BE READY IN THE MORNING

bernie — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:51:34 +0000

The phrase, “Be ready in the morning” is found in Exodus 34:2. Moses is told to be ready in the morning to come to the top of Mount Sinai with the tables of stone. The first 9 verses of Exodus 34 contain some good principles for our quiet time with God.
In verse one Moses is told to hew two tables of stone so God can write His commands on them. Today God writes, not in tables of stone, but tables of the heart. We come with open hearts and minds on which God can write His commands. In verse two Moses is told to be ready in the morning. The morning is, for most people the best time to be alone with God. The mind is less cluttered than during the day.
In verse three Moses is told to bring no man with him and also to leave the flocks and herds behind. God wants a personal fellowship with us. We are to come alone. Also, we must not come with a lot of other business on our minds. The “flocks and herds” must be left outside.
In verse four we read that Moses goes to the top of the mountain and in verse five we see that God comes down to Moses. It is a meeting between the Infinite God and finite man. Also, in verse five God tells Moses Who He is. “He proclaims the Name of the LORD”. This is Who He is. It is His Person. Verse six explains what He is; or His character. He is “The LORD GOD, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth”. In verse seven He tells what He does: He keeps mercy for thousands, forgives sin and punishes iniquity. He warns against the long range consequence of sin. These and many other things God can teach the one alone with Him.
In verses eight and nine we see the contrast between a holy God and sinful man. Moses acknowledges that he is one of a “stiff necked people” and in need of pardon. Moses went to the top of Mount Sinai, the mountain of law and judgment. According to Hebrews 12, we are already in Mount Zion, the city of the Living God. This is the mount where we meet God.
In First John we read that our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son. The really staggering thing is that God is more anxious for the meeting than we are. God is inviting us to come. We are the ones dragging our feet.

CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE

bernie — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:36:33 +0000

In the Uplook magazine there was an article telling of the size of the universe. I’m just quoting a few facts here:
It would take 1,300,000 earths to make one sun. The milky way contains
300,000,000 suns. Some stars could hold 500,000,000 suns the size of ours.
It is estimated that there are some 100 billion galaxies with an average of
100 billion stars in each galaxy. Einstein believed that we have scanned
with our largest scopes only a billionth of “theoretical space”
(whatever that means). End of quote.
John 1:3 tells us that Jesus Christ, the Son of God created this vast universe. How is it then possible that the angels could say of Him: “Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger”? The creator of heaven and earth “of all things visible and invisible” is here a helpless infant. This is far beyond our understanding. We can only quote I Timothy 3:16 “great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh”.
I want to share a story of Samuel Munadawafa as told to me by Evangelist Davais Mburuma while in Zimbabwe. Samuel once celebrated the death of his ancestors but now celebrates the Birth of the Son. He is a man of 46 years and a father of four children. We used to visit his house sometime back because his family was coming to our church and I used to preach or share the word of God to him but he never responded. The Lord was gracious when his father passed away and he heard the gospel preached again. When Samuel came back from the funeral he thought of death and told his wife that he wished to become a Christian. We went to his house, made the gospel very clear and burned all his fetishes.
It is not so difficult to believe that this uneducated pagan thinks his ancestors, elders, and witch doctors all know far more than he does. After all, they do. He naturally believes them. Also, it satisfies his natural bent toward the worship of someone supernatural.
It is far more difficult to excuse the highly educated college professor when he looks at the heavens and contrary to everything he knows or observes insists there is no creator. If you had a map of the universe 1,000 miles square you would not be able to find the earth on this map. But on this speck of a planet there is a far smaller insect who knows there is no God. In fact, he is firmly convinced that in all this vast universe there is no higher intelligence than his
“Not many wise, not many noble”.

