Know the word of god

KNOW THE WORD, DO THE WORD

How many of you loved riding your bike when you were a kid? Loved, loved, loved riding your bike? Let’s hear it for the bike! Let’s just do a little moment of tribute. Thank you, Lord, for the bike. I really loved my bike when I was a kid because you could go almost anywhere. You could go almost anywhere if you were committed to pedaling. And so I’d go to my friend’s house, go to the pool, go to the park, go to ball practice, go hang out with my friends.

There was one day I can still remember. I was a little kid, probably too far away from home, a little further than my parents gave me permission, and I’m pedaling, and “clunk,” the pedal came off the bike. And I thought, “Well, I’ll fix it.” No tools, so you know, as a kid does, you try and put it back on. You go, “I fixed it,” and then you jump on.

You pedal. Then what happens? “Clunk”—you didn’t really fix it. You’re a kid; you didn’t have any tools. So I’m thinking, “OK, what do I do now?” So, I put the pedal in my pocket. I’m trying to figure out, “How do I get home?” I’ve actually got a long ways to go. I know what I’ll do. Easy, easy. I’ll just use one pedal, and I’ll ride home with one pedal.

And so I’m kind of—you could tell it didn’t go well, right? I mean, I can’t even revisit that moment without falling off the stage. So, in your mind’s eye, just think of me trying to pedal. How many of you kids tried to pedal with one pedal? You ever try that? How’d it go? Not well. Congratulations, you lived through it. That was a miracle, OK? It’s impossible to ride a bike with one—you don’t go anywhere, you can’t make any progress.

As we jump into James 1:19–27, here’s what I want you to think of as we go through this whole section of Scripture: The Christian life is like that. It’s like that. It’s like two pedals on a bike. Know the word, do the word. Know the word, do the word.

Some of you are know-the-word people. You read books, you’ve got footnotes, you’re totally nerdy. Right now you’re probably double-checking everything I’m saying on the Internet to see if it’s true. Know the word, know the word, know the word, know—and some of you are do the word, do the word, real practical, real faithful, real consistent. You don’t like books because you already got done with school, OK?

So, know the word, do the word, know the word, do the word. I know you love the illustration—you’re welcome—but just keep it in your mind’s eye for the rest of the sermon. He’s going to teach us that we need to know the word of God and do the word of God.

JAMES LEARNED THIS FROM HIS BIG BROTHER

Here’s where James learned this: He learned it from his big brother Jesus. If you’re new, James is a pastor at this point. He’s a grown, older man, but growing up, his big brother was Jesus Christ. And they would have sat together in synagogue, their equivalent of church every week, hearing the lesson, taking notes, talking about it on the way home as they’re walking back to their mom and dad’s place. “Jesus, what did you learn? “James, what did you learn? “What are we going to do? “How can we pray for each other? What does this mean for our week?”

These are guys who probably shared a bedroom together growing up. They would have sat at the dinner table, praying, talking, in addition to the rest of the family. They went to school together. So James watched his big brother Jesus grow to know the word of God and then do the word of God.

He even heard Jesus say this very thing. We know that Jesus said it in Luke 11:28. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who know the word of God and do it.” So, from Jesus’ works, how he lived his life, and his words, the things that he taught, James learned what to do with this book, the most important book written in the history of the world. This is the word of God. That’s what it claims repeatedly.

This is so incredibly important because we live in a world that is filled with words about God: philosophy, religion, speculation of various sorts and kinds. Some of it is truthful, and helpful, and much of it, quite frankly, is not. This is not a word about God. This is the word of God, and this most important word of God is most important for us to determine, “What to we do with this?” What do we do with this word of God? And following in Jesus’ example and instruction, James says, “Know it and do it.” Know it and do it. And so we jump to James 1:19, where he begins with his exhortation that we know the word.

IT STARTS WITH KNOWING YOU’RE GOD’S BELOVED

Here’s how he begins. “Know this, my beloved brothers.” That’s the Christians, the men and the women, positionally, are brothers in Christ. They’re beloved. They have an inheritance. They carry the family name and legacy. “Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, “slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce “the righteousness of God. “Therefore put away all filthiness “and rampant wickedness “and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”

He starts with this: “Know this. Know this!” He’s trying to grab your attention. He’s trying to grab our mind and to open it up to receive this amazing truth from God. Know this. Don’t forget this because here’s what can happen. He’s going to give us a list of things to do and not do, and we can rush right into the to-do list. And he’s saying, “Don’t do that just yet. “We’ll get to what you should do and not do, but first, there’s something you need to know.”

He says, “Know this, my beloved.” It all starts with the love of God. Receive this. Sit in it for a moment. You are God’s beloved. You’re God’s beloved. If you’re a Christian, you’re God’s beloved.

See, my wife is here. She’s my beloved. God loves you like that. My kids are here. They’re my beloved. God loves you like that. God loves you, the Bible says, like a husband loves his wife, like a father loves his kids. God loves you. This establishes your identity, and out of your identity comes your activity. Before he tells you what to do, he tells you who you are. It’s very important to get that right. The result is that when we obey God, when we do what God tells us to do, we’re not working for the love of God, we’re working from the love of God.

This is the difference between Christianity and other false religions. It begins with the love of God. God can’t love you anymore, and no matter what you do, God won’t love you any less. And this changes our obedience. Imagine if I had this conversation with one of my children. “I don’t love you, but I might. “It all depends on how you perform. “I’m going to give you a list of things to do and not do. “If I find that you have obeyed them, then I might love you. But it’s all predicated on your performance.”

That’s not how God thinks, that’s not how God feels, that’s not what God says. God says, “I love you, and my love for you is not predicated “on anything that you do. “It’s predicated on who I am. “You can’t earn it, and because you can’t earn it, “you can’t un-earn it and lose it. “I am devoted to you, I am committed to you, “I am affectionate toward you. “I only want good for you. You’re my beloved.”

It would be like me looking at one of my children, saying, “You need to work for my love.” That’s horrific, and parents, never do that. Instead, it’s the Father saying, “You can work from my love. “Because I love you, I need you to listen to me. “I need you to trust that what I am telling you is for your good.” So, he starts with, “Beloved, know this.” You’re beloved. His love is a gift, and then he speaks of a second gift that God wants to give us and we need to receive, and it’s the word of God. So, it’s the love of God and the word of God. He starts with these two gifts.

