It’s Your Responsibility 1Kings 13:17 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
It is your responsibility to know and follow the word of God. If someone or something misleads you into believing a lie, that’s your fault, not theirs. You are the one who will stand before God and give account of yourself to him for what you have believed and what you have done.
In 1 Ki 13, God gave a man of God the word of the Lord. Among other things God told him not to return to Bethel after he delivered a prophecy to Jeroboam. Later an old prophet of Bethel lied to the young man of God and told him that an angel had spoken to him to bring the young man of God back to the old prophet’s house in Bethel. The young man complied and disobeyed the word of the Lord. Therefore, a lion killed him for his disobedience. When the old prophet died, his sons buried him in the young man’s grave so that Josiah would not burn his bones with the others who had sacrificed on the altar at Bethel. This was according to the prophecy of the word of God by the young man.
It’s your responsibility to know and obey the words of God:
Even when your preacher or prophet lies – 1 Ki 13:18. Mormon’s, Jehovah’s Witnesses and some denominations and cults have prophets. These prophets lie. Those who are condemned because they believe the lie have no one to blame but themselves. That’s because they all have a Bible and they refuse to believe it.
Even when your priest lies – Mat 23:9. Priests routinely lie about scripture to uphold their tradition. Those who follow them to destruction have no one to blame but themselves. They all have access to a Bible but they refuse to believe that it speaks against the teachings of their church, their priest and their tradition.
Even when your closest relative or friend lies – Deut 13:6-11. Some of the worst deception comes from the people you trust the most. That’s because you are prone to trust them explicitly without considering the truth of what they say. You’d better check them out by the Bible. That’s the only way you can be sure they are telling you the truth. It’s your responsibility.
Even when the Lord deceives – Ezek 14:7-11; 2 Thes 2:11-12. The Lord deceives a prophet steeped in idolatry and deceives those who trust in him [1 Ki 22:21-23]. The Lord sends strong delusion during the Tribulation to those who believe not the truth. All of those deceived and all of those deceived by those who are deceived are responsible for their own deception even though the Lord is behind it. They all had the truth and they all refused to believe it.
Conclusion: You have the word of God and it’s your responsibility to know it, believe it and obey it. Any failure on your part to do that and any consequence from your failure to do that is your responsibility; you cannot blame another soul!