Lawal, J. O. (2025, April 30). We can change God’s mind (Vol. 7, No. 51). Youth for Jesus.
“Two years later, when Absalom’s sheepshearers were at Baal Hazor near the border of Ephraim, he invited all the king’s sons to come there. Absalom went to the king and said, Your servant has had shearers come. Will the king and his officials please join me?”” (2Sam 13:23-24NIV)
Why did Absalom invite all the king’s sons to a feast on the occasion mentioned in our opening bible text? Was it because he really cared about them and wanted to share some love with them? No! Rather, it was to have an opportunity to murder Amnon, their eldest brother.
Now why did he want to murder Amnon? It was because he had raped their sister, Tamar. But the matter had already been settled in some way by David their father. Why, then, did Absalom still want to punish Amnon with death for what he did? It was because he did not have a forgiving spirit like David.
Truly, it does not seem like David and his officials handled that rape case well. That is because we are not told in the account that Amnon was given any serious punishment for what he did, if he was punished at all. In any case, everyone else in some way believed that the matter had been laid to rest and should be treated as such. So, Absalom also should have treated it accordingly.
But he did not. Instead, he pretended that he too had dropped the matter and moved on. But two years later, as we see in our opening text, Absalom struck. He killed his brother when no one was suspecting. And that was the beginning of his own end as well.
Now what lesson is there in this for us? First, it is that we should take the word of God that tells us to do only good and not evil to people seriously. Otherwise, we may end up hurting people that will never forgive us for hurting them, regardless of what we or others do to appease them. And they will never forgive us because they do not have the fear of God in them at all or because they do not believe in God’s message of forgiveness. Therefore, they may go to any extent to punish us for our sins against them. And unless God saves us from them, we will not be safe at all, even two or twenty years after we have hurt them. (Cf. Psalm 34:11-14; 1Pet 3:10-11)
Another lesson for us in this is that if we refuse to forgive those who have hurt us, as God has told us to do, we are giving room for all kinds of dangerous and murderous thoughts to fill our hearts. The reason murderous thoughts entered Absalom’s heart and filled it was that he refused to forgive his brother, Amnon. And those murderous thoughts did not leave him until the murder of his brother was executed. (Cf. Eph 5:32)
In like manner, if we too refuse to forgive others, all sorts of dangerous thoughts may fill our hearts, as I pointed out before. And what these thoughts will do to us, even years after we have been hurt and have refused to be healed by God, may surprise us. Then we may find ourselves becoming worse than those who hurt us.
So, if you have been hurt in any way, forgive those who are involved and allow God to heal you. That way, you will not end up becoming worse than the evil you are trying to punish.
Lawal, J. O. (2025, April 27). We can change God’s mind (Vol. 12, No. 52). From Pastor’s Desk.
Beloved: grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the transition week between the months of April and May 2025. And I pray that God will set you right wherever you may be wrong in life, so that all His good purpose for you may be accomplished without delay. Amen.
One of the things we learn in the bible is that true repentance can change God’s mind. But we do have Scriptures that tell us that God does not change His mind. In other words, once He determines to do something, nothing will be able to stop Him from doing it. What, then, are we going to do about such Scriptures? Are we going to set them aside as useless? Never! We cannot set aside any Scripture as useless. That is because no Scripture is useless. On the contrary, every Scripture is of God and is useful for our edification. (Cf. Num 23:19; 1Sam 15:29; 2Tim 3:16-17)
However, even though we truly have Scriptures that tell us that God does not change His mind, we also have other Scriptures that show us things that can make God change His mind. And one of those things that can make Him change His mind, as I pointed out before, is genuine repentance. For instance, God once sent Prophet Elijah to Ahab to judge him and his household for murdering Naboth, an innocent man. God said that He was going to wipe out all this king’s descendants and give their flesh to dogs and birds to eat. (Cf. 2Kings 21:17-24)
Now, as we see in the bible, Ahab was a very wicked and proud king. Besides, the woman he married, Jezebel, was even more wicked than him. And together they both brought a rule of terror on the people of God. Yet when this man heard the word of God’s judgment, he did not arrest Elijah, abuse him or keep malice with him. He did not even argue with him over the matter. Instead, he humbled himself, tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. (Cf. 1Kings 21:17-27)
Why did Ahab act like that? it was because he knew that he was wrong. He knew that there was no excuse for the killing of an innocent man. So, God was right to judge him as his actions deserved. All he could hope for, then, was mercy. And the only way for him to receive God’s mercy was to humble himself and acknowledge his sins. Otherwise, the judgment passed on him and his household was bound to come to pass.
Now did God, on this occasion, show Ahab mercy and forgive him or not? He did. The bible says, “Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite: “Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son.”” (1Kings 21:28-29NIV)
Did you see that? Because of Ahab’s acknowledgement of his sins, God postponed the disaster He wanted to bring on him and his household to the days of his sons. In other words, God changed His mind for a moment. And if Ahab’s sons too had forsaken his sins and humbled themselves before the Lord, the judgment pronounced on them would not have happened in their days. In fact, God may even have totally cancelled His plans of judging their household. But they did not turn away from the sins of their father. So, they were all eventually wiped out as God had promised. (Cf. 2Kings 9)
Well, the point we are making is that we can change God’s mind through genuine repentance. So, if God is meant to punish you for something wrong you are doing, you can make Him change His mind by genuinely repenting of it. But if you continue to walk in pride towards Him and refuse to acknowledge your sins or errors, your punishment may come sooner than you expect. And who knows how bad that would be for you. So, humble yourself now and repent of your sins. And may you find in you the strength to do so. Amen.