THE IMPLANTED WORD SAVES

He talks of the word of God, “The implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” Now, how many of you are gardeners? How many of you are excited that pretty soon, you’ll be able to take seeds, and place them in the ground, and then they can be watered and nourished, and eventually, they’ll spring to life, and something beautiful will come into existence, something fruitful will happen? God is like a gardener. God wants to take his word, and he wants to plant it in your soul so that there could be life and fruit that proceeds out of your relationship with him. And so what he’s telling us is that the word of God has power for life within it.

How many of you, when you were a kid and you were in school, they’d give you a little cup, they’d put dirt in it, and they’d say, “OK, put a seed in it, “water it every day, “ put it over by the windowsill, and see what happens.” How many of you would show up to school, run over to the windowsill, and look at the cup. “Ooh, it’s budding! Ooh, it’s growing! Ooh, it’s happening!”

God says, “I want to do that in your soul with my word, “and I have that kind of excitement for this process “that I want to take you through. “I want to take my perfect, eternal, “life-giving word, and I want to plant it in your soul, “right in the center of your life, “your existence, your identity. “And then you’re going to grow. “You’re going to be fruitful, and your life is going to change by the power of my love and the power of my word.” Now, that’s good news, amen?

So, as we hear this, and then God says, “So do this and don’t do that.” He starts with, “Know this: My love is a gift. “My word is a gift. “We’re going to do something together that is wonderful, and your life is going to change.”

5 WAYS TO RESIST GROWTH

But there are five ways that we can resist this, we can fight this, we can oppose this. Some of you will call it your personality, right? “I’m a J-E-R-K. “I took a test, and that’s my personality. “They’re an E-N-T-P, I’m a J-E-R-K. “That’s just, you know—this is the way I am. This is my personality.”

Sometimes God wants us to repent of our personality, OK? These are types of people, these are personalities that are not willing to receive the implanted word of God fully, and as a result, they don’t grow as fast as they should, and they can’t produce as much fruit as they are able.

1. BE A CHATTERBOX

The first is the chatterbox, OK? Do you know what a chatterbox is? Some of you are like, “I think I do. “I don’t know. Maybe I am, maybe I’m not. I think I’m a verbal processor. Does that count as—” yes, you’re a chatterbox, OK? This is a person who they talk a lot, too much. And some of you say, “You’re preaching, aren’t you a hypocrite?” Yes, but overlook that. Moving right along [sarcastically] . . .

For the chatterboxes, the one that always has to talk, fill in the air, can’t just let things be, always needs to get the last word, make sure that you get their input, their voice needs to be considered—“I need to tell you what I think about this”—and they’ve always got to say something. Are you a chatterbox? If you’re not sure, your spouse will help you clarify. What does he say to the chatterbox? You need to learn to be slow to speak. Slow to speak. The rabbis used to say, “God gave us two ears and one mouth because we’re supposed to listen twice as much as we speak.”

2. BE A BAD LISTENER

The second personality is the bad listener. Are you a bad listener? I’ll say it again, OK? Are you a bad listener? A bad listener is sometimes a person who’s distracted, there’s so much going on in their mind, they’re so frazzled and frantic that they’re not listening. But sometimes, they hear and they just don’t like it. It might be true, but they just don’t like it. Bad listener. What does he say to the bad listener? We need to learn to be quick to hear.

Some of you have been told, “You don’t listen!” You’re like, “What?” “You don’t listen.” “Huh?” Some of you have gotten information, you’ve gotten truth—maybe even God’s word—you just don’t listen to it. Either you don’t hear it, or you don’t ponder it, you don’t consider it, you don’t receive it, you don’t plant it. What you don’t need is more information, you need more receptivity.

3. HAVE A SHORT FUSE

Number three, some of you are the person with the short fuse. You heard that? “Oh, they’ve got a very short fuse.” This is someone who is prone to anger. Now, out of these five, there will be at least one that is most convicting for you. This is one that’s most convicting for me. And if you’re a person who can get angry as I can, immediately, maybe if you’re like me, you’ll get theological. You’re like, “Well, God gets angry. It’s one of God’s emotions. It’s not a sin.”

Yeah, and God doesn’t get angry like we do. “The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” He’s talking about a difference between the way that we are prone to get angry and the way that God gets angry, and those tend to be different. The verse of the Bible that is quoted in the rest of the Bible more than any verse in the Bible is Exodus 34:6. Have you ever wondered that? “Boy, out of all the verses in the Bible, “which verse do the other authors, “under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, remember and go back and quote all the time?” What’s the most popular verse in the whole Bible? That would probably be a very important verse.

Exodus 34:6, where God says he’s, “The Lord, the Lord,” hear this, “slow to anger.” It doesn’t say, “Who never gets angry,” because at the end of this section, in Exodus 34, he says, “And I don’t leave the guilty unpunished.” What God is saying is, “I do have a wick, “but it’s not a short wick that burns fast. It’s a long wick that burns slow.” God’s not always teetering on the edge of anger, just leaning into it, just waiting to be pushed over that line.

Some of you live there. You’re angry. One person, one thing, sets you off, pushes you over the line. You’re raging, you’re angry, you’re frustrated, you’re steaming. The people who are around you are always on guard. They feel like they are in the presence of a grenade with the pin pulled. The slightest bump and an explosion will occur. What does he say to those with a short fuse? We are to learn to be slow to anger.

4. COMPROMISE AND BE A HYPOCRITE

Number four, the compromiser. The compromiser is the person who—they can’t stand this sin, but they can stand that sin. “That’s nasty, I hate it. That’s nasty, I kind of like it.” They’re inconsistent, and we might call them hypocritical. These are people who will not submit their whole life to the Lord. Instead, they will segment their life to the Lord. “And this part, I’m going to keep that in order. “And this part, well, I kind of enjoy that. “Nobody’s perfect. “I read something about not judging. Good enough.” OK?

What he says is, “Therefore put away”—how much—“filthiness and rampant wickedness”? How much? All. All. He’s saying, “Don’t segment your life, surrender your life. “Don’t clean up part of your life and allow rampant sin and wickedness in another part of your life.” And the compromiser is willing to live with this incongruity, this hypocrisy.