THE BALANCE

bernie — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 21:55:32 +0000

We see in the Bible a perfect balance. We also see this in the life and teachings of the Lord Jesus. The Bible, written to fallen man emphasizes two things. They are God’s hatred for sin and at the same time His love for fallen man. It seems that Jesus’ denunciation was primarily for the leaders. The concern He seemed to feel was towards the common people, even those who were led astray by false teaching. The same thing was true of Paul and the other apostles. Here we must be careful not to excuse the laity, (so called). This is what the Bible is for, written very simply, (the common people “heard Him gladly; the same people who were “baptized of John”) but often confused by the hierarchy. Remember the illustration of the blind leading the blind. They didn’t have to follow, you know.
When confronted by the religious leaders, Jesus told them that He had not come to call the righteous but sinners. He told the woman in John 8: “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more”, On the other hand Jesus told the leaders that not only did they not enter the Kingdom of heaven themselves but also kept their followers out: Matthew 23:13. We must remember that the followers went to the same hell that the leaders did, but the heaviest punishment is on the leaders.
There is another example in Galatians 1:8 and 9. Here Paul pronounces a curse on the one who brings in the false doctrine. The curse is not on the one who believes it. If one has sincerely received Christ he is not necessarily lost because he adds on some false teaching, but the teacher is denounced. He is causing much harm even to the point of causing some to be lost. Another passage along the same line is in Revelation 3:1-6. This is about the church in Sardis which had “a name that thou livest, and art dead”. There was much activity but no spiritual life. But “even in Sardis” there were those who had “not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white”. They did not follow the blind.

ABLE MINISTERS OF THE NEW COVENANT

bernie — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 21:44:49 +0000

There seems to be a good deal of confusion on the subject of law versus grace. In Romans 11:6 there is a very definite statement that touches directly on this: “And if by grace, then it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be by works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work”.
The title above is from II Corinthians 3:6. Here I will quote the entire verse: “Who also hath made us able ministers of the new covenant; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life”. In this verse we have the doctrine or the teaching. In II Corinthians 6:4 we have the application: “In all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God—“. Another verse just as specific is Romans 11:6 is John 1:17: “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ”.
We see in these passages that the law was specifically for Israel and only for them. The argument is that we obey the law even today. We do not think it right to kill, steal, etc. I think we must understand that there are universal laws, which are always applicable. The law of the death penalty for murder was given to Noah, over 800 years before the ten commandments were given to Israel. There are road signs in many countries but I only obey those in my own country. Perhaps we under stand it better if we see there really is a third party besides Israel and the New Testament Church. There are the Gentiles who are neither; Romans 2:15 and 16. While Israel has been given the law; the church, free from the law is under grace, the Gentiles are guided by conscience. This does not mean that each Gentile lives by his own rules but by the laws of his particular society. The youth are raised to obey their particular laws. As they grow their conscience is developed. The guiding principle for each group of people is conscience. Now, if God gave the law and also gave a conscience, it would not be too surprising that there were many similarities. As an example, in the western world our code is based on the Judeo Christian ethic; surely the best of all. Therefore when the Bible is put out of the schools we are of all societies the worst. Our youth are raised without moral guidance and with an undeveloped conscience.
We have then the three steps: the first step is that of the gentiles who live by conscience. That, according to Galatians 3:19 was insufficient, We read: “Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions”. Conscience did not go far enough. It would tell a man that he must not steal from his neighbor but the law told him to have the same care for his neighbor’s goods as for his own, even if he did not like the man. See Exodus 2:4 and 5. The new covenant goes even further. In Galatians 5:23 we read “against such there is no law”.
We can look at this same picture in another way. While the Gentiles were given a conscience, Israel was given the law, the church lives by faith. Or we could say the old covenant was the covenant of works, the new covenant is the covenant of grace or based on faith.
The question then is, as all three obey some of the same basic laws, what does it mean that we live by faith? Where does works enter in?
As far as our eternal destiny or our salvation is concerned there is only one action I must take. I must, by faith, receive God’s free offer of salvation. I can no more save myself than can a drowning man. He can only cry for help or grasp the hand that reaches out to him. He does not afterward boast of his part in his salvation. Left to himself he would have drowned. Simply put this is how I am saved and enter the kingdom of heaven. Remember, there is one thing the man in the water can do. He can drown. In theological terms, it is the same but the man is lost and that is far more tragic, Just one text for this is Ephesians 1:13: “In Whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth “ I think the ark would be one of the best illustrations of this There is only one thing the man can do to be saved from drowning and that is to walk through the door of the ark. It is the ark that saves him from a watery grave. He comes into the ark because he cannot save himself. The ark is his only hope. Once he is in the ark there is nothing more he needs to do or can do to save himself. A verse that fits this perfectly is I Peter 1:5: “Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time”.
We could mention two things here:
1-The only act of faith was to walk into the ark=Ephesians 1: 13a
2-Inside the ark he lived the life of faith. God Himself had laid out the blueprint. It would not sink. Also, God himself had shut the door. He could not get out. God Himself would bring him safely to journeys end. Again see I Peter 1:5 for the NT doctrine.
Ephesians 1:13b tells the believers of Ephesus that “after that” they had believed they were sealed with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives to me the Mind of Christ=I Corinthians 2:16. Compare Romans 7:18 and 23 with Ephesians 2:3. For the unbeliever their is no conflict. The Bible is given to me so I know the will of God. My goal is to come to Galatians 5:22 and 23 in full experience.
One more passage: James 2:17 and 26: Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.—so faith without works is dead also”.
There are two examples in this passage. There is the example of Rahab. She was told by the two spies that if she would hang a scarlet thread where they could see it, they would guarantee her safety. When the Israelites came into Jericho destroying everything and everyone in their path, their was nothing Rahab or her family could do to save themselves. Their only hope was in the word of the two men. Her faith was well placed and she was saved. But her part was to hang out the scarlet cord believing that the men would protect her.
Abraham’s example is a bit different. Where Rahab’s act of faith saved her, in Abraham’s case it came afterwards (the original example in Abraham’s case is found in Genesis 15:6 and Romans 4:1-3). In James the reference is to the sacrifice of Isaac, going back to the story in Genesis 23 which happened many years later. Abraham, in Genesis was told by God to sacrifice Isaac. Where did faith come in? What did he believe? We see the answer in Hebrews 11:17-19. God had promised that the blessing of Abraham would be through Isaac. Therefore he believed that God could and would raise Isaac from the dead. How was Abraham’s faith made perfect=James 2:22? Simply by trusting and obeying God. This was something he perhaps could not have done 40 or so years before. This act proved that not only had he grown in faith (Romans 1:17=from faith to faith), But also it gave proof of his original faith as in James 2:22: “by works was faith made perfect”.

