Galatians 4:116-17…16 Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? 17 Those people are zealous for you, but not in a good way. Instead, they want to isolate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them. "
There are those who attempt to isolate us from others who enhance our walk with Christ and when they cannot accomplish this they will isolate us from them to cause jealousy in us.
When we encounter those who use manipulation and indulge in superior attitudes we are free to and should walk away and leave them to one another. Christ should be our sole purpose in this life not the "group." When we spend too much time in "groups" we become like the group, not like Christ.
Matthew 23:15 "… 15Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You traverse land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are."
In my opinion based on my many years of experience with churches and people I am convinced that too many friends are a hindrance to our walk with Christ. I am not speaking about those who are diligent to obey Christ and His word, but those who have a form of religion and are self-satisfied with what they think they know, which often is not very much more than what they hear for one hour in church gatherings once a week.
There is an old saying; "a man with too many friends has none."
A friend of the born-again believer is one who will encourage us to read the Word, question all things and obey what the Holy Spirit tells them. They are a precious few in our day and very special because they walk with us, not against us.
Matthew 23:13
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter."
Many church attendees in our day have a form of religion but do not love Christ. They love their self-elevated stance that resides in their own mind but does not match with the scriptures. Their belief system about God is heavily peppered with psychology of the world and the culture around them, not in Christ.
Galatians 6:12-13 "12 Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. They only do this to avoid persecution for the cross of Christ. 13 For the circumcised do not even keep the law themselves, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.…"
Many church attendees have their own set of rules God never made, contorting the scriptures to justify what God never said and excluding those who know the truth.
I used to think when I left the Catholic church that the Protestant church was better, then I grew in Christ and realized they are very closely linked in the mentality of following men, both seek the approval of men and pretend to seek Christ but demonstrate arrogance as they add to scripture and take away from scripture when it suits their purpose.
Thank the Lord we are free in Christ to obey Him, rejecting what has been added and what has been taken away, to know the truth fully and without reservation. We need not give into the pressure of those who love their legalism and hierarchy.
Christ in us is all we need, He is our teachers.
1 John 2:27 states, "But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you".
If anyone trusts in any man or calls themselves by any man's name, Christ is not pre-eminant in them.
If you say "I am a Baptist" or " I am a Presbyerian" or "I am following Calvin or Luther." Then this person is not following Christ because it is only Christ Who is perfect and able to have all the answers from our Father in heaven.
1 Corinthians 3:1-17
3 And I, brothers and sisters, could not speak to you as spiritual people, but only as fleshly, as to infants in Christ.
2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to consume it. But even now you are not yet able,
3 for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like ordinary people?
4 For when one person says, “I am with Paul,” and another, “I am with Apollos,” are you not ordinary people?
5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.
6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.
7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.
8 Now the one who plants and the one who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each person must be careful how he builds on it.
11 For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw,
13 each one’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each one’s work.
14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.
15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet only so as through fire.
16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
17 If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are."
Hallelujah! Our freedom to follow Christ and His Word transcends any human wisdom or practice that only serves to elevate self. When we follow Christ He will be elevated and not ourselves.
