When going on a tour of an unfamiliar place, it is always good to have a guide to help lead the way. The reason behind this is because the guide has a working knowledge of the environment and the history behind the paths where he leads his followers. Full trust is placed in him and those who follow are always susceptible to being led by a bad guide rather than a good guide. The interesting fact is that, in religion, it is no different. Multitudes of people need guidance to help them wade through the muddled waters of religious diversity and, along the way, there are some good guides, but there are some bad guides that have been trusted as well.
The good guides are those who have learned from and have determined to imitate the ultimate guide—God. “For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death” (Psa. 48:14). God will forever lead His followers into the paths of righteousness (Psa. 23:3). His imitators understand the necessity of fleeing worldly pursuits and following His righteousness (1 Tim. 6:7-11). One notable good guide of the Bible was Philip. After asking the eunuch, “understandest thou what thou readest?” The eunuch answered, “How can I, except some man should guide me?” (Acts 8:30,31; emphasis added). This answer gave Philip the opportunity to guide a soul into the way of salvation by preaching Jesus (Acts 8:35). Good guides today will imitate the example of men like Philip no matter how strange the world thinks it is (1 Pet. 4:4).
Just as good guides have determined to imitate God, bad guides have also determined a god whom they will imitate—the god of this world, which is Satan (2 Cor. 4:4). Perhaps the worst, “good guide, gone bad” in the entre Bible was Judas Iscariot. Of him, Peter said, “Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, with the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus” (Acts 1:16; emphasis added). Instead of guiding the world to the life of Jesus (John 14:6), Judas was a guide to Jesus’ death (Luke 22:48). Today, there are still bad guides who many follow that are betraying the Lord “who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 4). By doing this, there ungodly guides are only leading themselves and others into swift destruction (2 Pet. 2:1).
Thus, each person as a religious follower has the responsibility to seek out good guides who will lead them into life everlasting (1 Tim. 1:16). The best guide that each one can follow is God’s inspired Word because it is truly “good” (Isa. 39:8). God reminds us all, “Beloved follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hast not seen God” (3 John 11).
~Derrick Coble
The good guides are those who have learned from and have determined to imitate the ultimate guide—God. “For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death” (Psa. 48:14). God will forever lead His followers into the paths of righteousness (Psa. 23:3). His imitators understand the necessity of fleeing worldly pursuits and following His righteousness (1 Tim. 6:7-11). One notable good guide of the Bible was Philip. After asking the eunuch, “understandest thou what thou readest?” The eunuch answered, “How can I, except some man should guide me?” (Acts 8:30,31; emphasis added). This answer gave Philip the opportunity to guide a soul into the way of salvation by preaching Jesus (Acts 8:35). Good guides today will imitate the example of men like Philip no matter how strange the world thinks it is (1 Pet. 4:4).
Just as good guides have determined to imitate God, bad guides have also determined a god whom they will imitate—the god of this world, which is Satan (2 Cor. 4:4). Perhaps the worst, “good guide, gone bad” in the entre Bible was Judas Iscariot. Of him, Peter said, “Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, with the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus” (Acts 1:16; emphasis added). Instead of guiding the world to the life of Jesus (John 14:6), Judas was a guide to Jesus’ death (Luke 22:48). Today, there are still bad guides who many follow that are betraying the Lord “who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 4). By doing this, there ungodly guides are only leading themselves and others into swift destruction (2 Pet. 2:1).
Thus, each person as a religious follower has the responsibility to seek out good guides who will lead them into life everlasting (1 Tim. 1:16). The best guide that each one can follow is God’s inspired Word because it is truly “good” (Isa. 39:8). God reminds us all, “Beloved follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hast not seen God” (3 John 11).
~Derrick Coble