Thought from today’s Bible reading from 1 Kings 17-19.
Prior to his showdown with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, Elijah met with King Ahab. Ahab was quick to blame Elijah for the troubles that plagued the nation.
“When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, ‘Is this you, you troubler of Israel?’ He said, ‘I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, because you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and you have followed the Baals’” (1 Kings 18:17-18).
Ahab wanted to place the blame for Israel’s problems on the one who prophesied the truth. Elijah correctly turned the charge around on Ahab, declaring that the king had troubled the nation by rejecting the Lord and embracing a false god.
We can make application of this to the church today. Like Elijah, those who teach and defend the truth are often accused of being troublemakers and causing division.
- When a brother is engaged in sin and refuses to repent, Christians have the obligation to withdraw fellowship with that person (1 Corinthians 5:11, 13; 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14-15). This division that occurs is not the fault of the faithful brethren, but the unfaithful brother.
- When error is being taught, Christians have the responsibility to oppose it, mark the false teacher, and have no fellowship with him (Romans 16:17; 2 John 10-11). When this type of division occurs, those defending the truth did not cause it, but those who were teaching error did.
Jude makes this point as well: division is to be blamed on those who depart from the truth, not on those who adhere to the truth.
“But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they were saying to you, ‘In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.’ These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit” (Jude 17-19).
Those who practice, teach, and defend the truth should not be labeled as troublemakers. The ones who cause trouble are those who depart from God’s standard.
Tomorrow’s reading: 1 Kings 20-21
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
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