5. BE A KNOW-IT-ALL

Now, what he is saying is that those need to get rid of all filthiness and rampant wickedness, and then he gives us the fifth category, the know-it-all. The know-it-all is the person you can’t teach anything to because they already know everything. As soon as you start teaching them something, they interrupt you like, “Oh, I know,” and then they tell you all that they know. They like to be the authority, they like to get the last word, they like to make sure you know how smart they are, and all that they understand and their insight, and, “I’ve thought of that, and thank you, and you know, “very nice of you to use your small brain to try and contribute, but unnecessary,” OK? The know-it-all.

The problem with the know-it-all is they’re proud. They’re not humble. As a result, they don’t receive instruction. They reject instruction. For those who are the know-it-all, he says, “Receive with meekness,” humility there. “Lord, I am not as smart as you. Lord, I have things to learn. “Lord, there are ways I need to change. Lord, I want to be teachable.” For those who are the know-it-all, it’s really a proud heart that’s unwilling to receive a good gift like the word of God. So, which one are you: the chatterbox, the bad listener, the short fuse, the compromiser, or the know-it-all?

And some of you are like, “I don’t know. I’m two or three.” They’re not mutually exclusive, OK? You can have the great capacity of ticking more than one box, OK? We all can.

And so the first thing he’s saying is, “You need to know the word.” You need to know the word of God. I would ask you: how well do you know the word of God and what aspect of your personality and proclivity might be hindering, resisting, fighting this great gift of God planting his word in your life to cause fruitfulness to come forth? And he’s going to transition from “Know the word” to “Do the word,” because it’s not just enough to know the word. We have to do the word, otherwise we end up like this.

DID YOU TAKE THE TRASH OUT?

I’ll give you an analogy. Imagine a dad who gets up early in the morning before the kids go to school and he realizes, “Man, the garbage cans in the house are all full, the trash in the kitchen is overflowing.” Goes outside, “Golly, the garbage can is full. “Oh, and it’s trash pick-up day. I need my kids to take the garbage out.” So, dad goes back in, writes a long letter and he starts, “Really, I love you. You kids know I love you. “You’re the best kids in the world. “I wouldn’t trade you for anybody. “Remember I gave you ice cream for dessert last night, and I’ll give you a hug when I get home.”

He starts with a lot of love before he gets into the do and don’t do. “It is trash pick-up day. The house stinks. “It’s a total wreck. “I need you kids to take all the trash out of the bins “in the house, take them out to the big garbage can, “drag it out to the curb because the trash truck is coming. “It’s garbage pick-up day. “I really need you to do this before you go to school. Love, Dad.” Kids get up, read the letter, go to school, come home. Dad comes home from work, there’s no garbage can out on the curb. Drives up, garbage can is overflowing. Goes in the house, trash everywhere. Nobody cleaned out a garbage can.

Family meeting—“Hey kids, sit on the couch. We gotta talk about this. Did you kids get my letter?” “Yeah Dad, it was amazing. The prose was fantastic. “The imagery was astounding, and the punctuation was perfect. “All the verbs were in the right tense. “Dad, you are a very good writer, and we really got the heart “behind the letter because you were so loving toward us.

“So yeah, Dad, we took it very seriously. “We skipped school. “We spent the whole day studying the letter. “We never really thought about trash like this. “We started researching how other nations “dispose of their trash, “and it got us into other fields of study—“carbon footprint, recycling. “It really got us thinking how we could study trash taking-out “in a gospel-centered way. “So actually, Dad, we brought some friends over. “We’ve spent the whole day going through the Scriptures, “examining this issue of trash because we, frankly, overlooked it “until recently. “And what we found is that this is a theme in the whole Bible. “Dad, we found in the Old Testament “that they would take their trash outside of the city. “And that trash was, like, symbolic of sin, “and it needs to be away. “Dad, we learned that they would take it to a place called “Gehenna, and they would set it on fire to burn it, “and that that was imagery for hell. “That was amazing, Dad. We didn’t know this.

“And then we looked at the New Testament. “First we did Old Testament Hebrew word studies on trash, “and then we did New Testament Greek word studies on trash, “Dad, with all of our friends. “We had a small group, and we found that the language of trash “is used in the New Testament. “Like, did you know in Philippians, “Paul says that all religion is like trash. “That was shocking to us. “So, we started a website. “We’ve actually launched a ministry where we’re trying to educate people about the theology of trash.” Dad’s question would be, “Did you take the trash out?” “D’oh, sorry Dad. “We were too busy doing word studies in small groups on trash.” OK, the church is like that, amen? Amen? Right, I’ve seen guys like, “I know what the Greek word for ‘Love your wife’ is.” Why is she so miserable? Right? We can turn Christianity into an academic exercise instead of a lifestyle, into something that we study rather than someone we become. We can use the Bible for information instead of transformation.

BE DOERS, NOT HEARERS ONLY

Now, am I saying that study’s bad? OK, how many of you are like, “He said book learning’s awful. I love that church.” OK, no, did I say that? I talked to a guy, a cage fighter, some years ago. I handed him one of my books, OK. I said, “Hey, I brought you one of my books.” He’s like, “I don’t need that. I already graduated from college.” His view was, “Hey man, you don’t read unless they make you,” OK?

How many of you are like that? You’re like, “I don’t want to study. “I don’t like to study. If you preach the anti-study sermon, yes.” I’m not saying that. I’m not saying that studying is bad. I’m saying that studying alone is bad. I’m saying that only studying is bad. Otherwise, you can be like a guy who’s like, “My wife’s favorite color is blue, “her favorite flowers are tulips, “she loves to go to Thai food for date night, “I never bought her anything blue, “I never bought her tulips, and I’ve never eaten Thai food with her.” It’s good that you know those things, and it’s bad if you don’t do something with what you know.

So, James’ frustration is, he’s got a bunch of religious people, he’s pastoring a big church in Jerusalem, he’s a grown man, he’s been doing it a while, he’s been teaching these people, and they have a lot of knowledge. They know a lot, but they’re not doing a lot. And he’s very frustrated because his big brother Jesus wasn’t like that. Jesus didn’t just hole up in some academic institution and just study all day. He worked a job as a carpenter, he started a ministry, he fed people, he healed people, he taught people, he prayed for people, he served people, he rebuked people, he encouraged people, he went to the cross, he died. Jesus got stuff done. He did study, and he got stuff done.

