Howard Katz

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Notes: The Way of Escape
1 Corinthians 10:12–14 (NKJV)
¹²Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
¹³No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
¹⁴Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
 
¹²Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
Sometimes we over estimate our spiritual strength and think more highly of ourselves than we ought to.

• Self confidence can lead to lack of vigilance which can lead to being tripped up which will result in a spiritual face plant.

• If we are not watchful where we are going, it can result in us falling.

• We can fall into a deep pit but the more subtle cracks in the sidewalk can also trip us up and cause us to experience a devastating fall.

• We may avoid the major pitfalls in life such as fornication, adultery, murder, and stealing but just because we are not caught up in those things doesn’t mean we won’t trip on the small things such as resentment, pride, gossip, envy and selfishness which also will cause us to have a devastating fall.

• “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man”

• The Greek word for temptation can mean either “to test someone to learn his true nature or character” or “ to tempt someone in order to cause them to stumble or sin”

 

• Two things happen at the same time as we go through a time of testing:
• The devil is trying to get us to trip up and fail,
• God is encouraging us to choose good and trust Him and overcome.

• “such as is common to man” – No matter how bad the situation is that we find ourselves in or how awful we feel, our experience is no different than what others have experienced.

• This understanding will help protect us from self-pity and feelings of being totally isolated and overwhelmed.

• “but God is faithful” – If we do not see God’s faithfulness in the midst of the trial we will either give into the temptation or give up.

• It is not our strength that will get us through the temptations but God’s faithfulness and our faith in His faithfulness.

• “who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able” – The Lord will not allow us to be tested beyond our strength or ability.

• However, many times we may feel that we are being tested beyond our strength.

• “but with the temptation will also make the way of escape” – When God allows a temptation or trial to enter our lives He also provides along side of it the way of escape.

• What does it mean “the way of escape?”

• “that you may be able to bear it” – The Greek word for “bear it” means, “to endure, to bear by being under it, bear up under” and is a key for understanding what God means by providing “the way of escape.”

• The way of escape does not mean to escape the trial but to escape the pressures of the trials that would seek to crush us.

• The way of escape is not like a trap door that exits us from the trial but a secret place that allows us to be able to endure the trials

• ¹⁴Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry – This following verse gives us a clue in how to find this way of escape so that we will be able to bear up under the trial or temptation.

• The Greek word for “flee” is φεύγω pheugō and it means “to flee, to escape. 

• For us to find the way of escape from the pressures of the trial we must flee or escape from any idolatry that would be in our lives.

• Idolatry is anything we serve that takes the place of our devotion and service to God.

• In a trial there can be many idols that we depend upon or serve which hinders us from finding that refuge in Christ.

• We can be looking to our own strength to get us out of our trouble and all that does is dig a deeper hole.

• We can put our trust in people, money, or many things in this world to try to help deliver us from our trials but again none of these things provide true lasting solutions.

• One of the great idols we can serve and worship during a trial is worry and anxiety.

• When we allow anxiety and worry to become our idol then it dominates our thoughts and feelings and we bow down to their pressures.

• The way of escape is fleeing from idolatry and fleeing unto the Lord.

• The way of escape is not an exit from the trial but learning to abide in Christ through the trial.

• This doesn’t make the trial go away but gives us the strength and peace to endure the trial or temptation.

• The way we go through a trial is not by trying to run away from it but by going through it while abiding in Christ.

• There are things we can learn and areas we can grow in as we go through a trial.

• Our response to each trial will determine if we grow bitter or better.

• Psalm 91 is a beautiful description of how to find the way of escaping during times of trials and temptations.

 

Psalm 91 (NKJV)

¹    He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High

      Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

²     I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;

      My God, in Him I will trust.”

• We need to learn not just to visit the secret place of the Most High but also to dwell there.

• The shadow of the Almighty is a place of protection and place where the enemy cannot tear us down.
• “He is my refuge and my fortress” – God is our refuge and fortress as we pass through times of trials and the storms of this life.

• “My God, in Him I will trust.” – The way we enter into the fortress of God’s presence is through faith in His faithfulness.

• The way of escape is to abide in Christ so that we can go through the time of testing and not succumb to the pressure and collapse or give into temptation and sin.

• The way of escape does not mean to avoid hardship or painful experiences in life but to be able to go through them faithfully.

 

John 16:33 (NKJV)

³³These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

• Sometimes we experience times of trials or testing not because we have done anything wrong but simply because we live in a fallen world.

• As we look to the Lord and go through these experiences we become stronger and more like Jesus.

• Other times we go through difficulties because of choices we have made or things we have done. 

• In either case the only way we can deal with these times of temptation or testing is by simply going through them and abiding in Christ. 

• Going through a time of temptation or testing is how we make progress in our lives.

• If someone is facing a temptation they can short circuit the purpose by giving into the temptation and thus never make it through to the other side to freedom.

• If someone is facing a test they can short circuit the purpose by trying to avoid hardship at any cost including compromising their full commitment to Christ.

