"Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."
2 Peter 1:20-21
When God spoke to Moses from the burning bush, He told Moses to take off his sandals because the ground where he stood was holy ground. God’s Word is holy ground. Nothing we might think, say, or write is worthy of such reverence. His Word is as precise as the sunrise. Does it matter?
Does it really matter what one believes religiously? Most teachers in denominational churches tell their members that it does not matter. They would say, “As long as you believe from the heart in God and Jesus His Son, that is all that matters.” So, they leave everything else to individual understanding and preference in the application of the Scriptures. Peter's instruction in 2 Peter 1:20-21 explicitly states that God's Word is not up to man's private interpretation. That warning also applies to us, for the meaning of the Word of God is the same for all of us.
The Scriptures Peter mentions were not of human origin ("private interpretation") or man's will but came from God Himself through the Holy Spirit. God gave us His Word to guide us and not to confuse us, for He is not a God of confusion but of peace (1 Cor. 14:33). You see, it is not God's fault if a misunderstanding of the Scriptures leaves someone in a state of confusion and unable to know for sure God's will. He has given us His Word to supply the perfect guidance as to what His will is, for God's Word is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, so that we can be complete and thoroughly equipped for good works (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
God has given us His inspired Word to guide us into righteousness. We can trust that "All Scripture" is God-breathed, for they are the words from His own lips. So we must trust, believe, and understand that same Word, written by men guided by the Holy Spirit to write what they wrote, assuring us that it is God's very Word. In Galatians 1:6-9, the apostle Paul warns us about another Gospel, for no angel or man is authorized by God to preach any other Gospel than what was preached. Such a person was cursed, being cut off from God.
Some of the Galatian brethren perverted the Gospel, making it a different Gospel by taking God's Word and making slight changes (by adding, subtracting, substituting, or the like). Today, it is no different, for many create or invent something God never said. Because they did not do what God had said in His revealed Word, they created error and departed from God's Truth (1 Cor. 4:6).
In Matthew 16:19, Jesus declared,
"Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
This referred to the apostles' future teachings, for Jesus said in John 15:20.
"If they kept my word, they will also keep yours."
God's specific teachings in His inspired Word must not be loosed from its authority. Nobody has the right or authority to believe or do something other than what God has said. You see, the apostles were binding and loosing when they presented God's revealed Word. God, through His apostles, bound His instructions on man and unbound (loosed) other things. God tells us what He wants, and we must not bind or loose where He has not authorized us to do so. What the apostles preached is what God's Holy Spirit taught them. The Spirit of Truth guided them into the Truth (John 14:26; 16:13; 1 Cor. 2:6-13; 2 Peter 1:20-21). God's will was "bound" and "loosed" in heaven first and then on earth.
The Pharisees were experts in building doctrines where the Scriptures were silent. For example, they violated the Scriptures when they insisted on washing hands before eating (Mk. 7:1-9). Their practice was a man-made addition to the Word of God, for God had never authorized them to do so as a religious observance. Jesus told them that Isaiah’s prophecy applied to them, that they worshipped God in vain because they created man-made doctrines and not God's doctrines.
Although the Law did not forbid such practices, neither were they authorized. It is arrogant for men to invent their own doctrines beyond what God has spoken, for they presumptuously imply that they know better than God's Word! It is absurd for men to suggest that they can choose some teachings from the Scriptures and demand them as essential or fundamental while declaring that other Scriptures are not as important or vital! So why would anyone trust such men with our soul's salvation?
All of God's teachings in His Holy Book are important. Jesus didn't come to this earth just to die and pay the price for our sins. He also came to bring us His teachings, the Gospel, a new way to live. We will be judged by the same teachings! (John 12:48). We must not pick and choose as we please from God's revealed Word. We must not choose what sounds good to us or goes along with what we have already been taught by religious error. We must embrace God's Word and obey all of God's will. We must obey God's way.
Therefore, we must study diligently to handle His inspired Word accurately and learn His will more fully. It will make an eternal difference in your life and the salvation of your soul!
May we love God's Word with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and meditate on it all day. And may we never drift away from the Truth but rather defend it with all our breath.
Luci