Christianity is the Christian following in the footsteps of Christ. Know the word of God, do the word of God. And it’s not that know the word of God is bad and do the word of God is good, it’s that knowing the word of God without doing the word of God is bad, doing the word of God without growing in your knowledge of the word of God is bad, and what is good is both knowing and doing the word of God, the two pedals on the bike.

Then he transitions to “Know the word” to “Do the word.” James 1:22–27, “But be”—what? “Doers.” Some of you are like, “I know the Greek word for that.” OK, then you really need this section in a big way, OK? “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only.” There’s the issue.

FALSE RELIGION IS SELF-DECEIVED

“Deceiving yourselves.” There’s a word of caution. “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, “he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face “in a mirror. “For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.” He continues, “But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty,” the Scriptures, “and perseveres”—keeps going—“being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” God wants to bless you and the blessing comes with knowing and doing the word of God. Not either/or. Both/and.

“If anyone thinks he is religious”—I’m pretty mature. I’ve been a Christian for a while. I know a few things, made some progress—“and does not bridle his tongue “but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is”—what? “Worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God.” You may find it fine, but God does not, whatever it is you believe or how you behave. “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father”—he’s your Dad who loves you, has this gift of his word for you—“is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”

Those of you who’ve been Christian a while, those of you who have been under biblical teaching, those of you who have heard a few podcasts, read a few books, maybe even been to a few conferences, you’re vulnerable. You’re vulnerable to the trap of false religion. We’re vulnerable to the trap of false religion. I’ll include myself in that. He’s going to juxtapose true religion and false religion. When the Bible speaks of religion, it usually does so negatively, but here he’s going to redeem it in a positive way. He’s going to warn us about false religion, and he’s going to encourage us toward true religion.

He says that false religion is marked by two things: self-deception and forgetfulness. Self-deception is where you think that because you know a lot, you’ve changed. Self-deception is where, like Paul says to the Corinthians, knowledge puffs up. “I’m pretty smart. I’ve read a few books. “I understand some theology. “These other people don’t know the things that I know. They can’t quote the things I can quote.” Knowledge, all by itself, puffs up. It’s pride, and it can lead to self-deception. “I should be a teacher. I should be a leader. “I’m ahead of them. I’m better than them. “I know more than them. I should rebuke them. I should correct them.” Why? “Because I’m above them.” Self-deception. And what you’re overlooking is religious pride, which is among the worst sins of all.

Now, here’s the problem with self-deception: you don’t know that you’re self-deceived. When you have deceived yourself, you are not the best person to diagnose your self-deception.

This is where, if you read alone, if you study alone and you’re not in community, you’re more vulnerable to self-deception because there’s no one to disagree with you, there’s no one to correct you, there’s no one to examine you, there’s no one to help investigate your heart and motive. Are you being humble or proud?

This is why, on Sunday, it tends to be “Know the word” day. I get to teach you the Bible, and I really appreciate that. But Community Group for us is “Do the word” time, and it’s guarding against self-deception by inviting others to help us evaluate what we believe and how we behave. Because we live in a day where there is so much information, there is an increase in self-deception because you can know a lot, but apart from community, it can result it religious pride, puffing up, and self-deception. So he says that we need to be on guard against this, aware of this, and concerned about this.

Let me tell you this: I think this may be Satan’s issue. I don’t want to present this as a fact but as something that I’ve considered. I’ve wondered over time, Satan has the same access to the same Scriptures that you and I do, and it’s very clear that in the end, God wins and Satan loses.

It’s very clear, yet Satan persists and he consistently moves forward in his rebellion against God. He continues this war, this battle, this fight against God, even though it’s really clear that he’s going to lose. And I’ve always wondered, “Why?” Why does he march forward in his rebellion when he knows the end? And here’s the thing: I think he’s self-deceived. I think he believes that he is right and God is wrong, and that he will win and God will lose, and the end will not be the way God has decreed.

People live like that all the time. “Oh, I won’t reap what I sow. I don’t need Jesus. I won’t go to hell.” They know what it says, and they’ve deceived themselves into thinking that they are right and God is wrong. And I believe this is satanic; I believe this is demonic. False religion is marked by self-deception and forgetfulness.

FALSE RELIGION FORGETS

He uses the analogy of a mirror. How many of you, at some point today, looked in a mirror? All right, you think of all the mirrors we’ve got in our life. You’ve got one in your bathroom, you probably got some in your home, you’ve got one in your car, right? Some of you carry a mirror with you, ladies. If you do and you’re a guy [pause], OK? Right, OK?

He’s using this analogy. He says a religious view of Scripture is like someone who looks into a mirror and then walks away and forgets who they are, forgets what they saw. It would be like this morning, I got up, I looked in the mirror, I walked away, and somebody said, “Tell me about yourself.” “Well, I have long, blonde hair, and I’m clean-shaven, and I have a petite neck.” You’d be like, “Strike three.” Don’t laugh.

For some of us, looking in the mirror is not the high point of the day, all right? There’s an old guy there who resembles me, and I don’t know who that is, OK? But it would be really weird for someone to look in the mirror, and walk away, and completely forget what they just experienced. But he says we do this with the word of God all the time. You open the Bible, you’re like, “OK, it’s like a mirror. “OK, I see myself in God’s eyes. “I see my sin, my need for Jesus, my areas to learn, “and to change, and to grow, and what God is doing. “OK, I’ve got it. I understand it. Makes sense to me.”

OK, put my Bible down, walked away. What did it say? I don’t know. I forgot. I forgot what God said. I forgot what God showed me about myself. Just like the mirror shows us something about ourselves, God’s word shows us something even deeper about ourselves, not just the expression on our face but the condition of our heart. That’s false religion. It’s marked by self-deception and forgetfulness.

TRUE RELIGION HELPS THE MOST VULNERABLE

Then he juxtaposes that with true religion. He says that true religion is helpful and it’s holy. And by helpfulness, it includes keeping a reign on your tongue. I know you, like me, have a list of things that you regret that you’ve said. And once the words come out of your mouth, you’ve unleashed harm on others. He says true religion is helpful, and it begins by having self-control of the communication that we speak, which sometimes is motivated by the anger that we have, which is why they go together.

