Do Not Follow the Majority

Exodus 23:2

INTRO:
In my last few lessons, we were talking about discipleship. We saw that in our loyalty, our commitment to Christ, we may face times of adversity. Paul in his letters to Timothy warned him of this same thing. Look with me at 2 Timothy 3:12-17 – “12. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 13. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14. But as for you, continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15. and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17. that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

We read the last two of these verses where it talks about “all scripture is given by inspiration of God...” and we said that in it we have everything that we need for us to be fully prepared for His coming.

All scripture includes both the Old and New Testaments of course. Paul further indicates the Old Testament scripture is included by the words; “that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures”.

This morning I would like to consider something we find in Exodus 23:2. “You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice.”

We have often seen groups of people gather for some reason or another and unfortunately at times that group or a portion of that group has participated in some destructive behavior.

Whenever I see scenes like that taking place, riots, vandalism, causing harm to others, I become very concerned. We see people acting as a mob, and I can't help but think that some of the people in those groups are just going along with the crowd.

Some may have gathered with good intentions and then other people are there for destructive purposes. Perhaps their initial motives were good but then they get caught up in the activity of those doing evil and either by direct participation or simply being there—lend their support to the destructive events.

I'm appalled when I see how many people are holding up their phones, wanting to take pictures of whatever's going on. That concerns me.

I believe some people are just going along with what they consider to be the majority. In our lesson, we want to study passages that teach us that God's people must not follow the majority. We will look at some passages in the Old Testament and we want to consider some passages in the New Testament also.

Then we want to consider a familiar story found in the Book of Daniel that illustrates the point that we're making.

I. PASSAGES RECORDED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT - Let's begin by looking at some verses found in the Old Testament and keep in mind that the Apostle Paul showed in Romans 15:4 why we must consider the Old Testament Scriptures. “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.”

A. Paul was referring to the Old Testament Scriptures, and he indicated that there's much to learn from that particular section of God's Word. All of the sacred scriptures, the Old Testament, no less than the New Testament, bears a precious relevance to people of all ages. Although many of the forms and shadows of the old order have been replaced by the realities of the new institution of Christ, a proper understanding of those principles which, in the New Testament, have been supplanted, is surely promoted and enhanced by the study of the Old Testament as well as the New Testament.
B. Of course today we're under the authority of the New Testament, but the Old Testament is also the inspired word of God.

1. The Law has indeed been taken out of the way in the sense of what is said in Colossians 2:13-14 – “And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”
2. Jesus fulfilled the Law, and it was then taken out of the way. When Jesus died, His new Covenant went into effect. Today we're not under the authority of the Old Testament. However, there is much to learn from the Old Testament Scriptures.

C. Let's consider the verse we just read, Exodus 23:2 - which says, “You shall not follow a crowd to do evil”. If you look at the context, you will see that God was revealing His will to the children of Israel through Moses. God told His people that He wanted them to do certain things and He also indicated that there were certain things they were not to do. The Lord covered both sides of the issue.

1. In this verse, God told his people something that they were to avoid. What was it? They were to avoid following a crowd to do evil. That problem has been around for a long time. God knew that people were disposed to do that, and therefore He addressed this very important issue.
2. I believe that we would do well to consider that in the world even today. God wants His people to obey His will even if the majority wants to disobey. So He said, do not follow a multitude or a crowd of people to do evil.
3. Unfortunately, when we look at the history of Israel, we see that God's people disobeyed that command on many occasions.

D. Considered two of those times when they disobeyed. Let's go over to Exodus 32:1-5 – “1. Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, "Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.'' 2. And Aaron said to them, "Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.'' 3. "So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4. And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, "This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!'' 5. So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.''”[NKJV]

1. The people gathered together before Aaron and made a demand. On this occasion, Aaron gave in to the will of the majority, and he made the golden calf.
2. Where was Moses at this time? He was up on the mountain receiving the law from God. The people saw that Moses delayed. He was up there for some time, and they made a request that Aaron make them gods, that is, Graven images.
3. I am sure you recall who Aaron was, he was the brother of Moses, and he had seen God demonstrate His great power.

a. Remember Aaron’s Rod that budded? You can find that in Numbers 17:8.
b. Also, remember how in Pharaoh's presence Aaron cast down his Rod which became a serpent? The Egyptian magicians did the same thing. They cast down their rods and they turned into serpents, but Aaron's Rod swallowed up all the others.
c. Aaron took the serpent by the tail and it turned into his Rod once again. The point is, Aaron had seen God demonstrate His power on multiple occasions.

