Editing God’s Word
(leads to delusion, doubt, unbelief and total
destruction)
In
the beginning was the Word- established in Heaven. Jesus is the Living Word
come down in the flesh. If we deny the truth of the Word, do we not crucify The
Lord Jesus all over again? If we attempt to add or take away one 'jot or
title,' do we not exalt ourselves to the position of "editor in
chief" of God's Word, exalting our own wisdom and opinions high above the
wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit? The Bible devotes all of Psalm 119 to the
subject of the benefits and truth of God's Word. As those who profess to be believers in
Christ as Savior and Lord, shouldn't we take extreme care not to deny the truth
of God's Word? Or have we become so wise in our own eyes that we consider
ourselves more intelligent than God? Consider
the following scripture: "ALL scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect (complete), thoroughly
furnished unto all good works." (II Timothy 3: 16, 17) If we have some doubt about some portion of
scripture, doesn't it seem to be far more sensible to consider that the error
is in our lack of understanding rather than an error in the truth of the Word
of God?
Should we not always defer to The Lord and depend upon His
Holy Spirit who leads and guides us into all truth, if we will only ask
Him? "Thy word have I hid in my
heart, that I might not sin against thee."
"Thy Word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy
righteous judgments endureth forever."
God's word frees us to be
what God has purposed and designed us to be. "And I will walk at liberty:
for I seek thy precepts." "How
sweet are thy words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my
mouth." "Thy word is a lamp
unto my feet, and a light unto my path."
"Blessed are they that keep His testimonies and that seek Him with
the whole heart. (verses from Psalm 119)
The editing of God's Word can only lead to deception and
ever increasing decadence doubt, unbelief, and eventually the destruction of
one’s fellowship and walk with the Lord.
The practice of doing so leaves the word of God opened to self interpretation,
with the final result being that each person involved in such practices
perverts the word so as to make it mean whatever each individual wants it to
mean. The word of God is true and can
not be changed to suit your agenda or mine.
Putting our own individual “twist” on the word of God is to distort and
pervert it into another gospel, making it ‘not’ the true gospel. “We have also a sure word of prophecy;
whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth into a
dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: knowing
this first that, no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in
old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy
Ghost.” (II Peter 1: 19 -
21) Until Christ, the day star, returns
in His full glory, we have the word of God and His Holy Spirit to illuminate
and reveal His glory unto us. The word
of God did not come to as some creative
work of men, but God inspired them so that His message to us is reliable and
true and authentic, making Him the author and finisher of our faith. If you doubt the ability of God to move men
to write His thoughts, then you doubt the very existence of the Holy Spirit and
His power, placing your own faith under suspicion as to whether you truly
believe in God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
In which case, I seriously urge you to go before the Lord and seek His
face that you be not deceived and die in your sins.
We are taught that, in the last days, man
will be drawn aside to follow teachings which "tickles the ears." They will turn aside from sound doctrine which
teaches of truth through instruction, correction, and rebuke which establishes
personal responsibility, self discipline and acknowledgment of sin, and need of
God for forgiveness of sin. We will not
want to seek God anymore, for that would mean that we would need to submit our
will to His. Mankind, in like manner as Satan, is prideful. He doesn't want
anyone telling him what he should or should not do. He resents even the idea that he should obey
anyone other than being led by his own desires and will.
My question is, “If following and being obedient unto God
is my desire, then should any sacrifice on my part be too great?” At first
glance, it may appear that submitting our will to the will of God may mean that
we may have to change or give up a lot that we once thought we wanted or needed
in our life. When, in reality, anything
that we might “give up or let go of” is always replaced by something else that
God knows is far better for us. The
“rich young man” lost the gift of eternal life because his earthly riches were
far more important to him. He could not
see beyond this present and temporary life.