He says that it’s helpful to not cause harm through our words but instead bring help through our deeds. That’s true religion. It’s helpful. And in that society, widows and orphans were the most vulnerable. Typically, a woman would get married, have children, she would stay home with the children, the husband would work to provide for the family. If the man died, the woman was vulnerable. It wasn’t like there was a social service welfare net. It wasn’t like she could put the kids in daycare and go get a job. It wasn’t exactly that way. It was more of an agrarian society, you’re out on a farm, your family’s there to help you, but that’s about all you’ve got.

What would happen in these situations is that the worst and most despicable kind of men would take advantage of vulnerable women and children, oftentimes young women and small children. And they would try to manipulate, and take advantage of this woman, and sometimes even try and take the children and put them into slavery, prostitution, or sell them out as gladiators. The woman and the children would be very vulnerable if the man died.

He’s saying that true religion is having the father’s heart for the whole family, and that Christians are like brothers and sisters. I’ve got two sisters, and they’ve each got a daughter. I mean, if their husband died, and my sister was vulnerable, and my niece was vulnerable, I would want to love, I’d want to help, I’d want to serve, I’d want to provide, I’d want to protect. That’s my sister.

Here he’s saying that men need to have that kind of heart toward women and children. They don’t say, “Oh, single mom, vulnerable. I could use this to my advantage.” They say, “Oh, single mom, like Jesus’ mother Mary. Somebody to love, cherish, protect, and provide for because she’s my sister and her children are like my nieces and nephews.” That’s the father heart of God and that’s the father’s heart for all his men, that pure religion is caring for widows and orphans in their afflictions. So, it’s helpfulness. It’s also holiness.

TRUE RELIGION KEEPS ONESELF UNSTAINED FROM THE WORLD

He says, “And to keep oneself unstained from the world.” When the Bible uses, in the New Testament, this word “world,” it’s oftentimes cosmos. I’m going to nerd out for a minute, but it has at least seven different meanings. So, sometimes it’ll say, like, “God loved the whole world.” That means everybody. Other times it’ll talk about the world in terms of races, cultures, and groups of people. Sometimes the Bible uses the word “world” in a very negative and pejorative way. That’s what’s happening here.

In this sense, the world is not just all the people, and all the races, and all the nations that God loves, but it’s the evil systems that are antithetical and in opposition to God. There’s the kingdom of God and then there’s the world, and they’re in collision, they’re in conflict. And Satan works through the world to deceive people, to tempt people, to destroy people, and to oppose the kingdom of God.

What he’s saying is that we’re not in the kingdom of God yet, that the kingdom of God is before us and we’re like pilgrims, we’re like sojourners, we’re like travelers. And as we travel through this polluted, defiled, disgusting, corrupted, cursed world, we’re supposed to venture through it as God’s people in a way that is completely unstained. Think of your life as a walk through a muddy, dirty, vile land, 50, 60, 70, 80 years. And in the beginning, imagine that you start with a clean set of clothes, but by the end, you were supposed to still be clean, unstained, no mark, no filth, no dirtiness of any sort or kind. That’s the goal. How many of you find that discouraging? How many of you are like, “I’m not at the end and I’m already dirty”?

There are a couple of ways to read this text. You can read it in a deceptive, religious way. “You can live a holy life. You can live a good life. “You can live a pure life. “You’re not like those dirty sinners. You’re better than they are.” That’s self-deception. That’s pride, which is the worst sin of all. You can read it like an honest person and say, “It’s too late. “I’m already dirty. “There are things I’ve done, “I wish I wouldn’t have done them, “but I can’t undo them. “There are things in my past that are not in my present, but the stain goes with me into the future.”

How many of you feel that way? How in the world are you supposed to walk through this world unstained? See, and here’s what religion will tell you: “Clean it up. Scrub it out.” How many of you tried that? How many of you have been out to dinner and you spill something on a white shirt, a white dress? You grab a napkin, put it in the water, and spread it. That didn’t help. That’s religion. Scrub really hard to make sure that you grind the stain in deep. All you were trying to do was clean yourself up, and all you did was made the stain bigger.

Jesus and James were brothers who grew up studying the Old Testament together. They would have been familiar with all of the sections that promise the coming of Jesus and his work. Many commentators would tell you that this keeping oneself unstained by the world is echoing some frequent imagery that God uses in the Old Testament.

GOD SHOWED US THE PLAN

I want to take you to Zechariah 3, a text that Jesus and James would have been very familiar with, and it picks up on this theme. This was written hundreds of years before Jesus walked the earth, and I love this book so much I named one of my sons after this man. We learn that Jesus knew the word and Jesus did the word.

OK, again, here’s our question: how in the world could I walk through the world unstained? “Then he showed me.” God’s going to show you how you can do this. “Joshua the high priest.” Do you know what Joshua means? Jesus. Do you know what Jesus means? Joshua. Jesus’ name is a derivative of Joshua.

So, here’s what’s happening. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are up in heaven. Jesus has not yet entered into human history, and God shows up to Zechariah, and he pulls the curtain aside. He says, “I’m going to show you the plan. “I’m going to show you the plan for history and salvation. “You’re going to peer behind the curtain. You’re going to see into the future.” This is a revelation, a prophesy of the coming of Jesus and what he’s going to do.

So he shows him Joshua, and Joshua is a priest. And what a priest does is represent the people before God. So, Joshua’s standing in the place of all the guilty sinners like you and me. “Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord.” So, if it was in our day, think of the angel of the Lord sitting on the bench as the judge. “And Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.” Revelation 12:10 says that Satan is the accuser of the children of God, that he accuses them day and night. Satan is keenly aware of every stain that travels with you. It’s your identity. You can’t cleanse yourself from it. You can’t hide it.

RELIGION SAYS CLEAN YOUR CLOTHES, JESUS SAYS WEAR HIS

Some of you live under condemnation because all you receive is accusation. And it says that he accuses day and night, which means, in the morning you’re devastated by it, and when you go to bed, it’s the last thing on your mind. You’re haunted by what you’ve done.

