What do you call 100 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean? A good start. How about 5000 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean? A really great start!
Dealing with a lawyer can be similar to taking a physics exam. Why do I need to endure this suffering!? Sometimes lawyers make discussions about law or legal matters more complex than they actually are. They also love writing out lengthy descriptions of legal procedures that defy ones ability to comprehend the meaning.
There are times when making things complex might be important, but most times simple and straight-forward is the best strategy in communicating with people.
In the days of Christ the lawyers were men who claimed to interpret divine law so as to help the Jews to understand the will of God. Actually they were a bunch of hypocritical religious bigots who deceived the people and hindered them from accepting the truth.
Jesus strongly rebuked them for their inconsistencies and showed to them their true condition. He accused them of hindering the people from understanding God's word and from entering into the kingdom. Listen to Jesus, "Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering." (Luke 11:52).
Today there are members of the church who are guilty of hindering people from obeying the gospel and are hindering the progress of the cause of Christ without even realizing what they are doing. They may not be guilty of “taking away the key of knowledge”, but by their conduct, or attitude they may be guilty of hindering others from becoming Christians, or some from becoming strong and faithful members of the church. I am sure that no one wants to be guilty of this.
Periodically, we all need to look in the mirror, take inventory of our own lives, to see where in we might be guilty of hindering others. The apostle Paul says... Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? (2 Corinthians 13:5).
Members of the church, so called Christians, who live worldly lives are a hindrance to the cause of Christ. People in the world are quick to take notice of the hypocrisy of those who claim to be Christians who do not live as Christians are expected to live. The apostle James says, You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. (James 4:4).
Again, the scriptures admonish... “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” (Col.3:1,2). The apostle John says, “For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:16,17). A person may excuse himself by saying he is not guilty of bad things that are condemned in the scriptures, but by inspiration Paul even includes pleasures that become distractions to spiritual growth... “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” (2 Tim 3:4). Things that are not wrong in themselves can become sin to us by keeping us from being the strong Christians the Lord wants us to be. Our Lord teaches us to “seek first the kingdom of God” (Matt. 6:33), and we are told, “Be strong in the Lord and the power of his might” (Eph. 6:10).
Christians who show no real interest in the church are a hindrance. We are told in Hebrews 11:6 that God “is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him”. Lukewarm Christians are sickening to the Lord. Jesus said in His letter to the church at Laodicea... “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” (Rev. 3:15-16).
We are told in 1 Corinthians 15:57-58... “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
Members of the church who show lackluster support for the [tantamount to refusing to cooperate] Lord's work impede progress and discourage others who want to do what is right. The apostle Paul wrote to the Christians at Ephesus and said, “Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3). In the Old Testament we are informed that “rebellion is like the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is an iniquity and idolatry” (1 Sam. 15:23). Those Christians who have no time to contribute to the success of any program of work that is decided on by the congregation’s leadership hinder and discourage others who want to cooperate and to do what they can for the Lord. Rest assured, such individuals will give account in the day of Judgment.
People who allow trivial things to become issues for argument, or keep them from attending worship services are a detriment to those who are interested and want to do right. A strong church cannot be built on weak Christians. There are three classes of church members: (1) Those who will, (2) Those who won't, (3) Those who might.
The first class, “those who will” can be depended on. They are the backbone of the church. They are the ones who will be present every time the church meets (if at all possible). They do not rely on excuses to justify poor church attendance or lack of personal service these people are “ready for every good work”. If there is anything they can do to help the church, they are ready and willing. You can depend on them. They are a good example to all, including the conduct of their children. They are a source of encouragement to all others.
The second class, “those who won’t” cannot be depended on. They are the ones who will do no more than they have to do to still be recognized as a part of the congregation. They refuse to attend more than one service a week, if that. They will not sacrifice any of their personal pleasure time to help do anything for the church. They are selfish, thinking only of themselves and their own interests above all else. They do only the bare minimum, but do expect the Lord in the day of Judgment to say to them, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the Lord.” Good luck with that idea!
The third class is made up of “people who might” be available and interested. They might or might not show up to help on a day planned for general cleaning up around the building and property. They might or they might not attend when the congregation conducts a revival weekend to help strengthen the church and save sinners. If they don't "have other fish to fry" they might show up for a service or two to see what is going on, but not get too involved.
These are people who could change classes by making up their mind that they want to be more useful to the church and start taking advantage of opportunities to be made spiritually stronger. These are people who could decide that they want their spiritual life to count for something before they die. They could decide that they are going to use their abilities and talents for the Lord so that their lives will have meaning. Or, the third class, “the might class” can change and become part of the second class... the won’t class”. Of course, this would be a bad decision, but sometimes people decline instead of growing. No one is responsible for this but the individual person. Such people will frequently blame others for their plight, but in the day of Judgment such will be judged as an individual as all will.
Finally, members of the church who refuse to put into practice the truths they learn from the Bible are a detriment to the cause of Christ because by their influence they discourage others who want to be solidly grounded in Biblical truth without ungodly interference. The apostle James said this about such ones... “ If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” (James 4:17). This same apostle says. “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (James 1:22). Again. he says, “But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”(James 1:25).
No one wants to be guilty of hindering anyone from becoming a Christian, and no one wants to discourage anyone from doing his best to serve the Lord in all ways possible. So ask yourself... What are you going to do to improve your influence? It would be a terrible thing to hear our Lord’s condemnation in the Day of Judgment when He will say to those who have “HINDERED the GOSPEL... “Depart from me into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels!”
Let us do the best we can to serve the Lord and encourage others to do the same. It will all be worth it in the Day of Judgment and for all eternity.
