Some time back, I read about stumbling blocks and little ones and being thrown into Hell with a millstone around my neck, and got very frightened. So I cried out to God, to explain to me what a stumbling block was, so I could work harder at avoiding being or supplying one. Here is what he said:
“It often happens that someone deeply troubled cries out to me for help, and I respond by sending my Spirit to convict them of sin, righteousness, and judgment. They repent of their neglect of loving me, and consider what they ought to do. My Spirit urges them to go to my church, and so they set out.
“But instead of knocking on the door of their neighbor, the one with the fish symbol on their car, they picture a church building in their minds, and stumble. It's easier to “go to church” by going to that building, and they take the easy way out. And so, their chance at salvation is lost.
“That building is a stumbling block. It ‘goes beyond what is written' (1 Corinthians 4:6) and so ‘defiles my body' (1 Corinthians 3:17). If you don't want me to destroy you, don't do anything to support building one of those stumbling blocks.”
Well, that's what I believe he told me.
Stephen Fretwell, Winchester