Stumbling blocks – Earthly focus, legalistic arrogance, judging the weak, failing to love; Mat 16:22; Rom 11:9; Rom 14:13; 1Jn 2:10 .

Title: Stumbling blocks - Earthly focus, legalistic arrogance, judging the weak, failing to love; MAT 16:22; ROM 11:9; ROM 14:13; 1Jn 2:10 .

 

Stumbling blocks occur when believers get their eyes on earthly things, Matt 16:22:

 

Matt 16:21 From that time Jesus Christ began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.

 

Matt 16:22 And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You."

 

Believers close to you can often get their minds on earthly things and then attempt to stop you from taking risks in the plan of God.

 

What is in the plan of God that is a source of fear to those involved in the kosmos? Love, graciousness, laying down your life, peace, contentment in the face of great adversity, etc. A believer in fellowship yoked with a believer not in fellowship causes conflict and some time the believer out of fellowship will attempt to trap the believer in fellowship to adopt worldly thinking. Misery loves company. Negative volition loves company.

 

Matt 16:23 But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's."

 

What had Peter said just a few moments before this.

 

Matt 16:13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He began asking His disciples, saying, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" 

 

Matt 16:14 And they said, "Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets."

 

Matt 16:15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 

 

Matt 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."

 

Matt 16:17 And Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

 

Matt 16:18 "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it.

 

Matt 16:19 "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." 

 

Matt 16:20 Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.

 

A faith oriented believer in one moment can be a stumbling block the next. You may or may not call them satan, I wouldn’t recommend it, but forgive move on, your spiritual life does not depend on the spiritual status of another, and you might want to subtly tell them they are in their flesh.

 

Arrogance through legalism is a great stumbling block, ROM 11:9.

 

ROM 11:5 In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God's gracious choice.

 

ROM 11:6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.

 

ROM 11:7 What then? That which Israel is seeking for, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened;

 

ROM 11:8 just as it is written,

"God gave them a spirit of stupor,

Eyes to see not and ears to hear not,

Down to this very day."

 

ROM 11:9 And David says,

"Let their table become a snare and a trap,

And a stumbling block and a retribution to them.

 

ROM 11:10 "Let their eyes be darkened to see not,

And bend their backs forever."

 

Judging a weaker believer or doing things that pierce his weakness puts a stumbling block in his way, ROM 14:13:

 

ROM 14:1 Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.

 

ROM 14:2 One man has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only.

 

ROM 14:3 Let not him who eats regard with contempt him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats, for God has accepted him.

 

ROM 14:4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and stand he will, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

 

ROM 14:5 One man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind.

 

ROM 14:6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.

 

ROM 14:7 For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;

 

ROM 14:8 for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.

 

ROM 14:9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

 

ROM 14:10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God.

 

ROM 14:11 For it is written,

"As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me,And every tongue shall give praise to God."

 

ROM 14:12 So then each one of us shall give account of himself to God.

 

ROM 14:13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this —  not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way.

 

ROM 14:14 I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

 

ROM 14:15 For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.

 

ROM 14:16 Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil;

 

ROM 14:17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

 

ROM 14:18 For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.

 

ROM 14:19 So then let us pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.

 

ROM 14:20 Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense.

 

ROM 14:21 It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.

 

ROM 14:22 The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.

 

ROM 14:23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.

 

Those who set stumbling blocks through sins of the tongue in the local assembly are to be isolated, ROM 16:17.

 

ROM 16:17 Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions [to undermine those who stand together] and hindrances [skandalon - noun] contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.

 

ROM 16:18 For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.

 

People don’t expect it in the church and often that is why it is successful in producing dissensions and stumbling blocks.

 

 

“dissensions” - dicostasi,a[dichostasia; dicha - asunder or apart; stasis - a standing] = disunion, dissension, sedition, to undermine those who stand together. “hindrances” - stumbling blocks, snares, traps.

 

Failing to apply impersonal, unconditional, divine, virtue love to every member of the body of Christ causes stumbling blocks, 1Jn 2:10.

 

1 John 2:10 The one who loves his brother abides in the light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.

 

1 John 2:11 But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

 

And since we have studied it in detail and the context is of the object of love, either the brethren or the world, remembering that it is the strong young man and the fathers who have overcome the poneros or evil character of the cosmos and is therefore mature enough to love his fellow believer with agape love.

 

1 John 2:12  I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake.

 

1 John 2:13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father.

 

1 John 2:14 I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

 

1 John 2:15 Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

 

1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

 

1 John 2:17 And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever.

 

Compromising doctrine for an easier life caused stumbling blocks in the church of Pergamum, REV 2:14.

 

REV 2:12 "And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write:

The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this:

 

REV 2:13 'I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith, even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

 

I have always known where you dwell; God knew in EP the geographic challenges we would all face. Living in a dangerous or idolatrous place is not as important as living in the plan of God. In other words, it doesn’t matter where you live, what matters is whether you live in the cosmos or not. The believer can live in perfect safety and perfect security even if he lives in the most dangerous place in the world.

 

Satan’s throne - Pergamum had the first temple dedicated to the emperor, a large temple of Zeus, and a world famous healing center with the symbol of the serpent.

 

slide: Asclepius

 

Emperor worship, idolatry, and the phallic cult were rampant.

 

There were those living right under Satan’s nose who were holding fast to Christ and not denying doctrine.

 

Antipas was the pastor to the Church and he would not acknowledge Caesar as Lord. Tradition has it that the priests of Asclepius’ temple roasted him alive inside a brass bull.

 

slide: bull

 

This assassination made a great impression on Satan because he realized that throughout history he must do everything he can to distract believers from Bible doctrine. It was quite obvious that anyone who ever gets that much doctrine can ever be shaken by the power of Satan. It was a case of Goliath and David all over again. But life in the cosmic system gives no power to face this issue.

 

REV 2:14 'But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit acts of immorality.

 

As some believers in Pergamum were holding fast to doctrine there were others who were holding just as fast to the teaching of Balaam [the love of money] and the Nicolaitans.

 

REV 2:15 'Thus you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

 

Balaam agreed to curse Israel for a price - love of money.

God stopped Him - overruling will of God.

Balak befriended Israel and lured them into idolatry - failure to apply doctrine.

 

Understanding the story of Balaam helps us interpret this insidious group more accurately (see Num 22-25). Balaam was a true prophet who prostituted his gifts in order to earn money from King Balak, who hired him to curse the people of Israel. God prevented Balaam from actually cursing the nation - in fact, God turned the curses into blessings!-but Balak still got His money's worth. How? By following Balaam's advice and making friends with Israel, and then inviting the Jews to worship and feast at the pagan altars. "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!"

 

The Jewish men fell right into the trap and many of them became "good neighbors." They ate meat from idolatrous altars and committed fornication as part of heathen religious rites. Twenty-four thousand people died because of this disobedient act of compromise (NUM 25:1-9).

 

Why did this bit of ancient history apply to the believers at Pergamos? Because a group in that church said, "There is nothing wrong with being friendly to Rome. What harm is there in putting a pinch of incense on the altar and affirming your loyalty to Caesar?" Antipas refused to compromise and was martyred; but others took the "easy way" and cooperated with Rome.

 

Be careful of compromising doctrine to get an easier way. Once satan has a small opening he will exploit it. Antipas stands in great contrast to this.

 

REV 2:16 'Repent therefore; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.

 

REV 2:17 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.'

 

 

 

Title: Stumbling blocks - Earthly focus, legalistic arrogance, judging the weak, failing to love; MAT 16:22; ROM 11:9; ROM 14:13; 1Jn 2:10 .