Would you turn with me to the
10th chapter of 1st Corinthians? Now, the message I'm going to
bring tonight does not in any way contradict what I said this
morning. Where we're called upon to come
with boldness into the Lord's presence. Yet, look at this passage
of scripture we're going to look at. Verse 12. fall. Now, I think I'm standing. I believe I am. And yet this
passage of Scripture says to me, take heed. Lest you fall. Now, I certainly believe in the
preservation and the perseverance of the Saints. The Bible teaches
that. But this is a needful warning
to you and me. Do you think you stand? Take heed. Take heed, lest ye
fall. Now, Paul had expressed this
fear in verse 26 of 1 Corinthians chapter 9. He said, I therefore
so run, not as uncertainly so fight I, not as one that beateth
the air, But I keep under my body, literally, I give myself
a black eye. That's the way that literally
reads. I give myself a black eye, lest that by any means,
when I preach to others, I myself should be a reprobate, a castaway. And that scared Paul. Scares
me, too. Scares me. I don't want to be
a castaway. And Paul says, if I don't give
myself a black eye, if I just go ahead and give in to the flesh,
if I say, well, I believe salvation is by grace. Therefore, I'm not
going to worry about anything. And I give in to the flesh. Hey,
salvation is by grace. You don't need to worry about
your sin. You don't need to worry about your disobedience because
salvation is by grace. If I do that, Paul says, I will
prove that I am no more than a castaway, even though I preach
the gospel to others. Now, this thought is being continued
in chapter 10. Moreover, brethren. For brethren,
that's the word for or moreover, it's continuing the thought. He said, I would not that you
should be ignorant. How that all our fathers were
under the cloud and all passed through the sea and were all
baptized into Moses in the cloud and the sea. They did all eat
the same spiritual meat and did all drink the same spiritual
drink. For they drank of that spiritual rock that followed
them, and that rock was Christ. But with many of them, God was
not well pleased. For they were overthrown in the
wilderness. Look down in verse 11. Now all
these things happened unto them, for example, And they're written
for our admonition, our warning upon whom the ends of the world
are come. Now, Paul is talking about these
people that experienced these great things. They were under
that cloud. Miraculously, that moved and
they would move with it. They were under the cloud. These
are the people who saw the parting of the Red Sea. and they walked
through it. Can you imagine how awesome that
must have been? They saw the water on the sides
and they walked through it on dry land. What a miraculous thing. They experienced this. They saw
that manna come down from heaven. And they ate of that manna. Now you want to talk about an
experience. They ate of that manna. They saw Moses smite the
rock. They saw water come out of the
rock, and the Scripture says that rock followed them, and
that rock was Christ. Did that rock literally follow
them? I guess it did. It says that. How that is, I
don't know. I don't understand it. But if
it says that, I believe it. I believe it. And that rock was
Christ, and that illustrates the gospel. Christ smitten, and
life-giving water comes from Him. And they actually drank
of that water. You want to talk about an experience
It says in verse two, they were all baptized into Moses in the
cloud. And then you see, you say you've
been baptized. They were too, typically. They
ate that manna, verse three. They did all eat the same spiritual
meat. They did all drink the same spiritual drink, but they
drank of that spiritual rock that followed them. And that
rock was Christ. Now, you want to talk about some
experience. I want you to think about what
these people experience. Can your experience measure up
to this? It is an amazing experience,
but with many of them, verse five, God was not well pleased
even after they experienced all these things, for they were overthrown
in the wilderness by God. Do you remember how many people
made it into the promised land of all those people that left
Egypt. And there were some estimates
say 200, I mean 2 million, at least 600,000 adult men. But
of all those people that left Egypt and experienced these miracles,
they drank of the water, they ate the man, and they walked
through the Red Sea, and they had such experiences that you
and I, can you imagine if you'd experienced these things? And
yet the Scripture says only two of them made it into the Promised
Land. All the adults over 20 were slain
in the wilderness, and only two made it into the Promised Land,
Caleb and Joshua. And what happened to them is
written as a warning and an example to us of what verse 6 says. Now,
these things were our examples. They're our examples to the intent
that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. Now it is only that one, and
may God give me grace to say this the way it ought to be said. It is only the one who endures
to the end. That shall be saved. It's only
that one who continues in the faith. That shall be saved. And that leads me to ask this
question. Can a man fall from grace? I know this, if he can, he will. Isn't that so? If he can, he
will. If it is possible for you or
I to fall from grace, you can be dead sure that you and I will
fall from grace. You don't have the strength to
persevere. And without doubt, The Bible
teaches what we call the security of the believer. All of those
that God elected, all of those that Christ died for, all of
those that God the Holy Spirit gives life to, will most assuredly
be saved. There's no doubt whatsoever about
that. It is impossible for somebody
that Jesus Christ died for to end up going to hell. His sins
are paid for. He's got Christ's righteousness.