I want to further share with you concerning the instructions that we are given in Hebrews, chapters 3 and 12, which have to do with watching over one another. We are told to see to it that none of us develops a sinful unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. We are also told to see to it that none of us falls short of the grace of God. And these things have led us to looking at series of things that we need to pay attention to, if we will be able to help one another stay in the truth.
Now the last of the things we have been dealing with has to do with relating to one another only on the basis of the word of God. As I pointed out, we must not relate to one another as believers outside the confines of the word of God. There are things the word of God commands us to do. And they are the things we must command ourselves to do. There are things His word encourages us to do. And these are the things we must encourage ourselves to do. In like manner, there are things the word of God commands us not to do. And these are the things we must command ourselves not to do. Then there are things the word of God discourages us from doing. These also are the things we must discourage ourselves from doing.
But then, there are also things that God has not spoken for or spoken against. Paul refers to such things as disputable matters. And we have rules given to us in Scriptures in handling such matters. We have these rules given to us so that we will not find ourselves judging or condemning our brethren for things God has not condemned them for.
Now I want to press this further by talking to us on dealing with one another according to human traditions. Remember what we are saying is that we must relate to one another only on the basis of the word of God and not on the basis of our feelings, experiences, idiosyncrasies or traditions. We may have feelings that are good. We may have experiences that people may learn from. And we may have traditions that are good. But these things must be consistent with the word of God. Otherwise, we must discard them as useless. We must not impose them on anybody or demand that anyone act on their basis.
For instance, in Saint Mark’s gospel, chapter 7, we are told this:
“The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.) So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”” (Mark 7:1-5NIV)
We see here that the religious leaders of the Jews were judging the disciples of the Lord based on the traditions of the land, not based on the word of God. Truly, the things that are said here about their traditions are not bad. Washing your hands before eating is not bad. Washing your cups, pitchers and other things you use for eating is not bad. And taking your bath, having come back from a journey or the market, is not bad.
However, we do not have any command in the word of God that we must wash our hands before we eat or that we must take our bath before we eat or do any other thing. These things are not bad in themselves. But they are not rules given to us for godly living. It will, therefore, be wrong of us to judge anyone on their basis or to conclude that someone is not living to please God on the basis of these things.
Interestingly, even in marriages, husbands and wives can have issues along these lines. They can begin to make on themselves demands that the word of God is not making on them. You, as a husband, may love to always take your bath when you are back from work, for example. And that is a good thing. But your wife may not love that or may not have been raised to function like that. Truly, it will not be a bad idea for her to copy you in doing this. But to insist that she also must do so before you can relate properly to her in your home is to miss it. That is because you are making a demand on her that God is not making on her.
Don’t miss my point here. I am not saying that it is alright for someone to be living a dirty life. If someone has been working for hours and needs to take their bath in order not to irritate their spouse or others around them, they should do the needful. But we must also understand that something like that will not make them godly or ungodly. Yes, I know there is this slogan that says, “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” But it is not scriptural to say so. There is nowhere in the bible in which we are told that cleanliness is next to godliness.
To say the fact, cleanliness is not next to godliness. Someone may be dirty in their lifestyle and still be godly. And someone may be clean but ungodly. Lazarus, as we see in the story Jesus told about him and a rich man, was dirty and poor. His body was filled with sores and wounds. Yet when he died, angels came to carry him to paradise. But the rich man that was living a neat life ended up in hell. Did Lazarus go to paradise with his dirty and awful body? No! He went there in his spirit. And as we are told in Scriptures, he would, henceforth, begin to live with a glorified body, a body that sicknesses and diseases could not afflict. (Cf. Luke 16:19-31)
So, we need to watch ourselves as we relate to one another. Otherwise, we may be judging ourselves on the basis of some traditions or superstitions. And this will affect our relationships with one another. It may make us condemn or judge the innocent. It may shut whatever door of opportunity we might have had to help one another stay in the faith. If you cannot properly fellowship with another person because you have placed a barrier of traditions between both of you, that person may not be able to reach you, if they should need your help. And even if you should want to help them, they too may not want your help. The same thing is applicable to you.
Well, when these religious leaders of the Jews began to judge the disciples of the Lord based on their traditions, He responded. Look at his response from verse 6 of the chapter:
“He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God) – then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”” (Mark 7:6-13NIV)
There are three basic things Jesus says here about the religious leaders of the Jews. First, He says that they have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions. Second, He says that they have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe their own traditions. Third, He says that nullify the word of God by their traditions. What is the point of all these? It is that these people took their traditions more seriously than the word of God. So, they were ready to replace the word of God with their traditions, wherever the word of God goes against those traditions.
Nothing, as I said before, was wrong with the tradition of cleanliness that these religious leaders of the Jews had. And it is not wrong for us too to have such a tradition. It is not wrong to take care of our body and the things we use in eating and drinking. On the contrary, it is good to be hygienic. It helps us to live healthy. But it is wrong for us to place whatever we believe or practise about this above the word of God. And it is wrong for us to make whatever we believe or practise about it a rule of life for anybody.
Rules of life are made for us on the basis of the word of God. I mean that what God says is what determines our rules for living, not human traditions. And in relating to one another we must be careful not to present our traditions as the word of God. Yes, we must be careful not to judge people on the basis of our traditions or superstitions. There are all kinds of superstitions from place to place. For instance, among the Yorubas, it is a taboo to sit and eat at the entrance of a house. And it is indeed not a commendable thing to be eating at the door of a house. But it is not a sin. You can choose to eat wherever you like. It is not a sin. You can even choose to eat at the dumpsite, if you are okay with it. It is not a sin. There is no Scripture that says that it is a sin for anyone to do so.
So, we need to be careful how we judge people. Certain things may not be socially acceptable. It does not mean that those things are wrong or that God is against them. How people dress may not be socially up-to-date. Some will dress and not tuck in their shirts. Some others will dress and not button up. They just want to dress down all the time. Is that a sin? No! I used to attend an assembly in which a cell leader would tell his members that it was a sin for them to dress and not tuck in their shirts. And is that indeed a sin? No!
