Bad Infleunces -CC 9-14
Rapport: Like any parent, I love my children and I would do anything for them. I am always trying to protect them from the dangers in their lives. They are innocent and vulnerable to danger that we as teenagers and adults are not as susceptible to. If you see both of the girls with me by myself, then you may hear me say “both hands on the car.” I say this when the girls and I are getting in the car in a busy parking lot. If the girls just stood there, as I put the other one in their seat, they could easily be enticed to walk away from the car and in the path of a oncoming car. So if I am putting one girl in her car seat, the other one must put both hands on the car which helps me know that they are not looking around. Both hands are on the car and they are safe.
Just like earthly parents, God, our heavenly Father wants to protect his children- the innocent and weak. Jesus has already talked with his disciples about entering the kingdom of heaven with humility and repentance. He compared Christians to a little child that he used as an illustration in the midst of the disciples. Now he changes gears to talk about protecting these little children.
God wants to protect you as a child of God. He puts warning signs out to guard you from danger. But sometimes other people tear down those warning signs and you fall into danger and sin.
It reminds me of the story of three friends in Tampa, Florida who drove the streets one night looking to pull some pranks. They pulled up over 20 street signs around town including a stop sign at one busy intersection. The next day, three 18 year boys finished up their bowling match and headed home toward that intersection. They drove right through the intersection and were killed by a 8-ton truck instantly.
The street sign vandals went before a judge and were sentenced to 15 years in prison for the deaths of those 3 boys.
There are people in the world that cause Christians to fall into sin. Let’s look at our text for today and let’s focus on this truth from Jesus that…Believers must be aware of the bad influences in their spiritual journey. We will focus on 3 aspects of awareness about bad influences.
1. We should treat others like we would treat Christ vs. 5-“And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me;”
What would you do if Jesus showed up at your house?
RECEIVING- Jesus was teaching the disciples about both sides. There will be those people that receive Christians. What He means is we should accept Christians in the same way that a person welcomes honored guests at a party. I know you like to have parties for yourself. Imagine your favorite birthday party, people are talking to you, you are given presents, you know if you left, the party would be over. That is what Jesus means to receive other Christians. To treat other Christians as if it was their birthday party every day.
Jesus said, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
Here Jesus stresses the same point as in our text today. When we have surrendered our life to Christ, we are inviting the presence of God to live within us. So if we are helpful, kind, loving, and generous to other Christians, we are actually displaying those actions to Christ living in people. In the same way, if we are rude, hateful, or selfish with people, we are also doing those things to Christ.
PASTOR IS A BUM! I heard a story one time where a pastor of a church in the big city, dressed up in dirty clothes, wore a wig, and pretended to be a homeless man begging for money for some food. Homeless people were always around the parking lot of their church and so he stood out front with the rest of the homeless people begging. He watched as church member after church member passed by with rude comments and empty hearts. As the church service started that morning, this pastor walked into the church still dressed as the beggar only to reveal his true identity.
THE STUMBLING BLOCKS
So there are those who receive Christians and treat them like they would treat Christ and then there is the group that will lead others to fall into sin. He uses the word skandalizo which means a stumbling block, one who causes another to trip, stumble or fall. He is referring to leading someone into sin. It is like setting a trap for someone to fall into.
ICE AGE MOVIE- It reminds me of the movie Ice Age, where the saber tooth tiger- Deigo was trying to lure the Mammoth Manny and the baby into a trap. As they journeyed closer to the trap, Diego becomes friends with Manny and Sid and his feelings change but the trap was still set.
These people in the world who lead others to sin can be Christians or non Christians. But Jesus here is focusing on “these little ones” not as literal children, but as those who are weak and fragile in their faith. We are all growing more like Christ, but Jesus is teaching that Christians are weak and fragile and can often be lead into sin by others.
I think as a parent of my little girls and how one day there will be people in their lives that will influence them positively and negatively. I pray now that God will send people to invest positively in my girls like teachers, coaches, youth pastors, other parents, and our family. But I will do whatever is necessary to protect them from those that might lead them astray. I will always be on the lookout for the bad influences in their lives.