How can he go to hell? A believer, a true believer,
cannot fall away. They are eternally secure. Now,
let me show you this in the scripture. Would you turn with me to 2 Timothy,
chapter 1. Verse 8. Be not thou therefore ashamed
of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be
thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the
power of God who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling,
not according to our works, but according to His own purpose
and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began. Now here's the question I want
to ask you. We just read that passage of Scripture. He saved
us and He called us. Now here's the question I want
to ask you. What came first? The saving or the calling? What came first? the saving or
the calling. It says, He saved us and called us. What came first? He saved us. Now listen, beloved,
my salvation was accomplished completely outside of my personal
subjective experience. My salvation was accomplished
when my Lord bowed his mighty head and said, it is what? Finished. Finished. That's when my salvation was
accomplished. Now, what is the evidence that
God has saved me? Perseverance. That's the evidence
that God saved me. I listened to that message that
Bruce Crabtree preached while I was gone, and I loved what
he said. He brought out how the Lord makes
the difference. I've prayed for you, Peter. He was the difference between
Peter and Judas. I've prayed for you, and he asked
this question. How can I know if he prays for me? Well, if
you persevere. If you persevere through all
your stumbling and all your falling, but if you continue looking to
Christ, it's because He prays for you. That's why. He is the
difference. Turn to Colossians chapter 1. Now, I'm going to read a passage
of Scripture we read quite often, but I want to read another verse
along with it that is just as essential. Colossians chapter
1, verse 20. This is what the Lord did, having
made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him, to reconcile
all things unto Himself. By Him, I say, whether they be
things in earth or things in heaven, and you that were sometimes
alienated in enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now
hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death to
present you. And that's literally having presented
you. It's in the past tense. Having
presented you. Not something that's going to
happen in the sweet by and by. It's something that's already
been accomplished. Having presented you before His
Father. This is everybody He died for.
Holy. Unblameable. And unapprovable. In His sight. Now can somebody
like that fall away? You know the answer to that question,
but let's go on reading. We're not being honest if we
don't continue reading. Verse 23. If you continue in
the faith. Grounded and settled and be not
moved away from the hope of the gospel. Now, what is the evidence? that you or I are wholly and
unblameable and unreprovable in God's sight. What's the evidence? If I continue in the faith, grounded
and settled, and I'm not moved from the hope, the one hope of
the gospel. The writer of the Hebrews said
we're made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our
confidence, steadfast to the end. It's only that one who endures
to the end. Our Lord said, he that endureth
to the end, not just the one who begins, not just the one
who says, well, I believe sovereign grace, but that one who continues
all the way to the end, that's the one who shall be saved. Now,
perseverance is not God's people are secure. Therefore, as long
as I'm saved, I can live as an unbeliever and still be saved
because God's people are eternally secure. No, that's not what perseverance
is. Now, let me repeat, that is not
what perseverance is. If somebody believes that's what
perseverance is, they have no idea what the grace of God actually
teaches. That's not what perseverance
is. No, it's only the one who endures to the end that should
be saved. Our Lord said, if you continue. In my word. Then are you my disciples
indeed? Now, if I say once saved, always
saved, don't need to concern myself about following Christ
salvation by grace and not by works. So I don't need to worry. All I do with that kind of attitude
is prove that I'm nothing more than a castaway. That's what
that attitude says. That's not perseverance, that's
presumption. That's presumption. And that's
why Paul said, let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. Now, in this passage of Scripture,
Paul named five events that took place in the wilderness that
led to their fall. Now, remember, these people came out and they
had a very impressive experience, didn't they? I mean, I'd like
to experience what they experienced. I mean, they saw these physical
miracles. They were the people God brought out of Egypt. And
yet only two of them made it into the promised land. The rest
of them died in the wilderness, and we're going to look at all
of them briefly. And I think, Lord willing, I'm going to go
back and look at them one at a time after that, because these are
so very important. Now, if you fall away. Here is what will cause you to
fall away. These events that take place
right here, these things are written to warn us. Now, the
fire is hot. Don't touch it. Don't touch it. If you touch the fire, you'll
be burned. Now, do we say to a believer, now, no, if a believer
touches it, he won't be burned. Don't say that at all, do we?