Let me give you a clue. You know that the enemy is accusing you when you hear you. Some of you have heard it for so long you think it’s negative self-talk or low self-esteem. It might be demonic accusation. “You are a failure. “You are a fornicator. “You are a pervert. You are an addict. “You are an adulterer. You are an aborter. “You are a thief. You are a murderer. “You are unloved. You are unworthy. “You are unchanged. You should stop trying. You should kill yourself.” You look down and you realize, “That’s true. “I’m filthy. “I have tried to scrub it out, “and all I’ve done is grind it in and make it bigger. I have not walked through this world unstained.”

“And the Lord said to Satan”—on your behalf—“‘The Lord rebuke you, O Satan!’ “Now Joshua was standing before the angel, “clothed in filthy garments. “And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “‘Remove the filthy garments from him.’ “And to him he said, ‘Behold, know this, “‘I’ve taken your iniquity away, your filth away, “‘your disgrace away, your shame away, your condemnation away from you, and I will’”—what’s it say, beloved? You’ve got to believe this: you’re the beloved. You have to believe this. “And I will”—what? “Clothe you with pure vestments.” Religion says, “Clean your clothes. Keep them clean.”

Jesus says, “Wear my clothes. I’ll trade it for your dirty ones.” This is Jesus. It is literally as if you are standing before the judgment seat of God, and the accusing attorney Satan says, “They did this. They said that. “On this day, at that moment, they did this vile thing. I’ll play the clip.” You’re like, “I can’t even watch. “I am so ashamed of what I’ve done and how I’ve lived, “and now everybody sees, and now everybody knows. And I can’t fool this holy God.”

The Bible uses over a dozen words to refer to sin in terms of defilement, filth, unclean. And then you hear the voice of Jesus, “Rebuke you, Satan.” God is not the one who’s condemning you. God is not the one who’s accusing you. Satan is. It’s so important that when you hear something, you don’t say, “Yes Lord, I’m sorry,” because there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice.” You need to get to know the voice of Jesus. Jesus does not show up to accuse and condemn you. He shows up to convict and save you.

Then Jesus says the most remarkable thing to you. He says, “I would like to make an exchange with you.” There’s Jesus, he’s wearing white, symbolizing his sinlessness, his holiness, his righteousness.

Did Jesus walk through this world unstained, yes or no? Yes. What Jesus says is, “I will trade you. “You give me your soiled, filthy, stench-ridden rags, “and I’ll wear them. “And I’ll give you my sinlessness, my holiness, “my righteousness, and you can wear that. I will gladly trade you your life for mine.”

‘SATAN, IT’S ALL TRUE—THAT’S WHY I WENT TO THE CROSS’

Know this: you’re the beloved. You’re the beloved. And at the end of time, there’s going to be a party in the presence of Jesus, the last book of the Bible tells us. And all God’s people will be wearing what? White. We’re supposed to know this. What Jesus doesn’t say is, “They’re good people. “They did their best. Nobody’s perfect. They tried. We all make mistakes.”

What he says is, “Satan, it’s all true, “and that’s why I went to the cross, “and that’s why I died in their place, “and that’s why I paid their penalty, “and that’s why I rose from the dead, “and that’s why I took all of their condemnation “in exchange for my salvation. “I took all of their filth in exchange for my cleansing. “These are, they are, he is, she is my beloved. “Satan, I rebuke you. I silence you. “These are my beloved, and they don’t need to be righteous. They need my righteousness.” Good news, amen?

I want you to know this. And in your life, everything you do should be motivated by knowing this. You can walk through this world unstained because in Christ you’re already clean, and when you do sin, Jesus will gladly clean you. He will gladly give you his righteousness. He’ll gladly walk with you. He’ll never leave you. He’ll never forsake you. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us of all of our unrighteousness.

Dear beloved, I have good news for you: In Christ, you’re clean.

Note: This sermon transcript has been edited for readability.

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How Do We Know the Bible Is the Word of God?

Why the Bible Is So Special – Question 14

In both testaments, the Bible claims to be God’s communication to humanity; the only divine revelation from the one true God. But is this claim true? How do we know the Bible is what it claims to be—the Word of God?

There Are Two Basic Approaches to This Question

There are two different approaches that are taken when it comes to arguing for the Bible being the Word of God. First, there are those who believe that the Scripture is self-authenticating. The Bible is true because it says it is true, and the Holy Spirit bears witness to this truth. No other argument is necessary.

A second approach believes that the claims of Scripture have sufficient evidence to back them up. Those who hold this view believe there is overwhelming evidence to convince anyone that the Bible is what it claims to be—the Word of God. People, therefore, need to check out the evidence; not merely blindly believe the claims of Scripture.

We can summarize the two approaches as follows:

Approach 1: the Bible Is Self-Authenticating

To many people, the issue of the Bible’s authority is something that should not be debated. The authority of the Bible must be believed because the Scripture says so. This is usually argued in the following ways:

1. The Bible Claims to Be God’s Word: No Other Testimony Is Necessary

The Bible should be allowed to speak for itself. It clearly claims to be God’s Word. It doesn’t need defending. If we attempt to defend the Bible, then we are placing some other standard as the ultimate judge. Whether it is scientific or historical accuracy, human reasoning or some other standard, what we are doing is placing Scripture under that standard. What Scripture says should be our ultimate standard and everything should be judged by its claims; it should be judged by no one.

There is something else. The problem with providing evidence for the Bible is that human beings are both sinful and finite. They must still evaluate any evidence offered for the truthfulness of the Christian faith. Again, it places some sort of human standard as the final authority. Evidence gathered from other sources may be useful, but it has nothing convincing to say about the truth of Christianity.

2. The Bible Should Be Able to Testify on Its Own Behalf

In a court of law, people have a right to testify on their own behalf. Since the Bible is the Word of God, the Author, God, should be allowed to testify to what sort of Book the Bible is. This is particularly true because the Bible says that God cannot lie. His testimony should be received as final.

3. The Witness of the Holy Spirit Demonstrates the Truthfulness of Scripture

However, the Bible does more than merely claim to be God’s Word. The witness of the Spirit shows the reader that the Bible is the Word of God. When the truths of the Bible are personally applied, the credibility of the Bible is demonstrated. Paul wrote:

You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. (2 Corinthians 3:2 NRSV)

Paul said that people would see the truths of the Word of God at work in the lives of God’s people. This was its testimony. When the truths are lived out in one’s life, we find that they work.

