Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Lessons and Sermons from the Longmire Road church of Christ in Conroe Texas USA
Evening everyone.
An elderly man was worried that his wife
was losing her hearing.
And he decided to himself,
well, he's going to try and test this
theory.
And so he went into the living room and he
called out to his wife who
was in the kitchen, Honey, what are you
making for dinner?
No answer. And then he decided,
well, maybe I need to get a little closer
and
He went into the hallway and shouted down
the hallway just a little bit louder,
Honey, what are you making for dinner?
No answer. And this was almost conclusive.
But then he decided he's going to go into
the kitchen and stand right
in the kitchen and ask. So he went into
the kitchen and he said,
Honey, what are we having for dinner?
To which she replied, For the third time,
we're having chicken.
The Bible can be understood as we
concluded last week.
But this raises an uncomfortable question
if the book is that clear,
why do so many people get it wrong?
The harsh reality is it is not the book,
it's the reader. Because the book has been
made clear and God has made it
for us to understand. And so if that is
the case,
then we must conclude that sometimes what
happens is.
When we approach the scriptures,
we approach it in ways and employ means
that are not conducive
to proper Bible study. And so tonight what
I want us to do,
I want us to consider six ways that lead
to a misinterpretation of scripture
or a misapplication of scripture.
These are by no means the only things that
one can do by but these
six things certainly highlight the problem
of misinterpreting the scriptures.
And so
Next week, what we will do is we'll take a
look at the opposite of that
and we'll look at some hermeneutic
principles that will help us in our study
to make sure that we study the Word of God
appropriately.
So, out further ado, let's consider six
things that we need to avoid
if we want to interpret the scriptures
appropriately.
Number one is prejudice. Prejudice,
no, not of the pigmentation variety,
but of the precept.
Variety, prejudice, or ~ excuse me,
let me go back up there. There it is.
A prejudice is defined as follows:
a previous bent or bias towards a certain
thing,
something you prefer, something you want,
something that will receive your
preferential treatment.
That's a prejudice. And what happens when
people read the Bible is that they take
a liking to certain parts more than
others.
Now, inherently, there's nothing wrong
with that.
There are certain parts of the Bible that
we like to read more than others.
Some like to read the Psalms, some like to
read the Proverbs,
some like to stay in the New Testament,
some like to read through the genealogies.
I don't know who that is, but some may
like to do that.
Read through the genealogies. And so,
but what happens so often is that it is
not just a liking for a certain part
of the scriptures, but it is a liking for
a certain part to
the neglect of everything else.
The idea that I am reading this and I like
this over here,
and that's the only place I go to,
and that's the only thing that I study.
And this kind of prejudice divides into
two categories,
we might say: a bias towards a certain
doctrine.
A bias towards a certain doctrine,
having a bias towards one doctrine of the
Lord to the exclusion
of every other doctrine. We like to call
this the soapbox,
where somebody is on their soapbox.
And that's all they talk about.
When the person comes into the pulpit,
into the lectron, you can set your clock
by it.
That's what they are going to talk about.
We call it a hobby horse. That's lopsided
preaching.
The individual does not cover or does not
study the whole counsel of God.
I remember a story as somebody told me of
an illustration of a preacher who
~ all he did was preach on baptism.
That's all he did. Every sermon was about
baptism.
And his elders were trying to get him to
expand a little bit more.
He said, you know, there's more to the
Bible than just the basic salvation.
In fact, Hebrews chapter 6 says we need to
get beyond that and not don't teach that,
but get beyond teaching just that.
So the elders said, Listen, let's give him
a passage and let's let's let's that
way he can not not preach baptism.
Let's give him a passage that is as far
removed from baptism as possible.
And so they gave him Genesis chapter one
and verse one.
In the beginning God created the heavens
and the earth.
He stood up in the pulpit then and said,
In the beginning God created the heavens
and the earth,
and the spirit moved upon the face of the
waters,
which brings me to water baptism.
And so we we understand you can be
lopsided in in in your preaching,
you can be lopsided in your studying.
The student ~ of the Bible who does this
spends their time in nothing else
but that particular thing. And this can be
very dangerous.
Why? Because we see an example of this in
scripture.
In Matthew chapter 23 and verse 23,
the Lord rebuked the Pharisees for their
biased treatment of the scriptures,
for focusing on one section of Scripture
to the neglect of other sections.
Notice what it says: Woe unto you,
scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites,
for you pay tithe and myth and annas and
cumin,
and have omitted the weightier matters of
the law:
judgment, mercy, faith. These you ought to
have done.
And not leave the others undone.
And so the tithing and the mint and the
anise and the cumin was not wrong.
It wasn't wrong for them to pay attention
to that,
because that was part of the law.
In fact, the Lord says there, you should
have done those things.
Leviticus chapter 27 and verse 30 says,
And all the tithe of the land,
whether of the seed of the land or of the
fruit of the tree,
is the Lord's, it is holy unto the Lord.
