WATCH YOUR LIFE, BE CAREFUL

(Part 2)

1 Cor. 16:13

Morning Meditation 3/9/17

Verse 13 says, "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong." This is one of Paul's final exhortations to the Christians in Corinth. This will not be his final word to them because there will be a second epistle. But as he comes to the close of this epistle, he makes this important statement. "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong."

In our last meditation I said we need to watch our own personal weaknesses. Next,

WE NEED TO WATCH FOR TRAPS SET FOR US BY SATAN

2 Corinthians 2:11 says, "Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices." Peter warns in his epistle, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour." The same idea of watchfulness is in this warning. We have a real enemy. He is roaming about seeking whom he may devour. Someone has said that the Lord Jesus pulled Satan's teeth and the most he can do is gum us. I'm like the guy who was camping out on a lake with a friend and was sent after some water to boil for coffee. He was not gone long. He returned with an empty bucket. When asked why he didn't get water, he replied that there was a snake in the path. He was told by his friend that the snake wouldn't bother him. He replied, "It's not what the snake will do to me, it is what the snake will make me to do to myself that scares me!" Well, the argument that Satan doesn't have teeth does not remove his "roar," his "gumming power," and his swallowing power. You see the word "devour" translates "katapino" meaning, "to drink down, swallow down." It is an aorist active subjunctive verb. That means in the aorist tense and the subjunctive mood that it is possible for him to gulp a person down in ONE SWALLOW! That neutralizes the teaching about the TEETH!!!

Paul says in 2 Cor. 2:11, " . . . for we are not ignorant of his devices.." The words "we are not ignorant" means that these believers had been informed already about Satan and his work to defeat the Christian. The word "devices" translates, "noema" and means, "a mental perception, thought, an evil purpose, that which thinks, the mind, thoughts or purposes." Based on this definition what Paul is teaching here is that Satan has carefully thought out plans to trap us into sin where he will defeat God's purpose in our lives. We are the ones with the message of salvation that has the power to rescue people from Satan's kingdom. So when he messes up one of God's children, he defeats God's purpose to that extent.

We are told to "watch" or to be alert. We are to be vigilant which means that we are under a constant impending distress warning. What are some of the "devices" that Satan uses to trap us? The immediate context identifies one.

Verse 10 of First Corinthians two says, "To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ." Unwillingness to forgive is one of the traps or devices that Satan uses. Now before we talk about forgiveness, lets look at the idea of being trapped. The word "trap" is not used here. But it is in 2 Timothy 2:26: "And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will." The word "snare" translates "pagis" and means, "snare, trap, noose, of snares in which birds are entangled and caught, implies unexpectedly, suddenly, because birds and beasts are caught unawares."

When a bird or animal is caught in a snare, it loses its freedom. It is now at the mercy of the one who set the snare. There is nothing that Satan likes more than to have one of God's children in his snare and under his power. Satan has complete advantage when one is caught in his snare. The believer can say, "I am a believer in Christ and I am free." But those who hear may say, "then what is your foot doing in that trap? Where is your freedom? Are you talking about real freedom or is Christianity just a religion of the mind in a make believe world?" You see, we do not have an effective message when we preach with our foot caught in the snare. With our message we are telling the poor lost soul, "You can be free from the power of Satan, you can be translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son" (Col. 1:13). But if while we are preaching freedom, it is obvious that we ourselves have no freedom, how effective is the message?

It is possible to be saved and at the same time be trapped in Satan's snare. Christians who are caught in the snare are not very useful in that condition. The good news is that one can escape that snare. Be encouraged, you can be free again. Did you notice the above Scripture where Paul told Timothy in Second Timothy 2:26, "And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will." This is a "self recovery." The reason being that unforgiveness was the trigger of the snare. The trap is useless without a trigger. Satan cannot trip the trigger. He can't do that. Satan can set the trap but only we can trip the trigger.

Now in the case of our text Paul is warning the Christians at Corinth that Satan has a carefully thought out plan. He has set the trap. We must watch carefully lest we trip the trigger and are trapped and lose our liberty.