See, we must respect people’s right to live as free people. As long as they are not using their freedom as a cover up for evil, we must respect their right to live as free people. Paul also shares some things with us along this line in his letter to the Colossians. From verse 16 of chapter 2, he says:
“Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” (Colossians 2:16NIV)
We dealt with this in our last lesson. We said whatever people believe about what they eat and how they handle days, times and seasons is between them and God. And no one should judge anyone on the basis of how they handle these things. Then, from verse 17, Paul goes on to say this:
“Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.” (Colossians 2:18-19NIV)
Paul is speaking here about mysticism. He is referring to a situation in which people try to impose certain spiritual experiences they claim to have had on God’s people. These ones often want to use these spiritual experiences they have had as their rule for judging God’s people or for determining how God’s people are to live their lives. They will talk about the visions or dreams they have had or talk about certain angelic visitations they have received.
Now the word of God is not against visions, dreams or angelic manifestations. These are some of the means that God uses in revealing His will to His people. However, any vision or dream we see must be consistent with the word of God. If it is not consistent with His word, then, we must reject it. We must never place our visions or dreams above the word of God or use them to replace the word of God.
What about angelic visitations? They are real. But it is not every time that people have angelic visitations that they are of God. In 2Corinthians 11 Paul tells us that Satan often masquerade as an angel of light and that his servants also do likewise. So, demons can masquerade as angels of light.
How, then, do we know when an angelic visitation is of God or not? First, a true angel of God will never demand that you worship him. He will always tell you to worship God. Second, a true angelic visitation will only seek to glorify God. Therefore, no angel will tell you to do anything that is contrary to what is written in the word of God. (Cf. Revelation 19:9-10; Revelation 22:8-9)
Unfortunately, there are those who have judged God’s people as going to hell on the strength of certain angelic visitations they had. I listened to a woman who went into details of the things some angels showed her about why Christians may go to hell. According to her, certain Christian ladies were taken to hell because they used earrings, wore trousers or used hair attachments when they were here on earth. And that is an example of what Paul is saying to the Colossians. He is speaking of those who will go into great detail about their visions, dreams or angelic visitations, saying things that are not consistent with Scriptures. What do we do about such things? We throw them away.
You cannot tell me that someone is going to hell because they wear trousers or earrings. On what strength? On the strength on your dreams? Is that what the word of God says? If that is not what the word of God says, I must reject what you are saying. We have prophets who do similar things. They give prophecies that are inconsistent with Scriptures. And they expect everyone to follow them. If you, then, will not follow them, they may take you as a rebel or as an unbeliever. Such things are wrong.
Well, Paul says that you should not allow anyone to judge or condemn you on such basis. In fact, he goes on to tell us that people who do such things have lost connection with the Lord of the church, that is, Christ. Also, he tells us that they are unspiritual. They may appear spiritual. But they are not. So, we should not take them seriously.
Furthermore, Paul says from verse 20 of the chapter:
“Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.” (Colossians 2:20-23NIV)
This is similar to what I shared with you in Mark 7 on relating to human traditions. There are traditions and superstitions of men that say, “Do not touch! Do not handle! Do not taste!” But as long as they are not consistent with the word of God, we do not take them seriously. Yes, there are times we need to exercise caution or discretion in relating to the traditions and superstitions of people in some places. Yet, as long as their traditions are against the word of God, you too must be against them.
But then, if a tradition is not against the word of God and accepting it will make it easier for you to relate to those who practise it, you may want to accept it for their sake. The word of God tells us to be at peace with everyone. And if respecting the tradition of those with whom we live or work or study is not contrary to the will of God, we can show some respect for it. That may help us in living in peace with them. But where their tradition is contrary to the word of God, we must reject it.
What we are saying is that we must not allow our lives to be judged or run on the basis of mere human commands or superstitions. It is sad that we have church leaders that impose things on their brethren that God has not imposed on them. They tell them to dress in certain ways. They force them to fast for some number of days. They tell them what colours they must not use. They don’t want them to use perfumes or lotions. They just want them to treat their body harshly.
These things, however, are not commands of God. If you do not want to use lotions or perfumes, that is fine. But there is nowhere we are commanded in God’s word not to use them. Also, there is nowhere we are commanded in the word of God to fast for any number of days in a week. Is something wrong with fasting? No! But we have no specific command from God on when any of us should fast. Yet we find church leaders imposing these things on God’s people. And that is replacing the word of God with our own traditions.
Sadly, as Paul shows us, all these rules have no power in restraining sensual indulgence. They have no power in changing people’s lives or in stopping people from sinning. Only the word of God has the power to change people’s lives. Only His word has the power to make us the people wants us to be. So, in relating to one another, we must do so only on the basis of the word of God. Otherwise, we will be wrong.
Lawal, J. O. (2025, April 20). Witnessing greater works of God
Recommended Citation
Lawal, J. O. (2025, April 23). Truth can offend (Vol. 7, No. 49). Youth For Jesus.
“Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you?”” (John 6:61NIV)
Who were grumbling about what Jesus said? His disciples! Why were they grumbling about what He said? It was because it offended them. But what He told them was the truth. How come they were offended by it?
Well, the truth is that truth has the tendency of offending people. And it will surely offend them, if they do not want to change their ways and walk in the will of God for their lives. Those disciples of the Lord did not want to change their ways and walk fully in the will of God for their lives. So, they allowed the truth that the Lord Jesus had told them to offend them. That, of course, made them to stop following Him and to also lose their places in His kingdom. What a shame! (Cf. John 6:66)
Also, we are told of King Asa and how he allowed himself to be offended by the truth God had told him through one of His prophets. This king, as we are shown in Scriptures, loved God and gave himself to living to please Him. He so loved God that he removed his grandmother from her position as queen mother because of her idolatry (2Chro 15:16).