So it's in the law.
The tithing of the mint, anis,
and cumin. Deuteronomy chapter 14 and
verse 22 says,
Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of
thy seed that is in
the field bringeth forth year,
that the field bringeth forth year by
year.
And so the Lord is not rebuking them for
focusing on,
or rather for addressing the tithing,
the mint and anis the cumin. The Lord is
rebuking them for being biased
in their approach to the application of
Scripture.
That's all they focused on.
That's all they looked at, the material
things we might say.
They didn't look at the heart,
they didn't look at the weightier matters
of the law.
And so the problem was not the keeping of
the law,
it was their preferential treatment of
certain parts of the law.
And so we can be in danger of doing the
very same thing in our studies,
which will lead us down a path.
And end us b to the point where the
Pharisees were,
where we're focused on this over here to
the neglect of something else.
It is not wrong, I'll say it again,
it is not wrong to have a favorite verse
or a study in which to engage,
but if we're not careful, we'll miss
everything else.
The psalmist said in Psalm 119,
verses 5 through 6: that my ways were
directed to keep thy statutes,
then I shall not be ashamed. When I have
respect unto all your commandments.
When I have respect unto all your
commandments.
And so Timothy was also told in 2 Timothy
chapter 2 and verse 15 study
to show yourself approved unto God,
a workman that needed not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing your hobby horse.
No, rightly dividing the word of God.
Preach the whole counsel of God.
Study the whole counsel of God.
Because if you don't, you can run into
problems where you are omitting things
that
should be taught. You are omitting things
that you should know.
But not only is it a bias towards certain
doctrines like the Pharisees did,
it can also be a bias towards certain
viewpoints.
When we come to the scriptures to study,
we do so because we want to know what God
wants us to do.
This should be our mindset when we come to
the scriptures.
We open it so that we can know what God
wants us to do.
The psalmist said the following in verses
10 and 11 of Psalm 119.
Verses 10 and 11 he says, With my whole
heart have I sought thee.
~ let me not wander from thy commandments.
Thy word have I hit in my heart that I
might not sin against thee.
I have put your word in my heart.
Not some of it, not part of it,
your word. That mindset, however,
is hindered by an existing bias for
doctrines that are contrary to the word.
And so when the biased student approaches
the scriptures,
it is not to fill their cup with the word
of God,
but to use the word of God to bolster
their preference.
I have a preference for a particular
doctrine that's contrary to the word of
God.
And so I'm going to use the Bible to prove
that preference.
Many so-called scholars have abandoned
reason and forsaken critical analysis
because
of their own prejudices.
When you read certain commentaries and it
comes to baptism,
they'll write you a manuscript on why
baptism is not essential for salvation.
It's always funny because they feel the
need to write a lot of information
as to why it is not. Why? Because they
have a bias towards that.
And so, D.R. Duncan in his book,
Hermeneutics, notice what he says.
He says, The Bible is not a book with
which to prove doctrines,
it is the doctrine itself.
Almost anything can be proven to the man
who wants to find the proof.
And so if you have an idea, if you have a
viewpoint,
you can go to the scriptures and you can
find and substantiate that viewpoint
erroneously, but you can find the passage,
twist it, take it out of its context to
prove exactly what you want to prove.
This is not appropriate Bible study.
With this mindset, we are not trying to
learn what the Lord has to say.
We are trying to get the Bible to prove
what we have to say.
And so there's a bias towards certain
doctrines.
I and and that may not be inherently
wrong,
but it can lead you down the wrong path.
And then there is something that is
inherently wrong.
I have a doctrine over here that I really,
really like, and I try to find passages to
substantiate that doctrine instead
of searching the whole counsel of God.
The Apostle Paul warns Timothy about the
fallout of this mindset.
In 2 Timothy chapter 4, verses 1 through
4.
Timothy is chol told, I charge you
therefore before God and the Lord Jesus
Christ,
who will judge the living and the dead at
his appearing in his kingdom.
Preach the word. Be instant in season and
out of season,
reprove, exhort with all long suffering
and doctrine,
for a time will come when they will not
endure sound doctrine.
But notice this, notice the word he uses
here.
But according to their own desires,
according to their own lust.
They, because they have itching ears,
they will heap for themselves teachers,
and they will be turned, and they will
turn their ears away from the truth
and be turned aside to fables.
He says they have a desire for certain
things.
And so what do they do? They bring in the
teachers who will preach to that desire.
That's what they're going to do.
I'm reminded of what Dink McDonnell always
says,
~ he's one of the elders of the BCS
congregation.
He says, you know, the elders have the
preachers they want.
Elders have the preachers they want.
If you have a preacher in the pulpit who
is preaching things that
are contrary to God, it's because the
elders want that preacher there.
It's as simple as that. Why? Because he
says they will heap
up to themselves teachers having itching
ears.