• Those Christians that are unwilling to make the journey through the times of temptation or testing end up being in the cycle of failure.

• However, if we are willing to press forward in the Lord through difficult times, we will break old sinful patterns and mature and experience victory in our lives. 

• King Saul and King David are two examples of men who both failed but the first one tried to avoid the consequences of his failures while the second one chose to face his failures.

• The magnitude of their failures did not determine the ultimate outcome of their lives but their willingness to walk along the path of repentance and restoration.

• If sin could be gauged on a scale of severity, King David’s sins were much worse than King Saul’s.

• King Saul struggled with pride and self-will and refused to take ownership of his failures and walk through the process of restoration.

• King Saul did not want to take responsibility for his actions but actually blamed others.

• God’s original intent was to establish an everlasting kingdom through Saul. 

• God does not set us up to fail but to overcome.

• We can see an example of how King Saul continually resisted taking responsibility for his failures in 1 Samuel 15.

 

1 Samuel 15:13 (NKJV)
13 Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the Lord! I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” 

• At first Saul acted as if he had been fully obedient.

 

1 Samuel 15:15 (NKJV)

¹⁵And Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.”

• Next Saul made an excuse for his disobedience by saying that everything he did was in order to make a sacrifice to the Lord.

 

1 Samuel 15:20 (NKJV)

²⁰And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

• Thirdly Saul played dumb and pretended that he fully obeyed God.

 

1 Samuel 15:24 (NKJV)

²⁴Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.

• Fourthly Saul then blamed the people for his disobedience.

 

1 Samuel 15:30 (NKJV)
30 Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord your God.” 

• “I have sinned; yet honor me now” – King Saul’s real concern was not his sin but his reputation and prestige.

• While King Saul’s weakness was pride, King David’s weakness was lust.

• God wanted to free both Saul and David from iniquity.

• Saul’s transgressions may seem relatively minor compared to David’s transgressions, however King Saul ended his life in total shambles.

• In contrast to Saul, God ultimately blesses David and the linage of Jesus Christ came through David and thus David’s kingdom became an everlasting kingdom.

• It wasn’t the severity of their sins that determined the final outcome of their lives but their response to God once their sins were exposed. 

2 Samuel 12 (NKJV)
7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.

• “You are the man!” – The words of Nathan the prophet cut like a knife into David’s heart and his response would determine the final outcome of his life.

 

13 So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.

• David clearly stated he had sinned against God and made no excuse for his actions.

• Was Nathan’s exposing of David’s sin part of God’s judgment?

• Nathan’s exposing of David’s sin was part of God’s mercy.

• God’s hand of judgment was upon David while he was concealing his sin. 

• God’s judgment upon David was that He allowed him to live under the weight and condemnation of his sin.

 

Psalm 27:4 (NKJV)
4 One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple.

• As long as David lived a hidden life of sin he was cut of from the thing he longed for the most – fellowship with God.

 

Psalm 32:1-5 (NKJV)
1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit.

• The most wonderful and blessed thing is to be forgiven.

3 When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long.
4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer.

• These two verses describe the torment that David experienced for that year until Nathan the prophet exposed his sin.

• The magnitude of the torment was that he had hidden his trail too well and his terrible secret would never be revealed. He would have to live with this terrible secret until the day of his death.

5 I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.

• This verse describes the relief he received once his sin was exposed and he confessed it.

• David’s response to Nathan was not anger, fear, or pleading but relief.

• Genuine repentance does not produce shame but transparency, relief and godly sorrow.

• The deception David lived under was lifted. He was restored to his right senses.

• David’s relationship with the Lord was restored.

 

And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.

• If David’s sins were taken away then why was David going to have to walk through the consequences of his actions?

• Many times we think forgiveness is synonymous with restoration.

• However, restoration requires for us to walk through the consequences of our actions.

• The Good News is not only does God forgive us of our sins but if we submit to Him He will actually take us through the process where every one of our failures will be redeemed so that it will work out to be used to produce good.

 

Galatians 6:7-9 (NKJV)
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.

• When God forgives us He does not simply remove the consequences of our past choices but walks us through the process of restoration.

• If we are unwilling to walk through the process of restoration we will find ourselves continually affected by our wrong choices. 

• However, if we are willing to walk through the consequences, God will take the consequences and turn them for good.

9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

• This verse says that even when we are going through difficult times God will bring a great harvest if we are willing to walk through the process of restoration.

 

Romans 8:28-29 (NKJV)
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

• God’s redemptive work is not that He removes the consequences and circumstances of our lives but that He redeems them to bring forth His purposes. 

• What the enemy has meant for evil God turns for good.

• Some here have never put their faith in Christ as Saviour and Lord but today He is calling you and to acknowledge your failures and your need for the Redeemer.

• Some here are burdened by regrets from the past, but we can take our past failures and give them over to God and walk with Him through the process of redeeming each failure and turning it into a blessing.

• Some here have experienced how God has already taken our past failures and brought freedom and restoration to our lives and we can give thanks to Him.

 

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