"We should not commit sexual immorality, as
some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died."
{1 Corinthians 10:8} (NIV1984)
I
Corinthians 10 is a key passage in understanding the role of the Old Testament in a New Testament
Christian’s life. These things happened to them as examples and were written
down as warnings for us (vs. 11). This truth expressed in this verse means
that one of the reasons 23,000 people died, was to teach us how we should live
in Christ. As we start to grasp this truth of how the Old Testament relates to our lives,
we wonder if God killing those people was just a warning. In other words did
God react to them in such a “harsh” way so that the warning would reverberate
through the ages.
However, it wasn’t just a warning, it was an example. We
should learn the truth that God will kill NT Christians for sexual immorality.
Our Lord says in Revelation 2:23, "I will strike her children dead. Then all
the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will
repay each of you according to your deeds." Boy this seems so harsh! What
about grace we wonder! What about the forgiveness we have in Christ? Our mind
turns to these questions, only because we don’t understand the terrible effect
of sin on us. We do not think ill of a surgeon who cuts cancer out of our body,
so we should not think ill of our gracious Lord who will not allow us to
continue in sin! He will not give us back to our sin!
Friend, we have a
choice. We have freedom in Christ, through the presence of His Holy Spirit. May
we choose this day to live by the Spirit and not to fulfill the lusts of our
flesh. May we choose life!
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