As people read the Bible, they find the Holy Spirit giving confirmation that what they are reading is God’s Word. Therefore, we not only have the claim of Scripture, we also have the witness of the Holy Spirit that the things written in Scripture are true.

Objection: This Is Arguing in a Circle: Assuming What You Should Be Proving

Those who criticize this approach say that it is circular reasoning—it is assuming what it should be proving. Quoting the Bible to prove the Bible does not prove anything. Why should the claims of the Bible be believed? There are many religious books that claim to convey truth. In addition, adherents can be found who will testify as to the power of the truths in these books to change their lives. How can anyone know which claims, if any of them, are right and which claims are wrong? Religious experience alone is not a valid test. Something else is needed.

Approach 2: Examine the Evidence That God Has Given

A second approach to the truth of the Bible’s claims is to examine the evidence about the truthfulness of Christianity. The Bible’s claim to authority is not in and of itself proof of its divine authority. Arguing that the claims of the Bible are more persuasive than the claims of all other religious writings does not always work in real life. There will be those who are not convinced of the Bible’s claims. What should we do with these people? Should they be ignored?

There Are Three Lines of Evidence for the Truth of Jesus’ Claims: Miracles, Fulfilled Prophecy and His Resurrection

The Bible never argues for the existence of God ? it takes this for granted. But the New Testament does argue about the truth of the claims of Jesus through three lines of evidence. The evidence consists of miracles, fulfilled prophecy and the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. When the evidence is considered, the verdict becomes clear that Jesus is whom He claimed to be.

We Should Do What Jesus’ Followers Did: Emphasize These Three Areas of Evidence

There is another important point to make. Because the claims of Scripture, on their own, do not constitute any type of convincing proof, we should argue the same way in which Jesus’ disciples argued. They presented compelling proof to the people that Jesus was the Christ.

For example, on the Day of Pentecost, Peter stated the following evidence to the large crowd that had gathered:

You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know—this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. For David says concerning him, ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh will live in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One experience corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’ (Acts 2:22-28 NRSV)

In this one passage, we find Peter appealing to these three different lines of evidence. First, he spoke of the miracles of Jesus Christ; it was something that all the crowd was aware of. He also testified to the fact that Jesus came back from the dead; something to which Peter and the other disciples were witnesses. Finally, Peter said that Jesus’ resurrection was a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Therefore, he appealed to miracles, Jesus’ resurrection and fulfilled prophecy.

We also find that the Apostle Paul reasoned with unbelievers from the Scriptures. In the Book of Acts, we read the following:

Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.” (Acts 17:2-3 NKJV)

Since this is the way that the New Testament believers reasoned with unbelievers about the claims of Christ, we should do the same when it comes to the authority of the Bible. Therefore, we should not limit ourselves to merely citing the Bible to prove the Bible.

Ultimately, We Must Taste and See for Ourselves

A person can know the Bible is God’s Word by first examining the claims of Scripture, considering the evidence for those claims and then personally accepting the challenge of Scripture to “taste and see” if these things are true. The psalmist gave the following challenge:

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him! (Psalm 34:8 NKJV)

The New Revised Standard Version says:

O taste and see that the LORD is good; happy are those who take refuge in him. (Psalm 34:8 NRSV)

Ultimately, a person must individually experience the truth of God’s Word for themselves. This occurs by coming to God in faith and then believing in His promises.

Summary – Question 14
How Do We Know the Bible Is the Word of God?

While the Bible claims to be the authoritative Word of God, there have been two basic approaches as to how anyone can know these claims are true. One approach believes that the Bible should be taken at its Word and not defended. The Holy Spirit will show the truth of its claim to anyone who is interested in knowing. Nothing else is necessary. This way the Bible is not made subject to any other type of authority.

On the other hand, there are those who point to evidences that God has provided to argue for the truth of Scripture. These include miracles, fulfilled prophecy and Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Taken together, they constitute overwhelming evidence for the truth of God’s Word. Christians employ both methods in defending and proclaiming Scripture.

However, merely knowing intellectually that the Bible is God’s Word is not enough. The Bible says that we need to personally experience the God of the Bible by believing in His promises and submitting to His commands.

(ver 1.4) Are there any modern benefits for knowing the Bible?  Are there any consequences for not knowing the Bible today?  Being independent from the Bible is where many people reside currently in the world.  These people choose to establish their own definitions of good, evil, normal, abnormal, morality and immorality and they continually push the envelope and cross the line of common decency repeatedly.  The prisons of the United States are unable to hold everyone like this so they let them out to do it again and again without understanding the problem or the solution.  Even in many churches you can find people who call themselves Christians and they do not demonstrate any proof in their external behavior as being different than everyone else in the world.  It is like when I heard one minister say “If some Christians were tried by the world there would not be enough evidence to convict them of being a Christian”.  These types of Christians exist in a vacuum of ignorance being dominated by the people in the world and their godless influences.  There is a modern belief rising of tolerance and an all-inclusive acceptance that is leading people to a new coming one world religion apart from God.  Why is this so dangerous?  What are the consequences for being ignorant of the truth?  You do realize that everything you do in life has consequences?  Ignorance is not bliss, it is a destructive lifestyle that will cause far greater hurt and harm than you can ever imagine.  There is a popular saying of the world that says “What you don’t know can’t hurt you”.  But that is a satanically inspired philosophy designed to deceive people that there are no consequences for not learning the truth.  If you would like to read Part 1 of this lesson series first, you may go and read “Understanding the Value of the Word of God” and then come back and continue reading here for Part 2.

There has been a news report recently in the U.S. about a woman who went to Aruba with a man that she apparently did not know and she has been missing for a long time now.  Does it matter now if she made a decision to go to Aruba with a man that she really did not know?  The news said the man took out a million dollar insurance policy on her and even tried to collect on it without there being any proof she was dead yet.  If this man killed this woman for the insurance money do you think this woman thinks this trip was still worth going on now?  Since we cannot ask her, it would seem very obvious to me that her ignorance mattered, but there is always room for your doubt.   I think you can learn from stories found in modern times that what you don’t know can cause you great trouble, harm, hurt and even death.  To think otherwise is to ignore the facts and live in a fantasy make believe world.  I could give you hundreds of other examples found in the news of people being in the wrong place at the wrong time where someone  tried to kill them, rape them, steal from them or other negative things.  Truly what you don’t know is much more important than you can comprehend fully right now.  There is another popular saying that I like to quote that says “People do not know what they do not know”.  This saying is a comprehensive description of the missing lady in Aruba and it describes everyone who does not know the Word of God also.

