WOE TO THE ENTICER!

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Jesus said to His disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. So watch yourselves.”

Luke 17:1-3

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

My wife and I were talking the other day about the Bible and the big picture presented by the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. We agreed that after the creation account, the entire landscape of the Bible centers on the fall of man into sin at Eden’s garden and God’s loving, merciful work in bringing redemption and salvation to mankind through His Son Jesus.

Given this, we know that sin is a given in life for everyone, an affliction instituted by the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. No one is free from it. But as we see in today’s scripture passage, Jesus, the One who had come to take away the sin of the world, tells us that this will never be an excuse for someone who leads another into sin. Look at His words here from the opening verses of Luke 17:

Jesus said to His disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. So watch yourselves.”  Luke 17:1-3

Here Jesus acknowledges the truth all people deal with, things (aka sins) that cause people to stumble. Our Savior admits that these “things” are “bound to come”. It’s a part of the human condition. But what isn’t supposed to be a part of the human condition is taking the initiative to cause someone else to sin. To these people, Jesus is sending a message:

“Woe to the enticer!”

What is the extent of the woe Jesus is talking about?

He tells us:

“It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.”

A millstone was a large weight used to crush grain. It was extremely heavy. Now picture this millstone around the neck of any individual who would be thrown into the sea. Any person in this perilous predicament would sink to the bottom of the sea, drowning in the process. They would probably be eaten by sea life before they would ever come back to the surface again. It’s not a pretty picture but that would be mild compared to the punishment one would expect if they tempted another person to fall into sin. This is why Jesus commands His listeners:

“Watch yourselves.”

So how can we avoid falling into the enticer category and avert the judgment Jesus is talking about?

The answer is very simple. We have to live as He lived.

Jesus lived a perfectly sin-free life and in Him was no sin. It’s just one thing that separates Him from us, even though He walked the earth as one of us. But just because we can’t be exactly like Him, doesn’t mean we can’t be like Him. We can and that goes for living a life where we stay away from committing sins in our own lives and definitely turn away from any thought about leading someone else toward sin. Jesus never did that and if we pledge and devote ourselves to live as He did then we will follow His lead.

If we don’t, well then we can expect Satan to step in and take control of what we do and if that happens, then get the millstone ready because I guarantee you he will not only lead you into sin but utilize you in some way to accomplish his evil intentions by getting someone else to get involved with you. He’s done it for the ages and he will do it until Jesus returns and takes him out for good.

So in sum, although we are all sinners, we don’t have to submit to our sins. Through Jesus, we can put ourselves in remission from this sin affliction we all suffer from. If we don’t, if we reject Jesus and choose to do our own thing, then we can expect to walk down the path of transgression and lead others to do the same with Satan as our guide, the Satan who will lead anyone into nothing but woe.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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