Making God’s Word Of No Effect

When my parents first came to the Navajo reservation, Dad was invited to join the local association of pastors and missionaries.  When he said he didn’t think he’d care to be part of it, another missionary told him that if it was because of the verse that said “call no man father, ” he should understand that it was just a title and didn’t really imply you considered him as your father.

The Pharisees were very zealous about their religion, to a degree rarely seen in our day, except among a few cult groups.  They really believed the old saying, “cleanliness is next to godliness”, requiring the use of a hand sanitizer before touching anything.  Of course their sanitizers didn’t come in a bottle, and thus required a great deal more effort than the modern ones.  They became upset when Jesus’ disciples didn’t show the same concern for preventing the spread of germs, although they used different names for it.  Mark 7:5 describes the confrontation.  “Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?”

I suspect they expected Jesus to apologize for the unspiritual behavior of his disciples and correct them.  His response was not what they expected.  “He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.  Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.  For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.” (Mark 7:6-8)

Nobody likes to be called a hypocrite, a walking lie, pretending to be one thing while actually being something else.  He accused them of making a big show of loving and obeying God when their own interest was only in impressing other people.  All their zeal was wasted, because they were teaching their own set of rules, rather than God’s.  The emphasis on hand sanitizing was only one example of many.  In effect, they have said that God’s commands are not as important as their customs.

“And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.  For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.  And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.” (Mark 7:9-13)

The sanitizing ceremony was an addition to the word of God, not inherently wrong, just not required by God.  Accepting the refusal to respect and assist their parents, on the other hand, was in direct contradiction of what God had commanded.   Literally, they have said God’s commands aren’t relevant.

The missionary’s comment to my father was saying the same thing since Matthew 23:9 says, “And call no man your father upon the earth:…”  While it may seem, or even be relatively minor, Matthew 5:19 warns, “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”  Matthew 23:23 stresses that while we need to take care of the most important things, we should not neglect the minor ones.

Many Christians will not call the Catholic priest “father”, but ignore the rest of the passage. Matthew 23:8-10 commands, “But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.  And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.  Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.”  Not only does God forbid us to call another man “father”, he forbid us to use titles such as “Reverend” or “Pastor” or “Doctor” to set ourselves above others.  If we do so, aren’t we just as guilty as the Pharisees?

We similar behavior in a lot of areas in the modern Church.  A pastor in Stratford, Texas was upset and refused to allow his men to collect the offering or play an active roll in the church if they were not wearing a suit and tie, despite the admonition in James 2:2-4.  “For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?”  Continuing with that thought, James 2:9 states, “But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.”

Many pastors have refused to marry people who indulged in “premarital” sex, or have established a set of programs they must complete before they will.  Exodus 22;16 commands, “And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife.”  By what authority can the pastor refuse?  God says they have to get married.

Many churches today consider hymns and psalms as irrelevant, and no longer use them, yet Colossians 3:16 instructs to use them as a way of teaching.  “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

How many other times have we set the word of God aside as unimportant to practice these or other traditions, implying that it doesn’t apply, or as Jesus said, “Making the word of God of none effect…”  In Haggai’s day, the Jews were working hard with little result, just as many Christians today do.  God spoke to them in Haggai 1:5-7.  “Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.  Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.”  Perhaps we need to consider our ways.

How is it that ye do not understand?

In an effort to establish their superiority by discrediting Jesus, the Pharisees had come out to question him.  If they could get him to promise some sign that didn’t happen, they could proclaim him a false prophet, according to the law.  

“And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him.  And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.” (Mark 8:11-12) 

Jesus described the Pharisee’s focus in Matthew 23:5.  “But all their works they do for to be seen of men:…”  They had no interest in doing what pleased God, just impressing people.  If they could prove Jesus was wrong, they could discredit him, making themselves look better.  If he gave them useable information, they could use it to impress others with their deep knowledge.  Instead, he crushed their hopes, then left, as if they weren‘t that important.

“And he left them, and entering into the ship again departed to the other side.   Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf. 

And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread.” (Mark 8:13-16)

The disciples had not prepared for a prolonged trip, taking only minimal provisions.  When Jesus referred to the attitude of the Pharisees, using an example he had used several times before, of leaven representing an ungodly attitude, the disciples immediately jumped to the conclusion that he was rebuking them for not being prepared for the journey.

“And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened?  Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?” (Mark 8:17-18) 

Like we so often do, the disciples were focused on their own ideas and completely missed what Jesus was talking about, even though it should have been obvious that their concern was invalid.  They had heard the Pharisee’s questions, and Jesus other teachings.  In addition, they should have known that not having enough food was not a concern for Jesus.  He pointed this out.

“When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve.  And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven.  And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?” (Mark 8:19-21)

Only a couple of hours before he had fed 4000 people with seven loaves and had seven baskets full left over.  Only a few weeks before that, he had fed 5000 people with a little boys lunch and had twelve baskets full left.  Why would he be concerned that one loaf wouldn’t be able to feed himself and twelve apostles?  How could they not understand what he meant when it should have been so obvious?

Many times we do the same thing today.  One area where this occurs relates to eternal security.  Ephesians 5:5, for example, is very specific.  “For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”  People who are involved with certain sins will not be in heaven.  Murderers and liars are some of the other sinners listed in other verses.  

Luke 8:13 and Hebrews 6:6 speak of people falling away.  Hebrews 10:26 warns, “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.”  Since people who claim to have been saved sometimes commit these sins, One group concludes that it is possible to lose ones salvation, based on these and similar verses.

A second group insists that it is impossible to lose ones salvation because I Peter 1:5 says we “…are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”  Speaking of those who believe in him, in John 10:27-29, Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.”  Since the individual is a man like everyone else, they conclude that there is no sin a person could commit that would separate him from the love of God, which is exactly what Romans 8:38 says.

focusing on their particular group of scriptures, both groups tend to ignore the scriptures the other group uses, somewhat like the disciples ignored or forgot other things they knew.  Believing that all Scripture is given by God, as II Timothy 3:16 states and that no scripture can be interpreted independently from other scripture, we must accept that all the scriptures are true.  This forces us to examine other scripture as well.   The truth will include all of them.

I John 3:9-10 declares, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.  In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.”  A person lives that lifestyle because he is not saved.  Were he saved, the Holy Spirit would prevent him doing so.  Romans 7:17-20 explains, “Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.   Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.”

II Thessalonians 3:3 states that we can depend on the Lord to keep his children from sin.  “But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.”   Jude 1:24-25 emphasizes his ability to do so.  “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever. Amen.”

Judas Iscariot was the one apostle the others never suspected of betraying Jesus, even when Jesus specifically identified him as the one who would.  They were totally convinced of his having the same faith they had, yet John 6:70-71 states that he was never really one of them.  He turned away and betrayed Jesus, becoming the model for those who do so.  Hebrews 3 and 4 also cite the

people who accompanied Moses in the Exodus, yet never believed as an example of those who may fall away.

The principle in John 3:36 does not change.  “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”  People commit such sins for the same reason they go to hell.  John 3:18 declares that people are condemned because they don’t believe in Christ, not because they commit those sins.  “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”  The sin indicates they have not trusted Christ.

Deliberate overt sin by a person who purports to be a Christian does not indicate that he has lost his salvation, but that he has never received Christ in the first place, because he only went through the motions, without real faith or repentance.  He is yet in his sins.  Eternal security is based on the power of God, both to keep us saved and to keep us from sin.