Tickled Ears

One of the methods commonly used today to mentor a young believer in Christ is to have the new believer read a single verse and then answer the question "What do think the verse means?" This approach promotes the belief that anyone's opinion about God's word is valid. Also, this approach produces the idea or belief that everyone is entitled to their own interpretation of God’s words. The result is a house divided against itself with as many interpretations as there are eloquent teachers to proclaim them and individuals who seek only words that tickle their ears with what they want to hear.

There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. Proverbs 14:12

Furthermore, what happens when the trusted mentor unknowingly teaches lies simply because he took the word of his own trusted mentor? This is how traditional interpretations get started and are perpetuated. Thus, Jesus had to deal with the traditions of man during His walk on the earth, see Mark 7.

As time goes by, the tradition is given precedence to actual written truth and worked into the newer translations of the Bible. Thus, the actual truth in the Holy Bible becomes difficult to accept. This is because what is written contradicts what has been taught by trusted leaders. This is exactly what happened with the certificate of divorce. By the time Jesus was on scene, that certificate was being used by society to justify divorce for any reason. It was so bad at the time that there were a lot of “women at the well” who had been divorced multiple times and living in sin and hopelessness.

You can very clearly see this principle at work in John 6 where 58 disciples dumped Jesus because of hard teachings that conflicted with those of their priests. By the way, this is why folks get labeled as heretics by religious leaders. The eating of flesh and drinking of blood commonly known in Christianity as communion and by other names can actually be traced all the way back to Genesis. However, none of the 70 original disciples understood this teaching at the time it was given to them. Thus, 58 of them dumped Jesus and became part of the crowd that screamed “crucify Him.” ONLY the original 12 disciples were given the correct understanding a few short days later because they did not lean upon their own understanding, Proverbs 3:5-6. Instead, they acknowledged Christ and trusted that He had the words of life. God has a habit of teaching hard doctrines for the purpose of dividing the righteous and the profane just as in John 6.

This slippery slope of slowly distorting the words of God is why Jesus told His disciples to beware of the teachings of the Pharisees or the eloquent and persuasive speech from public figures. Such speakers tickle ears with what audiences want to hear. By taking public stances, they sit themselves in Moses' seat and expect the rest of us to bow down to THEIR interpretations of the Holy Scriptures. That is why Jesus and Paul emphasized the following:

But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; Acts 4:19

If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; (Note: the OT calls such folks worthless men) but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. 1 Timothy 6:3-5

As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. 1 Timothy 1:3-4

If believers determine what is right based upon eloquent speech that feels good, how can they call for repentance from non-believers who justify sexual immorality by how it feels? Any rebuke from such Christians would not contain the power of God testifying to their words of rebuke. This is because Christians have not taken the logs out of their own eyes in order to see clearly to help others remove what Jesus called specks.

Articles in this Series

Nullifying God’s Words

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