I am going to go through the Bible and give you an overview of some of the verses that reveal what God says about people who intentionally or unintentionally ignore His Word.  If you go through and look these verses up and study them for yourselves you should better understand the importance of learning everything that you can about the God’s truth as fast you can possibly go to get it.  I also want you to see that sometimes scriptures are self-declaring and direct and other times the truth has to be indirectly observed by determining the opposite counterparts of the words being discussed.  For example, if the Bible says “They (my words) are life to all that find them and health to all of their flesh” you can learn from that verse there are clearly benefits of health and life for knowing the Word of God.   But we can also surmise the inverse truth as being “ignoring God’s word can result in sickness and death”.  There is a major difference between just reading the words on the page and actually seeing what the words on the page declare.  I hope you understand that!  Let’s go through the Bible and learn what God says on the subject of living in ignorance of His Word.

Living Independent from the Word of God will Result in:

1. Not Knowing the Messiah (Jo 5:46, Acts 18:28)
2. A Lack of Understanding of What God has already Accomplished (Mat 26:56, Luke 4:21)
3. Being Ignored by God (Pro 28:9)
4. You being Rebellious (Isa 30:9)
5. No Happiness (Pro 29:18)
6. Sickness or Ill Health (Ps 107:20, Pro 4:22)
7. A Shorter Life on the Earth (Deu 6:2, 1 Kings 3:14, Pro 3:1-2)
8. A Life in Spiritual Darkness (Ps 119:130, Pro 4:19)
9. You Being Lost (Ps 119:67)
10. Grief (Ps 119:158)
11. Ignorance of the Truth (John 20:31, Rom 15:4)
12. Easy Acceptance of Lies (Proverbs 7, 1 John 2:21)
13. Unrighteousness (Ps 119:172)
14. Sin (Ps 119:11, Jo 7:19)
15. Lack of Wisdom ( Pro 2:6, Pro 28:7, Jer 8:9, 2 Tim 3:15)
16. No Faith (Jo 20:31, Romans 10:17, 1 John 5:13)
17. No Spiritual Fruit; love, joy peace… (Luke 8:11-15)
18. Error (Ps 119:21, Ps 119:110, Ps 119:118, Mat 22:29, Gal 2:14)
19. Crime, Mischief, Wickedness, Evil (Ps 119:101, Ps 119:150)
20. Being Cursed (Gen 22:18, Ps 94:12, Ps 119:21, John 7:49, Gal 3:10-13)
21. Missing God (John 5:39, Acts 18:28)
22. Missing God’s Promises (Rom 1:2)
23. Missing God’s Power (Luke 4:32, 1 Th 1:5, Heb 1:3, Heb 4:12)
24. Not Knowing what will Happen in the Future (Gen 49:1, Isa 42:9, Eze 12:25-28)
25. Missing God’s Blessing (Rev 1:3)
26. Missing Salvation (Ps 119:155, Eph 1:13, 2 Tim 3:15)
27. No Hope (Rom 15:4, Col 1:5)
28. Confusion (Jer 3:25)
29. Self-Destruction (Ps 107:20, Hosea 4:6, 2 Peter 3:16)
30. Defeat by Satan (1 John 2:14)
31. Death (Pro 4:22, Pro 7:1-27, Pro 13:14, 2 Tim 1:10)

I could not find anything positive in the Bible that can result from not knowing God’s Word.  Maybe you can search your Bible and see if you can find it.  Truly from these verses we discover that what you do not know can be very destructive.  I know I did not give you every verse that I could have.  I limited myself to only a few things that I could find easily and I stopped.  But, I believe that the evidence is overwhelming that knowing God’s Word is of the utmost importance for having anything positive occur in your life.  After the United States Supreme court disallowed the Bible being taught in our public schools to our children, the end result was a new generation of people who did not know anything about the Word of God and thus we have an immoral society that lacks any redeeming qualities.  In the last 40 years the shows on television have digressed into a sewer of what is referred to now as reality TV, but in actuality they are godless fantasy shows without any truth.  These are the blind leading the blind into new paths of deception and destruction.  If you do not know the truth, then everything looks good at first.  It is like the old saying “When you do not know where you are going, any road will take you”.  Sin always has an attractive allure attached to it for a season (Heb 11:25).

Mat 15:9  But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

I have seen many people who call themselves Christians that simply ignore the Bible to establish their own independent version of Christianity.  Their teachings usually sound very religious and even pious on the surface but yet they deny the power of God and they are actually teaching the doctrines of devils (1 Tim 4:1).  Did you know that Satan had doctrines?  I personally believe he has more doctrines than God does.  The variations of his deceptions are vast. To not correctly balance the Bible using ALL related passages causes errors in doctrines.  For example, when you ignore the verse that says God is Love and teach only a God of Judgment and Condemnation you are teaching the selective doctrine of devils that promotes confusion using a man-made picture of a God filled with inaccuracies.   The natural reasoning of man is a slippery slope of deception that can cause you to fall into places of deep theological error that you should not even be near.  The naturally thinking mind of man is an enemy to the Spirit of God (Rom 8:7).  Matthew 15:9 is Jesus warning us that people worship God in vain.  The word translated as “vain” in Matthew 15:9 means “vanity” or becoming “vain” and is defined to be a man’s unsuccessful search for the truth.  The word also means they have no purpose and follow no plan of God.  You see there are many people in the world that seek truth, but yet are looking for it all the wrong places.  The Bible is the only trustworthy source for ALL truth.   To ignore the truth according to God has severe negative consequences and I hope you understand that now.

If you know of other verses in the Bible that speak of things we should know about the consequences of people not knowing God’s Word please share them with me.  Thanks for reading my short Bible lesson today about “What You Don’ Know Can Kill You” and I hope it helped someone to grow spiritually.  God Bless until next time!