would continue on forever, and that the Messiah would come from their line.

But anyway, the warning Isaiah gave the Philistines of greater judgment is similar to a warning Jesus gave a man he had healed.

The man had been lame for 38 years, but Jesus healed him. When Jesus met him later, he told the man, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” (John 5:14)

In other words, “You thought your prior affliction was bad? Don’t just rejoice that you’ve been healed. You have a much deeper problem. Your sin. And unless you repent, something worse will happen to you.

“Your lameness was a temporary affliction. Hell, on the other hand, is forever.”

What do we do with the warnings of God? Do we ignore them? Or do we heed them?

May you heed the warnings of God that you might find life, and escape the eternal punishment that is to come to those who refuse to repent.