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Lay it to Heart

Non-Biblical Sources

Over the years other non-Biblical teachings have polluted God's word.

What is Preached Is Not Always Perfect

Many church members displace their responsibility to study God's word onto their preacher. They will not examine the Bible themselves. They believe everything preached from the pulpit and are even offended if someone challenges what is said. The scriptures do not matter them. Acts 17:10-11 records, "And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." We need to do the same not to challenge the pastor but to support God's word. In the day of Moses, Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire before the LORD and died as a result (Leviticus 10:1-2). During the period of Judges, Eli's sons were corrupt priests (1 Samuel 2:12-17, 22-25). In Josiah's reign the priests had not kept up the temple and failed to pay attention to God's word (2 Kings 22). While Jeremiah served as a prophet the priests opposed him and Jeremiah ended up in jail (Jeremiah 29:26-32, 32:2). Jesus dealt with scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees that "shut up the kingdom of heaven against men" and taught without true authority that can only come from the word of God. 2 Peter 1:20 teaches us, "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation." Jeremiah 31:33 prophecies, "But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people." God's word is understandable to all, not just an inner circle of ordained priests.

A Still Small Voice

Be very careful how you talk about "a still small voice" Often this is abused as people try to suggest that they are directed by a still small voice within them implying that it is the leadership of the Holy Spirit of God. The term "still small voice" is referred to once in the Bible. 1 Kings 19 gives the account:

9	And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
10	And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
11	And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake:
12	And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
13	And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?.

The still small voice is a voice like a man in contrast to the mighty wind, to the earthquake and to the fire. It is not a voice which cannot be heard. Now there are times when the Holy Spirit influences people but there are other times when speakers lacking Biblical references, truth or logic try this shameless attempt to prove a point without substance.

Synoptic Gospels

The gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke are sometimes called the "Synoptic Gospels" meaning with one view. The Gospel of John is not a part of this. Some instructors use the term "Synoptic Problem" not able to understand why John has a different format than the other three. This theory ignores the greater meaning, theme or intent of all four gospels; that God became a man (Isaiah 9:6), lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins and rose from the grave the third day to become the first of the resurrection. The "Synoptic" heronry is really an attack on the word of God by incorrectly attacking the details and ignoring what is most important. In reality, there are not synoptic gospels. They are just gospels.

Psalms Are Not Poetry

An attempt to classify scripture has prevailed pushing Biblical books into categories such as the law, old testament history, poetry, prophecy, the gospels, new testament history, epistles and Revelation. A simpler and more accurate classification would be the past, the present and the future. God tells us what happened in the past, how we should be living today in the present and what will happen in the future. While some of the books may fall into the groups that are commonly taught, the classification of Psalms being poetry is not accurate. Poetry is often fictional or abstract. Psalms in no way are fictional or abstract. Poetry is writing for the sake of writing with an emphasis on style or artistic expression. The purpose of Psalms is the praise and glory of God. It also contains prophecy. Poetry does not place an emphasis on proclaiming God or speaking of his son. Psalms may contain alliterations or special forms of writing but the emphasis is not on clever wording. Poetry is intended for fun or entertainment. That is not why God gave us the Psalms today. Poetry is optional. God's holy word is not optional. It is acceptable to not like poetry and ignore it. Those who love God, however, will love his word which contains Psalms. Classifying the Psalms as poetry does not honor God.

What Paul Says Here

Bible teachers will tell you, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:" (2 Timothy 3:16). A lot of times they will say, "Now what Paul says here is..." Why don't they say, "What the Bible says here is..."? For other books they will never say, "Now what Moses says here is..." or "Now what Isaiah says here is ...". Now it is not the case all the time, but in some cases there is a desire to de-emphasize the inspired nature of the Bible verse or passage and make it look like it is just Paul's opinion. Paul gave his opinion once with respect to marriage and the Bible identifies it in 1 Corinthians 7:25 as his "judgment". Unless noted otherwise, understand that it is not Paul, it is God who is speaking to us through his word, the Bible.

The Bible is the authority. Compare what you are taught to what the holy scriptures say.