Because they want a certain doctrine.
Part of the apostle Paul says,
you need to preach the whole counsel of
God.
Don't go to the left and don't go to the
right.
And so our safeguards are just that.
And the words of our Lord in Deuteronomy
chapter twenty-eight and verse fourteen
and thou shalt not go aside from any of
the words which I command thee this
day to the right hand or to the left to go
after other gods to serve them.
The Lord says, Stay in the middle,
stay on the path. You don't go to the
extremes.
You don't just focus on these things over
here to the neglect of these things over
here. That's what our denominational
friends do.
It's all grace, it's all love,
there is no justice whatsoever.
And then you swing the pendulum to the
other side,
and some of our brethren, well,
it's all justice, there's no mercy,
and there's no grace. Both of those
extremes are wrong.
Why? Because there is a middle path in
which to walk,
which God has ordained. And so consider
the whole counsel of God.
Psalm 119, verse 159 through 160.
The psalmist says, Consider how I love thy
precepts.
Revive me, O Lord, according to your
loving kindness.
Notice this.
The entirety of your word is truth.
And every one of your righteous judgment
endures forever.
It's not just part of his word,
the entirety of it is true. And so when we
study the scriptures,
we need to make sure that we are not
prejudiced in our approach to it,
where we only study the things that we
really,
really like and neglect everything else.
We need to make sure that we're not biased
towards a certain viewpoint that we have,
that we only use the scriptures to prove
that viewpoint.
Whether it is a hobby horse or a false
doctrine,
when you approach the Bible with a
prejudice mindset,
you will get it wrong. You have to study
and preach the whole counsel of God.
But then, number two, consider this:
preconception. Preconception.
We are an opinionated people. And that,
of course, is my opinion. That is why
social media is so popular.
We gave people a platform to do what?
To voice their opinion. And that's exactly
what they did.
They voiced their opinions there.
And so having an opinion about something
is not inherently wrong.
I believe dogs are better than cats.
And some of you may be wrong in that.
But having an opinion is not inherently
wrong.
But a preconceived opinion is a hindrance
when it comes to the Bible.
When it comes to Bible study, when it
comes to me trying to figure
out what God wants me to do, having a
preconceived opinion will lead
you down the wrong path. I want you first
to consider what the definition
of an opinion is.
According to dictionary.com, the
definition of an opinion is a personal
view,
a belief or judgment that rests on grounds
insufficient
to produce complete certainty.
So it's a view that you have, but there is
not sufficient evidence
to graduate that thing to truth or to
absolute fact.
You don't have a whole lot of information
to say,
well, this is absolutely true.
Webster defines an opinion as follows:
the judgment which the mind forms.
Of any proposition, the truth of falsehood
of which is supported by
a degree of evidence that renders it
probable,
but does not produce absolute knowledge or
certainty.
So it's probable. I don't know.
I think this, but I don't, I'm not really
sure about it.
That puts it in the realm of opinion.
An opinion in relation to the Bible is
something you assert,
but you cannot prove with certainty.
There's a lack of evidence to graduate it
from opinion to fact.
Who wrote the book of Hebrews?
Well, there's a lot of opinions about who
wrote the book of Hebrews.
Some say the Apostle Paul wrote the book
of Hebrews.
I've heard people say, well, when you look
at the vernacular and
the structure and this and this and that,
we don't know. And so what is it?
That is simply an opinion. That's where
it'll stay.
There's not enough evidence to graduate it
to fact.
Now look at the description, however,
of the Bible. Look at this description of
the Bible in Psalm 33 and verse 4.
For the word of the Lord is right.
And all his works are done in truth.
The word of the Lord is right,
all his works are in truth. The Bible is
absolutely,
incontrovertibly, truth. There is no
opinion in it per se.
Now there are people who have said some
things in there that may
be conjecture and opinion, and we'll
consider that.
But the Bible, in and of itself,
the word of God is truth. Why?
Hebrews chapter 6 and verse 18.
It is impossible for God to lie.
God is going to give us the truth.
2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16,
all scripture is given by the inspiration
of God.
And so the Bible is a book of undisputed,
unequivocal truth. It does not contain
private interpretations or
the opinions of Peter, Paul, Matthew,
Mark, and Luke. It contains the Word of
God.
We noted this already.
Now let's consider then a problem.
What happens when incontrovertible truth
comes face to face with man's opinion?
What happens when we open this book?
I already have an opinion, but then I come
to the Bible with my opinion.
What happens? Well, we don't have to
wonder.
We can simply drop in, if you will,
a couple of thousands of years ago,
drop in and join the chariot of a Syrian ~
commander-in-chief.
His name is Naaman. He has leprosy,
he is going to die. But somebody told him
there's somebody in Israel
who can save him. There's a prophet there
who can help him.
And so he sets on his way over there.
