See Something / Say Something Series

The phrase “watch yourself” is where we get our English word “scope.” It means to scope something out, to fix our eyes on the bullseye.

Paul warned the Christians at Corinth:

“So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (I Cor 10:12)  

We may be tempted by the same temptation that the person we are trying to help is but more likely we will be tempted to become conceited and feel superior to that person.

In his preface to Jared Wilson’s newest book, Paul David Trip writes about how easily our hearts drift away from Christ as the center of our life:

The battle in the [Christian life] to keep Jesus central is a battle for the heart.

You can’t give away what you don’t have. If Jesus isn’t the central focus and hope of your life, you won’t be effective in witnessing.

The enemy of our souls will gladly give us our theological knowledge, biblical literacy, worship gatherings, and ministry pursuits if he can woo away our hearts.

The writer of Hebrews warns us:

“Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard lest we drift away from it.” (Hebrews 2:1)

What’s the answer?

* He writes, “There is nothing so beautiful, wise, healing, transformative, powerful, glorious, and captivating as the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Jesus, as always, is our example and leader. In John 8, the Pharisees bring a woman caught in the very act of adultery. I’ve always wondered exactly how they caught her and where was the man? None of that mattered. It was a set up to try to trap Jesus.

Warren Wiesrbe wrote:

“Nothing reveals the wickedness of legalists better than the way they treat others who have sinned.”

While the woman cowered in front of them all, Jesus did a very curious thing. He stooped down and started writing in the dirt.

Scripture doesn’t say what He was writing but some commentators believe that He was writing out the sins of the accusers that stood holding rocks waiting to stone her.

He finally straightened up and said, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7)

Knowing they had been checkmated, each man dropped his rock and left, beginning with the oldest to the youngest.

The woman is now alone with Jesus. She is totally guilty and deserves to be punished.

He asks her, “Where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

With a quivering voice she responds, “No one sir.”

Then, the only Person in the universe that could have actually thrown the stone at her, smiled and looked her in the eyes and restored her torn soul:

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:11)

A pastor I follow on Twitter, posted this recently about the “cancel culture” of social media:

“This is the church. We will rebuke you when you are wrong. We will forgive you when you repent. But we will not cancel you when you are down ...for Christ will not cancel us. “Cancel culture” is not kingdom culture. We don’t just applaud the righteous, we restore the fallen.”

When we restore others like this we are showing that we are being led by the Spirit.