Are You Watching?

August 13,2000

ARE YOU WATCHING?
by Paul D. Fisher
"Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong" (1Corinthians 16:13).

One of the recurring themes in the Bible is that followers of God should be
WATCHING. In the above verse, Paul revealed to the Christians at Corinth that they should be on watch, that they should stand fast in the faith, that they should be
mature and that they should be strong. We would do well to follow
this advise ourselves!

First, we should be watching. One of the things we are to be watching for
includes our Lord's second coming. In Matthew 24:42, Jesus exhorts us with
these words, "Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." Regardless, of popular opinion concerning Jesus' second coming, He informs us to
watch, to be ready for His coming because there will be no warning signs of His
coming. Many of His parables warn us against thinking that His coming is a long
time in the filture, but to be ready so that when He comes He will find us busy in
the vineyard of the Lord.

Peter warns us to be watching for the devil. In 1 Peter 5:8, he wrote, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." Being vigilant includes being on watch, looking out for the
devil because he is our adversary, and he is like a lion seeking someone to devour.

We are to watch for those who would lead others astray. In Acts 20:29-30, Paul
told the elders of Ephesus, "For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous
wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also ofyour own selves shall men
arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." Paul warned
about two different types of people who would try to destroy the church; those
who would try to enter in, looking like Christians, speaking things against Christ
like the Judaizing teachers of Paul's day and those in the church who would speak perverse things looking to make a name for themselves and a following. We are to
watch also for those who would shipwreck the faith like Hymeanaeus and Alexander
of 1 Timothy 1:19-20.

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