But then, at some point during his reign, he made a mistake. He trusted in military strength instead of God to defeat an army that had come against him. So, God sent a prophet to tell him that he had done a foolish thing and would start to really be at war. And what should he have done in response to that? He should have humbled himself, repented of his error and asked God for forgiveness. But he did not do that at all. Instead, He punished the man God sent to him and also oppressed some of the people in the land. (Cf. 2Chro 16:1-10)
Well, because of that, the word of God that Asa would continue to be at war came to pass. Truly, no enemy nation came against him from that moment till the end of his reign. However, he was afflicted with a foot disease. And because he was yet offended by the truth God had spoken to him, he would not even ask Him for mercy and healing. Instead, he entrusted himself to the royal physicians. So, he was at war with that foot disease until it took his life. What a shame! (Cf. 2Chro 16:11-14)
Now what is all this teaching us? It is that we need to always have the right attitude towards the truth. Truth may be bitter. Truth may be offensive. Truth may be hurting. But it is the only thing that can make us free, heal our lives and lift us up from where we are to where God wants us to be.
Therefore, however painful or offensive the truth God is bringing to us in any area of our lives may be, it will be in our interest to embrace it and allow it to accomplish His will in us. Otherwise, we will sooner or later learn the hard way that we cannot do anything against the truth – truth will also prevail.
Lawal, J. O. (2025, April 20). Witnessing greater works of God (Vol. 12, No. 51). From Pastor’s Desk.
Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours abundantly from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am pleased to welcome you to the Easter Sunday of this year, year 2025. My prayer is that all that Jesus accomplished for us through His death, burial, resurrection and ascension will not go to waste in our lives. Amen.
As we begin this new week, I want to encourage you with these words of our Lord Jesus: “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that.” (John 1:50NIV) Who did Jesus say this to? He said it to Nathaniel, one of the men that later became His apostles. Why did He say it to him? Well, as the account goes, Philip had told Nathaniel that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah they had been waiting for and that he should come and see him. But Nathaniel did not think that anything good could come out of Nazareth. Nevertheless, he went with Philip to see Jesus. (Cf. John 1:44-46)
Now when this man met Jesus, and He told him by revelation where he had been that day, he immediately believed and said, “You are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” And because he appreciated the little revelation Jesus gave him, the Lord told him that he would see greater things. That means the way to witness greater things from the hand of God is to appreciate whatever He shows us or does for us, however little it may seem.
Truly, there is nothing God does for us or shows to us that is simple or little. But even if what He has done for us or shown to us appear to be little, our attitude towards it is what will determine whether He will show us greater things or not. When God first appeared to Moses, He only gave him two signs. And those two signs were actually profound. But he had to appreciate them and take God seriously on account of them for him to witness greater signs and miracles. And he did witness greater signs, miracles and wonders from God, signs, miracles and wonders too numerous to count.
The same thing was applicable to Nathaniel and all the apostles of the Lord Jesus. They all went on to see things greater than what they were first shown when they met Him. But that would not have happened, if they had not appreciated Him for the things He first did for them or showed to them.
So, if we want to see greater works of God, if we want to see miracles, signs and wonders that are greater than whatever God has done for us in the past or is doing for us now, we must show Him that we appreciate what He is doing for us, however small or little it may see. Otherwise, we will only keep hearing great testimonies of His goodness to others but never have any great testimony of our own to share.
We have been looking at how important it is for us to watch over one another based on the instructions we have in Hebrews, chapters 3 and 12. And there we are told to see to it that none of us develops a sinful heart that turns away from the living God and that none of us falls short of the grace of God. Then, in the last lesson, I began to talk to us about relating to one another only on the basis of the word of God. If we are relating to ourselves on this basis, we will not condemn ourselves or judge ourselves contrary to the will of God.
Now we may want to relate to one another on the basis of our experiences, traditions or idiosyncrasies. But where these things do not align with the word of God, we must drop them. We must draw the lines between the demands the word of God is making on us and the demands we are making on ourselves. People must not be taken as having fallen away from the grace of God or as being on their way to falling away from His grace simply because they are doing things that are contrary to our traditions or experiences in life. We can only take people to be walking in the path of error, if the word of God says so.
As I pointed out before, there are demands placed on us by the word of God. And these are the demands we must place on ourselves. The things that the word of God tells us to do are the things we must command and encourage ourselves to do. Then the things the word of God commands us not to do are the things we must command and encourage ourselves not to do. And as long as we stick to these rules, we will be able to help one another remain in the faith.
But then, there are things the word of God is silent about. And how we handle these things, of course, is what will determine whether these things are right or wrong for us to do. For instance, the things we eat, the things we wear and our attitude towards days, times and seasons do not affect our relationship with God. How we use them, however, is able to affect our relationship with one another. So, we have guidelines in Scriptures on how to handle those things that God is silent about. That way, we will not end up condemning or judging ourselves contrary to the will of God.
In Romans, chapter 14, verse 1, Paul says this to us: “Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.” (NIV) Can you see that? There are disputable matters. These are matters that we cannot have a final word on them. That is because God is neither for them nor against them. Therefore, none of us can have a final say about them. Yes, we may argue back and forth on whether it is right or wrong for us to do them. But none of us can have a final say over them, for God has not given any final word about them. He has only given us guidelines on how to handle them so that we do not through them destroy ourselves or our relationship with one another.
