Need a Guide?

We have all used various kinds of guides, whether a tour guide in a museum or historic site, a guide in a national park wilderness area, an education or career guidance counselor, or even a GPS helping us to our destination in the city or country. We especially need a guide through the wilderness of spiritual deception in the world today.

When Philip asked a man from Ethiopia if he understood what he was reading in the book of Isaiah, the Ethiopian answered, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” (Acts 8:31).

Why do we need a guide? The simple answer is because we don’t know the way. We need someone who does know to show us. A guide knows where to go, where the dangers lie, how to avoid the bad actors, and how to reach safety and success.

Name virtually any subject and we will likely find available a written guide and also video guides. Sadly, there are plenty of charlatans and scammers hoping to prey on us. We need to do all due diligence to ferret out the honest, knowledgeable, well-trained, and seasoned experts in the field.

Some are blessed in life to find a caring mentor who gives excellent advice and guidance in directing us in matters of a career, matters of the heart, or other important areas in life.

Today, those whose eyes are opened see society in a near free fall from long-established norms and rules or guidelines that have, for millennia, proven to lead to a sound and successful society. History also shows that peoples, nations, and empires who have rejected observing those norms and guidelines have suffered terrible consequences. Those who are guiding society today are apparently blind to the results of their bad guidance and the increasingly severe consequences that will follow.

In Jesus Christ’s day, the guides were the religious sects of the Pharisees, the Sadducees (mostly priests), the Essenes, the scribes (lawyers), Herodians (Hellenistic Jews who supported a Herodian dynasty), and zealots (a political movement seeking to overthrow Roman occupation). Jesus had many encounters with these groups who were jealous of His popularity with the people, and who sought to kill Him.

Jesus spoke of the Pharisees in Matthew 23, calling them “blind guides” (vv. 16, 24). A blind guide isn’t going to be helpful but rather can lead followers to destruction. Reflecting on many guides we have in today’s society, it appears they are also “blind leaders of the blind” whose followers will end up with them in the ditch.

We often hear on the news of the need for “transparency” from our leaders. Too often we hear double-speak, obfuscation, non-answers, wrong answers, talking points, spin, and outright lies, all used the way a magician misdirects our attention in order to amaze us with his trick.

Jesus spoke about our need to be guided into truth, a very precious commodity. He is the truth, and His word is the truth. As Jesus was preparing to return to the Father and explaining to His disciples that He would no longer be on earth to guide them, He promised that He would send them a guide, that being the Holy Spirit that would lead them “into all truth” according to the will and inspiration of God the Father (John 16:13).

Just as God guided His people through the wilderness as a Shepherd, and like He guided His servants, the patriarchs and the prophets, so too our Creator guides His church—those who surrender to Him, following and obeying Him and those to whom He gives His Holy Spirit.

What is the Holy Spirit, what does it do, who has it, and how can you receive it? Our Tomorrows World whiteboard video, “What Is the Holy Spirit?” answers these important questions. Our study guide Christian Baptism: Its Real Meaning will also guide you in a study of this topic.