Acknowledge your vulnerability
Some the Christians seeing another believer fall into sin, but not recognizing that they too might stumble. It’s dangerous. Satan has them where he wants them: deceived by a false sense of confidence. Three enemies are constantly at work 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, recognize an internal problem: “the sin that dwells in me” (ROM. 7:20). Satan takes full advantage of this weakness, luring us with carnal and worldly temptations. It stokes our pride, so we will be blinded by our own vulnerability to stumbling.
Christians must be constantly on guard. Since ignorance – of the nature of sin, of the enemy’s strategies, and of our own areas of weakness – sets us up for failure, we cannot afford to be careless in our thinking. Every time you find yourself excusing, redefining, or rationalizing sin, you have lost your sensitivity to the Lord. The Word of God must always fill our minds and direct our steps.
If you have strayed from the Lord, return to Him by acknowledging your sin and accepting His full responsibility. Repentance simply means changing your mind and going in a different direction – toward God instead of away from Him.
The next step is more difficult. Respond with gratitude for the Lord’s chastisement. Whenever believers fall into sin, God lovingly works to bring them back into fellowship with Him. His discipline may be painful, but it is always good because it brings us to our senses and reconnects us with our Father.
For more than’information Bible and resource materials from Dr. Charles Stanley, please visit www.intouch.org.
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Used with permission of In Touch Ministries, Inc. © 2019 All rights reserved.
Originally published on May 23, 2020.
