BIBLE MESSAGES

   There are many things in this life, too numerous to mention, that cancause the shipwreck of the soul. The Bible teaches the Christian that he must be on the alert always or there is the danger of his falling away. The Bible tells of someone who made "shipwreck of the fiath" [1 Tim. 1:19]. There are many rocks and shoals on which the child of God can be lost--the Christian is to be aware of sin, know what it is, and to understand that it is contrary to the nature of God; therefore contrary to His will. But the Christian is not to spend all his time trying to search out the pitfalls and snares of this life. He is to stay in the deep water where the sailing is more secure. Too many people delight in seeing just how close they can come to evil without going over the dividing line. This is folly and usually leads to certain destruction. For the day will come when one will get too close to evil and the tempter will snatch him to his own bosom and claim him as his servant. No, it never pays to fool with sin. We can play with sin until we forfeit the life Jesus died to give us. We are warned to "take heed lest we fall" [1 Cor. 10:12]. The road to torment is broad and easy to travel. It is the way of least resistance. In it the masses are seen to be walking. Many times our friends and loved ones walk in it. But it is the way of death. There are many rocks and shoals in it. There are so many things that can cause a Christian to sink into the dark whirlpool of destruction. Wed on't have to travel in this way to know about it. The Lord, in His word, tells us of it, its destiny and the crowds that walk in it, and tells us how to stay out of it.

   The person who thinks he can close his eyes and blindly walk so as to miss these destructive forces is deceiving only himself. The captain who closes his eyes while at the wheel of the ship will steer his passengers to certain death. In this life we may never acquaint ourselves with all the evils that can ruin us. They are too numerous to mention. We need to be able to recognize sin when we come face to face with it; but to spend all our time tracing down all the follies of this day is foolishness. It is a gross perversion of time. And, time is one of our most precious blessings. We don't have to trace these sins down one by one. We don't have to be authorities on how to breach God's law--how to ruin our soul--what will damn us and what will not. All we have to is "sail the dep water". If we follow Christ faithfully, we will certainly steer clear of such things. He has promised, "... He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life" [John 8:12]. "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee" [Heb. 13:5]. The safe course is to follow Jesus.

Written by: Charles E. Littrell