You see, God uses this warning to keep us persevering. The fire's
hot. If you touch it, you'll be burned.
And if you and I do what is described in these five different events
that he speaks of, We will end up falling away and not continuing
in the faith and you and I know we I mean I'm so thankful right
now. I've continued. I've seen people
who I really thought were believers. Where are they now? How many
times have you seen that people that you had confidence in and
yet where are they now if you continue? In my word, didn't
He? My disciples, indeed. I tell
you what, now this is a scary, solemn thing to think about.
I'm looking at some people who I dearly love. I'm talking about
you. I'm talking about myself. What if any of you quit? Well,
I know this, if you can, you will. No doubt about it. Everybody in here. Now, the first thing that. He
warns us about is lusting after evil things, look back in our
text. First Corinthians, Chapter 10,
verse six. Now, these things. Were our examples
to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as
they also lusted days. Referring to an event that took
place in the book of Numbers, Numbers chapter 11. Would you
turn with me there? We're going to go over these quickly and
we're going to come back in the coming weeks and consider them more
closely. Numbers chapter 11. Verse four. And the mixed multitude that
was among them fell a lusting. And the children of Israel also
wept again. They were affected by the mixed
multitude. And they said, Who shall give
us flesh to eat? Now, they were tired of the mammoth. We want
meat. You know, I understand that.
I want meat, too. I mean, that's my favorite kind
of thing. If I can only have one kind of thing to eat, I want
meat. And I would have been one of these people saying this.
I don't have any doubt about it. I mean, they said, We want meat. Who
shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish which we
had in Egypt. freely, the cucumbers and the
melons and the leaves and the onions and the garlic. And now
our soul is dried away. There's nothing at all beside
this manna. Before our eyes, they were tired
of the manna. Look in verse 18 of the same
chapter. They were dissatisfied with the
man. Verse 18, say unto the people,
sanctify yourselves against tomorrow, and you shall eat flesh. For
you've wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give
us flesh to eat? For it was well with us when we were in Egypt,
and therefore the Lord will give you flesh, and you'll eat. You're
going to have what you want. You shall eat not one day, nor
two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days, but
even a whole month, until it come out of your nostrils. And
it be loathsome unto you, because that you despised the Lord which
is among you. And it wept before him, saying,
Why came we forth out of Egypt? Look down in verse 31. And there
went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought quails from the sea,
and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day's journey on
the side, and as it were a day's journey on the other side, round
about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face
of the earth. They had so much food, it was
two cubits high, three feet. And the people stood up all that
day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered
the quails. He that gathered least gathered
ten omers, and they spread them abroad for themselves, and round
about the camp. And while the flesh was yet between their teeth,
the air was chewed, The wrath of the Lord was kindled against
the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great
plague. Now, they became dissatisfied
with the manna. Now, you know as well as I do
that that manna represents the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the
bread that came down from heaven. He himself said that. I am the
bread that came down from heaven. He is our necessary food. And I'm saved only by him. Do you believe that? Now, these people got tired of
this. It was not enough to satisfy
them. They began to lust after what
they had in Egypt, and this represents not being satisfied with Christ.