Well, from verse 2, Paul goes on to say:
“One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” (Rom 14:2-8NIV)
What is the point Paul making here? It is that what we think about certain things that God has not given any word about is up to us. And what we think about such things should not be our basis for judging or condemning anybody. For instance, in handling food matters, you may eat whatever you please, as long as you are convinced it is alright to do so. So, no one should judge you for choosing to eat certain food, just as no one should condemn you for choosing not to eat certain food. That decision is up to you.
Your attitude toward days, times and seasons is also up to you. If you want to be celebrating your birthdays, it is up to you. And if you choose not to celebrate birthdays, it is up to you. So, no one should judge or condemn you on the basis of what you do or do not do, as far as this matter is concerned. Celebrating birthdays or some other days or times or seasons does not bring us near God, just as not celebrating them does not drive us away from Him.
Look at what Paul says in 1Corinthians, chapter 8, verse 8:
“But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.” (NIV)
That is a rule to pay attention to in our walk with God. There are things that do not bring us near God. In other words, our doing such things does not make us better, just as our doing them does not make us worse. And food happens to be one of such things. We can eat anything we like to eat. That is not going to bring us any closer to God or take farther away from Him. Food is meant for the body, just as the body is meant for food. So, whatever goes into the body will come out of it. And that has nothing to do with our relationship with God.
However, what we eat or drink may destroy our body. Now our body does not belong to us but to God, as we are shown in Scriptures (1Corinthians 6:19-21). If we, then, are putting into our body what destroys it, we are not taking God seriously but are sinning against Him. So, we need to know those things we will put in our body that will destroy it and stay away from them. That is what makes drunkenness a sin. Nothing is wrong with the consumption of wine or alcohol in itself. But when you take it to the point that it takes charge of your mind and begins to control you, you are sinning against God. The same thing is applicable to gluttony. Nothing is wrong with eating well. But when you begin to eat so much that your health or finances or relationship with others is being affected, you are already sinning against God.
What I am saying is that nothing is wrong with eating or drinking. It is the way we handle what we eat and drink that may make the consumption of certain foods wrong for us. In the same vein, our celebration of certain days is not wrong. Those who celebrate birthdays, Christmas, Easter and so on are not wrong to do so. And those who do not do so are not wrong not to do so. The point is simply that those who do not do so are not closer to God than those who do so, just as those who do so are not farther from God than those who do not do so. Therefore, do not think that because you do not eat certain food, you are closer to God than those who eat it. That is not so. It is never going to be so.
The same thing is applicable to our use of dresses. How we dress and the things we wear differ from place to place, based on the culture of where we find ourselves. We can wear whatever we like. What is important is moderation. What is important is modesty in the way we handle whatever we hear. So, we should not argue on whether people can wear a particular kind of dress or not. What we should focus on is modesty. As long as we are modest in the way we dress, as long as what we wear does not expose private parts of our body, it is fine. What we wear may not be acceptable in our culture. But is it modest? If it is, then, we should not judge or condemn anybody for it. We must be careful not to make our culture take the place of the word of God in our dealings with one another. That is because there are things that are acceptable in every culture that are not acceptable by God.
Well, Paul, in this chapter of the book of Romans, is telling us that whether we do certain things or do not do them is up to us, if God has not given any final word on those things. So, we should not condemn anybody for not doing what we do or for doing what we do not like to do, as long as God has not given any word for or against it. The point is that we must respect the right of every believer to live in liberty. The Lord has set us free so that we can be free. We, therefore, must respect that and not seek to put any yoke of slavery on anybody.
However, we are also warned in the Scriptures not to destroy other believers through the exercise of our liberty. God may not have condemned an act. But we need to be careful that we do not destroy other believers through that act. So, first, we need to watch that what we are doing is not destroying us. God has not condemned what you are doing. But is it destroying you? If it is, then, you need to watch it.
For instance, smoking of cigarettes is not condemned anywhere in Scriptures. So, you are not to judge anyone for smoking tobacco. However, we know from experience that the smoking of tobacco is capable of destroying your body and also the health of others around you. So, out of respect for your body, which belongs to God, you should not be smoking. Then, out of consideration for others’ welfare, you should not be smoking. That is how the consumption of tobacco can become a sin.
Paul explains these things in this manner, from verse 13 of Romans 14:
“Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil.” (Rom 14:13-16NIV)
Did you see that? Paul says I am convinced that no food is unclean in itself. Why does he say this? He says this because everything God created is good. It is the fall of man that has made some things bad for us to use or enjoy. Yes, it is the fall of man that has deprived us of the understanding of how to use all the good things God has created and put at our disposal. So, we must not pass judgment on one another or condemn one another in relating to things God has not condemned. What is important is that we do not become the reason someone will stumble and fall in their walk with God.
For example, I said before that nothing was wrong with taking alcohol, as long as you do not get drunk. I do not say that because I drink alcohol. I do not drink. Rather, I say that because the word of God says so. And His word is truth. However, if a brother that had just be rescued from drunkenness by the Lord should see you drinking alcohol, will he not be offended or even emboldened to want to drink it? Then, he may just find himself trapped again in drunkenness. And your lack of consideration in this matter will make you responsible for his fall. When you do so, you are not acting in love, for you are destroying someone for whom Christ has died.
So, Paul goes on to say this to us:
“Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall. So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.” (Rom 14:19-23NIV)
I do not have the time to explain everything Paul is saying to us here. But the point of it all is that we must be considerate and must also aim for mutual edification in all that we do. We must not just be concerned about pleasing ourselves; we also need to be concerned about how what we do will affect our brethren. Here is something similar said by Paul from verse 9 of 1Corinthians 8:
“Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, won’t he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.” (1Corinthians 8:9-13NIV)
You can see that consideration is key in the way we relate to one another. So, even though God has not condemned what we are doing, we must be considerate in doing it. That way, whatever we are doing will not result in the fall of another brother or sister.
