Don’t be a stumbling block | Pst. J.O. Lawal | April 06, 2022 | Series: Youth for Jesus. | Vol. 4, No. 47

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.” (Matt 23:13NIV)

What is the Lord accusing the Jewish religious leaders of in our opening bible text? He is accusing them of being stumbling blocks to the people of God. But how are they being stumbling blocks to them? It is by preventing them from doing the will of God through their teachings, practices and traditions.

As the Lord points out, it is bad enough that these leaders have no intention to do the will of God in their personal lives and affairs. But by deliberately doing things that will keep others also from doing His will, they are heaping up His wrath on themselves. And that is why the Lord says, “Woe to you…” In other words, it will be much worse for these religious leaders than the people they are misleading when God’s judgment eventually comes.

What is the point of this, then? It is that we need to be careful not to be a stumbling block to anyone that wants to do the will of God, just because we ourselves do not want to do it. But why will any child of God not want to do the will of his Father? The reason may be fear, selfishness, envy, pride or complacency. Whatever it may be, we must let it stop with us, if we will not repent of it, and not spread it to others. Otherwise, God will see to it that we surely get the punishment we deserve for sponsoring or encouraging rebellion against Him.

For example, why would Korah, Dathan and Abiram not accept the leadership of Moses and Aaron? Envy! And if they had allowed their envy to live and die in them and among them, God may have spared them. But they allowed it to spread to several other leaders of the people, so that their rebellion against the will of God began to gain ground. Therefore, God judged them in a most remarkable way. He made the ground swallow them and their families and possessions up. When next you, then, think of sponsoring others in rebellion against God, whether in the church or elsewhere, think also of these men. (Cf. Numbers 16)

Also, why would the Jewish leaders not accept Jesus as their Messiah? Pride! Envy! Greed! Stubbornness! They knew somewhere in their hearts that He was the real deal and that accepting Him was the will of God for them. But they would not accept Him for the reasons I already mentioned. Instead, they began to prevent their people too from accepting Him as their Messiah. Therefore, it would be much worse for them than all the people they hindered on the day of God’s righteous judgment. And if you too, because of greed, stubbornness, pride or envy, have been working against others’ acceptance of the truth of God where you are, know that your sin will surely find you out someday, if you fail to repent on time.

Furthermore, why did ten out of the twelve spies sent out by Moses to spy Canaan not want to go up and take over the land? Fear! Unbelief! And if they had kept their fear and unbelief to themselves, God might have spared them. But they poisoned the whole nation of Israel with these things. Therefore, they were the first to die of a plague before the Lord that very day. (Cf. Numbers 13 & 14)

So, you really need to be careful what you spread among people, especially God’s people. Be careful that you are not spreading things that will promote unbelief, bitterness, fear or rebellion among them. Otherwise, you may end your life before you start enjoying it.

Then, be careful not to allow anyone to discourage you from doing the will of God because of their own personal problems with God or men. In other words, don’t make anybody’s fear your fear, their bitterness your bitterness or their rebellion your rebellion. Or else, on the day they are judged for their wickedness, you too may not be spared.

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