Suppose you are driving down an unfamiliar road and you come upon a sign that says, “Bridge Out Ahead”. Do you disregard these signs and proceed as normal? Of course not. If you have ever walked up to the edge of the road where a bridge is missing, you know it is a scary sight. I recall once we had a great flood that washed out an old iron bridge on a small country road. Looking at that pavement ending suddenly and the plunge into the ravine and the waters below, was indeed frightening. A barricade was placed there and signs erected up the road, warning of the danger.
These signs are meant to warn us of danger, to tell us to be cautious, to watch out!
There is a word found in Scripture that carries the same meaning. The Greek word is Blepo. The word has different meanings and is found over 130 times in the New Testament.
One of the meanings of the word Blepo is, beware or beware of; to take heed. Twelve of the times it is found in the New King James version, the word Blepo is translated ‘take heed.’
Be careful, watch out, proceed with caution, danger up ahead, beware, look out – all are signs of warning. Like the sign warning us of the bridge out ahead, these phrases are meant to warn us of a danger up ahead.
When the Scriptures tell us to “take heed” it is warning us against an impending danger. Don’t overlook the phrase!
One such passage is 1 Corinthians 10:12.
Therefore, let him who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall. The phrase “take heed” is translated from the Greek word Blepo.
Well what do we learn from this warning?
#1 – It is possible for us to fall. We can become so lax with our salvation and spirituality that we revert back to the ways of the world. That is essentially the message of the book of Hebrews. The theme of that book is “Do not go back”. We are warned of such in Romans 12:2. So even though many teach that it is impossible to lose one’s salvation, here we see otherwise. There are over 2500 verses that tell us it is possible to lose our salvation.
#2 – We are to take heed. It is as though we have the sign saying “Bridge Out”. If you ignore this warning, you may meet with destruction. We must be aware of the possibility of falling from grace so as to guard our spiritual condition. We must draw near to GOD with the promise that He then will draw near to us. (James 4:8)
#3 – To what are we being warned specifically? Allowing ourselves to be deceived in our thinking. It seems a prideful attitude is present. One who is prideful would do well to heed the warning. To think that we stand with no possibility of falling is the warning.
When we travel, we watch for the signs along the highway that warn us of danger. As we travel the road of life, we also have signs that warn us. May we ever be aware and take heed.