Robert Wurtz II
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But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written: “AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL CONFESS TO GOD.” So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore, let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way. (Romans 14:9-13)
If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. (1 Corinthians 3:17)
I gave this article the title “Destroying God’s Treasure” to bring into focus what God has warned against in the strongest possible terms. Paul alerted the Corinthians, in the words of the late great Greek scholar A.T. Robertson, that, “The church-wrecker God will wreck.” Moreover, Paul reminded the Romans that we will all give an account to God, and in light of that, we should think twice before we stumble someone over what in God’s view amounts to a trivial matter. As we will discover in this article, compared to the value of a person’s soul, everything that man esteems as valuable and essential is trivial. Judge this, says Paul, don’t put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in front of your brother or sister!
Paul was always concerned about people trying to destroy others and churches. This was the lion’s share of the care that came upon him daily for the churches (2 Corinthians 11:28). Wolves among the sheep, especially in leadership. He wept for nearly three years at Ephesus because he knew, by the Spirit, that fierce wolves were coming with their own agendas to destroy that church (Acts 20:29 NKJV). Wolves are people who believe they are sheep and look like sheep but are in fact devils. Paul didn’t always weep. He asked the Corinthians, “Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?” (2 Corinthians 11:29).
Stumbling People
Stumbling someone in their faith refers to actions or words that lead another person to doubt, question, or struggle in their walk with God. When your actions entice or provoke a person to sin, you have stumbled them. It can occur when a believer’s, especially a leader’s, behavior contradicts the principles they profess, creating confusion, discouragement, and disillusionment. This concept of a stumbling block can be particularly damaging when it involves moral failure or hypocrisy, as it undermines trust and can drive people away from Christ. Paul warns the Romans to be mindful of the impact their actions have on the faith and well-being of others.
Our passage in Romans 14:13 also uses the phrase “a cause to fall,” which is the Greek word skandalon. This word always denotes an enticement to conduct that could ruin the person in question. It can be a temptation like an appeal to lust or a temptation to anger. Both are equally evil. We would all agree that seducing someone to sexual sin would be wickedness. However, have you ever heard of provoking someone to wrath? God warned fathers not to do that to their sons lest they be discouraged (Colossians 3:21). Israel provoked God to wrath in the Old Testament (Deu 32:21; Sept.: Jdg 2:12; 1Ki 14:15).
Some behaviors warrant anger. Some sins cause anger as a matter of course. Solomon tells us in Proverbs that an adulterer solicits the relentless wrath of the defrauded husband (Proverbs 6:29-35). When a professing believer conducts themselves like the heathen, it is liable to provoke the saints to wrath, especially if they or their family are on the receiving end of the evil. Otherwise, people are generally indifferent. The Corinthians had a gross fornicator in their midst. They didn’t even mourn, much less get angry (1 Corinthians 5:2). Some scholars believe they encouraged the sin. But for those who take God and His word seriously, there is behavior that can happen, especially among leaders, that can provoke those people to wrath and cause them to stumble. This is the warning that’s in play in Romans 14:13.
God’s Priority
Paul’s concern parallels God’s. He, as David, was a man after God’s own heart. He loved and cared for the sheep. What does God care for? The Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, reveals a God whose ultimate priority is the redemption and restoration of fallen humanity. He created humankind in His image because He wants children. The most famous verse in the New Testament, John 3:16, states, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life,“ revealing God’s valuation of souls above everything in Heaven and Earth. As the old-time preacher said, “God bankrupted Heaven to save lost souls.”
The incarnation and crucifixion of Christ reveal beyond question that human souls are of inestimable worth to God. Jesus was the ultimate price that redeemed His children with a price. The currency for the transaction was His precious blood. God’s valuation of the Saints, the Church, and the Bride is obvious and unassailable. The question is: does everyone agree with God? Do Christians, and especially ministers, view these three as having an inestimable worth and value to God? You can tell by how readily they stumble people who have eternal souls in order to satisfy some concern they have for temporal and material things.
Heavenly Treasure
Jesus consistently taught about the ephemeral nature of material wealth and the eternal value of spiritual wealth. He instructed His children to prioritize and rank what is most valuable, beginning with souls (people) at the top and material things at the very bottom. Carnal men don’t agree with this in word or actions. It seems ludicrous even to have to say these things, but we live in a time when people simply do not understand. The obvious is not obvious; common sense is not common. Therefore, it is necessary to spell it out so that those in the back can comprehend it.
In Matthew 6:19-21, He instructs, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” Judas was prepared to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, a sum roughly equivalent to the value of an enslaved person. However, it is essential to recognize that Judas is described as a devil by Jesus (John 6:30), and before his death, he became possessed by Satan (Luke 22:3, John 13:27). Consequently, we should not anticipate that he would place significant value on something that was, to God, the most precious person in all of heaven. Consider this: the most valuable thing to God—His Son—was deemed worth only the price of an enslaved person by Judas, who Satan possessed. Yet before Satan possessed him, Mammon courted and controlled him.
Risking Souls
Is it possible that somebody could be so careless and their conscience be so seared that they do not recognize when they are offending and stumbling their fellow man? I have spent many years asking myself this question. It’s hard to know whether it’s ignorance or if Satan is working in the person. It seems like common sense that any real Christian would have enough sense not to trip someone carelessly, much less do so intentionally. I’ve played countless scenarios out in my mind. Do they view themselves as privileged characters who won’t answer to God?
What’s their problem?
Paul doesn’t take any of these speculations into account. Why? Because when Satan is at work, it’s futile to try to figure it out. It’s sin and sin never makes sense. Paul simply sets the judgment seat in front of us and says, “Judge this…! Don’t lay a stumbling block. Don’t be that person! Pluck your eye out, cut your hand off, do whatever you need to do to keep yourself from stumbling people. (Proverbs 26:27) Don’t be that person who needs to be reminded. Have good sense. Be a person after God’s own heart who cares more about the welfare of the sheep than his own life.
Based on Paul’s warning in I Corinthians 3:16-17 and Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:21-23, I suggest that God will destroy in this life and eventually in Hell anyone and everyone who destroys the Temple. If you are wise, you will forsake anyone who engages in such wickedness. Every true believer is a living stone in The Temple (1 Peter 2:5); when you attack a living stone, you attack The Temple. There are no exceptions or exemptions, only excuses. Nor are there privileged characters, either. It makes no difference what position one holds or credentials one obtains; the word of God applies to everyone. Destroy The Temple, and God will destroy you.
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