Mind you, what we are dealing with is how to keep one another in the faith. And we are saying that we are to do so only on the basis of the word of God. The word of God, then, tells us that even in matters where God has not given a final word on what is right or wrong, we must be considerate and do everything for mutual edification. That way, we will not expose our brethren to any kind of spiritual fall.
But then, we must also be careful not to judge or condemn people where God has not condemned them. That you like to do something that someone else does not want to do does not mean that something is wrong with you or with that person. If God has not condemned you for what you do, then, you are not condemned. And if what you are doing is not hurting anyone’s faith, you should not allow anyone to judge for doing it. That is because there are people who get irritated about what other believers are doing. And they want them to stop doing those things because they are irritated. But that you are irritated does not mean that your faith is being hurt or injured. So, don’t judge or condemn anyone merely on the basis of what irritates you. If what they are doing is not contrary to the word of God, you should let them be. And you should apply the same rule to your life.
Recommended Citation: Lawal, J. O. (2025, April 16). Behave yourself wisely (Vol. 7, No. 48). Youth for Jesus.
“So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and behaved wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.” (1Sam 18:5NKJV)
What are we told here about David? It is that he behaved himself wisely in handling all the things King Saul sent him to do. In other words, he conducted himself in such a way that even though he was very young at the time, he had the respect of Saul, the army officers and also the troops. So, when he was given a high rank in the army, everybody loved it. Nobody thought that he was overrated. Instead, they saw it as something he deserved.
In like manner, we too must learn to behave ourselves wisely wherever we find ourselves. We must learn to take advantage of the wisdom of God in us to win the respect of those around us, whether we are living together, working together or studying together. And we can do this by showing seriousness in all that we do and say, by giving appropriate honour to everyone, by staying out of other people’s business and by making ourselves helpful and useful to others whenever they need us. And if this is the way we are functioning, people will be glad to see us elevated and honoured in life.
Paul says something along these lines to Timothy. He says, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” (1Tim 4:12NIV) What does this apostle mean by this? First, let us look at what he does not mean. He does not mean that Timothy should go around talking rudely to anyone that tries to disrespect him because he is young. Doing that would be very silly and arrogant of him. In fact, doing that would make people look down on him all the more.
What, then, does Paul mean? Well, he means that Timothy should behave himself so wisely that nobody would use his being young as an excuse for disrespecting him. That, of course, is why he goes on to tell him to be an example to other believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. And as he does this, everyone would give him the respect that he deserves as a man of God.
Now we too should pay attention to how we behave where we live, study or work. People won’t give us adequate and appropriate respect simply because we bear some titles or because we are rich or because we are highly educated. Rather, they will do so because we know how to behave ourselves wisely. And if we should fail to learn to behave ourselves wisely, we may lose more than the respect and honour of others. We may also lose those things that are giving us pride in life.
Remember Hagar, Sarah’s maidservant. She was given an unspeakable privilege of sharing her mistress’ husband, even though it was something contrary to the purpose of God for those involved. And if she had behaved herself wisely in that situation, she would have enjoyed her mistress, Sarah, for the rest of her life. But she did not behave herself wisely but foolishly. When she got pregnant, she began to despise her Sarah, thinking that she had become the apple of Abraham’s eye. (Cf. Gen 16)
But soon enough, she saw that she was wrong. She saw that she could never take Sarah’s place in Abraham’s heart, even though she was carrying the man’s pregnancy. But she already lost whatever love and respect Sarah and others had for her in that home. And though she later humbled herself, all the remaining years she spent there were years of misery and pains.
You can, then, see that we may never win certain people’s respect or love back once we lose it. So, in all your dealings with people, always conduct yourself in such a way that you will continually earn their respect. And may God daily strength you to do so. Amen.
Lawal, J. O. (2025, April 9). Strengthen my hands. Youth for Jesus, 7(47).
“They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.” [But I prayed,] “Now strengthen my hands.”” (Neh 6:9NIV)
Who said these words? It was Nehemiah. And who was Nehemiah? Nehemiah was the governor of the land of Judah that God used in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem after the people had returned from exile.
Now though this man was a governor at the time he said these words, a governor that was righteous and also highly connected to Emperor Artaxerxes, he still found himself in a situation where certain individuals tried to frighten and weaken him. Why? They wanted him to abandon the good work he was doing, the good work of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and also seeing to the welfare of his people.
So, it is not only those who are poor, weak and lowly in life that face threats to weaken or render them useless in life. The rich, powerful and influential also face these things. Yes, they too sometimes find themselves in situations where they are being harassed, oppressed or threatened, so that they may not fulfil the desires of their hearts. And in such situations, their wealth, power and influence may not be able to help them. That, of course, is sometimes the reason some good people end up becoming useless or unprofitable leaders. The forces they have to contend with in the positions they find themselves are just too much for them to handle.
Well, as we see in our opening text, at some point, Nehemiah too found himself being harassed and threatened by the enemies of his people, so that he would be too weak to do anything good for his land as governor. But this man would not surrender to fear and stop the good work he was doing. Instead, he decided to pray to God.
Why did Nehemiah choose to pray to God, when he was being harassed and threatened? It was because he knew that only God could make him succeed under the circumstances he had found himself. Yes, he was rich, powerful and influential. But he also knew that wealth, power and influence could fail and have failed times without number. Only God never fails. So, he chose to pray to Him.
Now what was his prayer? It was very simple. It was that God would strengthen his hands. In other words, he wanted God to give him all the encouragement, strength, boldness, wisdom, determination, protection and resources he would need to finish the good work he was doing. And did God answer him or not? He did, for he finished the good work he started in record time and with excellence. So, all his enemies were put to shame. (Cf. Neh 6:15-16)
In like manner, if you too are faced with people or situations that are threatening to stop or hinder you from doing whatever good and righteous thing you have in mind or are up to, don’t be surprised. And don’t start saying, “God, why me?” You will not be the first person to experience that. Also, you surely won’t be the last person to experience it, as long as this earth remains.
