The word “word” is used frequently in modern times as an equivalent for the word “truth.” One might say “truth” as an agreement for someone’s statement of an apparent truth. Interesting considering that God’s Word is the original and final “truth.” Jesus said it best.
John 17:17–19 ESV. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
Believers are sanctified by the truth of God’s Word; all of God’s Word, whenever spoken at any time and to any audience.
However, most who say they “believe Jesus” do not regard His Word as truth. They pick and choose what they want to do and ignore the parts they don’t like. One of the latest examples is a part of the Lutheran Church (the ELCA or Evangelical Lutheran Church in America). They have decided that certain parts of the Bible are “harmful and patriarchal.” This type of belief is no surprise considering that the Church as a whole is not in the Bible in the first place, and has been chopping up the Word into pieces using only those pieces they like since about 200 A.D.
The Church (all of it, not just the Lutherans) has consistently preached a hollow Jesus with philosophies of men in place of much of His teaching.
There would be many blessings if we could say “word” to a pastor’s or rabbi’s teaching. But we can’t because most of them do not speak the truth, and so the blessings go wanting and hearers are sinking in a sea of feel-good messages without the substance of God’s Word. They’re not delivering solid help for daily living by properly explaining all of what God offers.
Isaiah 10:1–3 ESV. Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees, and the writers who keep writing oppression, to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey! What will you do on the day of punishment, in the ruin that will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth?
The word “iniquitous” (or iniquity) is “evil,” “false,” or “wicked.” Iniquity is literally “lawlessness” or “no law.” So the sentence could read “Woe to those who speak evil, wicked, false and lawless pronouncements.” When the words of a teacher are without or against God’s Word, including His Laws (or instruction), they are evil, false, and wicked. No Law means no truth, since all of God’s Words are truth. If we want to say “word” or truth, teachers need to give us something to work with, and actually speak the truth of God’s Word.
Isaiah again records a word from God about those who do not relay His Words like they should.
Isaiah 29:9–10 ESV. Astonish yourselves and be astonished; blind yourselves and be blind! Be drunk, but not with wine; stagger, but not with strong drink! For the Lord has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes (the prophets), and covered your heads (the seers).
This is on the heels of the admonition from God about leaders and teachers who refuse to take in and adapt to God’s Word given by the prophets and the Law through Moses. They are convicted of so many refusals to speak and do God’s will that they are like the very young who have to be taught in tiny little pieces, so He will teach them by the lips of foreign peoples.
Isaiah 28:10–13 ESV. For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.” For by people of strange lips and with a foreign tongue the Lord will speak to this people, to whom he has said, “This is rest; give rest to the weary; and this is repose”; yet they would not hear. And the word of the Lord will be to them precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little, that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
Then Isaiah really drops the hammer about the cause of the lack of teaching the whole Word. It is due to worship that is not in the heart and is only evident on the lips. In other words, they say they follow God but do not teach all of God’s Word nor do they actually act on them.
Isaiah 29:13–14 ESV. And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.”
Though this is in the so-called Old Testament, it is not only quoted by Jesus in the New, He identifies these as hypocrites who leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men. A hypocrite speaks one way and acts differently. Jesus directs His comments to the leaders of Israel (at the time of Isaiah), but they are also directed at leaders of today who say “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus” like He’s a lucky rabbit’s foot, then ignore and refuse to follow all the words of Jesus so evident throughout the Bible. They say one thing (believe in Jesus) but do what’s right in their own eyes.
Mark 7:6–8 ESV. And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”
We are overloaded with hypocrites in modern times. Time to repent and just do what He says.
Word to The Word.