When the Righteous Fall {Proverbs 25}


We are living in a time when those who were once righteous fall one by one. Proverbs describes what it's like when the righteous give way to the wicked. #Biblestudy #Proverbs #WomensBibleStudy #GoodMorningGirls

“Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain
is a righteous man
who gives way before the wicked.”
Proverbs 25:26

In Proverbs 25, we see the righteous man yield to the wicked and he is compared to a muddied spring or a polluted fountain.

What use is a muddy spring?

Is it good for drinking water?

Is it good for bathing, washing clothes or feeding the animals?

Disease and pollution lurk there.

In the same way, we have all seen a righteous man fall.  Perhaps it was a Pastor or a Professor…or a friend or a family member.  No matter who it is – when it happens it hurts.  It hurts to watch it happen.

Why?

Because this man or woman who was a fountain of life is no longer refreshing.  They are polluted.  Polluted by their wayward actions and compromise.

Sometimes the fall is brought about through pride or lust. Other times, it comes through doubt or a lack of discernment.  And still other times it comes through a desire to please the wicked and fit into the culture.

Oh how my heart hurts, when I see righteous ones following the world –rather than the Word.  When righteous ones exchange their morals, values, standards and principles for wayward thinking.  When we compromise truth in the name of love –or love in the name of truth.  When we give way to the fear of man –rather than the fear of the Lord and become lukewarm in our faith.

Have you ever drank a cup of lukewarm coffee? Blak – it’s awful!

God says to the church of Laodicea in Revelation 3:15,16

I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.

OH friends, may we not be lukewarm in a day in age that requires we take a stand.  May we not fear the wicked or the things they may do or say to us because of our faith.

All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
(2 Timothy 3:12)

Some – under pressure – may deny Christ.

Peter did – we are not above it.  There is hope for those who fall —if we repent, Jesus always forgives.  Consequences still come but like Peter – we can still be used for God’s glory.

But those who simply yield to the wicked, give into temptation and then continue to follow on that path…they are a muddy spring.  They become useless for the kingdom of God.

I found this little gem in my coffee this week (it’s a bug):

image

Polluted.

Ruined.

Friends, I am not above falling.

Pray for me.

Never hold me on a pedestal because I write Bible studies. I have seen too many spiritual leaders fall to not tremble just a bit when I consider the embarrassment that could lie ahead if I were to go off course.

I am a sinner saved by grace nothing more. I have no superhuman strength against temptation – although I do have the Holy Spirit inside of me which certainly helps 😉 and I am yielding myself to him…but the enemy is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour and I am well aware of the target on my back and the spiritual warfare I face on a regular basis.

I get tired.

I get worn down.

My mouth gets ahead of my brain.

I make mistakes.

I am a work in progress.

I am on this journey with you.

May we surrender our lives to God each and every day and live boldly for Him –until the day we get to see each other in heaven – face to face.

Oh what a glorious day it will be!

Hold on righteous one — and do not give way to the wicked!

Keep walking with the King,

Courtney

**Chime In**

Have you seen a righteous man or woman fall? How did it affect you?

Are you struggling with being lukewarm?  Determine today to live bravely!

47 Comments

  1. I love the wisdom in this post!! I think pride is what makes many Christians stumble. I think for many Christians God starts out as a great source of comfort. From there a change is made and a real transformation happens in a person’s heart. But then pride can creep in and that person can feel above or more spiritual than others. When pride sweeps in, new temptations from the world hit hard. Like you said, none of us are immune to this happening. Praying and evaluating our hearts helps so much.Have a great weekend! 🙂
    Cooking Up Faith
    http://www.cookingupfaith.org

  2. Is that a piece of mouse poop in your coffee? Sorry that was a good post, I just got distracted when I saw that coffee.

      1. All I could think of your coffee picture is you like it like me, more creamer than coffee. I love the smell, but hate the taste. I only drink it when I am cold.

  3. I thank God every time I remember you in prayer, Courtney! God bless you for this ministry and may His strength continue to empower you to live in His righteousness. Blessings sweet friend!

    Walking in His Grace,
    Laurie

  4. So true! I know when I saw a man of God I truly trusted and looked up to, leave the church it killed me inside. I don’t understand why people give up God and walk away, I want to scream “God hasn’t done you anything” but it hurts too bad. I just pray and hope that somehow they come back and realize God is and always be the answer for everyone. I, like you, never want to promote myself above God because I am far from perfect and some days I feel so unworthy of God’s love and mercy but He still is there for me. I want to always be humble. God bless you Courtney! Great post!

