But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! -Matthew 18.6-7
What sobering words from Jesus Christ. Think of the care with which he takes care of his children, and especially those little ones. We all need to be sobered by these words and watch our actions as we attempt to live lives in conformity to Christ and his law. Christ is a gracious saviour, but he is also a judge to those that offend his children.
Here are the words of Bishop JC Ryle on this verse:
It is a great sin to put a stumbling block in the way of believers. We put offences or stumbling-blocks in the way of men's souls whenever we do anything to keep them back from Christ, or to turn them out of the way of salvation, or to disgust them with true religion. We may do it by what we say or how we live, and this a great sin. It is awful to think of the amount of harm that can be done by one inconsistent professor of religion. He gives a handle to the infidel. He supplies the worldly man with an excuse for remaining undecided. He checks the enquirer after salvation. He discourages the saints. He is, in short, a sermon on behalf of the devil.
2 comments:
The disciples were getting fat heads and not realizing the peril into which they were throwing themselves. Those whom God has humbled don't just have that for its own sake but also have the Lord's protection. My understanding of this whole millstone deal, would be like getting the mob's concrete shoes and getting deep sixed. What a horrible way to die...and to just think that would be better than teaching one of the Lord's to sin. Not to mention the whole deal with rather to cut off our own hands and gouge out our own eyes before teaching God's own to sin. And to sum the topic up, those little ones' angels are sent by the Father to protect His own. Don't mess with those who are friends with angels who do God's bidding.
This text speaks volumes to those who would flippantly throw themselves into teaching positions. For now I think I'll just content to be a humbled learner of GOd's word.
Sobering indeed.
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