Iron Sharpens Iron
The company you keep can edify or corrupt you. Scripture warns us about the dangers of being friends with the wicked. You may want to shape the wicked into believing, but they might shape you instead.
Proverbs 27:17
As iron sharpens iron,
So one person sharpens another.
This imagery invites us to consider how spiritual growth and mutual edification occur within Christian relationships. Just as iron is shaped and refined, so too are believers through their interactions with one another.
THE PROCESS OF SHARPENING
Picture a blacksmith from ancient times, laboring over a hot iron to make a sword. He places it on an anvil and strikes it with a hammer to shape and sharpen it. The process is intense—sparks fly, sweat pours, and the metal is transformed through force and precision. Similarly, friendships among believers involve constructive criticism and mutual accountability. Disagreements, though sometimes uncomfortable, can refine character and strengthen faith, much like the hammer sharpens the sword. As Galatians 6:2 tells us, we are to “bear one another’s burdens,” so that we are not walking alone through life’s trials and temptations.
CHOOSING GODLY FRIENDS
While we strive to sharpen others, we must remain vigilant about the influence of those around us. As the old saying goes, “Tell me who your friends are, and I’ll tell you who you are.” Attempting to shape unbelievers into godly individuals can backfire, as their influence may lead us toward ungodliness. James 4:4 warns that “friendship with the world is hostility toward God,” reminding us to guard against those who might forge us into their image rather than Christ’s.
As J.C. Ryle noted, serving Christ is challenging enough without the added burden of ungodly companions. He wrote:
It is hard enough to serve Christ under any circumstances in such a world as this... It's doubly hard to do it if we are friends of the thoughtless and ungodly... Let us seek friends that will stir us up about our prayers, our Bible reading and our employment of time.1
While we may have acquaintances who are unbelievers, our inner circle should consist of those with whom we can experience mutual growth and edification. As Matthew Henry wrote: “[It is] a great help and privilege, and a good means of steadiness and perseverance; [having] their hearts and hands [being] mutually strengthened.2”
CONCLUSION
As Christians, we are called to be in the world but not of it. The company we keep profoundly shapes our spiritual journey. Let us choose friends who reflect the values of our faith, fostering mutual growth and accountability. By surrounding ourselves with those who sharpen us as iron sharpens iron, we honor God and persevere in our walk with Christ.
J.C. Ryle, Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots, (Hendrickson Publishers, 2007), p. 116
Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Volume VI-III - Titus - Revelation, (Devoted Publishing, 2018), p. 82