1 Corinthians 10:1-13
About the Text
(1) What did Paul mean by the "cloud" and the "sea"? He is referring to the miraculous deliverance of ancient Israel from slavery in Egypt, nearly 1,800 year earlier. After leaving Egypt, God led the Israelites through the desert by having them follow a travelling pillar of cloud (cf. Exodus 13:21-22). Then, God parted the Red Sea so that they could cross it.
(2) What did Paul mean by "they were all baptized into Moses"? Paul meant that the Israelites had all the same religious marks that the Corinthian Christians had. The Israelites were "baptized," having crossed the Red Sea. They participated in "communion," having eaten the manna that God provided (cf. "spiritual food," v. 3), and drank "communion wine," having drank the water that miraculously gushed forth from a rock. And, they actually had Christ in their midst, because that rock was God's way of foretelling about the Christ to come (cf. "that rock was Christ"). And yet they still fell deeply into sin, namely, idolatry. Paul brings out this point to warn the Corinthians that they are no different from the Israelites - that despite their Christian baptism and communion, the Corinthians could fall into gross sin just as easily as as the Israelites did.
(6-10) These were harsh punishments on the Israelites. Will God ever punish Christians today? Yes, but for a different reason. God may punish believers as a fatherly chastisement. God punishes unbelievers as a result of the wrath that they deserve. Believers don't suffer the wrath of God because Jesus Christ paid for their sins through His death on the cross (1 Thess. 5:9 - "For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ."). Unbelievers, however, receive the death that their sins deserve. God chastises believers in many ways. Sometimes, He works through our government authorities. If a Christian were to steal a car, for example, he still goes to jail, even though he repents of his sin. Sometimes, He works through ordinary consequences. Many drug addicts, for example, lose their jobs and are forced to live on the streets. And sometimes, He uses miraculous intervention, such as striking Ananias and Sapphira dead for lying to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:1-11). All believers struggle with sin (Rom. 7:14-25), and God disciplines all those He loves (Heb. 12:4-13). It should also be remembered that not all suffering is God's chastisement for sin. When Jesus' disciples asked, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus replied, "Neither his man nor his parents sinned." (John 9:1-3) God allows suffering and pain in the Christian's life for other reasons too, such as to humble or to teach. (cf. 2 Cor. 12:7-10)
(12) Does this verse mean that Christians could lose their salvation? No. The Bible is clear that true believers can never lose their salvation (Rom. 8:1, 38-39, Eph. 1:14, Phil. 1:6). Yet believers can still fall into deep sin and become ineffective and unfruitful for the Lord.
(13) If God will always "provide a way out so that you can stand up under [temptation]," then why do Christians still sin? This verse is not saying that God will make every temptation failure-proof. It does mean that every temptation allowed by God still gives us a choice for a way out. The Christian alcoholic may think that it's impossible for him to resist the bottle, but he still has the choice to enter a rehabilitation hospital. The Christian struggling with homosexuality may think that it's impossible for him to change his/her orientation, but he still has the choice to seek professional help to overcome it. Hebrews 12:4 says, "In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood." Therefore, every temptation encountered by a Christian has a way out.
Insights
The Bottom Line
Beware of God's harsh chastisement for gross sin. Christians enjoy this wonderful fact about the gospel: that though we sin horribly, even daily, Jesus' death on the cross has so completely paid for our sins that we are forever forgiven and are forever assured of our eternal life. But there is another blessing that comes with being saved, although it's not pleasant at first. It's God's discipline. Just as a mother spanks a child for running out into the street without looking both ways, and then the child cries, that punishment will serve to give the child life-saving wisdom for the rest of his life. The same with the Christian life. God chastises us in order to build us up, and so that we won't take advantage of His grace.