  5. I wish you knew how finding your studies, has helped me on my journey. Following the word and not the world spoke to me today. I am learning so much from Proverbs and you Courtney thank you and bless you.

  6. So insightful…so true….so in line with what my church is going through right now….so sad to see folks you love and respect more drawn to the lukewarm color gray than to the powerful color of red – the redeeming, sanctifying blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that through Him all things are possible…all power of sin over lives gone! Thank you Corner for your ministry!

    1. Excellent, I love the metaphor or gray vs the red signifying the the redeeming, sanctifying blood of Christ.

  7. My Dad stopped to walk with God when I was about 21. It had begin slowly since I was 15, beginning by liking drinking wine ans beer. It was a problem for him in his old life before Christ.

    He did it at the point of being drunk and being proud of it the day after. When he was drunk, he said bad things. Very bad things.

    My heart was broken for so long time. Dear Moms who are reading this, please keep walking with God when your children are in their teens and adulthood!!!!! It’s priceless and I hope Iwill always remember that! God bless,

    Daniele

  8. Today’s post helped me face things that I’ve put in the back of my mind the past few weeks. It has made me face things I didn’t want to face. A few weeks back, my pastor failed in a way that I could have never imagined. I’ve questioned myself…in my mind I’ve questioned my church family…I’ve even asked God “why?” I had not really faced the affects…as I should…until this post today. I’ve realized that I’m losing trust in myself and my church family…I’m “suspicious” of people’s motives…none which have a place in God’s house or God’s family. My trust is God is good…because it’s only through Him and with Him will things be resolved. Please pray for my church, my pastor, and for me. When the righteous fall…the affects go beyond just the one who fell…if we could remember this…maybe we’d be more careful with our choices, decisions, and actions.

    1. I am so sorry to read this. I stopped right now and spent some time in prayer for you, your church, all those effected, and those who fell.

  9. I can think of several times when a member of our family or a church leader sinned and I felt so hurt, betrayed, and sad. However, I am no better. I too have been swayed by “wicked” – responding in anger, withholding love, not trusting God when I should have,…The analogy of your “bug” was so on target, because it reminds me, again, that we are all sinners, and part of “we” is “me”! It is those daily “bugs” that i need to be watchful of, along with the “big bugs” – anger from a hurt at work is only being fueled by sin and I need to take tis to the Lord and TRUST. Thanks for the post this morning Courtney.

  10. Courtney…I love your humility and transparency. I thank God for you and your ministry. You are a light to so many pointing us to the Way the Truth and the Life. May God continue to bless you and keep you firmly in the palm of His hand.

    <3

  11. Thank you for sharing this. I know what it is like, as I have seen and experienced it. Throughout high school and college, I was the righteous one who stood strong while many fell to sins of lust, alcohol, drugs, and relativism. I avoided those, but my “fall” came because of sins of pride, unforgiveness, bitterness, and anger. I am an adult survivor of childhood physical and mental abuse, and I failed relationally after I chose anger and unforgiveness. I am going through an extremely difficult season in my life right now, because of the consequences those sins caused. I have repented before God and tried to make amends to people, and I know that in Him, I am forgiven and cleansed from all sins. However, the Christian community around me feels icy cold and I am not experiencing grace and acceptance. I don’t want to walk away from church, especially because of my children, but I don’t know how much longer I take this isolation. What do I do? Where is hope for me?

      1. I can feel the pain in your post. I’m praying for you right now.
        Practically, can you join a new church for ‘fresh start’?
        If not, perhaps it begins with just having to humble your heart, which it sounds like you are beginning to do. And then reaching out in small ways. Make someone a meal. Invite someone round for coffee. Tell your story…and listen to others.
        God uses our past hurts to meet others where they are. Our pain is not for nothing: “I will not cause pain without allowing something new to be born”
        Isaiah 66v9

      2. “the cure for loneliness is ‘going first’,
        We need to be the friend that we desire to have”
        Jennifer Dukes Lee.

        It’s very hard sometimes to do this, I struggle with it. But sometimes admitting our vulnerability is very freeing and actually allows other people to open up and share their hearts with us.
        Can you arrange a play date with another Christian mum?

        The church should be a place for restoration, I pray that it becomes that for you.

