More than three thousand times, the Bible declares itself to be the word of God. Meaning that it isn’t just a book about God, but it is a book written by God. It is God Himself speaking to us, communicating His truth and His ways.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, (2 Timothy 3:16 ESV)
The word of God is the very foundation of Christianity. From the Scriptures come our revelation of God, our revelation of man, and our understanding of how God calls us to live in right relationship with Him. All that we have faith in and live by comes to us through the Bible. So, a genuine hunger for God’s word and a sincere submission to whatever it has to say is essential if anyone desires to serve God’s purposes and teach others also.
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What does the Bible tell us about God’s attitude towards His word?
You have exalted above all things your name and your word. (Psalm 138:2 ESV)
The abundance of things that are important to God is beyond comprehension. Yet this verse says God exalts His word above them all. This is a revelation about the Lord that warrants some serious reflection. It would stand to reason that anyone wanting to walk with the Lord and serve His purposes would also view the word of God as of utmost importance and handle it with the highest integrity.
I am watching over my word to perform it. (Jeremiah 1:12 ESV)
In His word, God communicates His plans and His purposes. And He is fully committed to bringing to pass that which He has proclaimed. So, God’s people can expect to see God fulfilling His purposes among them to the degree that they are following God’s ways as communicated in His word.
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No one has perfect understanding of God’s word. Everyone’s knowledge is limited and flawed to some degree. But Scripture encourages us as well as challenges us with the following verse.
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a worker who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15 NASB)
This verse refers to Scripture as the word of truth. The Bible is God’s communication of His truth, and this states there is reason to be ashamed if we misuse His truth. However, it goes on to encourage us that we can be approved by God if we are accurate in how we handle the word of truth. But this requires personal diligence, putting in the time and effort to study God’s word.
But all the time in the world will not bring us to know God’s truth if we’re not diligent concerning the integrity of our heart. Seeking God’s approval must be our first priority when using His word. We cannot settle for the theology of whatever camp we belong to. We cannot settle for traditions handed down by others (more on that later). We must diligently study God’s word with a heart fully committed to learning the truths He intended, no matter how much it may shake up what we have previously believed.
God refers to this kind of attitude as trembling at His word.
“Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the Lord. “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word. (Isaiah 66:2 NIV)
In this verse, the Lord proclaims his greatness as the creator of heaven and earth and then reveals the kind of person he favors. They are humble, they are contrite in spirit, and they tremble at the word of the Lord.
This is more than trembling at something specific the Lord has said, it’s an attitude of fear and reverence towards anything and everything the Lord has uttered. It’s grounded in a strong desire and commitment to have personal understanding and wisdom in God’s word, being convinced that it reveals the truth about God and His ways. They function with a great sense of responsibility when teaching others; operating from an uncompromising accountability to the Lord Himself for how they utilize His word to proclaim something to be true.
Those who tremble at the Lord’s word have an acute attentiveness to all that the Lord has spoken. Far more than just adhering to clear-cut commandments, they hang on His every word, knowing that whatever God chose to speak to us has purpose and application in our life, and ultimately leads us in how to walk with Him.
Later in verse 5, God says, “Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at his word.” The Lord speaks to those who tremble at his word.
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The opposite of trembling at God’s word is to peddle God’s word.
In 2 Corinthians 2:17, Paul says there are “many peddling the word of God”. This phrase describes people who exploit God’s word for personal gain. Rather than approaching the word of God with a high level of integrity to communicate only what God intended, they manipulate Scripture to teach whatever justifies and supports how they have chosen to operate, and to get others to join with them. Rather than their beliefs and practices being subject to God’s word, they make God’s word subject to their beliefs and practices.
In Isaiah 66:1, God is proclaiming his greatness and asks, “What is the house that you would build for me?” Nowhere in the Bible does God tell us to build churches. Instead, we are told to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of God and make those who respond into followers of Jesus. Yet, most church leaders believe they are called to build their church, and most of their time, money, and effort goes into this. And what they teach, and fail to teach, reflects this extreme misguided loyalty to their specific church. Marketing your church and peddling God’s word seem to go hand in hand.
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I stated that most church leaders manipulate God’s word to support how they have chosen to operate. But to illustrate how common this is, let me give two specific examples that are virtually universal.
Pastors Leading Churches
The preeminence of pastors leading churches is universal among Christian churches. However, this practice is grounded in history and tradition; it has no foundation in God’s word. Throughout the New Testament revelation of the church, God reveals many different graces and ministries and provides examples of various people carrying out these ministries. But there isn’t one instance of a pastor leading a church, or even someone functioning as a pastor, because pastors are not God’s creation but rather man’s invention. A relatively simple Bible study is sufficient to expose the fallacy of pastors as a legitimate ministry that Scripture endorses.
