“For if anyone
with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol’s
temple, won’t he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? So
this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. (1
Corinthians 8:10-11) Nicolas was a man of knowledge and personality so people
respected him. When such a man maintained his opinion that worshiping idols and
eating food sacrificed to idols is alright, many people trusted him and
followed him. However, we should take the absolute authority of the word of God,
not what people say. Some groups insist that Jesus will come on a designated
day and another that Jesus has already come to the earth. So many people were
tempted by what they were told. Many people are still being deceived now. If
they stand on the word of truth, why are they fooled? The Bible says that only
the Father in heaven knows when Jesus, His Son, will come again. “No one knows
about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the
Father.” (Mark 13:32) If somebody talks about the day or hour that Jesus will
come again, they are saying that they themselves are God. Jesus said He will
come again so that everyone clearly knows the time. “At that time the sign of
the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will
mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power
and great glory.” (Matthew 24:30) Likewise, despite Jesus clearly saying this, it
is unfortunate that there are people who are deceived by a false argument that distorts
the word of truth. There are many people who are on the road to ruin because
they have met a bad leader. We must completely rely on the word of God written
in the Bible and lead a life of faith to win a victory to the end, not
depending on what peole say.
Seok-Jeon Yoon
Extracted from Yonsei Newspaper #453 (September 26, 2015)