4. Moses had made excuses when God was sending him to Egypt to bring his people to the promised land. One thing that Moses said was, I'm not eloquent.

a. God said, Aaron, your brother is a good speaker. I'll speak to you, and you speak to Aaron. He in turn will deliver the message to the people.
b. Aaron had seen God demonstrate his great power.
c. And indirectly Aaron was God’s spokesman yet even so, on this occasion, Aaron followed the will of the majority. He went along with their desires and he made the golden calf.

5. Interestingly, Moses was up on the mountain receiving the law from God. Part of that law from God clearly stated that His people were to not participate in idolatry. They were not to make any graven images, and they were not to bow down to them. Idolatry was clearly forbidden.
6. While Moses is up on the mountain, what were the people down below doing? They were making a golden calf. Who was involved in that? Aaron was. Don't tell me Aaron did not know better than that, because he did. You can find the prohibition of worshiping images was known to Jacob back in Genesis 35:2-4. Aaron had seen God demonstrate His power over and over again and yet what did he do? He very foolishly went along with the multitude to do evil.

E. Let's look at another occasion when the children of Israel disobeyed this command. Look at First Samuel chapter 8. At this time, Samuel was serving as judge and as priest. There was a long period when Israel was led by a series of judges. Samuel was the last judge.

1. Starting in verse one we see something that was done not too long before Samuel passed away. First Samuel 8:1-5 - “1. Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. 2. The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3. But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice. 4. Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5. and said to him, "Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways.” Now listen to this. “Now make for us a king to judge us like all the nations.”
2. The Israelite elders came to Samuel and requested that he give them a King. For what purpose? So they could be like all the nations.
3. We see Samuel’s reaction in verse 6. “6. But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us.'' So Samuel prayed to the Lord.”
4. Then in verse 7 God responds, “And the Lord said to Samuel, "Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.” God took this request of children of Israel personally. Samuel was upset because of the request. He took that problem to God and God said, they haven't rejected you, they have rejected me.
5. It's unfortunate that his sons were not good judges, but Samuel had the respect of the people and he protested and told them all the things that a King would do, yet the Israelite elders would not relent and continued to desire a King.
6. Now Verse 19 – “Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, "No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.''” For what purpose did they want a king? To be like everybody else, to be like all the nations around them.

F. It took a while, but eventually the Israelites realized that they had sinned in making this request. Look at First Samuel 12:19 – “And all the people said to Samuel, "Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die; for we have added to all our sins the evil of asking a king for ourselves.''” They finally realized that what they had done was wrong. Remember, God took personally the request that they had made. We just looked at a few verses in the Old Testament. I think we can safely conclude that the Old Testament scriptures show us that God's people must not follow the majority.
G. We find this to be a problem in our world today. I talked a while ago about destructive behavior and about gatherings of people where some get out of control and do evil and others are drawn into it either by direct action or being supportive. But there are other ways we follow the majority to do evil. What about social issues?

1. There's a lot of pressure put on people to go along with the will of certain people who don't necessarily want to follow God's will. I have seen, and I venture to say some of you as well, have seen people who at one time at least gave some lip service to believing in God, yet now are willing to go along with the majority... or what appears to be the majority.
2. That's a serious problem in our world today. That's one thing I learned a long time ago. If something is a problem in the world, eventually it's going to be a problem in the Church. We have to study this matter ahead of time so that we can avoid falling into this trap.

II. PASSAGES RECORDED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT - Let's turn our attention now to some verses found in the New Testament. First to Matthew 7:13-14 – “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” So, so familiar words of our Lord. Jesus was nearing the end of His great Sermon on the Mount, He talked about the few and the many, and He talked about their eternal destinies.

