“Mom sent me and said to put it on her bill”, I said to the store owner many long years ago. The problem was that mom didn’t send me, nor tell me to “put it on her bill”—even worse was the fact that, per dad’s orders, mom wasn’t even suppose to have a “bill”– credit was taboo. He knew nothing about the “bill”, but I did– I had heard mom refer to it. Soooo I thought I would use it to my advantage. When mom went to pay her bill she was shocked to discover that it was larger than she remembered– besides, she hadn’t purchased any pop and candy. So the investigation started, and you can guess what happened next. Needless to say, I never put anything else on mom’s bill!

While that sounds like something a child might do, children aren’t the only ones guilty of such foolish behavior. Adults often lie about God. In case you haven’t noticed, God often gets blamed for a lot of things He had nothing to do with. Again and again we hear people say, “God told me to – – -“, or if they want to sound super spiritual, “God led ,me to – – -“, when the truth is that God did no such thing. In many instances what they say clearly contradicts what the Bible says, proof that God didn’t tell them to do it. But in other cases we have no evidence either way, and they know it. They do this to get off the hook. After all, how can we argue with what “God told them” to do? They marry who they please or attend what church they please and explain it away by saying God led them or gave them permission to do so.

The saddest thing about this is that preachers are some of the worst offenders. For instance— there’s a rift in the church, or a larger church makes a better offer and suddenly the pastor says, “God led me to leave”. Or there is a moral failure or a mess created by poor leadership and we hear, “God told me to stay regardless”. Or when things don’t go their way they split the church and start another one– often where it isn’t needed. All this in the name of “God led me”. Really?

Attributing to God what we take upon ourselves to do is a dangerous thing. Trying to justify your sinful selfishness at God’s expense is not something to be taken lightly. Giving yourself permission to do as you please by falsely accusing God is sure to get you into trouble. It’s true that God often does things that seem unreasonable to the natural mind, so we have to be careful about accusing others, but sometimes it’s obvious that He didn’t have anything to do with. Saying God told you or allowed you to do something doesn’t make your wrong right, or your foolish decision wise. You might deceive others, and even yourself, but you’re not fooling God. Telling others you prayed about it and God led you to do something might keep them off your back, but it might cause God to put you on your back– so you will look up!

Our only sure guide and perfect standard is the Word of God. It is according to His word that all our steps are to be ordered. The Holy Spirit never leads us to do anything that is contrary to the Word of God. David said, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD–“(Ps. 37:23). Since that is true, our prayer should be as the Psalmist prayed in Ps. 119:133, “Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.” Fabricating an excuse to do as you please by blaming God for your foolish decision won’t keep you from falling or prevent you from getting hurt, it will do just the opposite. Think about it!

Every pastor knows the heart break of watching the sheep go astray– he never gets used to it. He pours his soul into their lives trying to help them mature spiritually, then suddenly they’re gone. In many instances he believes they are well-grounded in the faith and he feels he has succeeded, then they drop out. And it happens in more ways than one.

When you talk about people going astray most people think of them quitting church and/or reverting back to their worldly ways, but those aren’t the only ones who go astray. There are others, usually never thought of as having gone astray, who are just as guilty. They still attend some church or a para-church organization, and are even involved in some ministry. They sit on a church pew rather than a bar-stool and sing religious songs rather than honkytonk music, but they are astray nevertheless— miles away from where they ought to be and what they were taught.

One of the most aggravating things about this is that they now do things that would have caused them to ask for their former pastor’s resignation had he done them. They now condone what they once rightly condemned. Here’s some examples— They were taught that the K.J.V. is the best and most reliable version of the Bible, but now they use a modern version that clearly disagrees with it—both can’t be right! They were taught that a church should be independent and unaffiliated  with man-made organizations, but now they are affiliated with some fellowship, convention, association that has no God-given authority. They were taught that missionaries are to be sponsored by a local church, as in the new Testament pattern, but now they are involved in ministries that are not under church authority. They were taught that “Christians should/ should not- – – -, but now they – – -“. Well you get the picture. The list could go on and on. If they were right before they are wrong now. If they were wrong before they ought to go back and apologize to a lot of people that they misled. If they don’t know what’s right they need to find out!

The point is that you don’t have to go back to the lifestyle of a drunk or druggie to have gone astray. When we depart, in any direction, from what the Bible teaches we are astray— regardless of what religious and helpful activities we are engaged in. These people might be very nice, hardworking, helpful people but they are astray. The sinner’s “far country” is not something you can measure in miles, nor determine by direction– it is being out of the will of God period! You are not better than another person because your sin is different than his. All sin is horrible and harmful. And hiding your sin by sitting in a church pew won’t make you holy or keep you safe.

To make matters worse, these people are usually more difficult to reach than those in the bars, etc. The religious nature of their activities comforts them in their rebellion. They soothe their conscience by doing religious things, considering themselves better than the worldly drop-outs who never attend church. Their favorite phrase seems to be, I used to believe – – , but now – -“. And they highly resent an article like this or any suggestion that they might be wrong. Unlike the guy on the bar stool who knows he shouldn’t be there, these folks feel they are fine and they are not about to examine themselves. Some of them, probably more than you think, believe their former pastor is just too old- fashion, out of date, not in touch with the times and they have moved on. Others have simply been misled by another preacher and convinced that you are wrong. And the list of reasons goes on and on.

So what’s a pastor to do? Shall we just watch them leave and let them go without a word concern or counsel? Should we never protest or warn them? Should we decide that it is none of our business and never bring it to their attention? What should we do? While every case is different, we ought to do something—starting with prayer. Beyond that we should love them unconditionally, set a good example, and seek an opportunity to guide them in the right direction. Ranting and railing against them will never bring them back. The truth is they might never come back, but doing as we should gives us and them the best chance.

Don’t give- in and compromise to appease them. Don’t give- up as though they are a hopeless case or a worthless cause. Don’t give- out in your efforts to help them—“your labor is not in vain”. Give it all you’ve got to reach them and help them, then give it all over to God. Do what you can and trust God to do what you can’t. We are “our brother’s keeper” and we ought to be deeply concerned about those who have gone astray. We should do our best to bring them back into sweet communion with Christ. We dare not give up on those for whom Jesus gave all. Think about it!

In this “Gimme Generation”, where so many preachers cater to the carnal desires of people to gain a following and pad their bank accounts, the sad fact is that many have fallen prey to the “What’s in for me” way of life. They are more concerned about what they get than they are about what they give. Perhaps these words from the pen of A. W. Tozer will help:

“I am convinced that anyone who brings up the question of consequences in the Christian life is only a mediocre and common Christian! I have known some who were interested in the deeper life, but began asking questions: “What will it cost me-in terms of time, in money, in effort, in the matter of my friendships?” Others ask of the Lord when He calls them to move forward: “Will it be safe?” This question comes out of our constant bleating about security and our everlasting desire for safety above all else. A third question that we want Him to answer is: “Will it be convenient?” What must our Lord think of us if His work and His witness depend upon the security and the safety and the convenience of His people? No element of sacrifice, no bother, no disturbance-so we are not getting anywhere with God! We have stopped and pitched our tent halfway between the swamp and the peak. We are mediocre Christians!”