Who is Your Brother’s Keeper

“And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.” (1 Cor. 12:21) The answer of course is “No, we cannot say this,” but it sure seems to happen on a fairly regular basis.

The person that stands behind the pulpit, the hierarchy of the church, those who have been set, hopefully by the Lord, above the congregation, the teachers, are not infallible, but are treated by many as such, as if they are closer to the truth than others. There are two sides here, those that know that they are responsible for expounding upon the truths of the Word of God and do so in all humility and fear, and those who believe themselves to be adept in every function of the body and therefore infallible in their interpretation of the Scriptures.

On the other side of the coin is the congregation, the assembly of individuals, sitting in the pews of their own free will. Here you will find those who will obey without question, and those who will search the Scriptures and test them against what is being said and taught by those on the other side of the coin. Within this group you will find those who have a fervent desire to see that the Word of God is spoken of and taught correctly, and here is why there are so many different religious organizations and denominations.

Those who desire that the Scriptures be expounded on correctly for the glory of God who are teachers, pastors, and elders if you prefer, will always listen when any question arises about what they have said, how they have interpreted the Scriptures and then given their interpretation to those in attendance. They cannot be wrong, and they know it, for they are not accountable to those in the pews, no matter if it is ten or ten thousand, they are speaking for the Almighty, and He does not look favorably upon those who misinterpret His word. “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels.” (Prov. 1:5)

But there are others, those we might call “stiff necked and hard hearted,” as the Lord described the children of Israel in many places. Instead of discussing and debating the one who has attempted to verify that what he believes to be truth is being interpreted incorrectly, they will hold their ground, as it were, they will listen but not hear, and therein is where contention will begin. I doubt very much that any of you have ever sat in a church service where the preacher has asked the congregation of how they would like him to preach, of what those in attendance would like to call truth, as a whole, voted on it, and then begin to call it truth, whether it is in line with the Word of God or not. No, you have not.

Most generally when an established church is in need of a new pastor they seek outside of the church for that person, for the majority of the men in the congregation are not fit to lead, not because they are not called, but they do not study to show themselves approved (2 Tim. 2:15) to anyone but themselves, and the person called must, most generally, be in line with the previous leaders interpretation of the Scriptures. The majority in the congregation do not question those in position of leadership, partly because they are not well versed in the Scriptures, and partly because they do not want to be seen as contentious, even if they know for a fact from the Word of God that what is being taught is not in accordance with the Word of God. Religious organizations excel in this, for by traditions and recognized routines, the truth has either been watered down, or even replaced by the fallacies of the “truth” of men.

Herein then lies the question in this letter to you today, if you are sure, if you have been blessed by the Holy Spirit to see undeniable truth in the Word of God in a specific area of the Scriptures, and that truth is not being taught where you attend church, what are you doing about it. The Scriptures are quite clear here, but only an obedient servant of Christ will follow them, we are to apply Matthew 18:16 whether it is an elder, a teacher, or even the pastor of the church. This, my friends, is why there are untold numbers of different “faith based” organizations out there, this is why we yearn for the day when Jesus Christ sits upon the throne of this planet, so that the one and only truth is expounded upon correctly forever.

Close enough is not good enough when it comes to the Word of God, and if you have been shown that the truth, the truth of the written Word of God is not being presented properly to all in attendance, and you do absolutely nothing to bring that into the light, who do you believe is going to be held responsible, the one who preaches what in all essence is a lie, or the one who saw the lie, and did nothing at all about it? Who, brothers and sisters in Christ, is your brother’s keeper?