[243 words]
Joshua, the great leader of Israel, said, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15). It has always been up to man to choose his own path. Truth and error is ever present. The sad part is that men often choose to follow the wrong way. The tendency is to choose error. Adam and Eve made that choice. Nadab and Abihu made that choice. And the whole nation of Israel made that choice. God, speaking through Jeremiah, said, “An astonishing and horrible thing has been committed in the land; The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priest rule by their own power; and My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end” (Jeremiah 5:31)? God’s own people had chosen to follow false teachers rather than pursue the truth.
There was a time when members of the churches of Christ were known as “people of the book,” but we hear of more and more congregations who are choosing error over truth. Some have abandoned the restoration plea, choosing instead to be just another denomination. Some have chosen to deny the inspiration of the scriptures and adopted the wisdom of man instead. And many have stopped studying for themselves, choosing rather to blindly follow the lead of men trained in denominational seminaries.
In the end Israel was destroyed because in their lack of knowledge they chose error (Hosea 4:6). What will be your end?
Alton Norman
Owingsville Church of Christ
Owingsville, KY