I AM OF APPOLOS

bernie — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:33:31 +0000

All of us have met the promoter of some cult and found the frustrating thing is that, although they claim to base their doctrine on Scripture in reality they don’t Scripture must always be twisted to fit their doctrine. Their doctrine is never adjusted to fit the Scripture, regardless of how plain and simple it not only seems to me but actually is. The underlying problem is that their particular doctrine is more important than Scripture. The result is that their doctrines have closed their minds to the plain teachings of Scripture.
It is very easy to see this failing in others; not so easy to see it in myself. I saw an interesting illustration of this in Uganda. Although many people were saved through our Bible studies, not one single seminary trained priest was. There were some fine born again priests that we knew, but they had become priests because they truly wished to serve God. This was in the Anglican church. I suppose their church doctrines had closed their minds to the simple gospel.
Show a catholic that in I Timothy 2:5 Paul writes that there is one mediator between God and man and he will insist that the priest is also a mediator. Let a Calvinist and a non Calvinist get into an argument and each will have his favorite versus which will always trump the Scriptures. Someone I know recently heard his Sunday School teacher say that God enjoys sending people to hell. In Ezekiel 33:11 God says: “As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his evil way and live”. It will be another case of a man sticking to his guns. The Word of God will have to be reinterpreted to fit his belief.
There is a real problem that Paul is addressing in the church of Corinth. They were not unconcerned liberals. They were sincere and concerned people. But it causes division as each sees spiritual truth from his perspective. This not only closes the mind to another but even more importantly, it closes my mind to the Scriptures themselves. There is some good practical advice in Philippians 2:3 “let each esteem other better than themselves” and in I Corinthians 14:30: “If anything be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace”. The deeper reason is that I may not hear the voice of God. Revelation 2:17: To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna”.
And still the cry goes on “I am of Appolos”. Whatever ism is mine will keep from the deeper things of God.
YOUR
GRANDPA