Think about this for a moment, are there bad influences in your life that lead you to sin? A lot of times it is the cool person at school that you want to be friends with. So you often times do things you know God disapproves of just so this cool person will like you. Do you have any friends that act really bad and get in trouble? Do you get in trouble when you are around them? We need to be like Joseph and run away from people that are trying to cause us to sin.
2. We should avoid being a bad influence because of their punishment v. 6b- “6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”
Jesus tried to explain here the seriousness bad influences and the fate of those who lead Christians astray. He uses the illustration of the millstone.
Mule millstone- The “large millstone” (literally, millstone for a donkey) referred to the huge stone wheels that were attached to a horizontal bar connected to a donkey’s harness. As the animal walked around in circles, the wheel rolled over a raised stone slab (similar in appearance to a large birdbath), crushing the grain underneath.
Depth of sea- The deepest part of the sea. The Romans sometimes practiced this form of execution by trying a heavy stone around a criminal’s neck and dropping him overboard in deep water. Such a pagan form of execution was unimaginably horrible to Jews, perhaps in some respects more fearful even than crucifixion.
So basically Jesus is telling us that those people who lead others into sin will face severe punishment for that one day. He talks about those judgements as eternal fire and gehenna.
What kind of Judgment?- Both of these reference are describing hell. Eternal fire refers to the time of punishment. Hell is a place where people will be punished for their sin. It is an eternal place. The punishment they will receive will last forever.
He also uses the word Gehenna. In Jesus’ time, this same place was used to burn refuse, trash, even the dead bodies of criminals and animals. To avoid a stench in the air of rotting flesh, hot fires continually burned there. Jesus used this place as a reference to hell where fires of judgment will burn forever.
How do we lead others to sin? John Macarthur gives many ways to lead others to sin.
· Tempting them directly to sin- like Eve tempted Adam to take the bite of the fruit. It was Eve’s idea and she took Adam the fruit.
· Being a sinful example- attitudes that you have or things you say may lead someone to sin because they repeat what you said. If you say a bad word and your little brother or sister hears you say it, then they repeat it –that is leading them to sin.
I have known many people that call themselves Christians but yet they constantly lead people into sinful habits. I am here to tell you that if you are continually a bad influence in other people’s lives, you cannot be a Christian. I am not talking about accidentally getting your friend in trouble. I am talking about a person who is always getting in trouble with parents and teachers. I am talking about a person who tries to convince you of doing things that you know are wrong. These people know what is right but they choose to do wrong and they try and get others to be a part of their sin.
3. We should deal quickly with bad influences in our lives vs.7-9
Matthew 18:7-9 (NASB95)7 “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes! 8 “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. 9 “If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.
So how do we respond to being lead into sin?
IMMEDIATE ACTION- In Jewish culture, the right eye and right hand represented a persons best and most precious part of the body. The right eye represented one’s best vision, and the right hand one’s best skills. Jesus’ point is that we should be willing to give up whatever is necessary, even the most cherished things we possess, if doing that will help protect us from evil.
This is the hardest point of a Chrisitans’ life is to separate themselves from the things that draw us to sin. Whether it is a best friend, a teacher or coach or a relative, Jesus is teaching us to remove those things from our lives that lead us into sin.
IT MAY BE PAINFUL- Notice how cutting off your hand or plucking our your eye illustrates pain. It is going to cause pain in your life if you have to lose a friend because it leads you to sin, or break up a boyfriend or girlfriend because they lead you to sin, or quit a team or job because of the influence to sin. They are all painful things but yet the pain does not pale in comparison to eternal torment one will face in hell if that sin leads you astray from God.
JOSEPH’S WAY OF DEALING- We read in Genesis how Joseph, who was sold as a slave by his brothers, ended up working in Potiphar’s house. Now Potiphar was the captain of the guard for Pharaoh, King of Egypt and Potiphar had grown to like Joseph and he put Joseph in charge of his home and possessions. But Potiphar’s wife tried to lead Joseph into sin, but instead of giving in to her temptations, he just ran away.
When we know those bad influences are out there leading us to sin, we must remove those influences immediately. If you watch TV shows that are dirty and crude, you must get rid of those things that lead you to sin. If your relationship leads you to sin, end it. If the music you listen to causes you to sin, do more than stop listening to it, throw it away. If your teammates lead you to sin, quit the team. God will bless you because of your sacrifice for His sake.