THE WATCHFULNESS OF THE RIGHTEOUS
TEXT: Genesis 6:8-13; Genesis 7: 1-2; 9:20-22, 1 Cor: 10:1-12
MEMORY VERSE: ”And what I say unto you, I say unto aall, Watch" Mark 13:3-7)
CENTRAL TRUTH: The Christian life is full of battles. The devil, the avowed enemy of righteousness, is always battling for yours soul. And no matter how strong in the faith you think you are, you need to be watchful.
INTRODUCTION
In the midst of corrupt millions of people in his generation, God declared Noah to be righteous. Noah was not only righteous, he was also a preacher, proclaimer and defender of righteousness (2 Pet, 2:5). But the subsequent accounts in the life of this declared righteous man were disappointing and unfortunate. This man, who found grace in the sight of God, declared to be righteous by faith, preacher and preserver of lives, later turn out to be a drunkard. He became a tragic disappointment and a disgrace to himself, his family and righteousness (Gen. 9:20-22, 25).
Noah's fall into the sin of drunkenness should be seen as a warning to the heaven -bound pilgrim. if you are saved, redeemed and made righteous by the precious blood of Jesus, then you need to be extra careful. Our imputed righteousness and the grace of God cannot be taken for granted to the point that we begin to think that one can never fall no matter how one lives.
Presumptuous and self-confident people do often fall into sin. Peter wanted to honour the Lord, saved by him till the very end; but he was too self-confident and therefore fell into the sin of lying. We need to learn from the examples of the Saints who have gone before us(1 Cor. 10:11-12).
1. THE WEAKNESS OF THE RIGHTEOUS -2 Sam. 11:26,27; 12:7-10
Our righteousness is not an inmate or inborn virtue, it is imputed on us by grace (2 Cor. 5:19; Phil. 3:9). It is the grace of God made available to the saints that makes the difference. Salvation, boldness at the throne of grace, conviction and uncompromising stand on the truth are all by grace. But then, the fall into sin of great men of God like Noah, Gideon, Asa, Uzziah, David, Peter, etc; after they had good testimonies, serves as a great warning to all Christians on the need to be watchful at all times. God used Gideon, a “mighty man of valour”, a man of great humility to deliver Israel from the hands of the midianites. More than being a warrior, he was a righteous man (Judge 6:25-28). But his good testimony was soon stained by his slide into idolatry (Judge 8:22, 27).
David, the man after God’s heart, a righteous man who would not kill his enemy, became so morally weak that he committed adultery, killed Uriah and took his wife (2 Sam. 11:26-27; 12:7-10). Righteous people can often be very weak! For thirty-five years King Asa ruled with the fear of God. There was no idolatry but peace and tranquillity in the land. But later, he began to waver in his commitment to the Lord, became oppressive and dictatorial. Instead of accepting God’s warning through prophet Hanani, and taking correction, in his pride, Asa became angry at the prophet’s rebuke. Chastisement came by way of disease, but he was unrepentant and would not come back to the lord. Instead, he sought cure from herbalists and witch doctors and died from the disease (2 Chron. 15:7-9, 19; 16:7, 10-13).
Uzziah was “marvelously helped, still he was strong”, a successful, engineer and inventor. But his success got into his head, he became high-minded, arrogant and incorrigible; and died a leper (2 Chron. 26:5-7, 15-21-). What a tragedy! Peter walked on water, healed and cast out demons, witnessed the transfiguration on the Mount and stoutly defended his master by cutting off someone’s ear when his Lord was arrested. Yet thereafter, fell into sin of lying and denied the Lord thrice (Matt. 26:69-75). Behold the weakness of the righteous! Christian, seek not yet repose, as the enemy is always present to tempt and make you fall.
2. WARNING FOR THE RIGHTEOUS -Rom. 8:9-13; 11:20-22; 1 Cor. 10:1~12; . Heb. 3:12~14
The possibility of departing from the faith once delivered to the saints does exist. There is nothing like eternal or unconditional security being saved and for ever saved. One can fall from grace to grass if one is not careful (Heb. 12: 15-17; 2 Pet. 2:20-22). There are people who are only careful when they feel that members of the church may discover their wrongs and report them to church leadership. But if there is no possibility of their being seen, they engage themselves in evil deeds. Such people are afraid of human and church discipline, they forget that God's eyes are watching them (1 Chron. 28:9). The church may not see you and discipline, but God sees you and will take your name out of the book of life if you sin (Exo. 32:30-33). God’s favour only abides if you are living right, living to glorify His name; but if you rebel against the commandments of God, there will be judgement (1 Sam. 12:14-15).
When the righteous takes things for granted and goes into sin because he is no more watchful and prayerful, judgement follows. If he dies in his sin, secret or open, he loses heaven.
The righteousness of the righteous will not be remembered on the day he goes into sin (Ezek. 3:20; 18:24; 33:18; John 15:2,6).
3. THE WARFARE OF THE RIGHTEOUS - 1 Pet. 2:11; 1 Cor. 9:27; Matt. 11:12
The devil is constantly at war to take the righteous from his righteousness. He wants to accomplish this through seemingly little sins (Songs 2:15). He would be happy to have you overlook the battle after your own soul. He loves passing through the flesh (Gal. 5:16-17; Matt. 4: 1-11). If we must be victorious in the daily battles going on in the soul, we need to be violent with , self, bad habits and anything that can hinder us from making heaven.
If you have been saved, your life is significant in God’s hands, you play significant role in the kingdom and you have taken a stand for the Lord; then Satan is after you, not just your physical but most importantly, your spiritual life. Jesus prayed for Peter, yet he failed in time of temptation, simply because he belittled the power, intention and purpose of the enemy. The righteous ought to watch because eternal life is costly and the enemy is after it. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak and so watch, (Matt. 26:41).
If you have failed God, it is wisdom to find your way back to Him in humility like David and Peter and refuse to perish in hell. There is still another chance for you now that you are still alive and Christ has not yet come. Return!
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Is righteous living possible?
2. Noah started well but his end was tragic. Explain.
3. What do you learn from the lives of Gideon. David and Asa?
4. How true is the doctrine of eternal or unconditional security? 5. What happens to the righteousness of the righteous if he sins? 6.
5. What have you learnt today? ‘ “...Spreading the Gospel of Faith, Purity and Power throughout the World”
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