I THE LORD THY GOD AM A JEALOUS GOD

bernie — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 19:09:20 +0000

The title above is a direct quote from Exodus 20:5. This is God’s statement of Himself. I think that quite often the thought that one is a jealous person has with it negative connotations. We tend to think of one being jealous because his neighbor has something, whether it be a house, car or perhaps a beautiful wife, which are better than what he has. A better word here would be the word “covet”. In fact we find this word in the same passage in verse 17 where we are commanded not to covet anything that the neighbor has.
There is a perfectly legitimate jealousy such as that of a woman who has reason to believe that her husband is seeing another woman. There is also the jealousy of the parent who feels that the grandparents are stealing the children’s affections by giving them things the parents either cannot afford or would rather the children did not have.
The jealousy that the Bible refers to in Exodus is more like that of the parent protecting the child from someone who is catering to the child’s desire or lack of knowledge; with the result that the child will come to harm. The parent will experience a strong feeling of jealousy. This feeling will be even more intense if the parent is helpless to do anything about it. This, then, is the kind of jealousy that we must think of when we say that God is a Jealous God. This is made very clear in this same passage in verse 3: “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me”.
There are many false christs today, which Jesus Himself predicted would come. We expected this to happen, but I don’t think we thought that they would be so subtle. The problem is that when one accepts the false Christ he becomes immune to the Christ of the Bible. An example is the increasingly popular Message Bible. The last versus of the older Bibles use the term: “Lord Jesus Christ”. The Message Bible has changed this to: “the Master Jesus”. In the New Age movement the Master Jesus is one of many false Christs. When one becomes a follower of this Christ he thinks he is saved and will not receive the Christ of the Bible. Imagine the wrath of a jealous God against those who lead people into hell. The same can be said of many religious books today.
The simple gospel is: “there is none other name (Jesus Christ) under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved”: Acts 4:12. In the book of Isaiah we see this gospel in the Old Testament. Israel was at a low point spiritually at this time. “the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint”: Isaiah I:5. But in this same chapter, in verse 18 God tells Israel: “Come now and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;”.. Isaiah 53:6 explains how God can forgive and heal this people: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all”. I know there are theologians who teach that the Lord Jesus died only for some, A jealous God is angry as this doctrine can make some believe that God may not be willing to save them.
Turning to the New Testament:
Romans 3:23: For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. As only one sin against God will send me to hell; then for me to be saved it must be by a gift.
John 14:6: I Am the Way, the Truth, And the Life: no man cometh to the Father but by Me.
John 3:16: for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Do not look for a light from heaven. God has spoken and expects to be believed and obeyed.
I want to add a story I have shared before but it is very relevant here. It shows the importance of finding the true Christ. In the far north there is a rock which is 1,000 miles long, 1,000 miles wide and 1,000 miles high. Every few hundred years a little bird sharpens it’s beak on that rock. When that rock has thus been worn away one day of eternity will have passed.