In sharp contrast to the absence of pastors from scripture, elders have a prominent presence throughout the New Testament. Numerous Scriptures establish the validity of elders and elaborate on the many responsibilities they fulfill in God’s church. According to Scripture, elders are called to:
- Shepherd the flock of God. (1 Peter 5:1-2)
- Give instruction in sound doctrine. (Titus 1:9)
- Carry out preaching and teaching. (1 Timothy 5:17)
- Pay careful attention to all the flock and care for the church of God. (Acts 20:28)
Most Christians consider all these things to be the domain of the pastor, who is seen as distinct from elders and holding a position of authority over them. Yet nothing in Scripture supports this view.
It’s baffling how we have elevated a non-Biblical office to a position of preeminence, while relegating an office that the Bible highly endorses to relative obscurity. This is the result of God’s people having little regard for what the word of God actually says.
To read Does The Bible Endorse Pastors Leading The Church? see the link in footnotes below.
Tithing To Your Church
Throughout the New Testament, every instance of financial giving resulted in money being distributed to believers to meet their needs. There’s not a single instance of money being collected and spent on a church organization. But today, church leaders teach that people are supposed to tithe to their specific church, and this is one of the most common practices throughout Christianity. The institutional church is a cash-hungry operation, needing a steady flow of money to pay for its possessions and overhead. Teaching people to tithe to their church is the common way this need is met.
But where in the Bible is tithing actually commanded? Within the Old Testament is a portion of scripture known as the Mosaic Law, which was specific to the Mosaic Covenant. It contains comprehensive ordinances that governed how the Israelites were to approach God, and how they were to approach everyday life: addressing such things as what kind of foods they were allowed to eat and even how men were supposed to trim their hair and beards. Tithing, as a commandment of God, was established as part of the Mosaic Law, and New Testament scripture verifies this (Hebrews 7:5). But the Mosaic Law came to an end when God instituted the New Covenant (1 Corinthians 11:25, Hebrews 7:22, 8:13). And New Testament scripture makes it clear that we are not under the Mosaic Law (Romans 7:6).
Most church leaders wouldn’t think of using Scripture from the Mosaic Law to teach that certain foods are unclean, or how men are supposed to trim their hair, because they fully understand that those commandments do not apply to believers living in the New Covenant. Yet, from among all the commandments of the Mosaic Law, they make tithing an exception, teaching it as a commandment of God. And they take their selectivity even further. Rather than presenting a full description of tithing as it is presented in the Scriptures, they pick and choose which verses on tithing they will use and which they will ignore, so that they get a modified version of tithing that meets their cash flow needs. This is the epitome of peddling God’s word.
Even though most church leaders will proclaim with great conviction that Christians are supposed to tithe to their church, I can’t help but wonder how many have ever done a comprehensive study of tithing to confirm that what they are teaching is actually what God intended.
To read The Truth About Tithing, see the link in footnotes below.
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Following traditions such as pastors leading churches, and tithing to your church, comes at a high cost. While the traditions themselves may not seem that bad, this is what Jesus said about the danger of following traditions.
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.” And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!… thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down.” (Mark 7:7-9,13 ESV)
This passage is one of the more severe rebukes Jesus ever delivered. Notice his rebuke isn’t because they don’t worship, but because of how they worship. Jesus’ concern is not so much the traditions themselves, but the word of God that is cancelled out because of their traditions. The hierarchical rule of pastors has greatly diminished believer’s personal accountability to Jesus as head of the body of Christ. Pastors have also replaced the Biblical call for elders to make disciples by ministering among the people. Tithing to a church has cancelled out caring financially for believers in need (1 John 3:17).
These traditions have been followed for centuries. And because of this long-standing familiarity, many believers can’t conceive that there is anything wrong with this or that the Bible actually presents a very different way for the church to function. But longevity does not make something right. The Bible, the word of God, determines what is right and what is wrong, what is from God and what is from man.
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I’m not saying that anyone who teaches these things is totally unreliable at ministering the word of God. I’m sure there are Biblical subjects they understand and communicate well. But teaching these things demonstrates a willingness to manipulate the word of God when it suits their purposes. And this brings their credibility into question and should cause people to be concerned.
However, I realize that many people, maybe even most, will dismiss what I’m saying because they have more regard for their church and their church leaders than they do the word of God. But I know there are also those who care deeply about following the truth of God’s word, and I want to encourage you. Diligently study your Bible, and assume the primary responsibility for being grounded in God’s truth. Be wise, and follow the example of the Bereans when it comes to what others are teaching, no matter who they are.
Now these [the Bereans] were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. (Acts 17:11 NASB)
The Bereans weren’t cynical; they were eager to hear the word. But they were responsible, taking the time to examine what they heard against the Scriptures to see whether it was true. And the Bible commends this as being noble-minded.
Be encouraged! God looks with favor on those who tremble at His word.
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Footnotes:
Test Everything 