Dangers We Do Not See

Text: Song of Solomon 2:15

Series: Restoration Sermons

Date:

Speaker: Ed Rangel

Location: Waupaca Church of Christ

Bible Version: NASB 1995

Sermon Type: Expository

Learning Objectives

By the close of this lesson the hearer should be able to:

1. Recognize that small, unseen dangers are often the most destructive.
2. Watch for hidden faults in his own conduct, in his company, and in his spiritual life.
3. Heed the warnings of others about dangers he cannot yet see himself.

Thesis

The dangers that ruin a life are usually not the great and obvious ones but the small, unseen ones — little faults of conduct, little compromises in our company, little neglects in our spiritual life — and wisdom watches for these "little foxes" before they spoil the vine.

Burden

"Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that are ruining the vineyards, while our vineyards are in blossom" (Song 2:15). It is not the lion that usually destroys the vineyard; it is the little foxes, small enough to slip in unnoticed, that gnaw the roots while the vines are in tender blossom. So it is with a soul. Most people brace against the obvious, scandalous sins — and are ruined instead by the small things they never saw as dangers at all: a discourteous habit, a sour disposition, a slack standard, the wrong companions, a neglected prayer. The burden of this lesson, especially for the young, is to learn that the deadliest dangers are the ones we do not see, and to heed those older and wiser who can see them for us.

Introduction

The very title implies two kinds of danger — the seen and the unseen — and sometimes what is unseen by one is plainly seen by another. This is why the young should heed the warnings of older people, who have already met the dangers that the young cannot yet recognize. The outline points to four areas where the unseen dangers hide: in little things generally, in our own conduct, in the conduct of those around us, and in our spiritual life.

I. The Little Things Are the Most Dangerous (Luke 16:10)

1. We are so prone to ignore them — they seem too small to matter.
2. Their effect is so deceptive — the damage is done quietly, over time, before we notice. He who is "faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much," and "unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much" (Luke 16:10). The little foxes do their work unseen.

II. Unseen Dangers in Your Own Conduct (Luke 16:10)

Look first at yourself, for the hidden dangers are nearest home:

1. Little acts of discourtesy that wound without our noticing.
2. Slights and slurs toward friends.
3. Deception, dishonesty, and untruthfulness in small matters.
4. A sour, grumbling disposition that poisons the air around us.
5. Slovenly work — doing a task carelessly. (the outline points to the famously neat, careful work of George Washington as the contrast: a man's diligence shows in small things.)
6. Disobedience in little things, which trains the heart to disobey in great ones.

None of these is a great public sin; every one of them, unchecked, spoils the vine.

III. Unseen Dangers in the Conduct of Others (1 Corinthians 15:33)

The dangers around us are as real as those within:

1. Bad company — evil companions. "Abstain from every form of evil" (1 Thess. 5:22).
2. "Bad company corrupts good morals" (1 Cor. 15:33). The corruption is gradual and unfelt — which is exactly what makes it dangerous.
3. Bad language, which coarsens the speaker and those who listen.
4. A fixed rule for friendship: never say for a friend what is not true, and never do for a friend what is dishonorable. True loyalty never asks you to lie or sin.
5. Dangers in courtship — a season when the unseen dangers are many and the guard is often down.

We become like those we keep close to, slowly and without deciding to; that is the hidden peril of our company.

IV. Unseen Dangers in Your Spiritual Life (1 Corinthians 10:12)

1. Make it part of your religion not to disturb the worship of others — a small inconsiderateness in the assembly is a real spiritual fault.
2. Do not neglect prayer — the quiet, unseen lapse that drains a soul's strength before any visible fall.

"Let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall" (1 Cor. 10:12) — and the fall almost always begins in the unseen places: the neglected prayer, the unguarded habit.

Application

Stop bracing only against the great sins and start watching the little foxes. Look honestly at your own conduct — the discourtesies, the grumbling, the careless work, the small dishonesties — because these train the character more surely than you think. Watch your company, for you are quietly becoming like those you keep nearest. Guard the unseen places of your spiritual life — your prayers, your reverence in worship — for that is where decline begins. And here is the practical wisdom this outline presses especially on the young: when someone older and wiser warns you of a danger you cannot yet see, do not wave it off. The fact that you cannot see it is exactly the point. Catch the little foxes now, while the vine is in blossom.

Conclusion

It is rarely the lion that ruins the vineyard; it is the little foxes, unseen, that spoil it while it blooms. The deadliest dangers in a life are the small ones we ignore — in our conduct, our company, our spiritual life. Watch for them, heed those who can see what you cannot, and guard the vine before the foxes do their quiet work.

Invitation

The greatest unseen danger of all is to drift, in small steps, away from God — and the safest thing any person can do is come to Christ while the heart is still tender. If you have never come, do not let the little foxes spoil your soul: believe on the Lord Jesus, repent of your sins, confess Him, and be baptized for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38). If you are a Christian who has let small things creep in, come and set them right today. Come while we sing.

Word Study

Scripture Interlock Table

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Converted from H. Leo Boles, Outline 43. Doctrinal audit: practical/hortatory; no doctrinal issues; counsel on small sins, companionship, and spiritual diligence, framed toward self-examination and (for the young) heeding wiser warnings. Style audit: OCR cleanup; the George Washington reference is preserved as Boles' brief illustration of careful work. Source note: this outline had no primary-text line and few citations; Song of Solomon 2:15 ("little foxes that spoil the vines") supplied as text (flagged) for its exact fit, and supporting references (Luke 16:10; 1 Cor. 10:12) supplied and flagged. Boles' two citations (1 Thess. 5:22; 1 Cor. 15:33) verified and retained.