Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our trouble so that we may be able to comfort them who are in any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
Paul, in 2Corinthians 1:3-4
When we offer “help” which does not come from God, we are “in the flesh”, guided by our own opinions and will. To offer to others help that comes from our own mind and spirit is to play God, who alone is capable of providing the help that fallen man needs. To offer men our help is to try to be someone’s hero, but Jesus is the only hero that really exists anywhere. Either Jesus helps, or there is no help at all.
The devil offered help to Eve in the garden, and his help brought about all the suffering mankind has ever known. Balaam offered help to King Balak, but it wasn’t help that came from God, and Israel was fooled and cursed because of it. Peter offered help to Jesus, to rescue him from the agony of the cross, but it was help that was not from God, and Jesus rebuked him and called him Satan. Judas offered help to Israel’s elders and priests, but it wasn’t help from God, and the Prince of life was taken and slain “by the hands of wicked men.” King Jeroboam offered help to the people of Israel, saying, “It is too hard for you to travel all the way to Jerusalem to worship God,” but his help ruined the nation, and cost him his soul. Christian ministers are trained to offer all kinds of spiritual help that is not from God, doctrines, counsel, and ceremonies that are not from God, and millions of souls are in hell now because of it, including the ministers themselves.
Peter repented of his foolish offer of ungodly help to Jesus and was forgiven. Balaam, Judas, Jeroboam, on the other hand, are all burning in torment today because they helped people with help that did not come from God. After the Final Judgment, they, with the devil, will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire because in offering their own help, they tried to take God’s place in the hearts of men, and then they did not repent.
From the beginning, Satan’s envious desire has been to “be like the Most High” (Isa. 14). One of his chief means of striving for this equality with God is to offer help to men. But his help is not from God, and everywhere his help is received, spirits die.
If you are going to love people, love them with God’s love. Your love is insufficient at best, and it can be destructive. The help people need is the help God gives. He alone knows how to love and to help people so that when He is done, they are blessed.