IRRELEVANCE OF HISTORY

bernie — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 20:09:11 +0000

In all of secular history, whether of Rome, Greece or whatever, we hear only of the kings and counselors of the earth. The little man is lost and nameless. Only in the Bible do we read of shepherds, nomads, housewives and their names and doings.
When the God of heaven and earth came to our planet, shepherds were told about it, while the king was bypassed. In Matthew 13 and 24 and elsewhere Jesus foretold events which would transpire through future millenium to a group of peasants.
Four thousand years ago mighty Pharaoh ruled the world. In a mud walled shack lay a dying man, talking to his twelve sons. They smelled of the stable and the field. They were shepherds and cattlemen. Shepherds were an abomination to the Egyptians. It was also an abomination for the Egyptians to eat with these men. They were the untouchables.
As Jacob blesses his sons, he tells them that God has decreed that out of this family one would come who would rule the world in a reign which would never cease. The mighty of the earth paid not the slightest attention to whatever was being said in this hut. They in turn were completely ignored by God as He laid out His plan for the future.
Let me give an example from Egypt. In February of 1987,my wife Lillian and I were at a graduation ceremony at the Lillian Thrasher Orphanage in Asyut, Egypt, about 300 miles south of Cairo. This ceremony followed a training session for people involved in one of our Bible Studies; held in a church on the orphanage grounds.
In 1910 Lillian Thrasher read in Acts 7:34: “I have certainly seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt”. Feeling that God was speaking to her, she went to Egypt as a missionary. Shortly after arriving she visited the dying mother of a tiny baby girl. She took the baby to her home. This was the beginning of her work with orphans. Today there is a well run orphanage on twelve acres of land, with about 600 orphans. Many of those who had been orphans, and brought up in this home are now influential in church or state.
A few days later we saw the pyramids at a place called Sakhara. These pyramids were crumpling, which surprised me. I had not known that any of the pyramids were being destroyed by time. There were two things which greatly impressed me while in Egypt. First, while at the orphanage in Asyut I saw the phrase: “Only one life, ‘twill soon be passed; only what’s done for Christ will last”. I thought of the fact that in 1910 Lillian Thrasher obeyed God’s call to go to Egypt. To some it must have seemed that she was throwing her life away. But her life has been a blessing to many. Most of these orphans came from a nominal Christian background. Over 3,000 had been won to Christ by the time we were there and many more since then, even after Lillian Thrasher’s death. Though not a wealthy woman, thousands have been fed and clothed by her, and because of her many will live forever.
Four thousand years ago, one of the Pharaohs lavished the wealth and knowledge of an empire on himself. He lived in luxury. For his death he built a pyramid that was to last forever. He built a tomb under this pyramid which was 90 feet below ground level and filled it with gold and precious things to supply him in the after life. As long as his body was undisturbed he would live comfortably in the realm of the dead. Therefore it must last forever. But long ago thieves ransacked the tomb, stole everything in it and tossed the body of Pharaoh out into the desert. The thieves destroyed his body and time destroyed his pyramid.
From Lillian Thrasher, though a poor woman, flowed material help to many and eternal help to thousands. Ancient Pharaoh, although the wealthiest on earth, drew the wealth of the rich and the meager resources of the poor to himself. Everything he has done has been destroyed by the hand of time.
“For whosoever will save his life will lose it, but whosoever will lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it”.

I AM OF APPOLOS

bernie — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 19:16:50 +0000

All of us have met the promoter of some cult and found the frustrating thing is that, although they claim to base their doctrine on Scripture in reality they don’t Scripture must always be twisted to fit their doctrine. Their doctrine is never adjusted to fit the Scripture, regardless of how plain and simple it not only seems to me but actually is. The underlying problem is that their particular doctrine is more important the Scripture. The result is that their doctrines have closed their minds to the plain teachings of Scripture.
It is very easy to see this failing in others; not so easy to see it in myself. I saw an interesting illustration of this in Uganda. Although many people were saved through our Bible studies, not one single seminary trained priest was. There were some fine born again priests that we knew, but they had become priests because they truly wished to serve God. This was in the Anglican church. I suppose their church doctrines had closed their minds to the simple gospel.
Show a catholic that in I Timothy 2:5 Paul writes that there is one mediator between God and man and he will insist that the priest is also a mediator. Let a Calvinist and a non Calvinist get into an argument and each will have his favorite versus which will always trump the Scriptures. Someone I know recently heard his Sunday School teacher say that God enjoys watching the people in hell suffer. In Ezekiel 33:11 God says: “As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his evil way and live”. It will be another case of a man sticking to his guns. The Word of God will have to be reinterpreted to fit his belief.
There is a real problem that Paul is addressing in the church of Corinth. They were not unconcerned liberals. They were sincere and concerned people. But it causes division as each sees spiritual truth from his perspective. This not only closes the mind to another but even more importantly, it closes my mind to the Scriptures themselves. There is some good practical advice in Philippians 2:3 “let each esteem other better than themselves” and in I Corinthians 14:30: “If anything be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace”. The deeper reason is that I may not hear the voice of God. Revelation 2:17: To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna”.
And still the cry goes on “I am of Appolos”. Whatever ism is mine will keep from the deeper things of God.

