Don't Listen to Godly Counsel, Always

You shouldn't always listen to godly counsel. When I say that I'm not saying you should instead listen to ungodly counsel. What I am saying is that even godly counsel, from spiritually mature people in your life, still comes from a human source and must be treated as such. I read something in Acts this morning that really jumped out at me. This is from Acts 21:4, "And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there [Tyre] for seven days. And through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem."

I found this verse odd because here we have people who are giving godly, spiritual counsel that Paul is going to face trouble in Jerusalem. They are faithfully sharing the words that the Spirit has shown them to Paul, however, their interpretation of the meaning of those words is wrong. Paul knows that he must go to Jerusalem, regardless of the trouble that is awaiting him there. The Spirit had given these brothers insight into the trouble that Paul would encounter, but not into what He had commanded Paul to do.

Scripture doesn't say so, but it may be that these brothers had exceeded the instruction that the Spirit had given them. Yes, they had been shown that Paul would encounter trials and they were to share this with Paul, but they had not been told to keep him from going. Their genuine concern for Paul was at odds with the plans and purposes of the Spirit. We must remember that even godly counsel does not always have a complete picture of what God is up to because it comes from a limited source, that is another human.

Their counsel was helpful in that it prepared and steeled Paul for what was ahead. However, it was unhelpful because it sought to derail the purpose that the Spirit had for Paul going to Jerusalem. Whenever we encounter godly counsel that is at odds with a word or an instruction that we've received from God we must remember that ultimately we must obey God and not man. Paul could have used this counsel to avoid going to Jerusalem and no one would have faulted him for it. He could have justifiably claimed that he was listening to godly counsel. However, in his own conscience he would have known that he had simply used that counsel as an excuse to disobey God. We must guard ourselves from the deception of using godly, though incomplete, counsel to set aside a clear word from God in our lives. In such cases we must ignore godly counsel and listen to God Himself.