Being a pastor, I understand the need to pay close attention to God’s Word to protect myself. I can’t be so preoccupied with doing Kingdom work that I fail to guard myself against moral failure. What is the practical value of winning others to the Lord if I live my own life in defeat? Yet, some church leaders today find themselves in that very predicament.
So, how proactive are you in guarding yourself against falling? In the tenth chapter of Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth, he shares several of Israel’s misdeeds and the consequences they suffered. Then he writes, “Let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12, NASB).
Paul’s appeal aims to safeguard us against falling or failing. He specifically focuses on those who think they stand. They are the ones who are less inclined to pay close attention to themselves. Being overconfident that you are standing firmly can predispose you to not giving due attention to yourself.
Paul’s advise to the Corinthians to safeguard themselves from falling can be summed up in two words: “take heed.” It means to look at or to behold; in other words, pay attention. In the specific case of Paul’s letter to this church, “take heed” refers to Israel’s misdeeds and the consequences they suffered during the Old Testament. According to him, “These things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction….” (verse 11).
But instructions benefit us only to the extent that we pay close attention to them.
Reading but Not “Hearing”
Too often when we read the Bible, we read it and that’s it. By that I mean we don’t “take heed” to what we are reading. We don’t “hear” what God is saying to us through His Word. Hence, we fail to become vigilant and spiritually mature. For some, this is because their only goal is to get some Bible reading in so they can say they read the Bible for the day.
A lot of this has to do with what you believe about the Bible. I believe it is the Word of God. That being the case, when I read the Bible, I regard it as God speaking to me. Those who do not hold the Word of God in similar regard are not so inclined.
When you read your Bible, how often do you ask yourself, what is God saying to me through what I am reading?
Those who fail to take heed to the Word of God tend to be passive in guarding themselves against falling. And what better means do we have for guarding ourselves than the Word of God?
No, we don’t have to walk in moral excellence to go to heaven. We are saved by grace through faith in Christ. But still it is the will of God for us to a live victorious life in Christ. This is how we glorify Him through our life.
We Are Serving the Same God
According to Paul, the things that happened to Israel in the past are for our example and are written for our instruction. This speaks to the immutability of God. That means, He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. That also means the things that displeased God in the past displease Him today.
In the Old Testament, God expressed His displeasure with the Israelites through the consequences they suffered. For instance, Paul talks about how 23,000 people died in one day because of their idolatry (verse 8). And those who were bitten by fiery serpents and died because they tried the Lord (verse 9).
We know that under this Grace Covenant wherein we stand, God’s response to our misconduct will not be as swift they were during the Old Covenant. Nor as deadly. Still, we are warned to “take heed,” so we don’t fall. That tells me that even under grace, there can be consequences for our disobedience.
This should not seem strange to us. God is our heavenly Father. He loves His children. And, “Whom the Lord loves He disciplines” (Hebrews 12:6, NASB).
Finally, note that Paul was writing to the church at Corinth, but he warned them to give heed to the misdeeds of the Israelites. In other words, he wrote to a New Testament (NT) church but invoked events from the Old Testament (OT). Some Christians think that because they are under the New Testament that the Old Testament of the Bible does not apply to them.
But the truth is that we should pay close attention to the Scriptures in the OT and the NT. In the latter covenant, we are serving the same God of the former. What pleased Him or displeased Him in the OT also displeases Him now.
Copyright © 2024 by Frank King. All rights reserved.