And when he gets there, 2 Kings chapter 5
and verse 10,
join me there. When he gets there,
this is what happens. And Elijah the
prophet sent a messenger unto Naaman,
saying, Go wash in the Jordan seven times.
And thy flesh shall come again to thee,
unto and thou shalt be clean. You know
what that is?
That's not Elijah's opinion. That is
incontrovertible.
That is absolute truth. If Naaman goes and
dips in the Jordan,
it's not that he could be clean.
He will be cleansed. He will be made
whole.
That is the truth of God. However,
notice what verses 11 and 12 says.
But Naaman was wroth.
He went away and said, Behold,
I thought, he will surely come out to me
and stand and call on the name
of the Lord his God and strike his hand
over the place to recover the leper.
Are not Abana and Phopar, the rivers of
Damascus,
way better than all the waters of Israel?
May I not wash in them and be clean?
So he turned and went away in a rage.
On the one hand you had the word of truth,
and on the other hand you had this man's
opinion.
And notice what Naaman said.
Before he said anything else, notice what
he said.
The word there in the Hebrew is simply Ar
Marti.
Behold, I thought.
When we translate it in the Hebrew,
is I said. I said.
I want you to think about this.
He said it to himself. While he's on the
way to Elijah,
while he's on the road, before he ever
reached the door of Elijah.
He said to himself, This is what needs to
happen.
He wrote the scene before he arrived.
He drew a conclusion before he had the
prescription.
He had picked the river before he asked
the prophet.
He rated the water before he read the
word.
He judged the cure before he tried it.
Naaman was more concerned about his
opinion than his own life.
Let that sink in. He's about to die.
But the Bible says while they're on their
way,
he had already made his mind up.
He's going to do this, he's going to do
that,
he's going to do this and that.
Imagine going to the doctor with that
mindset.
I'm going to the doctor,
and this is the conclusion that needs to
be reached.
This is how he's going to treat me.
This is what he's going to prescribe.
This is the thing that I need to do when
he does.
And so, why are you going to the doctor?
Why would you go? Since you already have
all the answers.
You've already made it up in your mind.
That's what Naaman has done. How many lost
individuals are dead in their sins,
but would rather die than give up their
opinions?
They hold to an opinion that is contrary
to the scriptures,
but they don't want to give it up.
Pride goes before destruction,
Proverbs 16 and verse 18 says.
And they would rather die, just like
Naaman,
because they thought.
They believe. I think my way is the right
way.
And here is how you know a preconceived
opinion is in a Bible study with you.
Here's how you know. It arrives with the
verdict already written.
It arrives with the verdict already
written.
The person is not coming to find out what
the passage says.
The person is not coming to find out what
the Bible says,
they already know what they want.
They're not coming to study the
scriptures.
They already know what they want and what
they want the scripture to say.
They already know and they are there to
see whether the passage
is going to cooperate. Naaman already knew
what he wanted,
and he wasn't there to receive help from
Elisha.
He was there to see whether Elisha would
cooperate with what he already wanted.
And that's how people come to Bible study
sometimes.
They already know what it is that they
want to do.
I don't want to be baptized. And so no
matter what you say,
I'm going to try to find verses that prove
that that doesn't need to happen.
They've already reached a verdict.
But not only does opinion arrive with the
verdict already written,
it measures God's word by preference.
He said, Are Abanah and Fapar,
rivers of Damascus, not better than all
the waters of Israel?
Better by whose standard?
Whose standard are you using here?
The rivers of Damascus ran clear and the
Jordan ran muddy.
And so Naaman preferred Damascus.
But he is not comparing two rivers here.
He's comparing his tastes to God's
commandments.
He says the river of Damascus are better
by whose standard?
By your standard. Sprinkling is better.
By whose standard? Moral denominations is
better.
By whose standard?
That's what you prefer. That's not what
God said.
There's a difference. And so not only does
it arrive with
the verdict already written, not only does
it measure God's word
by their own desires or preference,
also you know an opinion is in the room
with you when it gets angry instead
of curious. The Bible says that he turned
away in a rage when he
was told something different than his
opinion.
We've all been in those Bible studies.
You open the scriptures. I was studying
with a young lady years and years ago,
and you may have heard me tell the story.
And she said, Well, you think that you
know you have to be baptized in order
to be saved. I didn't say a word.
I opened it to Mark chapter 16 and verse
16,
turned the Bible around, and she read it
and she said,
I knew it. I knew you guys thought that.
Not once did she consider you just read
the Bible,
and you're accusing me of following the
Bible.
She got very upset. Very upset.
Why?
Because she was not interested in the
truth.
She was not interested in hearing the
truth of God.
She already had her opinions made up,
and she got angry when she heard the
truth.
That's a tell. A person who is genuinely
searching asks another question.
A person who is genuinely searching,
a person whose opinion has been has been ~
has been crossed,
that person is going to get loud and going
to get upset and storm off,
and hopefully their heart changes and they
come back.