      3. Your hope is found is Christ, at the cross and the empty tomb.
        Your hope is in the life and eternal future he has promised for you.
        In Him, you Can do hard things. You can.
        He can heal and restore you. He will restore the years that the locusts have eaten (Joel 2v25). Trust in Him, pray to Him, ask Him for help and it will come.
        Immerse yourself in his word, Christian books and worship music. Reach out to Christian acquaintances. Be present for your children, pray for them, read with them.
        I pray you feel a real break through soon.

      4. One more thing…..(sorry to go on)….
        I read this last night and it seems appropriate:

        “The church is our family; it’s the family God gave us, so don’t give up on it. There isn’t a better place out there in which to be restored.”

        Barnabas Piper – ‘The Pastors kid’

        1. Sarah, I was so thankful to find your replies late last night, with the promise to pray and practical ideas. I don’t know if I have the strength to join a new church for a fresh start, I don’t want to leave a trail of broken relationships wherever I go. I really hope that God will rebuild relationships that are already there, for His glory.

          I think one of the problems is that I tend to be too honest and become vulnerable too quickly. As for reaching out, I have done so much of it with little or no response, it is very discouraging. I offered playdates, made meals, wrote cards, brought little gifts, hosted events for kids and moms at my house – and I am nearly always the one initiating. I am also an introvert exhausted by a large family. I really need a “breakthrough” that you are talking about, and for the church to be a place of healing and restoration, as God intended.

          1. Thank you as well for the quote from the “Pastor’s Kid” book. One of the problems is that I am a PK myself, on top of everything else! I think that God was really using you here to share some truths with me, and perhaps to point me to this resource, to help me with a new layer of healing that needs to take place.

          2. If you haven’t read the Pastors Kid book then I really recommend it. Along with his other book ‘Help my unbelief’. They are both really easy to read and packed with simple wisdom.

            Perhaps focusing on your own walk with God for a while will help you strengthen your faith and then give you more strength for reaching out as the opportunity arises.

            You say you become vulnerable too quickly – you are obviously noticing things about yourself that perhaps you can work on with Christs help. It sounds like you are on the right track. I would say, keep on going – you can do this! Hopefully you will look back at this as a real period of growth and closeness with Jesus.

            PS – I absolutely never, ever comment on these things but I had to reply to you. I’m also a PK – God knows what he’s up to 😉

  12. Thank you for this beautiful post. Like always, God’s mighty hand was upon you in writing this. Thank you for being bold in writing God’s truth and leading many women into a deeper walk with Him. I know God has used you to remind me of the truth many times. We stand in prayer for you Courtney. God Bless.

  13. Thank you for such an excellent post and for boldly and unapologetically standing for the truth. I pray for my group all the time, but I have been so impacted by your work in this study and it is transforming me and working in my heart in a powerful way. So, I will definitely add you to my prayers and pray for you and your ministry and your family. May God richly bless you.

  14. Thank you for this post – what a great reminder of our vulnerabilities as sinners and to keep our eye sharply on recognizing when we’re falling waywardly.

  15. Friends, Sisters…I have both seen and been the one who has fallen. I believe the heart break and anguish I feel when a righteous person falls, is due to having fallen myself. I can empathise. It is so painful to see because I know the pain they feel at realizing their misstep, knowing their will be a deep time of repentance and long journey back ahead of them. Like you I pray I do not stumble like that again. I lead and mentor other women and realize the target on my back. I feel the devils breath on my neck sometimes, crowding in on my walk, but I press ever closer to my God and King for His help and protection. Stay close my Sisters…stay close!

    1. Hi from Yuma as well! I have been searching for “something” and found this website/bible study on Pinterest -It is just what I was looking for – Thank you Jesus!

  16. Thank you for this today. I have been away from God for 30 years and I’m slowly making my way back now that I have remarried a wonderful, Christian man. I have doubts often, and I struggle every day to be a better person. I need to remember to walk with the Word not the world and I will tell myself daily. I needed to hear this.

  17. I remember this one time when I was younger my mom told me about a pastor who was well known in the hispanic community, had fallen into temptation and been with someone even though he was married. She just couldn’t believe it and me personally, I just couldn’t believe how someone could fall and cheat even though they are Christ followers. I wasn’t even saved but I remember thinking that if a Christian could fall, how can a non believer without the Holy Spirit not do the same or even worst?

    Now that I am a Christ follower I have seen Pastors from mega churches fall and so many Christians give up after that because he was on a pedestal. We as women of God definitely need to pray over our husbands and the godly men because temptation for them is out there, and it’s powerful. I think what I learned from this blog is that we may make mistakes and sin, because we aren’t perfect and are human, we need to surrender and ask the Lord for discernment. It’s a struggle and a narrow path, but WE CAN DO IT with Jesus by our side ladies.

