HINDERING THE WORK OF GOD
Introduction
The work of God is that work that God has laid out for us to do.
Philippians 1:6 “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”
If you have obeyed the gospel, God has begun a good work in you.
It is up to you to continue doing good works.
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them”.
John 6:28-29 “They said therefore to Him, ‘What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent’.”
Titus 2:14 “who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds”.
1 Timothy 6:18 “Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share.”
As we have noted in 2 Timothy 3:16,17, the good work of God, or that which is from God, is found in the New Testament.
Since men are responsible for doing the work of God, they are also responsible for its hindrance.
Hindering the work of God means impeding it progress.
It is placing a stumbling block in the way of those that are trying to do God's work or will.
Matthew 18:7 “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes.”
1 Corinthians 8:13 “therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, that I might not cause my brother to stumble”.
Mark 9:42 “And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea”.
There is a great responsibility that God has placed upon us to help and not hinder our brethren.
So let us examine some people that hinder the work of God.
Atheists
They say, "There is no God."
The Bible calls such a person, "a fool".
Psalm 14:1 “The fool hath said in his heart ‘there is no God”.
When you think about it, it is absurd that these people work so hard to deny something they say does not exist.
Agnostics
They say, "I don't know whether there is a God or not;
Nor if the Bible is His word."
Most of them have no desire to learn whether there is a God or not.
The Bible warns of such:
Hosea 4:6—My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Unbelievers
Those who have heard yet say, "Jesus is not God's Son.
John 8:24 "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."
1 John 2:22,23; “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.”
2 Jno 7.
Hypocrites
They say and do not.
They want others to believe they are something they are not.
They live a lie.
God hates liars.
Jesus rebuked such with a word:
In Matthew 23, Jesus spoke to the scribes and Pharisees and called them hypocrites.
Power Seekers
People that feel they must control others.
My way or else.
I'm the one to reckon with.
What they are really saying is that they are more important than Christ.
Diotrephes in 3 John 9,10.
Jesus spoke of the scribes and Pharisees seating themselves on the seat of Moses.
False Teachers
This includes all those in the denominations.
They teach without authority.
They teach error.
Acts 20:28-30—Paul warned the elders that from themselves some would teach error and destroy the flock.
1 John 4:1—warns us to test every teaching in light of the Scripture.
God says of the false prophets that we should not listen to them (Jeremiah 29:8,9)
Lukewarm, Unconcerned Members
These are those who are nothing more than pew warmers.
They are not involved in the Lord’s work in their daily lives.
Revelation 3:14-16—the members at Laodicea.
Associates And Acquaintances
How many of your friends care if you go to heaven or not?
If they are not members of the church, they will try to lead you astray.
1 Corinthians 15:33—evil companions corrupt good morals.
1 Peter. 4:4 “And in all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excess of dissipation, and they malign you.”
Family
If they do not belong to Christ, they will give you problems.
One's own relatives can hinder them from serving our Lord.
Matthew 10:34-39 speaks of the problems when we put family before Christ.
Procrastinators
We are all guilty of this in some ways.
I'll do it tomorrow.
I'll get around to it.
Felix is an example: Acts 24:24,25—when I find a more convenient season—Ill become a Christian.
CONCLUSION
There might be several other things we could mention that would hinder the work of God, but these will suffice for now.
Are you hindering the work of God?
Remember that Jesus said, "Either you are with me, or you are against me.“ (Matthew 12:30)
Surely, you do not want to be numbered with those that are against Jesus and are hindering the work of God?
Why not cease being a hindrance and begin to be a help today?

By Carey Scott based on an outline by Jim Sasser

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