And realized that they were wrong,
but so many times people hold on to their
opinion.
Naaman's problem was never the Jordan.
It was that the Jordan was not his idea.
And brethren, Abanah and Phopar are still
running today.
Every man who has ever said,
I believe in Jesus, but I do not need to
be baptized.
They're standing on the bank of the Jordan
and they're looking at a prettier river.
They're saying, I want to do something
else.
That's my opinion.
Every brother or sister in Christ who have
read the scriptures and said,
while I think, doesn't matter what we
think.
Truth is not determined by what I think,
truth is determined by what God says.
And so it is just good practice when we
come to our Bible study,
when we come to study the Bible,
to leave your opinions at the door.
Leave them at the door. And if that
opinion that you have has enough evidence
to graduate it to fact, then great.
And if it does not,
And get rid of the opinion. Because,
brethren, an opinion contrary to the word
of God is a false doctrine.
It's not just an opinion. You are now
saying things that are contrary to God.
And so we have to be careful of
preconception,
but then also we have to move
expeditiously.
Passion. Passion. In logic,
there is a logical fallacy called
argumentum epassionis.
In the Latin. It is the appeal to the
emotion.
We see this all the time.
It is the attribution of reality to what
one wishes to be true
or the unsubstantiated justification of
what one wants to believe,
according to Miriam Webster. And so,
simply put, it is the belief in or the
assertion of something because we want
it to be so. Not because it is so.
Emotion. I really, really want this to be
true.
And so the fallacy occurs when emotion is.
is used instead of logical argument.
I really want it to be true, and so I
believe it to be true,
even though I cannot prove it to be true.
You will not believe how many Bible
studies I've sat in with members of
the body of Christ with tears in their
eyes.
They know what the scripture says.
They know what it says about their
situation,
about their life, or whatever the case may
be,
and they just they don't want it to be so.
They don't want it to be so. Well,
I can't help you there. It says what it
says.
I can't change it just because you feel a
certain way.
Many false doctrines have their roots in
this mindset.
We really want it to be so. That's why we
come up or we go to the scriptures
to try to prove it. Consider how it works.
I know in my heart of hearts that I'm
right with the Lord.
Have you ever heard that statement?
I know in my heart of hearts. Well,
the argument is sound, nothing but sound.
1 John chapter 2 and verse 4 and 5 says,
He saith, He that saith, I know him and
keepeth not his commandments,
is a liar. And the truth is not in him.
But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily
is the love of God perfected.
Hereby do we know that we know him.
How can you know that you're right with
the Lord?
By keeping his commandments. John says it
is that simple.
But somebody will read that and say,
Well, I just know. No, you just feel.
You're operating on emotion.
Wanting salvation and having it are not
the same thing.
Consider the example given to us in
Jeremiah.
What a beautiful example here of the
motivations of the heart.
Jerusalem has fallen. Just to give you a
little background,
Jerusalem has fallen. The governor has
been murdered,
or frightened remnant is left.
And they are convinced in their minds that
Egypt is the way to go.
We need to go to Egypt. They're going to
protect us.
They're going to keep us. And so before
they go,
they decide we need to consult a prophet
of God.
That's a good idea. Let's talk to a
prophet of God to see what he has to say.
So go with me to Jeremiah chapter
forty-two,
verses two and three, and notice what it
says.
Jeremiah chapter forty two, verses two and
three.
Pray for us unto the Lord thy God,
even for all this remnant, they tell
Jeremiah,
for we are left but a few of many as thine
eyes do behold us.
That the Lord thy God may show us the way
wherein we may walk and the things that
we may do. Jeremiah, go to God and ask God
what we're supposed to do.
That's a good prayer. That's what every
man is supposed to pray,
what everyone is supposed to pray.
We pray that God, through his word,
will show us what to do. And listen to the
promise that they attach
to that prayer in verses five and six.
The Lord be a true and faithful witness
between us.
If we do not even according to all the
things which the Lord thy God shall send
thee
unto us, listen. If we don't do what you
bring back from the Lord,
that's that's bad on us. Whether it be
good or whether it be evil,
we will obey the voice of the Lord our
God.
We're gonna follow the Lord. We're gonna
do what we're supposed to do.
And that is a great promise as well.
It's a great prayer, it's a great promise.
Whatever the Bible says, whatever the will
of God is,
they said all the right words,
they said them out loud, they said them
before witnesses.
Then they waited ten days for the answer
to come.
Ten days they waited. And notice what
verses 10 and 11 of chapter 42 says.
Here's the answer. If you will still abide
in this land,
then I will build you and I will not pull
you down.
And I will plant you and not pluck you up.
Be not afraid of the king of Babylon of
whom ye are afraid.
Be not afraid of him, saith the Lord,
for I am with you to save you.
Verse 19. Notice it as well. Notice verse
19.
