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Today's Pathway: I Corinthians 10:11-12 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

In the preceding verses Paul lists four sins that brought judgment upon Israel after He had freed them from Egypt. These sins were idolatry, immorality, tempting God, and murmuring. He now reminds the Corinthian believers, and us as well, that the events of the Old Testament were given to us as examples and for our admonition. "Admonition" is "any word of encouragement or reproof which leads to correct behavior. It conveys the idea of giving one counsel about avoiding or ceasing an improper course of conduct." As we have mentioned previously, the admonition is this: if God would deal with Israel this way, He can certainly deal with believers today this way.

The last phrase of verse 11 is interesting. It says that Paul and the Corinthians ("our") are living in the time when the end of the world has arrived. People often wonder about the "last days" that the Bible refers to, and question whether or not we may be in them today. The fact is that Paul was saying in verse 11 that they had already arrived during his lifetime. A definitive passage that deals with this is found in Peter's message in Acts 2. This was the day of Pentecost, and as the disciples were speaking in tongues (real languages understood by the hearers, but unknown to the speakers) some in the crowd accused them of being drunk. Peter's response was this:

"For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams" (Acts 2:15-17).

Verse 12 teaches that Christians need to be careful that they do not fall down in their race. It should be noted that Paul is not speaking of losing one's salvation. The Bible says that believers are "kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation" (I Peter 1:5). My works did not save me, and my works will not keep me saved. I have everlasting life already, and if it is everlasting it can not be taken from me. However, as has been a theme over these past few days, I can lose my rewards, and I can fail to accomplish what God expected me to accomplish when He saved me. The problem for many believers is that they think that it can't happen to them. They are very confident in their own ability to stand against temptation. How many homes have been ruined by adultery when both spouses "knew" that it could "never happen to them"? How many people find themselves no longer actively involved in any Bible-believing church who once boasted in their own hearts the first time they skipped a service that it would "never happen to them"? How many people took their first drink, or their first trip to the casino, or their first look at pornography, and said, "It will never happen to me", yet find themselves enslaved by their sin? Be careful: when you think it can't happen to you, and thus you stop following the Lord as you should, you have set the table for your own personal disaster.