Now, obviously, they never really saw the beauty that there is
in Christ, or they wouldn't have been saying this. Isn't that
so? If you ever see the beauty of
the Lord Jesus Christ and the completeness of the salvation
that's in Him, if you ever see that you're complete in Him,
are you going to be looking for anything else? You're really not, are
you? But whenever somebody starts
looking for something else, we're tired of this. We're lusting
for other things. We remember the leeks and the
onions and the garlic and all the stuff we had in Egypt. Whenever
somebody starts lusting after something other than Christ,
the things of this world, they begin to fall away. Now, if you or if I. Become dissatisfied. With being
saved by Christ. We've begun to fall away, that's
the beginning of the end. Now back to our text in First
Corinthians, Chapter 10. We're going to look at all these
passages briefly. First Corinthians, Chapter 10,
what he says next in verse seven. Neither be he idolaters, as some
of them were. As it's written, the people sat
down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play. Now, the next
warning is against idolatry, and he's referring to what took
place in Exodus 32. Would you turn there? Exodus
32. And when the people saw that
Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, The people gathered
themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us
God, which shall go before us. For this Moses, the man that
brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we want not what is
become of him. And Aaron said unto him, Break
off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives,
of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. And all
the people break off the golden earrings which were in their
ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their
hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a
molten calf. And they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which
brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw
it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made proclamations,
said, Tomorrow is a feast to the golden calf. He didn't say
that, did he? He said, Tomorrow is a feast
to the Lord. We're going to worship the Lord.
This golden calf is a visible representation of the Lord. And
they rose up early on the morrow and offered burnt offerings and
brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat
and drink, and they rose up to play. I think that's interesting. He calls this playing. Play. Idolatry. This is the next wording.
Idolatry. What is the sin that Israel kept
falling into over and over and over again? Idolatry. Making a false God. Now, it's not only talking about
the idols that they made, the molten idols, but idolatry in
its very essence is a false idea of God. It's a man-made God.
It's a God we feel comfortable with. And the reason someone
makes an idol is because they don't love God as He is, so they
change Him. We feel more comfortable with
this. And that's exactly what they did at this time. They made
a golden calf. They said, this will help us
to worship. This is a visible representation of God. This will
help us in our worship. And so the scripture says they
sat down to eat and drink and they rose up to play. Now, idolatry, a likeness of God,
a man-made God. Whenever someone makes an idol
in that sense, the beginning of the end has started. There's
only one God. The God of the Bible, the God
and father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, as he is,
as he's revealed in his word and idolatry is more than statues
and images. If a man made out, it's a man
made idea about God and where idolatry is given into the word
of God has been forsaken and it will cause a fall. So this
is the next thing he warns us about idolatry. false images
and imaginations of God. Now let's look back in 1 Corinthians
10. Let's look at the third thing he mentions. Neither let us commit fornication.
Verse 8, 1 Corinthians 10. Neither let us commit fornication
as some of them committed and fell in one day three and twenty
thousand. Now what he's talking about is
something that took place in Numbers 25. Would you turn with me there?
Numbers 25. Verse one. And Israel abode in Shittim,
and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of
Moab. And they called the people unto
the sacrifices of their gods, and the people did eat and bowed
down to their gods, and Israel joined himself unto Baal Peor. And the anger of the Lord was
kindled against Israel. Now, here's what had taken place.
If you'll read Numbers 22 through 24, we have the story of Balaam. And do you remember how the king
of Moab was trying to get Balaam to curse Israel? And Balaam wouldn't
do it. But yet Balaam kept opening up
the door. He wouldn't curse him, but he said, well, let me see
if the Lord will say something else. Let me see if the Lord will say something
else. As a matter of fact, Balaam is the great type of a false
prophet. He's mentioned three times in the New Testament as
the arch-false prophet. Now, he wouldn't come out and
curse Israel. He wouldn't do that. He was afraid
to. But notice, after the history of Balaam, we read where all
of a sudden the children of Israel joined up with the Moabites and
married their wives, committed fornication with them, and then
committed idolatry. Now, turn with me for a moment
to Numbers 31, and let's see what happened behind the scenes. Numbers 31, verse 14. And Moses was wroth with the
officers of the host, and with the captains over thousands,
and the captains over hundreds, which came from battle. And Moses
said unto them, Have you saved all the women alive? Behold,
these caused the children of Israel through the counsel of
Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor.
