Hello dear ones,
Today, let’s take a look at how Jesus warns against causing other believers to stumble:
“And whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.”
— Mark 9:42
Jesus continues His teaching after addressing unnecessary division in the Kingdom of God. Having told His disciples not to stop those who were casting out demons in His name—because those who are not against Him are for Him—He shifts focus to warn against those who cause others to stumble.
The people He refers to are described as “little ones who believe.” Here, Jesus is speaking about believers. It’s important to note that not every believer is at the same level of spiritual growth. Some are more mature, while others are still children in the faith. Scripture often acknowledges these different levels of maturity. For example, Paul exhorts the Ephesians not to remain spiritual children:
“So that we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming.”
— Ephesians 4:14
Here, Paul points out one of the characteristics of believers who are young in their faith: they are easily swayed by false teachings.
We see this every day in the church. Some believers struggle to discern what is sound doctrine and what is not. As a result, they wander into practices contrary to biblical truth simply because they cannot distinguish between truth and error.
The author of Hebrews also rebukes his audience for their lack of maturity. Despite having been believers long enough to be teachers, they still required spiritual “milk” rather than “solid food”:
“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern both good and evil.”
— Hebrews 5:12–14
The attribute of immaturity highlighted here is the inability to discern between good and evil. Immature believers are at risk because evil often disguises itself in garments that appear good. Lacking discernment, they are more vulnerable to falling into sin.
This is the group Jesus refers to when He warns about the “little ones who believe.” He makes it clear that there will be people who cause them to stumble—and He issues a stern warning against such offenders.
Jesus says it would be better for a person to have a millstone tied around their neck and be thrown into the sea than to cause a believer to stumble. This imagery underscores the severity of the offense. It is one thing for a believer to stumble on their own, but to be the cause of another’s fall into sin carries a far greater judgment.
But what does it mean to cause someone to stumble? Stumbling here means falling into sin. Paul uses similar language when writing to the Corinthians:
“Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again—ever, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.”
— 1 Corinthians 8:13
Paul explains that he would gladly give up eating meat if it meant protecting a fellow believer from falling into idolatry. Sometimes causing another to stumble is not intentional—it can even result from carelessness.
This is why we must remain alert and attentive to one another. Love requires us to be aware of the weaknesses of our brothers and sisters and to act in ways that help them avoid temptation. Instead of being a stumbling block, we should encourage and exhort one another to stay away from environments that lead to sin.
This too is an act of love.
So, while believers may sometimes sin by their own choices, causing another to sin is itself a serious offense. Jesus warns us strongly against this.
I pray that we will not be agents of stumbling but rather sources of encouragement, admonition, and exhortation within the body of Christ.
“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”
— Jude 24–25
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