Caught By Sin, Not Surprise

1 Timothy 3:7
Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Some will say that the sin they have committed caught them by surprise, but it didn't.  Sin doesn't catch us by surprise and never will.  Sin is a result from wrong thinking and wrong actions.  How many times do you think Eve wished she could have just placed all the blame upon the devil? What about Adam? You know he explained to his sons many times the story of the fall and often glanced over at Eve. You may say that I really don't know that to be true but I see it everyday in spouses. We are a result of a fallen and sinful world. We are just like them and they were just like us.

We are sure that Satan will throw many, many snares out there in front of us to capture us into sin. But look at our scripture this morning... It tells us to be careful lest you fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Reproach means, to bring disapproval to or about someone. When we bring a reproach against Jesus it means that we have discouraged others from Him. With our sins, we become a stumbling block or as our scripture says, a snare unto them. A snare is a trap. Most always referring to a bird trap. But don't let it fool you. So many have trampled over the bird traps but were caught by the bear or lion traps.

We must walk in Christ and have a good report of the people. Notice that it is not just the people that are in the church, but it is dealing with those people who are outside of Christ. We should not be a sinful snare to the world and those who are lost. How can we do that? Watch for the snares. Confess our sins to Jesus. Realize that our sin is OURS and not the cause of Satan or others. Many can't move forward or have a good report of the people without because they have never allowed Christ to free them from the sinful snare in the first place. We need to ask Jesus to remove our sin. To get us out of the snare.

A temptation may catch you by surprise. A thought may catch you by surprise. But sin doesn't catch us by surprise. How many times did she walk past that tree in the garden before she finally stepped into the snare? Be careful...