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By Pastor Chuck Swindoll

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Take Heed Lest You Fall

“Men and women, you will one day be used by God to serve Him. You will take this training. You will bundle it into your own style and method of ministry. You will fit it with your gift mix. And all of this is as it should be. And little by little, you will begin to be used of God. People will hang on your words. They will crowd into rooms where you will speak. They will quote you. They will read you. They will admire you. Danger lurks. As Paul [wrote], we’re not immune, ‘Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall’ (1 Corinthians 10:12).”

Prone to Wander

“Here is a man acknowledging, even in a hymn he would write, the old battle with a wandering heart. He even came to the point of admitting, I’m “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love.” While he knew himself as best he could at the young age of 22, I’m confident that such wandering and such departure from the Lord was the farthest thing from his mind. He looked forward, like you do, to years of ministry on his feet, on his knees, touching souls, reaching out with a heart full of love for Christ to attract those that were out of the faith and by God’s grace would be used to draw them in.”

How Moral Erosion Occurs

“How does that kind of moral erosion occur? I’ve chosen that sentence carefully for it is an erosion. F. B. Meyer is correct, “No one suddenly becomes base.” No church suddenly splits, no marriage suddenly breaks up, no tree suddenly falls. It’s slowly rotted from within. No business suddenly fails, no school suddenly closes, no life suddenly falls. It’s a slow, secret, subtle, falling away.”

Paul’s Simple Directive

“You’ll never fall if you obey 1 Thessalonians 5:22, ‘Stay away from every kind of evil.’ I guarantee you that. It’s absolutely airtight. You’re safe. It’s wise. It’s needed, especially among those of us in ministry.”

Stay Away from Evil

“When I checked the word evil, because it stands out with such pulsating significance, poneros, I discovered from Walter Bauer that the Greek term pertains to ‘being morally or socially worthless.’ Keep listening. He gives a list of synonyms. “Pertaining to being morally or socially worthless, wicked, evil, bad, vicious, malicious, base, degenerate.’ ‘Steer clear of all the above’ is what the verse is saying. Steer clear of it. Stay away from it. Don’t play with it. Don’t watch it. Don’t go to movies that emphasize it. Don’t read books that stimulate it. Get tough on yourself because you’re prone to wander.”

Additional Resources

First, sign up for our Chuck’s Insights on Ministry email where we bring you his best thoughts on preaching, leadership, and ministry each week. By signing up, you’ll instantly receive a one-page checklist with 20 preaching insights from Chuck. See this page’s sidebar.

Second, check out our new Preach The Word articles and video series on YouTube where we’re teaching Chuck’s best insights on this important calling.

Third, listen to Chuck’s messages to those in ministry through our Seminary Chapels page. For decades, he offered students at Dallas Theological Seminary his best thoughts on church leadership and ministry. Now, we have put them at your finger tips. Also, you can find them through this YouTube playlist we created for you.

Fourth, if you don’t own a copy of Chuck’s book on preaching, Saying It Well, we highly recommend you add it to your library. It’s his preaching memoir that is also like a practical preaching manual. You won’t be able to put it down.

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