And there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord.
Now, why did they get with the Moabites? Through the counsel
of Balaam. Balaam couldn't get him to deny
God. He was afraid to do that. He
wouldn't get him to deny God, but he got him to compromise.
He said, join up with the Moabites. Join up. So they joined up with
the Moabites. They married their wives. They
committed fornication. And what took place out of it?
They ended up worshiping Baal. The compromise of what they were
supposed to do opened up the door for every other sin. And
that's what happened. They compromised the gospel.
And that's what this warning is against. It's the warning
of compromise. Compromising the truth of God.
Opening up the dam just a little bit. One little crack in the
dam, it'll break the whole thing down. What he's talking about
is compromise. And it caused In that day, 23,000
to die. And, you know, spiritual fornication. And that's what was going on
here. Spiritual fornication will end up in fleshly fornication.
Spiritual sin, compromise will always end up in sin every time.
And that's what he's warning them about. OK, back to our text
in First Corinthians, Chapter 10. Verse 9. Neither let us tempt
Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of
serpents. Now, you know what this is referring
to. This is referring to the serpent in the wilderness in
Numbers 21. So let's turn over there real
quick, please. Numbers 21. Verse nine. Verse nine, let's start in verse
four. And they journeyed from Manhor
by the way of the Red Sea to compass the land of Edom. And
the soul of the people was much discouraged because
of the way. What's an awful feeling, isn't
it? Discouragement. And the people spake against
God and against Moses. Wherefore have you brought us
up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there's no bread.
Neither is there any water. Now wait a minute. The manna
was still falling. This was a lie. And the water
was still coming out of the rock. This was a lie, but this is the
way they perceive things. There's no bread. Neither is
there water. And our soul loatheth this light
bread. Now that's what they called that
manna that came down from heaven. Light bread. It's not substantial. It's not enough to satisfy us.
So what does the Lord do? Verse six, And the Lord sent
fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, and
much people of Israel died. Therefore, the people came to
Moses and said, We've sinned, for we have spoken against the
Lord and against thee. Pray unto the Lord that he take
away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed to the people,
and the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, set
it on a pole, and it shall come to pass that everyone that's
bitten when he looketh upon it shall live. And when you know
this is the gospel, Moses made a serpent of brass and put it
upon a pole. And it came to pass that if a serpent had bitten
any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. But this
is called tempting the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, one other turn back
to text in first Corinthians 10. Neither murmur ye, verse 10.
As some of them also murmured and were destroyed of the destroyer. And this is a reference to the
spies coming back with their report in Numbers chapter 13.
Would you turn over there? Numbers chapter 13. Now, God had promised the children
of Israel this land that flowed with milk and honey. We've seen
that. And so they send spies, 12 spies into the land. They
come back with this report in Numbers chapter 13, beginning
in verse 27. And they told him and said, We came unto the land
whither thou sentest, and surely it floweth with milk and honey.
And this is the fruit of it nevertheless. The people be strong that dwell
in the land, and the cities are walled and buried great. Moreover,
we saw the children of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land
of the south, and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites
dwell in the mountains, and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and
by the coast of Jordan. And Caleb stilled the people.
Now, the people were upset about this. How can we come into the
land? We can't whip these people. There are too many for us. And
look what Caleb says. This is one of the men, he's
called, his name is Faithful Dog, and he came into the promised
land. And Caleb stilled the people before Moses and said, Let us
go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome
it. If Christ died for you, are you well able to overcome? If
salvation really is by grace, are you well able to overcome? But the men that went up with
him said, We be not able to go up against the people, for they
are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report
of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel,
saying, The land through which we have gone to search it, it
is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof. And all
the people that saw it, that we saw in it, are men of great
stature. And there we saw the giants,
the sons of Anak, which come of the giants. And we were on
our own side as grasshoppers. And so were we in their side.
