I Corinthians 10:12  Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
14  Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
15  I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say.

Self-confidence is sin. The apostle Paul was directed to declare:

Philippians 4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Romans 3:27  Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
28  Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

The hope of the true child of God must be in God. When we think we can handle things on our own, we will fall.
Peter assumed he was strong enough to withstand the pressure that Jesus would face prior to His arrest. Jesus warned him of the danger that was ahead for him. Peter and the others insisted they would stand. The others ran away when Jesus was arrested. Peter followed at a distance and hung around with others. He was accused of being one of Jesus’ disciples three times and each time he denied the facts. At one point he even cursed to try to prove he was not Jesus’ disciple. We see there that cursing does not fit with the true child of God.
In our text, Paul was directed to warn against self-confidence. True saints must stand, however they do not stand on their own. True saints also need to be careful not to put themselves in the place of temptation, seeking to dare the devil to tempt them, and seeking to tempt God to protect them. A true child of God will not go into a bar. He will not go to a dance. He will not consume alcohol, etc.
The apostle Paul has already mentioned several sins that the child of God cannot be involved in. The true child of God understands that the devil is the father of lies. He deceived Eve by trying to paint God as a cruel God.
The true child of God looks at the privilege of being able to glorify God in all things. Sin does not glorify God. We must remember that God defines sin, not we as people. Sin is the transgression of God’s law.
In verse 13 we are reminded of God’s goodness to His child. He will never allow His child to be tempted above what he is able to handle. God knows our weaknesses better than we do. Jesus Christ knew Peter’s weakness prior to His arrest. He knew Peter could not handle the pressure at that time. Peter allowed his curiosity and his pride to get the better of him. Jesus had already told him that He would be arrested, tried, convicted, crucified, buried, and rise again. Peter did not need a ‘front row seat’ at Jesus’ trial. He needed to humble himself and believe Jesus. He chose not to listen and he fell. The good news is that Jesus was there to pick him up again.
Paul wrote that God is faithful. He will not allow His child to be tempted above what he is able to bear. The true child of God does not deliberately defy God. If he is serving the Lord faithfully, God will protect him. If he taunts God, he may just find out how foolish that is. God is gracious, but He is also just. God will provide a way to escape temptation for those who are saved and walking humbly with Him. The Corinthian saints did not need to be involved in sin. They had been raised in idolatry, but they were now saved. They could honour God if they would listen to Him. As we have noted before, carnality was not acceptable. They were fighting over who was the best teacher. All the men mentioned in the opening chapters were servants of the true God. Their doctrine was the same. They did not teach a compromising message.
In verse 14 the obvious conclusion to idolatry was to flee from it. That is not a picture of cowardice or weakness. The ungodly believed in the philosophies of their idolatry. The saints needed to understand that those philosophies were wrong, but the devil was subtle. He had his ways to deceive. The only protection for the saint is to draw nigh to God and trust in Him to provide the way of escape we need to take. Jesus engaged with the Pharisees and their ilk often. He never endorsed them. He never submitted to their teaching. He exposed them for who they truly were. They were guilty of twisting the Scriptures for their own benefit. Jesus rejected that and exposed it.
In the Old Testament, Joseph was a godly man. Potiphar’s wife was a wicked woman. She tried to get Joseph to fall. At one point she thought she had him cornered. He fled and left his cloak behind. He did not know what Potiphar’s wife would do with that, but he kept himself pure. He spent a few years in prison, wrongly accused, but he kept himself pure there as well. God honoured him in a way he never expected.
In verse 15, Paul acknowledged that he was speaking to the wise. The saved have access to the wisdom of God. They had the capacity to judge what Paul was saying properly. They would know that what he was saying was absolutely correct. Paul was directed by God to remind the recipients that they would prove who they truly were by their response to his message to them. The true child of God does not argue with the truth. The carnal saints in Corinth were arguing about many things. They needed to stop and think of who they were. They were saved through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. They had no reason to waffle and look like the lost. They had been saved. They needed to live like blood bought saints.
The same is true for all born again Christians. We are not part of the world’s system. We do not take our orders from the world. We are called unto holiness. Holiness is defined by God, not man. Holiness is the absence of sin.

I John 5:19  And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.

True saints do not submit to the wickedness of the world. They submit to the holiness of God. They glorify Him in their choices and they are a light in a dark and dying world. That is what God’s Word declares. Paul was speaking to the wise. They would see things as he declared them to be. They would see that what he was saying was exactly what God wanted them to hear.
It is important to be truly wise. We can be wise if we are saved. Those who are lost lack that wisdom.
Pastor Bartel