Shall We Follow the Crowd?

by Ken Thomas

Does might make right? Is the majority a safe guide for deciding right and wrong? The Bible warns very clearly "Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil," Exodus 23:2. Our Lord said that the narrow way that leads to "life" has few on it, while the highway to destruction is wide and heavily traveled; see Matthew 7:13,14. It seems that the majority of Stephen's audience decided that his message was too pointed; he needed to die! This self-appointed lynch mob stoned him to death.
Obviously it was fear of the multitude that caused the disciples to forsake Jesus and flee ( Matthew 26:56). The silence of Jesus' friends and relatives as he was condemned to die on the cross is likely related to the crowd's insistence on having their way: "Crucify him!" It was peer pressure that caused Peter to fear the Jewish Christians who would not approve of his association with Gentiles. Thankfully, Paul had enough love for Peter to stand against the popular view and rebuke his hypocritical stance.
Moral issues and doctrinal questions are not decided by an appeal to majority opinion. To go along with doctrinal error for fear of being branded as "divisive" is cowardice. We have developed two extremes of reacting to differences among brethren.

One is the "attack mode" in which we blow every difference into a major conflict, and the other is the "peace at any price" attitude in which we close our eyes and refuse to acknowledge that there is a problem. Neither extreme is correct n but the Bible is right!

June 27, 1993

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Shall We Follow the Crowd? by Ken Thomas Does might make right? Is the majority a safe guide for deciding right and wrong? The Bible warns very clearly "Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil," Exodus 23:2. Our Lord said that the narrow way that leads to "life" has few on it, while the highway to destruction is wide and heavily traveled; see Matthew 7:13,14. It seems that the majority of Stephen's audience decided that his message was too pointed; he needed to die! This self-appointed lynch mob stoned him to death. Obviously it was fear of the multitude that caused the disciples to forsake Jesus and flee ( Matthew 26:56). The silence of Jesus' friends and relatives as he was condemned to die on the cross is likely related to the crowd's insistence on having their way: "Crucify him!" It was peer pressure that caused Peter to fear the Jewish Christians who would not approve of his association with Gentiles. Thankfully, Paul had enough love for Peter to stand against the popular view and rebuke his hypocritical stance. Moral issues and doctrinal questions are not decided by an appeal to majority opinion. To go along with doctrinal error for fear of being branded as "divisive" is cowardice. We have developed two extremes of reacting to differences among brethren. One is the "attack mode" in which we blow every difference into a major conflict, and the other is the "peace at any price" attitude in which we close our eyes and refuse to acknowledge that there is a problem. Neither extreme is correct n but the Bible is right! June 27, 1993 Related Articles: Print this Article Discuss this Article Back to the Sermon Page	Mt. Juliet Church of Christ 1940 N. Mt. Juliet Road P.O.Box 248 Mt.Juliet, TN 37122-0248 (615)758-2274 Fax:615-754-2351 Email Worship Services: Sunday Early Worship: 8AM Sunday Bible Study: 9:15AM Sunday Late Worship: 10:15AM Night Worship: 6PM Wednesday Bible Study: 7PM