1 Corinthians 9:24–10:13

²⁴Surely you know that many runners take part in a race, but only one of them wins the prize. Run, then, in such a way as to win the prize. ²⁵Every athlete in training submits to strict discipline, in order to be crowned with a wreath that will not last; but we do it for one that will last for ever. ²⁶That is why I run straight for the finishing line; that is why I am like a boxer who does not waste his punches. ²⁷I harden my body with blows and bring it under complete control, to keep myself from being disqualified after having called others to the contest.

Warnings against Idols

10^*I want you to remember, my brothers and sisters, what happened to our ancestors who followed Moses. They were all under the protection of the cloud, and all passed safely through the Red Sea. ²In the cloud and in the sea they were all baptized as followers of Moses. ^3*All ate the same spiritual bread ^4*and drank the same spiritual drink. They drank from the spiritual rock that went with them; and that rock was Christ himself. ^5*But even then God was not pleased with most of them, and so their dead bodies were scattered over the desert.

^6*Now, all this is an example for us, to warn us not to desire evil things, as they did, ^7*nor to worship idols, as some of them did. As the scripture says, “The people sat down to a feast which turned into an orgy of drinking and sex.” ^8*We must not be guilty of sexual immorality, as some of them were—and in one day 23,000 of them fell dead. ^9*We must not put the Lordⁿ to the test, as some of them did—and they were killed by snakes. ^10*We must not complain, as some of them did—and they were destroyed by the Angel of Death.

¹¹All these things happened to them as examples for others, and they were written down as a warning for us. For we live at a time when the end is about to come.

¹²Those who think they are standing firm had better be careful that they do not fall. ¹³Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out.