I listened to a Matt Chandler sermon this morning. He tells that in ancient days when there was a sheep that was prone to wander, the shepherd would chase the sheep down so many times until the shepherd would finally break the front legs of the sheep and carry the sheep around until the legs heal and then the sheep would never wander again. And he related that to how God will do whatever He has to do out of His great love for you. “It’s gonna hurt me worse than it hurts you.” It would be easy for me to repeat this in the pulpit or in a blog post, quoting Matt Chandler. I love to listen to Chandler’s teaching and have great respect for him. But I have learned to double check things according to Scripture and/or according to historical teachings and writings.
One person who claimed to thoroughly research it said the illustration was popularized in 1979 when Paul Lee Tan included it in his book for pastors Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations, quoting a 1955 book “What Jesus Said”, written by Robert Boyd Munger. And the person claims that 1955 is the earliest reference he could find.
I’m just reminding you today to double check things. Double check things on Facebook. Double check things I say or write. Double check sermons you hear. There are so many false teachings out there that can lead you from the narrow way. 1 John 4:1 says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” I’m not accusing Chandler of false teaching. I think he made a mistake using that illustration. I make mistakes. But some pastors definitely teach a cultural Christianity, which embrace and condone the beliefs of society, and are deceiving and leading people astray. The hot button topics of our society are addressed in the Bible. Read it. Don’t listen to anyone that is teaching contrary to God’s Word, even if the Bible is more difficult to accept. While false teaching is often what the people wish were true, it is dangerous to the person speaking it and the people believing it.
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Scott Knowlton's Blog 