ENDANGER MY HEAD

bernie — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 22:01:58 +0000

Daniel requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he not be required to eat of the king’s rich food, which was definitely not kosher. His overseer was afraid that Daniel and his friends would look less healthy than the others due to the insufficient diet. He was afraid, as he said, of losing his head: Daniel1:10.
In this same verse the prince of the eunuchs says: “I fear my lord the king”. It’s interesting that this same Hebrew word for fear (YAWRAY) is used in connection with the believer’s fear in God, which Daniel had. His fear of God was greater than his fear of the might of Babylon. In Malachi 4:2 we read: “But unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings”, and in Psalm 115:13: “He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great”.
We find the same thing true in the New Testament. In Luke 12:4 and 5 we are told not to fear those who can only kill the body, but to fear Him who “after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell”. The word fear is the same in both. It is the Greek word PHOBEO.
The teaching common today in evangelical circles is that the word fear really means something else like reverence, awe, high regard, etc. It’s greatly watered down. We are also told that the unbeliever is afraid of God even though the Bible states clearly of the unbeliever that “there is no fear of God before their eyes”: Romans 3:18..
This is the result of the relativistic age in which we live. In 1991, a letter written by James Dobson quotes from a survey taken by researcher George Barna : In the survey, interviewees were asked: “Do you agree strongly with the following statement: There is no such thing as absolute truth”. Only 28% of the respondents expressed strong belief in “absolute truth” and more surprisingly only 23% of evangelical Christians accepted this idea.
If there is no absolute truth then by definition nothing can be said to be absolutely true. To the majority, it’s all relative. Nothing is certain. Might be, might not be. Who knows for sure? Take your guess and hope for the best. Once you have done away with the belief in absolute truth you have lost the fear of God. It is absolutely true that someday I will stand before God to give account of all I have done. Whether or not I believe this will never alter the fact, but it removes the fear of God. The fear of God is a very healthy thing. Satan is using evangelical preachers to remove it.

THE BALANCE

bernie — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:14:20 +0000

We see in the Bible a perfect balance. We also see this in the life and teachings of the Lord Jesus. The Bible, written to fallen man emphasizes two things. They are God’s hatred for sin and at the same time His love for fallen man. It seems that Jesus’ denunciation was primarily for the leaders. The concern He seemed to feel was towards the common people, even those who were led astray by false teaching. The same thing was true of Paul and the other apostles. Here we must be careful not to excuse the laity, (so called). This is what the Bible is for, written very simply, (the common people “heard Him gladly”; the same people who were “baptized of John”) but often confused by the hierarchy. Remember the illustration of the blind leading the blind. They didn’t have to follow, you know.
When confronted by the religious leaders, Jesus told them that He had not come to call the righteous but sinners. He told the woman in John 8: “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more”, On the other hand Jesus told the leaders that not only did they not enter the Kingdom of heaven themselves but also kept their followers out:
Matthew 23:13. We must remember that the followers went to the same hell that the leaders did, but the heaviest punishment is on the leaders.
There is another example in Galatians 1:8 and 9. Here Paul pronounces a curse on the one who brings in the false doctrine. The curse is not on the one who believes it. If one has sincerely received Christ he is not necessarily lost because he adds on some false teaching, but the teacher is denounced. He is causing much harm even to the point of causing some to be lost. Another passage along the same line is in Revelation 3:1-6. This is about the church in Sardis which had “a name that thou livest, and art dead”. There was much activity but no spiritual life. But “even in Sardis” there were those who had “not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white”. They did not follow the blind.