It wasn’t that Jesus did not want the young man to have riches, but that
He wanted to give him greater eternal riches than the young man could have ever
imagined. He doesn’t just give us life,
but rather a far more abundant life. At
one time, Satan tried to lie to me by telling me that if I chose to put God
first, it could mean that He would take my husband away from me. At the time, my husband was not a
believer. Yet, with the help of the Holy
Spirit, I realized that, no matter what happened; I had to choose to go on with
the Lord. Thank God that I did, for had
I not, the rest of my life may have taken an entirely different path. The blessings of the Lord are many. Months later after I had made my decision to
follow Jesus, I was blessed by being able to be a witness to my husband, my
love, being reborn and receiving Jesus as his Lord and Savior. We can never out give the Lord. Did He not
leave all the glories of heaven to come to earth to sacrifice His life for us
on the cross to pay for our sins? Did He
not suffer all kinds of hatred, persecutions, and beatings for our sakes? Did He not suffer separation from His
Heavenly Father that all of our sins might be placed on Him to pay the debt
that we owed, but could not pay, for our redemption? Knowing that, could we ever give up more than
what He gave up for us? Could we ever do
more for Him than what He's done for you and me?
Maybe you are ensnared in a life style that you think is a
part of you and there is no way out of it.
Maybe you’ve been trapped in addictions.
I don’t pretend to submit that receiving Jesus is just going to remove
all adversities from life. Miracles can
and do happen, but also the fight to overcome that which would try to separate
us from God, may be a battle which takes a great commitment of time, patience,
and perseverance in prayer, and help from the power of the Holy Spirit, to set
us free from the grip of strongholds. We
must keep in mind that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Eph. 6: 12) With perseverance in the Lord, we can
overcome all the fiery darts of the enemy for “greater is He who is in us than
he who is in the world.” (I John 4: 4)
To stand against the enemy we must put on the full armor of God, and
never give up the fight. (Eph. 6: 10 – 20)
Romans 1 says: there is no excuse for man
not to know God. Also, editing God's word and replacing the truth with
compromise and self interpretation (giving it whatever meaning that is pleasing
in your own sight, or depending upon one's own interpretation as to what should
be taken out, left in, changed, or ignored all together) can only lead to
confusion, doubt, unbelief, and eventual removal of any standard to discern
right and wrong. If there is any doubt,
always choose to believe that it is not an error in God’s word, but rather an
error or lack of understanding on your part.
Remember, God’s wisdom and knowledge is always greater than yours or
that of any thought of mankind. When we
doubt God or try to second guess Him, we make ourselves subject to deception
through our own flesh, the world, Satan, and his demons. Yes, the powers of Satan are real, and he is
a foe that we must be equipped and prepared to fight against, in the power of
the Holy Spirit and in the truth of the word of God. Always test the spirits; if anything is
contrary to the word of God give no adherence to it. Give not appearance of
evil and give no place to the devil. (I Thess. 5:22 and Eph. 4:
27 – 32) Run from it, and
run into the arms of the Lord. Remember,
the battle is won “not by might, and not by power, but by my Spirit saith the
Lord.” (Zechariah 4: 6)
Today, so many pastors are leading the people astray by
teaching the feel good ideas that all Christians are to be healthy and wealthy
and if you aren’t there is something lacking in your faith. This is a man centered gospel instead of the
God centered gospel of the Bible.
Teaching God’s people that God is going to miraculously remove us from
all suffering and adversity, and that neither was ever meant to be a part of our
life, is an absolute falsehood and completely unscriptural. Try telling that to the Christians in the Middle East today who are suffering poverty, persecution,
and even death simply because they refuse to deny their faith in Jesus
Christ. This kind of false teaching only
causes us to focus on the here and now with a kind of faith that is self
centered and self serving. It does not
teach us to live our lives in the here and now as servants of God, but rather
as if God is our personal genie in the jar whose job it is to make us happy,
healthy, wealthy, successful, and prosperous.
In the end, it all boils down to the fact that mankind
doesn't want to acknowledge that he has any responsibility to anything or
anyone but himself. By rejecting the truth of God's Word, or rejecting the
knowledge of God and His right of authority over us as Creator God, we are then
enabled to become our own god, or to create for ourselves images of any false god(s)
that happen to suit our own vain imaginations. We think that in doing so, we
have made ourselves free to do and be anything that is pleasing unto ourselves.
"A man's ways are pleasing in his own eyes." Living by this view can
only produce a society that lives by the mantra of "If it feels good, do
it, for there is no right or wrong."
