1 Corinthians 10:13 is perhaps the most recognizable verse in the Bible to help us with the temptation to sin and achieve victory over it. Here’s a simple outline I could have preached, for it uses parallel Scripture to make the same point. So here is another look at temptation in its simplicity and brevity.

1. Pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18)

1 Corinthians 10:12 warns the same, “Let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.” We must have a healthy respect for the power of sin and a healthy understanding of our own proclivities to sin.

2. But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ. (2 Corinthians 2:14)

1 Corinthians 10:13 promises that God will “provide the way of escape.” One writer said this suggests an army hemmed in and “urged to flee at all speed throughout a mountain pass” (Thiselton). The Apostle Paul writes in his second epistle to the Corinthians that our victory is sure and ever-present with Christ. We are no longer captives to sin, but captives of Christ who are now free to not sin. Always trust that you can overcome sin through Christ, who strengthens you.

3. Little children, guard yourselves from idols. (1 John 5:21)

This last sentence in John’s First Epistle seems like a non-sequester, for he did not mention idols in 5 chapters. But it’s not. However, John does say in five chapters that we are either in fellowship with Christ or not. Either we are children of God or children of the devil (1 John 3:10). Once one sees that we either worship God or worship something else, we understand that our world is full of idols and their temptations. Genesis to Revelation warns us to always be aware of anything that rivals our love and obedience to God.

During the Hundred Years’ War, King Edward III and his son, Prince Edward, were in parallel battles with the French. The King promised to send help if he saw the need. Fearing he might be overrun, Edward sent a message to his father, pleading for assistance. When help did not arrive, he sent another urgent message for help. His father told the courier, “Go tell my son that I am not so inexperienced a commander as not to know when help is needed, nor so careless a father as not to send it.”

Our Father is ever-present and ever-ready to achieve our victory!