EPISODE 08
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Do you need to show loyalty to your local congregation or can you hop between different places if that seems best for you? In two different cases people come to find out what impact their actions can have on others. It never occurred to Simon that he would affect anyone else. He was just acting from the best motives. And he wasn’t doing anything wrong. But Rachel has used it to her own ends and ignored her conscience. And that will create problems for others. What needs to happen so that the stumbling is minimised or reduced?
We all need to know how to deal with a situation where someone has been stumbled even though we didn’t intend it and we didn’t do anything wrong as such. It’s important that where we can we remove anything that may cause someone to stumble once we know about it. Otherwise we are then deliberately leaving a stumbling block in their way.
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.
To find out more, visit www.concerningscandal.com
FURTHER HELP
In the Bible offence not the same as making someone displeased. Rather it is something that causes them to stumble in their spiritual progress or offend against God’s Word. We can do this without meaning to do it. It also happens when we do and say the right things in the wrong way or at the wrong time and so turn people against what is right. To explore this issue further, you may find it helpful to read the article The Worst Kind of Offence in an “I’m Offended” Culture. George Gillespie describes as briefly as possible the various dimensions of the biblical principle of not causing others to offend against God’s Word.
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.