6 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
Paul wrote in the letter to the Galatians to assist one another “in the spirit of meekness”. He then goes on to state that a person should not think they are somebody when they really are nobody.
3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
~ Ro 12:3
We need to be mindful that Paul is writing these passages to various congregations of the Church and not addressing the world!
Some of the recent writings from the fringes really do reflect the pride of men who broke away from the main trunk of the tree because they believed they knew better. There is no other reason than pride raising its head because no one could tell them they were wrong (and still cannot).
I was mindful of this when reading the Life Hope & Truth “Daily Bible Verse Blog” article “The Day of the Lord Comes on the Proud“. They write about Isaiah 2:12:
12 For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:
“Every one” is listed twice. Do these leaders who have stepped out of bounds and teach heresy really think they can escape? What of those who follow them instead of God?