DAD-S RAMBLINGS -- LET THEM ALONE

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – LET THEM ALONE

"Then His disciples came and said to Him, 'Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?'  But He answered and said, 'Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.  Let them alone.  They are blind leaders of the blind.  And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.'    (Matthew 15:12-15)

As was often the case, Jesus was at odds with the Pharisees.  Or, perhaps more accurately, the Pharisees were at odds with Jesus.  In this case, the Pharisees were complaining that the disciples did not observe the traditions of the teachings of the Jewish religion because they did not wash their hands as prescribed by elders.  The Pharisees were teaching as doctrine the traditions of men (vs. 9), while at the same time transgressing the commandments of God because of their traditions (vs. 4).

Jesus' response to His disciples was to "let them alone."   If they were not of God, God would take care of them and uproot them.

At times, I have felt that it was my responsibility to correct everyone else's doctrines or church traditions which are not prescribed by God in the Bible. But maybe that is not my job.  My responsibility is to speak God's truth – His Word.

To be sure, the leaders of a church – the elders in particular – have the responsibility to protect the flock from false teachers and false doctrine.  That requires careful adherence to what God has revealed in His word, and diligence to keep the doctrine in line with biblical teaching.

On a personal level, it is not my responsibility to correct all heresy.  God will take care of false teachers.  They will eventually be uprooted and shown to be false.   My job is to be careful to make sure that what I believe corresponds to God's truth.  That requires that I know God's Word and conform my beliefs to what God says.  As for others, I need to let them alone, and let God deal with them.

Love, Dad