From the desk of Pastor Ben

Leading Others to Righteousness

“It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come.”     (Matthew 18:7b)

The most common way that believers contribute to other believers’ sins may be the failure to lead others into righteousness. To keep God’s truth and all its rich resources strictly to ourselves is to withhold from others insights and experiences that can help them grow spiritually.

By contrast, the New Testament repeatedly urges saints to encourage one another in righteousness. Hebrews admonishes us to “consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24). In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus tells His children to petition their Heavenly Father, “Do not lead us into temptation.” We know , however, that He would never tempt us, because it is His desire to “deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13). James further assures us that “God cannot be tempted by evil,” and that He sets the standard in that “He Himself does not tempt anyone” (James 1:13). Like the Father, the mature Christian never causes others to sin but shields them from it and leads them into righteousness.

The story is told of a very distraught old man on his deathbed. When asked why he was so upset, he said, “When we were boys at play, one day at a crossroads we reversed a signpost, and I’ve never ceased to wonder how many people were sent in the wrong direction by what we did.” How many times does that sort of bad communication occur in the church when believers send other believers wrong signals that lead them down the road to sin?

Ask Yourself:
Who have been some of the greatest examples of Christ-likeness you’ve been around in your life — those whose words, reactions, and expressions always draw out of you a fresh desire to follow Christ more completely? How badly do you want to become that for others?