
EPISODE 06
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What do you do when your kind helpfulness is taken for granted and you are met with unrealistic self-centred demands? It is a challenge to keep exercising grace in the way we ought and to act wisely. There clear stumbling blocks that make it easy to fall into bitterness and resentment as well as getting weary in well-doing. Relationships are easily strained and suspicion brought into the life of a congregation. It is natural to withdraw in hurt and irritation that allows the damage to remain on all sides. But how could we avoid it and seek the best spiritual interests of all concerned?
The Concerning Scandal podcast applies the biblical principles of avoiding spiritual harm by looking at the real-life scenarios in which stumbling blocks arise. We can use the spiritual wisdom of James Durham’s classic book in situations we are all too familiar with.
This podcast episode presents us with a real-life scenario that arises in the context of everyday relationships. We need to be on the watch for these kinds of situations. The fact that they are so ordinary can mean we are less on our guard against potential dangers. How do we both avoid being stumbled by the hurts that make resentment easy to bottle up? There are many other stumbling blocks that can impede how we exercise grace. This scenario can help us think about how to deal with those too.
To find out more, visit www.concerningscandal.com

FURTHER HELP
The implications of this are virtually all-encompassing. There are few things we must take more seriously than this in the Christian life.
To explore this issue further, you may find it helpful to read the article 7 Reasons to Avoid Stumbling Others.
You will discover how a stumbling block in Scripture is not simply an obstacle. It is anyone or anything by which someone is drawn into sin or error. Or it may simply hinder them from being edified. Scripture tells that it can happen even through things that aren’t in themselves sinful. David Dickson explains the teaching of Christ on this subject in Matthew 18.

GET THE BOOK
In The Scandal of Stumbling Blocks, James Durham helps us to consider this vital issue deeply by defining the nature of stumbling as well as showing its serious consequences. He looks in considerable detail at different kinds of stumbling and identifies the ways that people can stumble and be stumbled. Durham provides practical advice for avoiding and preventing offence.
Now edited in modern English, Durham’s classic treatment on considerate Christianity can be used to edify a new generation.