A. In these verses, Jesus contrasted those eternal destinies. When He mentioned the many, He said that they will spend eternity in a place of destruction. From this statement of our Lord, it ought to be clear to us that following the majority is not wise and it is not safe.

1. What's going to happen to the many that are the majority? Their eternal destiny will be destruction.
2. What about the few? The few are the ones who will find life. They won't go along with the crowd. Rather, they will follow the Lord and go where He leads. When we do that, we know that we're going in the right direction.
3. Jesus said that the majority, that is the many, will spend eternity in a place of destruction. For the few, there is an alternative, and it's life, and just as beautiful as the Bible pictures that place of eternal life, it also describes the horrors of that place of eternal destruction. Jesus had much more to say about hell than He did about heaven. I suspect that is because He came to deliver us from that place, and show us how grateful we need to be that He made His great sacrifice.

B. Let's go a little bit further. As we consider passages in the New Testament, it teaches us what Christians are, and will help us understand why we must not follow the majority.

1. So what are Christians? According to Titus 2:14, we are - “... His own special people, zealous for good works.”
2. Then in First Peter 2:5, we are – “... a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” Not just a priesthood, but a Holy priesthood. Under Christianity, every child of God is a priest and Jesus is our high priest. We're to be a Holy priesthood, we are not like everyone else.
3. In First Peter 2:9 – “you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;” That passage ought to indicate to us that Christians are not to be like everyone else, we are a special people, a holy nation.

C. The New Testament helps us to understand that we are a different people and why we must not go along with the majority. The Lord's people cannot be like everyone else and do what everyone else does and expect the Lord's approval. The Lord's Church is not a democracy. The Lord's Church is God's Kingdom.

1. We, as Christians, do not determine right and wrong by what the majority might want. Remember the majority is very fickle. Just in my lifetime, I have seen how views on issues have changed over and over again.
2. Does God's word change? No, it doesn't. God revealed His will once and for all. It's perfect, and we're to follow that perfect law.
3. When we look at people in society, we'll see that their views on social issues are changing all the time and, sadly, not always for the better. Christians determine right from wrong by what the King says in His word. Jesus is our Lord and it is Him we obey.

III. A STORY RECORDED IN DANIEL 3 THAT ILLUSTRATES THE POINT WE ARE MAKING - Let's look at a great story that I know is familiar to you and perhaps it will help us visualize what we are talking about. Turn with me to Daniel chapter 3. There are a number of lessons to learn from what happened in this chapter.

A. It has to do with the occasion when Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, made a great image. Recall at this time, the children of Israel were in Babylon, and they were in captivity. Nebuchadnezzar was King and he had a lot of power. He also had some problems, especially with pride, but God used Nebuchadnezzar to accomplish His purposes.

1. In Daniel chapter two we read that Daniel had interpreted a dream that Nebuchadnezzar had about a great image, and the body of that image was divided into different sections. The various parts of that image's body represented different world kingdoms. The head was of gold, and as Daniel interpreted the dream, he said that Nebuchadnezzar was that head of gold.
2. Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that his Kingdom would eventually come to an end and it would be replaced by another...the Medes and the Persians. Eventually, the Greeks would conquer the Medes and the Persians, and then finally, the Romans would become the great world Empire. Then Daniel told him that in the days of the King's ruling that fourth world Empire, God would set up His Kingdom which would last forever.
3. Nebuchadnezzar had a dream of a great image of which, according to Daniel's interpretation, Nebuchadnezzar was represented as being "the head of gold!" If we may take a somewhat speculative glance at the probable psychology that controlled Nebuchadnezzar, being one of many was not enough; he wanted to be the whole cheese! Therefore, he made a great image all of gold! In other words, he was confident that his Kingdom was going to last forever.
4. History though, has taught us something about the kingdoms of men, they rise and they fall.

