Some are leaving the faith (deconstructing) because they are rejecting a false view of God’s deliverance. How many of us are weak in the face of trials and/or temptations? Pretty much all of us! The person who has been taught and believes that we will have the power in ourselves to overcome all trials in our own strength is bound to be horribly disillusioned. We must rely on God’s strength to give us contentment and have complete reliance on God in the face of trials. The false view should be rejected and replaced with the biblical view.
All of us have heard claims about things the “Bible says” that we do not find in the Bible. Some of these claims are just plain false, while others are likewise untrue but have the advantage of being humorous. The character of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof was constantly spouting things that supposedly “the good book says,” which were comically indicative of a man of faith who was not biblically literate:
Tevye:
As the good book says, when a poor man eats a chicken, one of them is sick.
Mendel:
Where does the book say that?
Tevye:
Well, it doesn’t say that exactly, but somewhere there is something about a chicken.
In another exchange, Tevye managed to name Biblical characters and quoted Biblical phrases but didn’t seem to be able to match the quote to the correct persons:
Tevye:
As Abraham said, “I am a stranger in a strange land…”
Rabbi’s Son:
Moses said that.
Tevye:
Ah. Well, as King David said, “I am slow of speech, and slow of tongue.”
Rabbi’s Son:
That was also Moses.
Tevye:
For a man who was slow of speech he talked a lot.
Quite funny, yet Tevye’s conclusion was false because the passages were taken out of their rightful context. It also demonstrates the ease with which someone may think they have biblical knowledge when they do not.
In our lives, we’ve sometimes heard such things as “The Bible says ‘God helps those who help themselves.’” This may have been said so often it seems like it must be in there somewhere. But, as hard as it may be to believe, it is actually nowhere to be found in the text of the Bible. In fact, the Scriptures teach the opposite. God cares for those who are not capable of helping themselves, which, as it happens, is all of us. Another popular text is, “God will never give you more than you can bear.” Again, we just don’t find it in God’s holy writ. The closest text maybe 1 Corinthians 10:13. As it happens, in context, the Apostle Paul is writing about temptation and sexual immorality, not difficulties in general. It will help if we back up from verse thirteen to the beginning of the chapter to get the meaning.
In 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, the Apostle Paul cites the Nation of Israel, who had been “baptized into Moses,” as examples of the engagement of the people of God in idolatry and sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 10:7-8) as well as the resulting judgment (1 Corinthians 10:9-10). Paul applies this to the Corinthians because some in the church there were engaging in idolatry and sexual immorality. He recited this history as examples and warnings and pointed out that this course of action didn’t work out so well for The Nation of Israel – and won’t work out well for them either:
Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. (1 Corinthians 10:12)
There were many idols to be worshiped and temple prostitutes enticing the Corinthian believers to partake, but Paul doesn’t leave the believers with no resources to combat the temptations that were all around them in Corinth. He wrote:
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. 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. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. (1 Corinthians 10:13-14)
Notice that Paul does not say God will remove the temptation – God would have to eliminate the city to do that – nor the desire fueled by the temptation. The tools He provides are fleeing and escaping temptation, which He strengthens us to do. Paul gives young Timothy the same counsel.