Remove Every Stumbling Block

Isaiah 57:14-15 ESV

“And it shall be said,

‘Build up, build up, prepare the way,

    remove every obstruction from my people's way.’

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,

    who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:

‘I dwell in the high and holy place,

    and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,

to revive the spirit of the lowly,

    and to revive the heart of the contrite.’”

I read a Facebook meme today, apparently written by a pastor, but it is hard to tell the originators of these memes. But this was mocking the whole idea that women should need to dress modestly so that they do not lure men to look at them lustfully. And so it presented a satire in which it flipflopped the male and female roles and tried to make them fit to make a point. And so it also mocked the Scripture that taught, “If your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away” (Matthew 5:29) by satirically stating, “If your eye causes you to stumble, blame it on how the other person was dressed!!”

So, basically the premise of this meme was to support a woman’s right to dress however she wants even if she dresses in a particular way in which she knows will lead men to lust after her. And it alleviates her of full responsibility for how her actions may be received by others. So, this is giving her permission to knowingly and deliberately put stumbling blocks in the way of others and to do what she knows will lead others into sin.

But is it true that we are all responsible for our own decisions in life? Yes! So, truly we cannot blame other people if we choose to sin, even if they deliberately did what they knew would lead us into sin. But they are at fault for what they do, and we are at fault, too, for what we do. So, both the one who tempts another to sin and the one who sins are guilty of sinning against the Lord, according to the Scriptures. So, even if someone else knowingly tempts us to sin, we are responsible to resist that temptation.

So, what does this Scripture in Isaiah teach us? We are to remove all obstructions or obstacles in the way of God’s people following after the Lord. So this does not grant us permission to do what we know is going to tempt others to sin out of some selfish desire to be able to do what we believe is our right to be able to do, as human beings. Yet, I know that there are going to be people who are offended by what we do no matter what we do, and so we are not being called here to conform our lives to the whims and legalistic requirements of traditions of man, but only to follow the Lord’s commands.

For we read in 1 Timothy 2:9 that Christian women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control… with what is proper for women who profess godliness – with good works. 

And then we read in Matthew 18:6-8 that whoever causes those who are the Lord’s to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. For, “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!” So God takes seriously the matter of us, in our pride, thinking we have the right to live however we want regardless if what we do causes another to be led into sin.

Therefore, we are to be the people of God who love God and who love our neighbors and the people of God, and who do not deliberately put stumbling blocks in the way of those especially who are endeavoring to live pure and holy lives, by God’s grace, and in his power. But we shouldn’t be doing what we know will even lead the ungodly to sin, because that is still us tempting others to sin out of our own selfishness and out of our own desire to live however we want, regardless of how our actions affect others.

Therefore, we are to be people of God who go before others and who remove any and all obstructions we are capable of removing, in the strength of the Lord, in order to clear a path for others to walk in the ways of the Lord. So for us this might and will include us teaching the truth of what the Scriptures teach and us rebuking the lies which are leading people into sin. And this will involve us calling others to repentance and to obedient walks of faith, and us warning of divine judgment should we choose not to obey the Lord, and should we choose to continue in our sinful ways.

And part of that, for me, is rebuking the lies in many of these memes on social media which are leading Christians (or professers only of faith in Jesus Christ) down a wrong path, and then sharing with them the truth of the Scriptures in opposition to those lies so that, hopefully, they also will reject the lies and they will follow after the truth. For this is one of the ways in which God is leading me to remove the obstacles out of the way which are leading others to sin against the Lord.

And to “build up” is to speak the truth in love to the body of Christ so that we are not taken captive by the deceitfulness of man in their craftiness and cunning and deceitful scheming. And it is to exhort one another daily so that none of us is hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. And it is to gather together daily with other Christians here or in your home or out for a meal or wherever to encourage one another daily, for many professing Christians are falling away from the true faith and they are following after the idols of man.

And we are to humble ourselves before God and be willing to be hated, persecuted, and mocked for our walks of faith in Jesus Christ in order to remove those obstacles out of the way and to clear the path so that others who have trusted in Christ may walk in the ways of holiness unhindered. And we do this by speaking the truth of the gospel and by exposing the lies and by not doing what we know is going to lead others into sin out of selfish motives and desires to do whatever we want regardless of how others are being impacted by what we do. For we are commanded to love one another.

Body of Christ, life in the Spirit: [Acts 2:42-47; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; Gal 6:1-5; Eph 1:22; Eph 2:19-22; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:17-30; Php 2:1-8; Col 1:18; Col 2:19; Col 3:16; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; Jas 5:20; 1 Pet 2:4-6; Jude 1:22-23]  

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

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