The Bible clearly teaches that no believer is sinless. As such, each believer experiences times when he is rebuked of the Lord. It is a natural part of the Christian life. At the same time, there will be circumstances which will bring about rebuke from other believers (Ecclesiastes 7:5). These are healthy elements of Christian growth. Yet, the goal of every believer should be one where he lives a life beyond rebuke. Paul’s desire for the Philippian believers was that they “may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation” (Philippians 2:15). He then admonished Timothy to keep God’s commandment “without spot” and “unrebukeable” (1 Timothy 6:14).
One might think that people who spend a great deal of time studying would not be as weary as one who spends the majority of his time performing physical labour. Perhaps this is true at times, but the Bible indicates that “much study is a weariness of the flesh” (Ecclesiastes 12:12). This is specifically true when it comes to Bible study. Interestingly, man’s flesh can sit for hours reading a novel or watching television, but studying the scripture manifests a weariness of the flesh rather quickly. The eyes begin to feel the burden of remaining open and the mouth begins to yawn. Why? Because the flesh is wearied by study and the Devil uses our natural tendencies against us.
