PART 5

In the previous post we studied the warning of possibly falling away which was written by the apostle Peter. In this post we’ll study a couple of warnings from the apostle Paul. We’ll consider this first warning in context to see how it unfolds…

1 Corinthians 10:1-12 For I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the fact that all of our ancestors were under the cloud, and they all went through the sea, and they all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and they all ate the same spiritual food, and they all drank the same spiritual drink, for they continually drank from the spiritual Rock that went with them, and that Rock was Christ. But God wasn't pleased with most of them, and so they were struck down in the wilderness. Now these things became examples for us so that we won't set our hearts on evil as they did. Let us stop being idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to play." Let us stop sinning sexually, as some of them were doing, and on a single day 23,000 fell dead. Let us stop putting the Lord to the test, as some of them were doing, and were destroyed by snakes. You must stop complaining, as some of them were doing, and were destroyed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down as a warning for us in whom the climax of the ages has been realized. Therefore, the person who thinks he is standing securely should watch out that he does not fall.

This is a truly powerful story… but before we break it down let’s remember who Paul is writing to…

1 Corinthians 1:2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

Make no mistake about it… Paul was writing to Christians. Paul tells the story of how the Israelites were led by Moses (who symbolizes Christ) out of Egypt (symbolizing the land of sin). They were saved from Pharaoh (who symbolizes the devil). In this passage with Paul we learn that the Israelites were under the cloud and went through the sea... "they were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and the sea" (this symbolizes our baptism into Christ). The Israelites were saved from Pharaoh (symbolizing being saved from Satan) when they escaped through the departing Red Sea. If you have ever seen the movie The Ten Commandments, then you probably remember how this happened. The movie gives us a good simulation of this event. While they were saved at one point, they did not do as God commanded and He became unpleased with some of them. In one single day 23,000 of them fell dead. They were worshipping idols, they played by sinning sexually, they tested the Lord, they complained, they were not all living for God as He wanted them to. Paul wrote in this passage twice that these things happened to serve as an “example” for us… as a warning for us. The point he is making is in the last verse when he wrote...

"Therefore, the person who thinks he is standing securely should watch out that he does not fall."

If it were not possible for a Christian to fall, this warning from Paul would not have been given. There is no other possible meaning behind Paul's warning. This warning follows Paul’s watchfulness and self discipline of making his own calling and election sure…

1 Corinthians 9:26-27 Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

Let’s now consider another warning from the apostle Paul...

Galatians 5:1-4 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by Law; you have fallen from grace.

Paul wrote that "Christ set us free" and that we should continue to stand firm and not be subject to a yoke of slavery again. What is "a yoke of slavery"? Other translations use the term "yoke of bondage"... but what does it mean? We need to understand this in order to understand Paul's warning. When we are unsaved, we are under the bondage of sin... it is a yoke of bondage (or slavery)... we are serving sin, just as a slave serves his master. Paul explains this in his letters to the Romans…

Romans 6:16 Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey-either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?

Paul wrote that we are slaves to what we obey... we either obey sin and are slaves to sin, or we are slaves of obedience to God. If we are "slaves to sin" and "serve sin" then we are under the bondage of sin, or "yoke of slavery".

There is also another way that "yoke of slavery" or "yoke of bondage" was used to describe being under a certain bondage. The Law of Moses imposed troublesome laws on the Jews, it was a yoke to the Jews. They were under bondage to the Law because they were slaves to the Law of Moses. They were under a "yoke of slavery" because they were slaves to the Law.

Understanding now what "yoke of slavery" or "yoke of bondage" means, we can understand what Paul is explaining here. While the Galatians he wrote to were indeed saved, he did not want them to become under another yoke of bondage. You can go back to chapter 4 in Galatians and read that they were trying to be circumcised to be completely saved. There are several instances we read of throughout the New Testament letters, that explains how many of the Jews wanted the Gentiles to obey the Law of Moses to be saved. Paul is explaining that the Law is not what makes them (or us) perfect anymore... it is Christ that saves them (and us) now. These people no longer needed the Law to be saved. Christ set them free from the Law as the Law was nailed to the cross. For them to turn to the Law would mean they would give up Christ and all the spiritual blessings that came through Him. Notice Paul wrote "stand firm and not be subject AGAIN to a yoke of slavery." What Paul is explaining is that they were once under the bondage of sin (yoke of slavery). If they go back and try to obey the Law and be circumcised so that they can be justified by the Law (saved by the Law), that they will then be under a second yoke of slavery. The first bondage was sin, the second bondage would be the Jewish Law.

Today we receive grace from God through our obedience to the faith. We are saved because of what God and Christ did for us. God gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty for our sins. Once we receive that grace from God, we must hold on to it. There were some Galatians that Paul explains were severed from Christ because they were seeking to be justified by the Law. Paul wrote that they "have fallen from grace."

Granted most people today will not likely turn to the Law to be justified, but this passage clearly proves the possibility of falling. It would be impossible to be "severed from Christ" if they were not "in Christ" to begin with. Paul explains that "Christ set them free"... they were saved, but then “severed”, cut off from Christ. Furthermore it is impossible to "fall from grace" if we do not have grace to begin with. To say that we never had grace to begin with, as some would suggest, would be like saying we were not standing up before we fell down… obviously if you are already lying on the ground, you cannot fall down. It would also contradict what these passages teach us. Again we have solid scriptural proof that we can indeed lose our salvation.

__________________
In Christ,
brother Sonnie

Jeremiah 6:16 Thus says the LORD: "Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'