So, instead of getting worried or losing your mind because certain people or circumstances are trying to frighten you and stop you from doing whatever good thing you want to do, just pray to God as Nehemiah did. Yes, pray to Him, saying, “Strengthen my hands, my God.” And He will answer you and furnish you with all the strength, wisdom, protection, courage, people, resources and encouragement you need to succeed. Then all those who are against you will be put to shame, when they see that what you have done has been done by the power of the living God.
Lawal, J. O. (2025, April 13). Put them to death. From Pastor’s Desk, Vol. 12, No. 50.
Beloved: Grace, mercy and peace be yours immeasurably from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to another week of the month of April 2025. My prayer is that God will daily teach you to take advantage of His grace to walk in victory over every kind of sin or weakness of the spirit, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Why did I offer this prayer for you? The reason is that it is the will of God for us to put to death any kind of sin that may be associated with our lives. Look at what Paul says about this to the Colossian brethren:
“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” (Col 3:5-10NIV)
Can you see all the things that we must put to death and also rid our lives of? Then can you observe that we are the ones to put these things to death in our lives? That means even though we are now children of God and new creatures in Christ, the bad things we used to do will still want to find expression in our lives and make a mess of our faith. That is because it has become cultural for us to do them.
But as Paul tells us, it is because of all these evil things that the wrath of God is coming on the disobedient. Therefore, we must not give ourselves to them again. Instead, we must put them to death. And can we actually put them to death? Do we have the ability to put them to death?
Well, if we could not put them to death, God would not say that we should do so. The reason He tells us to do so is that we can do so. But how do we do so? We cannot do so by simply wishing or determining to do so. Peter, for instance, was determined not to deny Jesus. Yet he denied Him three times in a row in one night. So, being determined not to do what is wrong is not enough; we must also possess the ability not to do what is wrong. Otherwise, the pressure of sin may weaken our determination and drive us to do what is against the desires of our hearts. (Cf. Matt 26)
All of this is why the bible further says to us. “For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.” (Rom 8:13NIV) Did you see that? It is only by the supply of the Spirit of God that we can put any kind of sin or bad behaviour to death in our lives. Otherwise, we can only find ourselves failing again and again.
So, if you want to end any kind of sin in your life, you must turn to the Spirit of God for the enablement to do so. How? First, you do so through prayer. Second, you do so by meditating on the word of God and confessing it to yourself. Third, you do so by fellowshipping with the people of God that are walking in righteousness. And as you consistently give yourself to these things, you will soon enough see for yourself that those wrong things that you are struggling with in your life have been put to death by the Spirit of God.
We have been looking at the instructions given to us in Hebrews, chapters 3 and 12, on watching over one another so that none of us will develop a sinful unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God and so that we will not fall short of the grace of God. And this has led us to examining some of the things we must pay attention to in order to be able to fulfil these demands placed on us by God.
Now I want to give us another point that will aid us in helping one another to remain faithful to God to the very end. And it is that we are to relate to one another only on the basis of the word of God. What I am saying is that we must encourage, instruct, admonish, correct or rebuke one another only on the basis of the word of God. We must not relate to one another on the basis of feelings or experiences but on the basis of the word of God.
Don’t get me wrong here. Our feelings are important. Our experiences are important. But they are only important to the degree that they align with the word of God. We can use our feelings and experiences to illustrate the word of God to people. But we must not allow our feelings and experiences to take the place of the word of God in our lives or in the lives of others, especially the people of God in our lives. So, as we relate to one another, our relationship must be word-based. That is the only way our relationship with one another can be clean and also beneficial to all of us.
While addressing the leaders of the Ephesian church, Paul says this to them in his farewell message:
“Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:32NIV)
There is something he says here about the word of God. And it is that it can build up God’s people and give them an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. That means it is the word of God that we must rely on, if we want to be built up in our faith and if we want to receive and enjoy our own share of the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of God. Prayer is important too. But it cannot take the place of the word of God in our lives. Through prayer, of course, we can be built up in strength, spiritual strength. But it cannot take the place of the word of God in our being built up in our faith, just as the word of God cannot take its place.
Well, I am saying that in dealing with one another in the church, we must do so only on the basis of the word of God. Now there are things the word of God demands or encourages us to do. And we must be demanding and encouraging one another to do these things, if we want to remain in the truth of Jesus. In other words, we must command ourselves to do the things the word of God tells us to do. Also, we must encourage ourselves to do the things the word of God encourages us to do.
For instance, the word of God commands and encourages us to take our devotion to Scriptures, prayer and Christian fellowship very seriously. And we must take these things very seriously in our individual lives. Not only that, we must also demand that our brethren take these things very seriously in their lives as well. If your brother or sister, then, is calling your attention to the need to take the word of God, prayer and Christian fellowship seriously, you must not think that they are doing something wrong or out of place. What they are doing is not out of place. That is because the demands they are making on you are the demands the word of God makes on every one of us.
Now when we take our devotion to prayer, the word of God and Christian fellowship very seriously, other things that God wants us to take seriously will become clear to us as well. That way, we can also take them seriously. The point I am making, in any case, is that in order for us to fulfil the demands that God is making on us to keep our brethren safe, the demands we will be placing on them must the ones God is placing on them. Otherwise, we will be wrong.
Then there are things that God has told us not to do, things that He has already condemned. We also must condemn these things in our own lives and in the lives of our brethren. ‘Acts of the flesh’, for instance, are condemned everywhere in the Scriptures. We must condemn them as well in our lives and in the lives of our brethren. Also, slothfulness, laziness, waywardness and lukewarmness of every form are condemned in Scriptures. We too must condemn these in our lives and in the lives of our brethren. What about immodest living? It is condemned in Scriptures. So, we too must condemn it. We must condemn everything that is immodest among us.