The Lord has said concerning you,
O ye remnant of Judah, go not into Egypt.
Remember, they started with the mind.
We want to go to Egypt, but let's ask God.
We asked the prophet, the prophet comes
back,
and the prophet says, God said,
if you stay in the land, I'm behind you
100%.
Don't even worry about Nebuchadnezzar.
Don't even worry about Babylon.
They can't stand against you if I am with
you.
Stay in the land, you will stand,
and I will build you up. That's God.
Hmm. The answer was clear,
the answer was kind, and it was the
opposite of what they wanted.
Jeremiah tells them what he has known the
whole time.
Because remember, Jeremiah is an inspired
prophet.
Jeremiah is hearing what they're saying.
But God is also revealing to Jeremiah the
hearts of these people.
And Jeremiah chapter 42 and verse 20.
Notice what Jeremiah responds.
He says, For you dissembled.
The word there is to wander or to go
astray or to be led astray.
You are led astray in your hearts.
When you sent me unto your unto the Lord
your God,
saying, Pray for us unto the Lord our God.
And according to all that the Lord our God
shall say,
So declare unto us and we will do it.
He says, listen, when you sent me,
you were already led astray. You already
had your bags packed on the way to Egypt.
You already knew what it is that you
wanted.
You wanted to go to Egypt. They did not
come to Jeremiah to find the will of God.
They came to Jeremiah to get the will of
God stamped on a decision that they've
already made.
Stamped on an emotion that they already
had.
We really want to go to Egypt.
Watch what happens the moment the answer
does not match what they wish to be true.
Verse 2 of chapter 43, Jeremiah 43 and
verse 2.
Then spake Azariah, the son of Hoshiah,
and Jehona and the son of Kiriah,
and all the proud men, saying unto
Jeremiah,
Thou speakest falsely.
The Lord our God has not sent thee to say,
go not into Egypt to sojourn there.
Ten days earlier, they said, Prophet of
God,
let's ask him. He'll know. Ten days later,
he's lying. That preacher is lying.
Right? They wanted to go to Egypt and they
were hoping that
God would be agreeable to what they
wanted.
Passion. Wishful thinking is not a rare
disorder.
It is an ordinary factory setting of the
human heart.
Wishful thinking. I really want it to be
so.
I really want this to be true.
And I really, really hope that God says
the same thing.
And when He doesn't, what do people do?
They walk away. Motivated reasoning is
what it is called in psychology circles.
The mind starts at a conclusion it wants
and then works its way backwards
to build a case for it.
We start over here and I already have my
mind made up of what needs to happen,
and then we work our way backward.
Confirmation bias. We notice and keep the
evidence that agrees with us,
and we overlook or explain away the
evidence that does not.
Why? Because I I I don't want that.
You can show a person 50 verses that say
baptism is essential for salvation,
and they will camp out at the feet of the
thief on the cross.
They will stay there. Doesn't matter what
you show them.
Why? Because they really, really wish it
is so.
Cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance
is the discomfort a person feels when
they hold a belief and then meet evidence
that contradicts it.
You have a belief over here, and then you
have the evidence,
and when those two meet, it's not pretty.
You want to see how that works?
Go out into the world. Go out into the
world to somebody of a they them
and say there are only two genders.
Say that. See how that works out for you.
See, what you have is a belief over here
and the truth over here.
When those two meet, it's not pretty.
Why? Because there are only two ways to
relieve that discomfort:
change the belief or attack the evidence.
And so when somebody says that,
you are a bigot. Most men attack the
evidence,
and this is exactly what Jehona did:
thou speakest falsely. And so the Bible
talks and says to us that the human heart.
~ has been wrong many times. Why?
Jeremiah chapter 17 and verse 9.
The heart is deceitful above all things
and desperately wicked.
Who can know it? We are very good at
deceiving ourselves sometimes.
Proverbs 14 and verse 12, it says,
There's a way that seems right unto man,
but the end thereof is the ways of debt.
Note it carefully that Solomon doesn't say
it seems right,
it feels right. There's a way that feels
right here.
It feels that well, your feelings are
real,
but that does not make them reliable.
We're not denying what you feel.
We're just saying you can't use that as a
barometer or a litmus test
for what is true and what is right.
It is very easy to argue from an emotional
standpoint
and incredibly destructive when studying
the Bible.
And so our feelings do not determine right
or wrong.
We have to move on. Let's consider number
four here.
Number four, presumption. This is also
called
in hermeneutics hasty generalization.
In logic, it is called false dichotomy.
It is assuming that what applies to one
part must apply to all,
and then presenting two alternatives as it
is the only possibilities when
in fact more possibilities exist.
Simply stated generalization in the study
of the Bible is taking
one situation and applying it to
everything.
The thief on the cross. Luke chapter 23,
verses 42 to 43. What can we say about
that passage?
Those who generalize have taken this
passage and say.
That's how all men are saved. Right?
