“Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.”

1 Corinthians 10:12 NASB

(1) A SLOW LEAK – A frog placed in a pan of slowly heating water doesn’t know it is being cooked. The body temperature of this little cold-blooded creature changes to correspond with the temperature of their surroundings, so this little frog is unaware of the danger. Before this little frog realizes that they are in boiling hot water, death overtakes them! In much the same way, Peter’s “spiritual crash” didn’t just happen; it resulted from a gradual decline.

(2) The apostle yielded to circumstances that contributed to his downfall. In the upper room he was overconfident. Then, in the garden, he slept when he should have been praying. Failing to understand his Master’s redemptive purpose, he resisted the idea that Jesus would have to suffer and die. As soldiers arrested Jesus, the apostle impulsively drew his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant. Finally, gripped by fear when identified by a maid, he…

(3) …denied the Lord he loved. We shouldn’t regard Peter’s dramatic denial of Christ as only a (EXTERNAL), a first-century failure. It reflects a trauma known all too well to those of us who have been led into self-condemnation after being untrue to our Lord. And our failures, like Peter’s, usually follow a gradual pattern of decline. That’s why we must daily acknowledge our dependence on God and obey His Word. It’s the only way to avoid the tragedy of a cold heart…

(4) …that gets us into hot water. Most of us here this morning might say, “I am a Christian; I have nothing to fear.” But on what is your confidence founded? Think not that profession is true faith. The Word of God says, “Worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling.” Psalm 2:11 NASB. And what about this passage, “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,

(5) …work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” Philippians 2:12 NASB. Every once in a while I like to have—or should I say need—to read Scripture with a different take, like the AMP version: “Therefore let the one who thinks they stand firm [immune to temptation, being overconfident and self-righteous], take care that he does not fall [into sin and condemnation].” 1 Corinthians 10:12 AMP. We must never forget to be mindful of our weaknesses,…

(6) …that we may not be suddenly overtaken by a fault; and let our eye ever be directed to (HIM) who alone can keep us from falling. When we see anyone fall, think of our own danger. Daily we must fear God and walk circumspectly, so that we may not transgress His Word. Try yourself often, whether your heart is right with God and you are walking in the narrow way. Should you at any time be overtaken by a fault, take heed that you love not the sin, nor continue in it,…

(7) …but go forth with Peter and weep bitterly; betake yourself again to the blood of the covenant, the blood of sprinkling which speaks better things than the blood of Abel. And let your prayer ascend unto God with earnestness, that He would graciously increase your faith, render you more watchful in the future, and more simply dependent on Him, that He may uphold you with His right hand. Then may we express our confident persuasion with St. Paul, who said it this way…

(8) …“Neither height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:39 NASB. When I read this passage—or should I say that I will thus endeavor, by His grace, to keep myself; but should I fall, I will not cast away my confidence that God will raise me up again. I will go before Him with a broken and contrite heart, in the name of Jesus, and beseech Him, for the sake of His…

(9) …well-beloved Son, to have mercy on me and pardon my sin. I will not deem myself safe from the fear of evil till I have fought with all my heart to keep the faith that I started with, to finish my course, and shall at length go to receive the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me on that day. I understand that I have said a lot today, but if we don’t keep our guard up, we can easily fall back into our old self-defeating patterns.

(10) This is called relapse. Alcoholics start to drink again, overeaters regain the weight they’ve lost, gamblers return to the casinos, workaholics fill up their schedules again. It’s easy to slip back into old hurts, hang-ups, and habits. Regardless of the issue, the pattern is the same. Therefore let me close this morning with four principles. FIRST: Phase 1 is complacency. Relapse begins when we get comfortable. We’ve confessed our problems,…

(11) …dealt with them, and made real progress. Then we get comfortable and stop praying about it and working at it. Before we know it, we have become complacent. SECOND: Phase 2 is confusion. We begin to rationalize and play mental games with ourselves. We say things like, “Maybe my problem really wasn’t all that bad. I could have handled it myself.” We forget how bad it used to be. Reality becomes fuzzy and confused. THIRD: Phase 3 we compromise.

(12) Temptation is back. We return to the risky situations that got us into trouble in the first place. Compromise may begin with little things, but it won’t be long before the ground we’ve gained is lost. FOURTH: Phase 4 is a catastrophe. In this phase, we actually give in to the old hurts—or should I say hang-ups, or habits. Hate, resentment, and old behaviors return. But we need to understand this: The catastrophe is not the relapse. The relapse began in phase 1…

(13) …with complacency. The catastrophe is simply the end result, the acting-out phase of the pattern. Let us close this morning with a closing QUESTION: Are you content to maintain a “certain level of sin” in your life, keeping yourself convinced that you can tame and manage it? Mark it down: there is no such thing as a small sin. Every unconfessed sin is a seed that will inevitably produce a multiplied harvest. As Charles Spurgeon warned, “Those who tolerate sin…

(14) …in what they think to be little things will soon indulge it in greater matters.” Run to the cross; confess any sin the Holy Spirit has convicted you of, and trust Christ to root it out of your life—before the monster begins to outweigh you. Therefore we must endeavor, by His grace, to keep ourselves; but should I fall, I will not cast away my confidence that God will raise me up again. I will go before Him with a broken and contrite heart, in the name of Jesus, and beseech…

(15) …Him for the sake of His well-beloved Son, to have mercy on me and pardon my sin. I will not deem myself safe from the fear of evil till I have picked up “my own cross.” As Charles Spurgeon warned, “Those who tolerate sin in what they think to be little things will soon indulge it in greater matters.” Run to the cross; confess any sin the Holy Spirit has convicted you of, and trust Christ to root it out of your life—before the monster begins to outweigh us.