Sadly, there are times that people, in their attempt to evade correction or rebuke, will say, “The word of God says, ‘Do not judge, or you too will be judged.’” They say this to scare their brethren away from addressing the wrong things in their lives. Now it is true that the word of God tells us not to judge others, so that we will not be judged. But on what basis does it say that? In what context does the word of God say this?
When you read the passage where this is said carefully, you will see that Jesus says what He says there in the context of ‘morality in judgment’. In other words, the Lord is speaking of situations in which we are not qualified to judge others. Look at the passage:
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plan out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:1-5NIV)
You can see here that we are dealing with morality in judgment, where you have no moral right to judge others. And when do you have no moral right to judge others? You have no moral right to judge them when you are doing what you condemn in them or when you are doing things that are worse than what you condemn in them. I mentioned some things along these lines in the last lesson. I said you cannot afford to be a part of the problem you are trying to solve, if you want to help God’s people. Therefore, if you have fallen short of the grace of God or have developed a sinful heart that turns away from God, how can you keep your brethren from doing something similar or help them out of something similar?
Well, the Lord in this passage is speaking of morality in judgment. And it must not be torn apart. Often people tear what He says here apart. They will quote only the first line of His words and leave the rest of what He says in the same context out. That is wrong. It is a wrong way to treat the word of God. The context of this passage is of morality in judgment, where you have no moral right to judge others. And you do have no moral right to judge anyone, if you are guilty of the same offence that you want to judge or of worse offences than the one you want to judge.
The second thing we need to keep in mind in dealing with this text is that if God has already judged something, then, anyone that has a moral and spiritual right to judge it can judge it. So, don’t say, “Don’t judge me, if you are doing what is wrong.” God has already judged what you are doing as wrong. You, then, had better accept it. God has judged immorality as wrong. He has judged greed as wrong. He has judged envy, sorcery and witchcraft as wrong. He has judged sexual immorality as wrong. And He has judged homosexuality as wrong.
Today people, especially those who practise homosexuality and lesbianism and other similar nonsense, get upset when we condemn these acts. They get upset that the church will not embrace or celebrate what they are doing. Their thought is that we hate them. But we don’t hate them. The thing is that God has already judged their lifestyle as wrong. We, then, are not trying to judge them. God has already judged them. And if God has already judged something, we also can judge it, as long as we have the moral right to judge it.
So, if you are being rebuked for something wrong, do not say, “Why are you judging me? The word of God says that you should not judge.” If God has already judged what you are doing as wrong, then, anyone with a moral right to judge it can judge it and should judge it. Of course, there is none of us that is perfect. Each of us must strive for perfection. But if you are doing something that is wrong, we will not ignore you because we also are not yet perfect in conduct. We have to call your attention to what you are doing that is wrong. That is because God has already condemned it. Also, it is because God has told us to see to it that none of us develops a sinful unbelieving heart that turns away from Him.
Now since we have this instruction, we must fulfil it. And to make it easy for us to do so, we are told this by Paul in his letter to the Ephesian brethren; “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:21NIV) What is our instruction here? It is that we should submit to one another in our relationship with one another as believers. Why? Out of reverence for Christ! So, the reason I submit to you is not that you are better than me. The reason I do so is Christ. What we are saying is that the reason we submit to one another in the church is not that some people are better than others. Rather, the reason is that we honour Christ when we do so. For instance, when we honour our leaders and submit to them, it is Christ we are honouring and submitting ourselves to.
Well, I am bringing this up to let you know that if we will make it easy for our brethren to help us stay in the truth, we must submit to them. When they are getting involved in your life and trying to place their fingers on things you may be missing, you must not be furious or angry. Instead, you must listen to what they have to say. They may be wrong. People may be wrong when they are trying to place their fingers on certain things that are wrong in our lives. They may even not use gracious words in addressing us, which, by the way, is a wrong way to relate to others. Nevertheless, we must be willing to look at what they are showing us and to listen to what they are telling us.
This is often the problem in the church: we get all furious when others are trying to rebuke or correct us. And that is because we don’t want to look at what they are showing us or to listen to what they are telling us. That is a wrong attitude. It is an attitude of an arrogant person. And if we do not deal with it in our lives, it will sooner or later get us into trouble.
As I already said, people may be wrong in their attempt to rebuke or correct us. But we will be more wrong, if we are not going to look at all at what they are showing us or listen at all to what they are saying to us. We will be showing ourselves as proud, if we are like that. And the bible says that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. (Cf. James 4:6; 1Peter 5:5)
Yes, in this case, you are not wrong but right. The problem, however, is that your attitude is wrong. And because your attitude towards correction is wrong where you are right, when you are actually wrong, there may be no one to set you right. Then, before you know that what you are doing is wrong, it may have destroyed you. You can now see why we are told to submit to one another. And these include leaders as well. They also must submit to one another and to their brethren. This does not mean that they are to yield themselves to be led by their brethren. Rather, it means they are to be open enough to welcome complaints or observations from their brethren.
There are leaders that don’t want to hear any complaint or observation from their brethren. They will ask them to shut up. And there are assemblies in which brethren cannot freely ask questions about the things they do not understand in Scriptures. Someone will ask them to shut up. And that is not helpful for the health or growth of the church. It is important, then, that if we will be able to help one another stay in the truth, we must submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. This does not have to do with the age, experience academic qualification, social status or financial status of those we are relating to. Rather, it has to do with showing reverence for the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you truly revere Him, you will submit yourself to your brethren and not make it difficult for them to watch over you or to counsel, correct or rebuke you.