We become no different than the pagan people who worshipped Ishtar, the
goddess of sexual immorality and Molech, the god of death (abortion- shedding
of innocent blood, and euthanasia), or Baal.
We may not have altars built to them, but nonetheless, we are still
worshipping them. There are even those
who are still baking bread for the Queen of heaven, (Jer. 7: 18 , and 44: 19) even though the warning is
given that this idolatry can only lead to provoking the wrath of God against
those who indulge in such practices. The
idols that we worship today may not be called by these same ancient names, but
they are still the same today. Anything
that we place before God is a false god, or idol, whether it takes the form of
career, pleasure, fame, worldly riches, and on and on. Neither can we dabble in
a little bit of other religions and still say that we serve the One True God,
for then we have become no different than prostitutes who go after (strange men)
or other gods in this case. What part of
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me” do we not understand?
The editing of God’s word, or just blatantly denying the
truth of God’s word, may seem as though we are 'freeing' ourselves from any
responsibility to God, who alone truly loves us and knows what is best for us. Like it or not, God is still God whether one
believes in Him or not. In reality, by
turning our back on Him, we have merely enslaved ourselves to the "wages
of sin and death." Alcohol will
rule the alcoholic to his death.
Homosexuality will rule with increasing confusion over the homosexual. The habitual liar becomes so entrapped by his
own practice of lying that he begins to believe his own lies, and is unable to
know or recognize what is truth in his own life, or in the world around him.
The glutton will forever be ruled by his own appetite and, without repentance,
is doomed to be forever out of control.
The sin that we practice, to live out, will enslave and control every
aspect of our life.
The statement that “there
are many paths to God,” can only be true if we do one thing. That one thing is to change the word God to
god. There are many paths to 'god,' for
there are many false gods and the 'paths' to them are wide and there are many
that go therein. However, as the word
tells us, there is but one path to the one true God: "Because strait is
the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that
find it." (Matt 7: 14 ) Wow, did you see that? It said, “and few there be that find
it.” That’s not just alarming; it’s down
right sad.
God has made the pathway
available to all, but few will choose to follow Him. Well, if I am wrong about God and His word,
then I have lost nothing. But if I am
right in trusting and believing in God and His plan of salvation, then I have
gained His love, forgiveness and a home in the new Heaven and new earth with
Him for all eternity. I choose to
believe Him, and not mankind.
The society that is involved in the practice of
marginalizing and editing the Word of God, will be one that becomes
increasingly secularized until, eventually, it forgets God altogether and
becomes increasingly wicked and lawless.
"Blessed is the nation
whose God is The Lord; and the people whom He hath chosen for His own
inheritance." (Psalm 33: 12) At one
time, the phrase, "In God we trust" meant something to most
Americans. However, in more recent years, it has little or no meaning, and
there are many who would have it erased entirely. Remove belief and trust in the one true God
and, by doing so, we remove God's hedge of protection from around our nation,
making us subject to suffering judgment from The Lord. If we choose to be
obedient, then we will receive favor and blessings. If we choose to ignore and disobey Him, we
have brought curses upon ourselves. Do we not understand that it is our own
choice that brings ruin and destruction upon ourselves? It is not God's desire for us, for He desires
only that which is for our good. We will
suffer the consequences of our own actions as individuals and as a nation. Only repentance and the choice to turn our
hearts back to God can save us from the consequences of choosing to be a
disobedient, stiff necked and rebellious people. Apart from God, man is doomed
to become the victim of a selfish, self centered, and prideful sinful nature;
thereby, unleashing total decadence and destruction upon ourselves.
The Word of God says that if we refuse to
believe in Him, and the truth of His Word, we will be given over to a reprobate
mind. “Furthermore, just as they did not
think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a
depraved (reprobate) mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of
wickedness, evil, greed and depravity.
They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters,
insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey
their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity (covenantbreakers), no
love (without natural affection), no mercy.
Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things
deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve
of those who practice them. (Romans 1: 28-32)
If there is no standard of true right and
wrong, then wickedness and lawlessness will soon be the norm.
If we are to believe, according to man’s present opinion,
that such things as abortion on demand, the practice of homosexuality, marriage
between those of the same sex are no longer to be deemed as sin, then what else
are we required to delete from the word of God?