B. When that image was dedicated, Nebuchadnezzar gave forth a decree. Let's go to Daniel 3:4-6 – “4. Then a herald cried aloud: "To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, 5. "that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up; 6. "and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.''”

1. That was what Nebuchadnezzar decreed, that when the music was played, everybody in his Kingdom was to bow down before this great image. If someone refused to do that, there was a very stiff penalty of being cast into the burning fiery furnace.
2. When you read different translations you will see different names for the musical instruments. Of great interest in this passage is the prominence of instrumental music in the ceremonies of pagan religious rites. It has ever been thus, and this longtime association of instrumental music with paganism is likely one of the prime reasons why it is excluded in New Testament worship. This association of instruments of music with pagan religion continued unto the times of the apostles.

C. What I want us to see is the response of the people in verse seven. “So at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, harp, and lyre, in symphony with all kinds of music, all the people, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the gold image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.” The majority of people in Nebuchadnezzar's Kingdom did what he wanted them to do, that is, bowed down before this image, when the music was played. What would the children of Israel do?

1. God had told them that worshiping idols was sinful. Exodus 20:3-5 tells us – “3. "You shall have no other gods before Me. 4. "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5. you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God...” God clearly did not allow His people to worship graven images.
2. If the Israelites obeyed God, then they would be cast into the furnace. If they decided to follow the majority, their lives would be spared. But they would have to answer to God for disobeying Him. I know you're familiar with this story.

D. Three young Israelite men did not bow before this image. Their names were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. They were accused of this disobedience and were brought before King Nebuchadnezzar. When the King was told these men refused to bow before his image, he was quite angry. He asked them if it was true “that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up?”

1. He said, “Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?''”
2. Look at their response in verse 16. “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. "If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. "But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.'”
3. I've often tried to picture this scene. This powerful ruler is giving these young, captive men a direct command. Did they fold? No. They had respect for God who said, you shall not follow a multitude to do evil, and bowing down to this image like everyone else would have been evil.

E. Nebuchadnezzar became extremely angry at that point and commanded the furnace be heated to the maximum and had them cast in fully clothed. Let's look at verses 25 – 27 where Nebuchadnezzar says, “25. "Look!'' he answered, "I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.'' 26. Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.'' Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. 27. And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king's counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.”

1. That's complete deliverance, and it made quite an impression on the King. Now verse 28 – “Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God!”
2. What if these young men had just decided to go along with the majority? That would have been easy to do, but they would have lost their souls.
3. Furthermore, they would have missed out on a great opportunity to influence the King on behalf of God. This story illustrates well why we must obey Exodus 23:2.
4. If we decide to disobey that passage, God of course, is not going to be pleased, but think about the potential for good influence that will be lost. It pays to do the will of God.

CONCLUSION: Today we have a different majority to contend with, the majority represented in the news media and social media. On any topic, we are presented with what we may perceive as a majority, and we may react to what is presented. Is this perceived majority wrong? As Christians, we need to test what we are presented based on scripture. If we go along, will our action do good or harm? Will it result in our showing the fruits of the spirit or not? Does it show love, is it kind, is it gentle, is it long-suffering, does it bring joy and peace? Most of all, does it give glory to God? Can we say we are doing it in the name of the Lord?

The Bible in both the Old and New Testaments show that the majority does not determine what is right and wrong in the eyes of God.

Jesus, in His great Sermon on the Mount, had revealed His will on many subjects. As He was approaching the conclusion, He challenged the people about what they had been taught over the years, and He called upon them to obey His will even if the majority did not.

Let's read again what Jesus had to say in Matthew 7:13-14 – “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”.

We need to keep in mind what the Lord says in these verses, and then examine ourselves to determine if we are indeed traveling the right path. In our discipleship, we need to continually check to determine if we are, in love and loyalty, following the Lord's will to the best of our ability. And to ensure the influence of the majority and not deflect us from that narrow path that leads to eternal life.
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If anybody here needs to respond, either to dedicate themselves to Christ and be buried with Him in baptism, or to ask for prayers on their behalf, won’t you come forward as we stand and sing our Invitational song.

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Reference Sermon: Joseph Vaughan