Recognize Your Vulnerability
By:
Charles Stanley
1
Corinthians 10:12-13
Some
Christians see a fellow believer fall into sin but fail to acknowledge
that they, too, could stumble. That's dangerous. Satan has them right where he
wants them: deceived by a false sense of confidence. Three enemies are
constantly at work trying to bring us down: the Devil, his world system, and
our own treacherous flesh.
Even
though believers have a righteous standing before God, we must each, like Paul,
acknowledge an internal problem: "sin which dwells in me" (Rom.
7:20). Satan takes full advantage of this weakness, luring us with fleshly and
worldly temptations. He stokes our pride so we'll be blinded to our own
vulnerability to stumbling.
Christians
need to be continually on guard. Since ignorance--of the nature of sin, the
strategies of the Enemy, and our own areas of weakness--sets us up for failure,
we cannot afford to be careless in our thinking. Anytime you find yourself
excusing, redefining, or rationalizing sin, you've lost your sensitivity to the
Lord. God's Word must always fill our minds and direct our steps.
If
you've drifted from the Lord, turn back to Him by acknowledging your sin and
accepting full responsibility for it. Repentance simply means changing your mind and
going in a different direction--toward God instead of away from Him.
The
next step is harder. Respond with gratitude for the Lord's chastisement. Every
time believers fall into sin, God lovingly works to bring them back into a
fellowship with Him. His discipline may be painful, but it's always good
because it brings us to our senses and reconnects us with our Father.