Let us examine I Corinthians 6: 9, 10. “Know ye not that the unrighteous
shall not inherit the kingdom
of God kingdom of God
If we always put God first and hide his word in our heart
(applying it in our life so that we are doers of the word and not just hearers),
we are far less likely to fall into the pit of deception through ideas of
appeasement, social justice, political correctness, or other venues that would
try to manipulate and cause us to compromise the word of God. Every decision involves the choice to either
put God first or follow the path of the crowd, there is no in between. We choose either to conform to the world, or
to be transformed by the word of God by the power of the Holy Spirit. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the
word of God. If we choose to ignore,
delete, or pervert any part of the word of God, how in the world can we hope to
be followers of Christ? If we do not
read, hear, trust, and believe in the word of God, then we have believed in our
own vain imaginations (opinions); we are lost and most greatly to be pitied.
The editing of God’s word always leads to a distortion and
perversion of who Jesus really is. There
are those today that say they believe in Jesus Christ, and yet they deny the
truth of His Word. They deny that He was
born of the Virgin Mary, that He is God incarnate (God come down to earth in
the flesh), deny that He is the Son of God, deny that He is the only path to
eternal life with God the Father, deny that He alone redeemed us when He died
on the cross, deny that He arose from the dead and is alive in Heaven, and deny
the need or existence of the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. As a consequence, there is no knowledge of
the meaning or importance of the necessity for the Fear of The Lord. In stead,
too often, the fear of The Lord is presumed to be unnecessary, a waste of time,
and counter productive. No wonder faith
in Jesus has become so marginalized today, when those proclaiming to believe in
Him don't even know who He is, or that He is The Power of God. If this is the
kind of Jesus that exists in the minds of many, they have stripped Him of all
of His attributes that make Him God. That picture of Jesus is false and is not
the Jesus preached in the Bible, so you might as well believe in the Wizard of
Oz. No power there for sure, and you are
free to be your own god with no responsibilities to obey the One True God of
the Bible. Believing in Jesus Christ,
But Not His Word? Then upon what foundation do you believe; perhaps your own
ever changing opinions? I pray that we
would not choose to put more trust in our own intellect than we do in God, who
is the Alpha and Omega and knows the beginning from the end, the Creator God of
all that exists now and forevermore.
The Cross, God’s plan of Salvation
Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of
sin. Jesus is the only way to Heaven, as He is the only one that shed His blood
to save us from sin and death. He is the only one that arose from the dead
after being crucified, dead, and buried.
Unless we put our trust in Him as Lord and Savior, we will die in our
sin and will suffer eternal separation from God. Faith in what Jesus Christ has done for us IS
God's plan for our salvation from sin and eternal condemnation. It is not He
who condemns us, but we ourselves. God does not desire that any should perish,
but that all would come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Do you truly know Him as your Lord and
Savior, or are you still gambling with the destination of your eternal soul,
knowing about Him perhaps, but never knowing and inviting Him to come into your
heart to have a personal relationship with Him?
He has said that if you would but believe in Him, He will send His Holy
Spirit to live in you and be your personal guide into all truth. It is through the Holy Spirit in you that the
word of God will be illuminated and come alive in you, enabling you to be a
doer and not just a hearer of the word.
Before it’s too late, I pray that you will ask Jesus to come into your
heart. He never refuses anyone who seeks
Him with all their heart. Put your trust
in Him and He will take you through this life and on into eternity with Him. God is alive, and Heaven is for real! God’s word is eternally true and is not open
to editing in any way, shape, or form.
If you seek to know the Lord
Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, I encourage you to start your journey
with Him by reading the Gospel of John.
Ask the Holy Spirit to give you spiritual eyes to see, spiritual ears to
hear (the voice of God through His word and His Spirit) and a heart of flesh
(not a heart of stone), that you might grow in the Lord and be taught by His
word, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Confess your sins, repent and choose to follow and obey the Lord Jesus
Christ. Seek out a Bible
believing/teaching church to help you grow in the Lord. Jesus said, “If you confess me before man, I
will confess you before my Heavenly Father.”
May the Lord reign in your heart and in your life. Invite Jesus to come into your heart today.
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