  18. Hi Courtney,
    In your post you say that you are still a sinner, but how do you define a sinner but by someone who has a sinful nature? I thought the word says that the saved, those in Christ Jesus have a new nature in Him. And it may be due to wrong thinking that some do fall away because, as a man thinketh so is he, which is why our minds have to be renewed daily in the word to a new way of thinking.
    Blessings,
    Rosalyn

  19. Yes, I have seen a righteous man fall. It was so very sad, and he brought many others down with him This was a pastor who had a wonderful way with children. They all just loved him. Unfortunately it came out that he was abusing some of the boys and was arrested. It was just awful for his wife and his family (all boys) to have to go through such a horrible thing.

  20. I think Christ is our righteousness. Always. We are prone to wander. But anyone purchased by Christs blood will never fall for good. Like David. The rest of the “righteous” who fall had a form or shadow of being saved, rocky, thorny soil perhaps. In the end, we are crushed by things God always saw coming, like He did with Judas who was chosen with the betrayal known.
    For 7 years I have lived by a man who does not follow Christ and is fallen. I have thought about this from many angles and am not done thinking about it. We can fall. Any of us. But I trust God’s poet, Sovereignty, and the righteous Lamb in whom I stand.

  21. My writing skills are not fabulous , so bare with me. I am someone that has falling in a devastating way. The effects of breaking the Lords heart, my husband and family take my breath away. He cost it is excruciatingly painful ….. Beyond words to discribe it. But my heart is painfully repentant and desires to please the Lord still. My husbands grace and love as well as my family have been the most tangible representation of Jesus Christ I have ever seen . So my encouragement to you all reading this , is that when a leader, teacher or loved one falls and is repentant , be there and walk along side of them . Tell them you forgive them and Reach your hand into the pit and pull them out if they are asking for help. I know it’s hard – but Jesus meets us Where we are .

    1. Thank you for being so vulnerable. May the Lord be merciful to you, because you have shown and encouraged others to show mercy.

  22. You are such a gifted writer, Courtney! Oh, what truth and wisdom in your blog post! I have seen good Pastors fall into sin and temptation which split up the whole church. One Pastor’s son especially was a good friend of my son’s. Oh the hurt and pain in that family, and it hurt my son’s heart so badly, not to mention a whole church that crumbled. As I told my son, all eyes were on the Pastor, instead of the Father, and so the whole church came tumbling down. Pastors are only human, they are not perfect, and they will fall if they give into temptation and sin. Satan works overtime on godly leaders. He would like nothing more than to bring down an entire church. But what we have to do as you stated, “do not give way to the wicked,” and “we need to seek God in our lives daily and live boldly for him.” We must not put our Pastors on a pedestal. They are merely servants of God, and we will fall if we take our eyes off God and give in to our selfish desires.

  23. The main disclaimer I try to let folks know on my blog or just plain ol interaction in life is.. I am not perfect I will never claim to be.. I am still under YHWHs construction so please be patient. People forget that we are all human who live in a fallen world. We will never be perfect this side of heaven, but we have Father in heaven who gave us that Holy Spirit to help us each and every day to show us how to over come evil with good.. we just have to be willing to take heed.. People like Billy Graham, man who loves God, is too still a sinner, Abe Lincoln, did wonderful things and loved God.. Too was a sinner. I believe God warns us to not make idols of anything or anyone…

  24. Oh Courtney! I cannot tell you how much joy and agony this post brings me. Yes, I have witnessed someone fall from righteousness- my husband. He walked away from our marriage and fell for the schemes of the world. He’s searching for what can only be found in The Lord, but he doesn’t see that yet. With each day that passes that he stays far away from God’s word, my heart breaks for him more and more. I want to plead with him for him to return to Christ. I want to shake him into submission. But I know that this is not my place. It is God’s job to do these things on His timeline. So I rejoice in knowing God can and will bring my husband out of the far country and return him to Himself and me.

  25. This is so beautifully worded. I was blessed to be able to grow up in a Christian home and my parents scraped everything they had to send us both to a Christian school. However, I saw this very thing many times there. We often put others on pedastals, when the only one who deserves to be up there is God! We are all human, and we all make mistakes. I love how you worded that at the end. It was so raw and honest and humble. I’m hooked on this study, and will continue following your blog. Your honesty is inspiring! Thank you! 🙂

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