Verse of the day: 1 Corinthians 10:12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed
lest he fall.
I have to
admit that even though I have known the Lord as my Savior for many years, have studied
His Word, and have ministered to others in many ways, I still have not arrived.
Even though I have grown closer to Him over the years, I cannot claim that I am
any closer to being perfect. As a matter of fact, the closer I draw to Him, the
more He shows me just how sinful I really am. Every one of us, if we are
honest, would have to admit the same thing. The Apostle Peter, in Luke 5:8,
after witnessing the great catch of fish as he obediently cast his net, per
Jesus’ instruction, exclaimed, “Depart from me, I am a sinful man, O’ Lord!” I
find that the more I learn about who I really am, the more I want to say this.
However, praise be to God for His grace, love, and forgiveness. He is far more
patient with us than we deserve. A funny thing happens to us that sets us up
for a fall every time. The more we study and learn God’s Word, and the more we
are able to teach others or avoid sinful behavior, the more we develop that
false confidence that oftentimes turns into a prideful independent attitude.
Far too many born again believers, who have been saved for some time, fall into
the trap of thinking that they have arrived. The great danger in that is that
we become careless in our daily walk, exposing ourselves to temptations we
think we can, and have, overcome. The warning that the Apostle Paul gives us
here is one that should cause us to stop and examine where we are in our walk
with the Lord. Before giving this warning, he reminds us that the Israelites
fell to idolatry, sexual immorality, and murmuring. Today, we can easily be
tempted, and stumble, for the same reasons. The fact of the matter is that the
closer we seek to walk with the Lord, the more our enemy will try to take our
feet out from under us. Not all of us are tempted by the same things. One who
is tempted by sexually immoral behavior may not be tempted to murmur or vice
versa. One who gossips may not be covetous. However, when the person who is not
tempted by sexually immoral behavior sees someone fall to fornication or
adultery, and is critical and judgmental, forgetting that he/she is a gossiper,
covetous, and maybe even one who lies and causes division, the put themselves
on the path to a fall themselves. Pride often blinds us to our own
shortcomings. King David, after committing adultery with Bathsheba, was
confronted by Nathan, God’s messenger. When Nathan tells him the parable that
illustrates the wickedness of what King David did, he becomes furious and wants
the person killed, not realizing that he is the one Nathan spoke of (2 Sam 12).
We see another person’s sin so much more readily than we see our own; and that is
the danger of becoming so pious that we allow our own sense of “arriving” to
blind us to just how sinful we really are, and how easy it is to stumble, if we
do not remain vigilant. The Apostle Peter warns us in 1 Peter 5:8 to be sober
and vigilant because Satan goes to and fro looking to see who he can devour.
When we fail to stay vigilant, we become that target. There are two things that
can potentially happen when we draw near to God. The first, if we are not
careful, we can begin to slip away because of our lack of humility and
dependence on the Lord as we fill our heads with biblical knowledge and have
some superficial spiritual victories. This is where the warning of this verse
comes into play. The other is that, if we draw near to God in humility,
soberly, vigilantly; God will draw near to us, and the end result is that the
devil will ultimately flee (Jm 4:7-8). God clearly tells us that He makes a way
of escape with every temptation (v. 13). We may be strong in our walk today,
tomorrow, or even next week; but there is not one of us who knows what our
mental state, emotional state, or spiritual state will be a month from now.
Therefore, when we criticize someone who has stumbled today, and become harshly
judgmental, beware that we not be the one who stumbles tomorrow; for we have
been warned lest we fall, and to be humble lest we too be the one tempted (Gal 6:1-5).
Quite honestly, I do not know how any one of us can truly draw near to the Lord
without being humbled at what He shows us is truly in us. Praise God for His
shed blood that paid the price for our sins; for without His sacrifice we would
surely have no hope of redemption. Let us today, and always, prayerfully and
humbly draw near to Him; depending on Him to help us see the way of escape (and
taking it) when we are tempted to sin against Him.
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