The thief on the cross, that's how all men
are saved.
Was the thief saved? No doubt.
Jesus said today he'll be with me in
paradise.
We're not arguing that he was saved.
But what folks are doing is taking a
specific situation with special
circumstances
and they're applying it across the board.
Ignoring all of the other evidence that is
presented,
which is to say
The entire book of Acts. They're ignoring
all of it.
That's hasty generalization. A little wine
for your stomach's sake.
~ my brethren love this one. The Bible
says we can enjoy a little nightcap.
Why? Because drink no longer water,
but use a little wine for thy stomach's
sake and for thy oft infirmities.
How did you get social drinking out of
that?
How? I'm still,
how did you get that you can go to the
store and
And buy alcohol and sit in your house and
can and drink,
as some brethren are saying now,
as long as you drink in your house,
you're fine. I don't know how that works.
Righteousness stops at your door and you.
First Timothy 5 and verse 23:
drink no longer water, but use a little
wine for thy stomach's sake.
If nothing else, that's medicinal.
But how did you get from that passage that
you can go out and you can
go to drinking parties? You can engage in
drinking alcohol?
How did you get there? You got there.
Through hasty generalization, making
absolute rules out of common
but inconsistent occurrences. You conclude
too much from too little,
choosing only the evidences that you want.
And notice how selectively this method is
applied.
We're gonna be here until midnight.
The way I'm going, we probably will be.
We're gonna be here until midnight.
You know why? Because in Acts chapter 20
and verse 7,
it says Paul preached until midnight.
That is my scriptural evidence for why
sermons should always go to midnight.
Now, I guarantee you, there might be one,
but I guarantee you that everyone who
hears that will probably go,
No, you can't use that verse like that.
What do you mean? I'm taking one verse
just like you do.
I'm taking one verse and I'm applying it
generally to everything else.
You see, folks understand the Bible.
Folks only dismantle passages.
That deal with their personal
proclivities.
They don't have a problem applying or
employing proper hermeneutics when
it comes to pages like that, but they have
a problem with it when
it comes to passages that talk about their
vices and about their lifestyles.
We cannot form an entire doctrine on the
verse or on one verse to
the neglect of everything else set about
the subject,
directly or indirectly. That's why the sum
of God's word is truth.
Consider number five.
The appeal to human authority,
personalities. Accepting something to be
true because some human authority said so.
My preacher said so. My pastor said so.
My reverend said so. My mother,
my uncle, my cousin, twice removed on my
father's side,
said so. And so that's why I believe what
I believe.
So appeal to human authority,
irrespective of God's authority,
I want you to think about that.
God said, This is what you're supposed to
do,
and someone will literally say,
While my mother said, Well, who's your
mother?
In relation to God. We're talking about
the creator of the world,
and you're saying, He created your mother.
And you're saying that her word reigns
supreme over his.
And so, even though the Bible says what it
says,
they still listen to someone saying
something different.
The apostle Paul warned about this.
In Galatians chapter one, verses six and
nine,
he says, I marvel that ye are so soon
removed from him who hath called
you unto the grace of God, ~ unto another
gospel,
which is not another, but there be some
that trouble you and would pervert
the gospel of Christ. But though we,
that's the apostles, or an angel from
heaven,
preach any other gospel unto you than that
which we have preached unto you,
let him be a curse. As we said before,
so sign now unto you again, if any man
preach any other gospel unto
you than that which ye have received,
let him be a curse.
The Apostle Paul includes himself in that.
He says, even if an angel come down and
says something different than what
God has said, let him be accursed.
Why? Because you don't have the authority.
You don't have the authority to change the
word of God.
Matthew chapter 15, verses 8 and 9,
the Lord rebuked the Pharisees and the
scribes.
He says, These people draw near unto me
with their mouth and honor
me with their lips, but their heart is far
from me,
but in vain do they worship me.
Why? They're teaching for doctrine the
commandments of men.
They are holding to personalities instead
of the potentate.
There is only one who holds complete
authority,
and that is Jesus the Christ. Matthew
chapter 28,
verse 18 has not changed in my Bible.
All authority has been given unto him.
And as long as all authority has been
given unto him,
there rests no authority whatsoever in
matters of righteousness.
There rests no authority in the preacher,
in the elders, in the so-called vicar of
God on earth,
the Pope.
None whatsoever. And so it does not matter
who you are,
it does not matter what suffixes and
prefixes around your name.
If you say anything other than what the
Bible says,
we are told by God not to listen.
Whatever you do in word or deed,
do all in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
And so Acts chapter 5 and verse 29.
Peter and the rest of the apostles,
when they were told not to preach God,
what did they say?
We ought to obey God rather than man.
Consider last and in no wise the least
popularity.
Everybody's doing it. It's trending.
How can so many people be wrong?
I remember sitting down with my dad
studying the Bible.
And when he finally came to a realization
of the truth,
that's the question he said. How can so
many people be wrong?
