"Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself"
Text: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13
3-23-2025
Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Back when I was a police officer in Omaha, one night we arrested a fella named Bobby Ray Jones on a warrant. Bobby was just an unknown, two-bit criminal. But after our encounter, he became a legend within the Omaha Police Department. That’s because once we got him handcuffed, he said something very profound: “You better check yourself before you wreck yourself." Without knowing it, Bobby had made himself famous because of his pithy saying. We liked it so much that we made up T-shirts with it printed on them. You see, Bobby Ray was trying to warn us—in a menacing way—to not mess with him. If we did, then he would “wreck us” by putting a hurt on us. {Funny how bad guys talk really big when they’re in handcuffs!}
Well, in our Epistle Lesson St. Paul is saying something similar. In verse 12 he says "Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall!" Paul wasn’t telling the Corinthians or us that we better not mess with him. Rather, it's a warning to not get cocky about the blessings of faith. He’s saying to not despise the blessings of our Baptism by taking them for granted or neglecting them. Because, if we’re not careful, we might very well wreck ourselves eternally and lose the salvation we received by God’s grace.
In those holy waters, God gave us a new life. He assured us that our sins are all forgiven because of what Jesus has done for us. We are then able to tap into that forgiveness daily through the faith that God creates and sustains in our hearts. Some folks think that our Confirmation Day is when our faith finally becomes real. That’s totally wrong. When we’re confirmed we’re really just returning to our Baptism, and publicly confessing the gift of faith that was given to us by God, rejoicing in the salvation that’s already ours.
But there's a danger here that we need to be warned about. Be aware that there’s a fatal pattern of thinking that can develop. It's probably true in all Christian churches, but I'm afraid that we Lutherans especially tend to take our Baptisms for granted. We believe and teach rightly that this is a free gift of God. We can’t do anything to earn it or deserve it. However, since it’s free and we don’t have to work in order to receive that grace, the danger is that over time we can take it for granted and start treating our Baptism like a lucky rabbit's foot, as if it will magically protect you.
I have a small pamphlet that I give to people when I have the privilege to Baptize them. It’s information about their Baptism, but it’s also a warning. The title says it all: "Baptism Is Not Magic." Unfortunately, that's exactly how some people treat it. Some folks have the idea that once they're Baptized then they can safely go out and live any way they please. They act as if Baptism is the end all; kind of a one and done type of deal with no need to regularly return to God’s House for the gifts He offers here. They fail to see that their faith needs to be fed and nourished constantly through God’s Word and Sacrament. What they don't realize is that by living in disobedience to God and neglecting their faith, a person can actually destroy the blessings of their Baptism! If they’re not careful they can wreck themselves eternally and eventually lose their gift of salvation.
That’s the danger St. Paul was warning about. It’s a problem that has been around for thousands of years. He wrote about it to the Christians at Corinth to set them straight, and if we’ll listen, he’ll set us straight too. He’ll set us straight so that we can live in the power and blessings of our Baptism every day of our lives.
In order to drive the lesson home, Paul points back to the Israelites. Twice in this reading, he says that what happened to them is an example to the rest of us. Their committing of terrible sins when they were tempted is an example of what we ought to avoid. In verse 11 Paul says that Israel’s deadly failure was recorded for our “instruction.” That Greek word there has the sense of teaching a vital lesson by warning a person of what not to do.
Paul uses some vivid comparisons to teach that lesson. He says that when God led Israel safely through the waters of the Red Sea it was a type of Baptism. They had been slaves in their past, old way of life. But when God rescued them, He led them through the water and gave them a new life. In this new way of life, the Israelites were supposed to live and act differently. They were supposed to separate themselves from that old, dead way of living and leave it behind. Paul also points out that the Israelites received food and drink from God along the way to sustain them in their new life. In fact, he says that it was Christ Himself who was sustaining them throughout their journey. The problem is that some of the Israelites took these blessings for granted. Worse than that, they thought that they could play both sides of the fence. They thought they could live in the safety of their new life with God while at the same time doing the evil things that they had learned in their old, dead ways back in Egyptian slavery. They engaged in a horrendous display of idolatry While insisting that they were still the chosen people of God. Paul makes it very clear that is not possible because God won’t tolerate it. The destroyed those Israelites who slipped back into their old, sinful ways.
So, do you see the comparison and the warning that Paul is making? When we are Baptized, it's just like the experience of the Israelites passing through the Red Sea. In our Baptism, God rescues us and calls us out of our dead, old sinful way of life. Through the water of Baptism, God drowns, that is, He destroys the power of sin that had made us slaves. Now we are free to live in the new life that God has given to us. God wants and expects us to act differently in this new life. He also provides food to sustain our souls. It's the spiritual food that we receive through the preaching and teaching of His holy Word along with the Lord's Supper. Like the Israelites, though, the danger is that we may be tempted to take these blessings for granted. Worse yet is when we try to play both sides of the fence; enjoying the security of being a Baptized child of God while at the same time dabbling in the things that people who are dead in sin enjoy. God wouldn’t tolerate that with the Israelites and He won't tolerate it in us either.
You see, it doesn’t matter if you were Baptized recently or a long time ago. Every one of us is faced with the temptation to slide back into that old, dead way of life that God saved us from. Paul is very realistic about all this when he says in verse 13 “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.” In other words, just because you’ve been Baptized and are now a Christian, you are not immune from temptation. And please notice, Paul doesn’t say "If" these temptations come. He clearly says that they WILL come. It’s part of living in our fallen, sinful world. The difference for a Baptized Christian is that we no longer have to give in to those temptations. Christ has broken the power that used to control us. Now we have His power to resist and say “no” when tempted to return to that dead way of life.
That power is what Paul is talking about in the remainder of verse 13. He says, "God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." What a promise! And what a great blessing we have received in our Baptism. We don’t have to undergo these fiery trials alone. God is there with us, giving us the strength to stand up against those temptations to sin. On the one hand, Paul warns us that sin is not something to fool around with or take lightly. It can destroy you. On the other hand, though, if we trust in God, sin cannot trap us because the Lord will provide a way of escape each and every time. In the power of our Baptism, we can endure and withstand the temptations to sin.
Let’s not be naive though. Baptized Christians are not perfect. We are still going to fall and give in to those temptations at times. But that's the big difference that Baptism makes. Yes, we’re sinners like everyone else. The difference is that we know we’re forgiven. Each and every day we can recognize our sins and confess them to God. We can revisit the glorious gift of our Baptism and reclaim the forgiveness that we first received there. By doing so, we are reclaiming the power to resist all the temptations that bombard us. And that's something which each and every Baptized Christian should do daily. As we remember our Baptism, we are reminded that God has called us out of our dead way of life. We’re not slaves to sin anymore. So, live in the freeing power of your Baptism. Don't neglect it or take it for granted. Rather, live as a forgiven Child of God, nurtured by His Word and Sacrament, fully trusting that your eternal salvation is secure in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!