They knew the Word of the Lord but they clearly did not understand it. They used it for their own ends. As it was, so it still goes today. We all know far too many people who have a great head knowledge of the Word but seemingly no heart for God. They can recite to you the most mundane portions of Leviticus but seemingly do not care about the lost or about those sitting under false teaching. They can do a seminar on the Parable of the Leaven but be completely unaffected by the leaven they sit under themselves. Knowledge without understanding is useless. It is not wisdom. Thankfully God never leaves us wondering about anything. The key verse today reveals the spirit of Godly wisdom and thus teaches us how we need to approach employing the knowledge we obtain from Scripture in the manner God desires.
The first lesson for us today is that the wisdom of God is first pure. It is uncontaminated beloved. What does this mean for us? It means we cannot follow people who insist on poorly interpreting Scripture! We need to approach the Word of God in reverent awe! This starts with putting a stop to all of this divine revelation nonsense we see polluting modern Christianity. Can God speak audibly to His people? Absolutely - He is God. But you cannot walk ten feet in Christianity today without tripping over people claiming God speaks to them, or takes them on tours of the throne room, or sends them ridiculous signs and wonders like glory clouds, angel feathers, gold dust or gemstones. Here is the thing. Measure up the divine revelation against Scripture because God will never contradict His own Word. I mean measure it up well. The Bereans were of more noble character because they approached what was taught with them with the Scriptures as their guide not their feelings. Secondly, we need to insist on contextual interpretation. Let me show you some examples:
So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. - Matthew 7: 17 (ESV)
And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. - Deuteronomy 28: 2 (ESV)
I have heard preachers preach the Matthew verse to convince church members to get involved in ministry. After all, you want to be a healthy tree don't you! You want to bear good fruit for the kingdom of God! I also heard noted prosperity preachers use the Deuteronomy verse to justify their extravagant lifestyles, million dollar mansions, and fleets of private jets. I have heard sermons on it. After all, they are simply seeing the blessings of the Lord overtake them because they obey His voice - hallelujah pass the offering plate! Now, let's take a a step back and see the context of these verses:
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. - Matthew 7: 15-17 (ESV)
"And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. - Deuteronomy 28: 1-2 (ESV)
The Matthew verses have nothing to do with service, ministry, or purpose. They have to do with false teachers ironically enough! The diseased trees are the false teachers! The Deuteronomy verses are taken from the end of the Torah. The prosperity preachers leave out verse one because it is the condition for verse two. It is not merely obeying. It is obeying all 613 Mosaic laws! So IF you obey all of the law the blessings of God will overtake you. They also leave out the 53 verses that address all of the curses for disobedience contained in the same chapter. I know some may look at this and still think it is not a big deal and that reveals a large part of the problem. This is a huge deal! These preachers preaching from these verses out of context are trying to tell you something God never said! Beloved we do not go to hear thus sayeth the pastor but rather what sayeth the Lord! What we believe forms our theology and thus our faith. If we believe that Deuteronomy 28 promises us riches for obedience then we have just cast aside the cross for a works based salvation. Not only will we be disappointed to find out that we will not get rich but when we get to the last day and discover Jesus never knew us our disappointment will become eternal. Knowing what Deuteronomy 28:2 says is knowledge. Knowing what it means in context is wisdom. Believing it points to earthly prosperity for you is incorrect and leaning upon our own understanding. Realizing it points to the need for a Messiah because no one could keep the Mosaic Law is wisdom. Oh beloved, wisdom starts with purity.