They never obeyed the gospel.
Really got stuck on that, that so many
people just can't be wrong.
This approach to the Bible is not
concerned with truth,
but what is popular and the majority
opinion.
In first Kings chapter 22 and verse 6,
we have ~ Ahab gathering everyone and
said,
Then the king of Israel gathered the
prophets together around 400 men
and said unto them, Shall I go against
Ramoth Gilead to battle,
or shall I forbear? And they said,
Go up, for the Lord shall deliver thee.
You see,
That was popular opinion, because that was
not what God said.
But 400 prophets said it. And so,
what about Micaiah, though? In verse 8 of
1 Kings 22,
the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat,
There is yet one man, Micaiah,
the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire
of the Lord,
but I hate him. Why? Because he prophesies
not good concerning me,
but evil. You don't like him? Why?
Because he's not going with the crowd.
Micaiah is not a popular prophet because
he does not prophesy to please people.
He prophesies to please the Lord.
We need to understand that going with the
crowd is against the word of God.
Exodus chapter 23 and verse 2,
thou shalt not follow a multitude to do
evil.
Matthew chapter 7 and verse 13,
enter he at the straight gate,
for wide is the gate and broad is the way
that leadeth unto destruction,
and many there be which go in thereafter.
We don't follow a multitude and do what
they do simply because they're bigger.
You know, truth is not a democracy.
Truth is not a democracy. I remember years
ago,
and I'll end with this. I remember years
ago when we were in a men's meeting,
fun, fun times. We were in a men's
meeting,
and there were some new individuals who
had joined the congregation,
and and they were now also in that men's
meeting.
And ~ we had to
Well, draw from a brother who was living
disorderly,
and obviously they had an issue with this,
and they they started talking.
And I said, You misunderstand what we do
here.
See, what we do here is decide which way
the toilet paper hangs.
That's what we do here. What we do here is
decide how we're going
to do the work of the Lord. That's what we
do here.
But what we do not do.
What we absolutely cannot do, what we are
forbidden to do,
is decide the doctrine of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ and His church.
We don't decide doctrine. No church,
no eldership, no preacher decides
doctrine.
The doctrine's already been delivered.
And so if all the churches in Houston
decide to lose their minds
and leave the doctrine of Christ,
because we are studying the Bible
appropriately,
what are we going to do?
We're not going to follow a multitude.
We're going to stay with the book.
Because that is what God desires.
And that is what everyone has to put in
front of themselves when studying the
Bible.
Truth is not a democracy. It lives and
breathes and will stand for all eternity,
regardless of what anyone says.
Everyone can leave the truth. We can have
an entire country where no one,
no one is upholding the truth.
And if yet if there is one man upholding
it,
even if that one man were gone,
it doesn't change the truth. Truth will
remain truth.
When we come to the scriptures,
we need to come to the Bible with an empty
cup.
That's what we need to do. We need to come
to the scriptures desiring
to have our cup filled with the word of
God.
Not come with a cup that's already full.
Cup that's already full, you can't fill it
anymore.
just flow over and that which is in there
will remain.
We need, what we need desperately when we
study the Bible,
is come with a desire to have,
thus saith the Lord, applied in our lives.
If that's our mindset, we'll be all right.
We may have to study some things out.
We may have to study a little bit longer,
but that's all right. As long as we have
the mindset that we want to
be right with the Lord.
That's the Bible study where you can walk
away from and know that at the
end of that study, you're going to do that
which is true and right.
Tonight, heaven's invitation is extended.
Do any of these describe you? Is this how
you study the Bible?
Are there certain things that you have
heard,
whether from the pulpit or the classroom,
as you go, well, I just don't know about
that,
or I just don't want to do that.
Is it your opinion? Is it your emotion?
Or is it the word of God? It's the word.
If it's the word of God, then obey it.
Brother Garland Elkins used to say,
if it's the truth, accept it. If it's not,
reject it. And so what about you this
evening?
Have you been accepting the truth of God,
irrespective of what you may believe?
I hope so. But if not, ask God's
forgiveness and recognize his authority
in the things that he has given to us.
But then we must also, we must talk about
five things you must do in order
to be saved. This is the truth of God,
it's not going to change.
If I'm here for another 20 years,
if the Lord allows me to live that long,
that slide is not going to change.
It's going to be the same. Why?
Because hearing the gospel, believing it,
repenting of sins, confessing the name of
Christ,
and being baptized in water is God's plan
for man to be saved,
and it's been his plan for the last 2,000
years.
No amount of culture, no personality,
no emotion, no opinion will ever change
that.
And so you have an opportunity tonight to
obey the gospel of Jesus Christ,
to be baptized in water, to have your sins
washed away,
or you can be like Naaman and walk away in
a rage and lose your life
for all eternity. I hope that you will
turn around and do the right thing while
we stand and as we sing.