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Can We Rely On Parents Or Other Men?
John R. Gentry
Last week we discussed that approaching how we make decisions with an attitude that relies on our emotions or feelings will hinder us from understanding God’s Word correctly. This week I want to continue investigating harmful attitudes that prevent us from understanding God’s Word accurately.
Let’s begin by looking at Matthew 10.35-37, “For I came to ‘set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” Unfortunately many people do not want to respect the truth of God’s Word because they do not want to hurt Mommy and Daddy’s feelings or go against what Mommy and Daddy believe. A person with this mentality is in for a rude awakening on Judgment Day. In Judgment we will be judged based on what we did and not what our parents did (2 Corinthians 5.10; Romans 14.12). And we must realize that we are not going to be judged based on our obedience to the words of our parents or family, but we will be judged based on the words of God (John 12.48; Hebrews 5.9)! We must always be willing to approach God’s Word with an attitude of wanting to know exactly what God wants me to do and not with an attitude of what do Mommy and Daddy want me to do!
Another attitude that will cripple our understanding of God’s Word is that of following after what other people have to say. We stated in a previous article that our authority must come from God and not from man. Proverbs 14.12 tells us, “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” If we put our confidence in what man has to say over what God has to say, our end is certainly spiritual death! Jesus tells us in Matthew 5.19, “But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.” If we practice things based on what some person has to say over what God has to say, our attempt at serving God has become worthless and of no use. Paul condemns following after man by asking in Colossians 2.20-22, “If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, 'Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!' (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men?” Those who are going to be true to Christ will not follow after man’s teachings in their creeds, councils, conventions, and catechisms! Instead they will take their stand on the Bible and the Bible alone!
What about you? Are you willing to allow your parents or any other man to stand in your way of being obedient to God?
originally published in the Banner-Gazette
2007.05.23