There's no way we can Defeat these people. And all the congregation,
chapter 14, lifted up their voices and wept and cried that night. And the children of Israel murmured
against Moses and against Aaron. And the whole congregation said
unto them, Would to God that we died in the land of Egypt,
or would God that we died in the wilderness? And wherefore
hath the Lord brought us into this land to fall by the sword,
that our wives and our children should be at prey? Were it not
better for us to return to Egypt? And they said one to another,
Let us make a captain. And let us return into Egypt.
Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly
and the congregation of the children of Israel. This murmuring that
took place. Here's what they were guilty
of. Verse 11 of the same chapter. And the Lord said unto Moses,
How long will this people provoke me? And how long will it be ere
they believe me? For all the signs which I have
showed unto the end. Now, here's what they were guilty
of. Just not believing. Not believing that Christ was
enough to bring them into the promised land. Now, these five
events, like I said, we'll consider them in the weeks to come, one
at a time, but this is the beginning of the end when a man falls away.
Now, turn back to 1 Corinthians 10. Verse 11. Now, all these things happened
unto them for examples, and they are written for our admonition,
for our warning, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore,
let him that thinks he stands take heed, lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken
you, but such as is common to man. But God is faithful, who
will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you're able,
but will with the temptation also make a way of escape that
you may be able to bear it. Now, I used to read that scripture,
and that was one of my least favorite scriptures in the Bible.
I'd read it, and it seemed to say, now, God is not going to
let you be tempted above your ability to say no to it. You
can say no to it. And if you give in to that temptation,
it's all your fault. And that's true. That's true. But that's really not what that
scripture is saying. It's not just saying that that God's not
going to let you be tempted above what you're able. If you pull
yourself up by the bootstraps, as it were, you won't give in
to that temptation. That's not what he's saying at all. Or what
is he saying? He's talking about this thing
of falling away. Don't be discouraged by all of
this, because God has provided a way of escape. You see these
examples that scare us, but God has provided a way of escape
And that is the gospel of Christ. You look to Christ. Now here's
what he's saying. You look to Christ. You actually forget everything
else and rest in him. Believe that what he did, who
he is and what he did is enough to bring you into the promised
land. You look to Christ and you won't lust after evil things. You won't be coveting. And that's
not talking about That's not talking about, well,
I don't have sinful desires anymore. Well, of course you do. Of course
you do. That's not what that's a reference
to. What that's talking about is being satisfied with Christ.
You're not coveting after, you're not lusting after other ways
of salvation. You rest in Him. And you're not
looking for anything else. When you look to Christ, you're
not lusting after other things, are you? When you really believe
that He is your salvation, you're plumb satisfied, aren't you?
You're not looking for anything else. You look to Christ and
you will not commit idolatry. You believe He is God and you
look to Him only. You look to Christ and you will
not compromise and end up in spiritual and physical fornication.
If you look to Christ, you won't compromise. If you compromise,
it's because you're not looking to Christ. You see, faith is
the key, looking to the Lord Jesus Christ. It's by faith that
we quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. It's only looking
to Christ that this takes place. You look to Christ, and you'll
not find Christ to be light bread, will you? You don't look at Him
as insubstantial bread. You're not, oh no, you find Him
to be soul satisfying, to simply rest in Him. And you look to
Christ. And you'll believe God's ability
to save you. You believe He's able to save
you? That's what it is to look to Christ. You look to Him. Simple
faith in Christ is what keeps a man from falling away. And
when a man or woman quits looking to Christ, that's when these
things take place. And these things are written
for our admonition and for our warning. May God give us grace
to simply look unto Him. I love that passage of Scripture
I just read. When any Israelite that was bitten looked. That's
all it says. They looked. Looked. At that serpent on a pole. What
happened? They lived. It's looking to the
Lord Jesus Christ. May God give us grace to do that.
Let's pray together.