Grace, Mercy and Intolerance

I think most of my readers will be familiar with the verses in Matt. 18, Mark 9 and Luke 17 where Jesus says that it would be better for someone to have a millstone tied to his neck and be thrown into the ocean rather than to lead one of His followers into sin. You may be less familiar with Deuteronomy 13, though, where God orders His children the Israelites to put to death anyone who tries to lead them astray, coaxing them into worshiping idols or otherwise straying from God. This command holds true even if the offending party is your brother or your son or your spouse. Our duty now is simply to flee from those who try to entice us away from the narrow path that pleases God, and not to have anything to do with them. (2 Tim. 2:22.) There is no point in arguing, God will judge them. Foolish and vain arguments against obvious error are mere distraction when we are much better off spending our time productively.