For the Christian not to forgive is the trigger on this particular trap. Paul dealt with the sinning brother in First Corinthians five. This brother was unrepentant and had to be dealt with as a matter of discipline. Paul said, "Deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus" (1 Cor. 5:5). I believe the church did what Paul suggested and the man later became repentant and wanted forgiveness. Discipline is for the purpose of restoration. The moment any offending brother shows repentance in the process of discipline, the process should stop right there, and the brother forgiven and restored to membership in the church. It is my belief that until this man in Corinth had been put out of the church, he was unrepentant. Once out of the church he saw the error of his way and asked for restoration (1 Cor. 2:7). The church was reluctant about forgiving him until they received further instructions from Paul. The verse we are studying is Paul's verbally inspired instruction on forgiveness. He says, "To whom ye forgive anything, I forgive also . . ."

Now lets take a careful look at this. If unforgiveness is a carefully laid plan of Satan to trap us and take away our liberty in Christ, and if unforgiveness is the trigger of the trap, it is impossible for us not to be caught in that trap if we choose to withhold our forgiveness. And if we have stepped into that trap and lost our Christian liberty by triggering the trap by an unforgiving spirit, the only way to be set free is to confess that we sinned in not forgiving our brother. The way of release is to confess to God we sinned so that we will be restored to fellowship with God and then forgive the brother so that we are restored to him.

It is impossible to answer all the questions that forgiveness raises. I am reading a book right now, and I am being encouraged and helped by the book, that teaches unconditional forgiveness of one's brother. The commonly used Scripture to project this idea is Ephesians 4:32: "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." So that you will understand what is being taught on the extent of unconditional forgiveness I quote from the book I have been reading. I will not give the name of the author or the name of book because my purpose is not to condemn the man or the book but rather to address what I consider to be an Unscriptural view of forgiveness held many if not most. He says, "I dare you to pray like this every morning: God, I don't know the things that will happen to me today. Maybe some of them will be bad. Sometime today someone will probably hurt me, but I forgive them already. One thing I'm sure of: Nothing will happen to me today that will require a forgiveness like the kind You have already granted me. Thank You for Your forgiveness. Help me to forgive as I have been forgiven.'"

I ask what to me is a very important question. Do you believe in universal salvation? I mean by that, since Jesus died for all men and paid the debt, are all men going to be saved? I know what you are thinking. You don't have to tell me. Jesus died for all and all can be forgiven. But only those who repent and ask for forgiveness will be forgiven. Jesus stands ready to forgive and will at the moment the sinner will change his mind (repent) and believe in Him as Saviour and Lord. Now to reemphasize the question above. Did the Lord forgive you before you asked? If this is true, then all men will be saved. If He waited for you to repent and believe the gospel, then you were not forgiven UNTIL YOU FACED YOUR RESPONSIBILITY of sin and ASKED HIS FORGIVENESS.

The Lord's rule concerning forgiveness is to forgive AS we have been forgiven. If someone asks your forgiveness, and if for any reason you withhold it, you are as guilty as the one who offended you. You say, "That man did me harm. I didn't deserve that kind of treatment. Do you mean that he can do that to me and all he has to do is to walk up and ask for forgiveness and I am to forgive and act like nothing ever happened?" Yes, that is exactly what the Bible teaches. THIS IS WHAT JESUS DID FOR YOU WHEN YOU ASKED.

That to a lot of people is like asking the impossible. It is impossible apart from dying to self and a willingness to have the mind of Christ (Phil. 2:5-8).

What if the person never asks forgiveness? Then you are treat the situation exactly like Jesus. Jesus stands ready to forgive. As the sinner continues in his sins and they build as mountains, He stands ready to wipe them all away the moment the sinner repents and receives Him as a personal Saviour. We are not allowed to carry grudges. We are not allowed to be bitter towards the one who offended us. It is not ours to judge him for his wrong. That is God's business. Whatever wrong another does to us, we are to operate under the Lordship of Christ, relinquishing any supposed right to get even with Him, and live out His life of love and forgiveness while we are on this earth.

If someone has wronged you, and you are bitter because of it, you are in the trap that Satan set for you. You have lost your liberty. The way of freedom is to stand ready to forgive and if the person never asks for forgiveness, release him in your own mind and heart from any responsibility to you. Until you release him, you are in bondage. You say, "Preacher, he owes me." As long as you think that you are in the trap. You see, when you set him free you set yourself free. Only he is still in bondage to the Lord, and if he has done wrong, the Lord will deal with him in his own time and in His own way.

We must watch for traps that Satan has set for us along way. There are many traps. I have just used one to illustrate the principle.

May the Lord give us sharp spiritual eyes to see the traps that Satan has set for us.

God bless each of us in this spiritual warfare.

In Christ

Bro. White