Do Not Follow the Majority

 Exodus 23:1-2 "Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thy hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.  Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment."

We are going to study  one of the devices or traps or snares that Satan sets to hinder Christians from doing their Christian duties, those being reading God's word, prayer, assembling with other believers, obeying what God's word says.  "thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil"  Satan has devices to keep Christians from doing these duties.  Practical things that the bible tells the believer to do.  When we do these things it leads to spiritual growth, holiness of life and maturity instead of immaturity as is seen in some people. 

As the spiritual temperature of the church plummets, it is evident that immaturity, lack of knowledge of scripture and neglect of duties has come to the fore.  Satan is using this trap to devastating effect to take Christian people from doing what God says they should do after they are saved according to the scriptures.

The snare of Satan is this.  "don't worry too much about reading your bible, don't worry too much about praying, don't worry too much about going to church, don't worry too much about obeying the bible"  Most people do not bother with those things, most people walk and live following the ways of their own heart.  They do what they want to do.  They say  "Just do what the rest do.  Stick with the majority, they must be right.  After all the majority couldn't be wrong.  Don't be different." For the church they say: "Don't worry about disciplining sin in your church, don't worry about using worldly methods and then calling it evangelism, don't look to the bible as your guide to faith and practice, just look at what the majority of churches do, they aren't guided by the scripture, anything goes.  Just follow the majority."

It's common to hear "but everybody's doing it".   Don't worry about obeying God, just do what everybody else does.  That is the snare of Satan.  God says "thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil"  do not follow the majority to do sin.   


Remedy #1 is this:  Consider the scriptures that tell us not to follow the examples of sinful men.  Ephesians 5:11 "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them."  Proverbs 4:14-15  "Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.  Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away."  Proverbs 9:6 "Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding."  The multitude generally know not the way of the Lord, therefore they speak of that which they do not know.  The majority of people that prosper in the world are wicked people and they are condemned.  That is why God says not to follow the majority, they are not to be a subject for us to envy.  As for churches, do not do what the majority does because there is a broad gate that leads to destruction and a narrow way which leads to life (Matthew 7) and the narrow gate and the narrow way has nothing to do with pagan religion.  The broad gate is the false idea of Christianity, broad easy conversion.  You can do whatever you want, false conversion.  The narrow gate is true conversion.  If the majority of churches are not doing their duties according to the bible, they are not the role model for God's people.  

Remedy #2  Remember that if you sin with the majority, you will suffer with the majority.  If you disobey with all the others, you will be punished with all the others.  They that walk with the most shall perish with the most.  They that live as the most must die with the most and are condemned as the most.  The multitude is the weakest and worst argument.  There is no safety in numbers with God.  But "everybody is doing it"  is totally irrelevant.  Just because the majority disobey God doesn't mean it is safe for us to disobey with the majority because the bible plainly tells us that even whole nations that forget God will be cast into hell.  Psalm 9:17 "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God."  All the nations will stand before Jesus Christ.  

Luke 13:24-27 "Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.  When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.  But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity."

There are many that call on Jesus as Lord but Jesus says "I do not know you.  Depart from me ye workers of iniquity."  Don't sin with the majority or you will suffer with the majority.  Satan is very subtle.

Remedy #3 When Satan says go with the majority just consider the worth of your immortal soul.  The loss of it is incomparable.  Is it not better to walk the straight way (narrow path) alone then to wander into crooked ways with company.  Surely it is better to go to heaven alone then to hell with company.  Your soul is worth more than "everybody's doing it."

People do not determine right or wrong, God does.   The majority opinion of people is irrelevant.   John 2:4 "he that saith I know him and keepeth not his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him."   Many professed Christians say this, that they know Jesus, but they do not bear fruit and the truth is not in them.  It is important that we do our holy duties and that we do not follow the crowd.  Do we dare to be abandoned?  are we willing to walk alone?  are we willing to separate from the majority and be outside the camp as it were.  

C.H. Spurgeon "I believe what I believe and I will believe it even if I believe it alone, not with the majority"
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The above are notes taken by myself from the sermon by Paul Dowling of Whiteabbey Congregational (Reformed) at Sermon Audio

http://www.sermonaudio.com/playpopup.asp?SID=32111716250