Burk Parsons - The Bible's Teaching on the Nature of Preaching

Well, several months ago, just about a year ago, when putting together the plans for this conference, I asked to join us for this public crimes conference. And one thing that I'm very sensitive about is the fact that I think sometimes we, in conferences that we get together, us reformed folk, we tend to have the same folks time and time again.

And glorious, wonderful teaching. But a lot of times we don't get the opportunity to get some of God's glorious message from folks that are up and coming. And certainly one could say that one of the reasons I invited Burke Parsons here is because he would take the average age of all of our speakers down to about 35, as opposed to...

So just averaging things out here. But also, let me tell you a little bit about Burke. Burke is the associate pastor at St. Andrew's Chapel, which is R .C. Sproul's church. And he's been serving there for a number of years.

He is also the editor of Table Talk magazine. So for those of you that get Table Talk every month, and I won't tell you where the majority of reading for this is by me, but every morning I start off with Table Talk.

But each month, Burke always shares wonderful articles in Table Talk. And I certainly have appreciated his ministry. As well, Burke has a new book that has just come out, Assured by God. If you have not picked up a copy of this, make sure that you do.

He is the general editor, and he also writes one of the chapters in the book. And let me just read you the back here, if I can, and hopefully this will spur you on to buy one of these copies. It states, Nothing stimulates Christian service more than humble assurance of God's saving grace.

Many of us are immobilized by lingering doubts about our salvation, or worse, by a false security. Is assurance of salvation reserved for the super-spiritual? Is it a sure sign of presumption? What are the benefits of assurance, and the dangers of an unsure faith?

Separating truth from error, and viewing assurance in relation to its larger family of biblical doctrines. The contributors to this volume demonstrate its significance for grateful, productive Christian living.

Contributors to this also include R. Albert Moeller, Richard Phillips, Sinclair Ferguson, Joel Beek, John MacArthur, Keith A. Matheson, Jerry Bridges, and some guy by the name of R .C. Sproul. So do make sure that you take the opportunity, it's back here in the Alpha and Omega table, to pick up one of these copies.

You'll be blessed. And as well, I believe we have two copies on consignment to the Kainter Brothers, is that correct? No, okay. But if you could, make sure that you do pick up a copy of that. And folks, you don't want to hear me talk again.

So let me introduce to you, please, Reverend Burke Parsons. Welcome him.

The Weight of Preaching and the Problem of Pulpit Crimes

These microphones, you feel like you're going to trip. It's like walking out in the hallway with all the army recruiters. It's like a gauntlet. You feel like you're going to get pummeled. But I appreciate that, Mike.

Thank you very much. I've known Mike for a few years, and he has been a faithful and consistent fellow, and a faithful and consistent friend. I am young, and folks are always surprised that I have to fill the pulpit for Dr. Sproul when he is not in town or away, that sort of thing.

And someone asked me this past week, well, how often do you get to preach? I said, well, I'm not sure I would phrase it like that. I would say, how often do I have to preach? It's a daunting thing, as you can imagine, to stand in that pulpit.

But that gets right at the heart of what we're dealing with here, this conference, this weekend. And I would say that it gets right at the heart of the actual title of this conference, which is Pulpit Crimes.

And I would suggest to Jim and to Mike that when you choose these titles for these conferences, that you at least choose titles for these conferences that are appropriate titles. And what I mean by that is simply this, that the title Pulpit Crimes is really completely inappropriate because we don't have pulpits any longer.

Pulpits have been tossed out back with pews and the hymnals and so forth. We don't have pulpits. We have lecterns, we have podiums like the one I'm standing in front of or standing behind here somewhat ironically.

But we don't have pulpits anymore. Nevertheless, we are here to help and to promote and to encourage laypeople and pastors who are here to think seriously about these things. So as we think seriously about them, let's turn to the word of God.

Colossians 2 and the Call to Full Assurance

I'd like for you to turn with me to Colossians chapter 2, Paul's epistle to the Colossians. We'll be looking at chapter 2, verses 1 through 10. Now as probably is the case in most of your churches or at least some of them, it is the case at St. Andrew's where I'll be preaching tomorrow to services in the morning at 9 .30 and 11 for all of those who, well that's, I should say, today's Friday, correct?

So that'll be Sunday. And I know some of you are leaving to go on a boat. But I'll be preaching Sunday and the next Sunday as well as Dr. Sproul is away in Lexington right now with Albert Mohler. Second, pardon me, Colossians chapter 2.

We'll be looking at verses 1 through 10 this morning. Let's turn our attention to the word of God. For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh that their hearts may be encouraged being knit together in love and attaining to all the riches of the fullness of assurance of understanding to the knowledge of the mystery of God both of the Father and of Christ and whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words for though I am absent in the flesh yet I am with you in the spirit rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord so walk in him rooted and built up in him and established in the faith as you have been taught abounding in it with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit according to the tradition of men according to the basic principles of the world and not according to Christ.

For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily and you are complete in him who is the head of all principality and power. This is the word of God for God's people. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father we thank you for your word.

Lord we ask that your word would not be something that we merely think about but it would be something that we believe and it would be something that we act upon. Lord transform our lives by it and use it this morning for your glory.

In the name of Christ we pray. Amen. You have all read I hope Hamlet by Shakespeare. I'm not used to these pulpit microphones you have to understand I'm used to these lapel mics that sort of thing or as Dr. White calls them the Britney Spear mics.

I call them Backstreet Boy microphones for another reason. But in truth I'm going to try to stay close to it here. Some said but you're a Presbyterian. I said well not really I'm a Presbyterian small piece St. Andrew's Chapel is an independent church indeed in the reformed tradition nevertheless an independent church and I'm proud of that.

But the question before us as Hamlet didn't put it but at least referring to his famous soliloquy when he said to be or not to be I will say to preach or not to preach. That is the question whether to nobler in the pew to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous sermons or to take arms against a sea of troubling homilies to sleep for chance to daydream.

That is the question before us. The question is whether we preach or not preach and whether you as lay people and church men and women hear preaching or you do not hear preaching. What is it that we do on the Lord's day?

What is it that we are there to do? We are there first and foremost to worship God. We're not there first and foremost for our own whims and fancies. We're not there first and foremost to hear the words of mere men.

We're there to hear the word of God and to worship the God whose word it is we are there to listen to, to act upon, to respond to. But indeed this whole concept of tradition trafficking which Dr. White does well to explain thankfully in his new book Pulpit Crimes in a subsection somewhere in pages of 90s or the early 100s.

Don't turn to it now please. Put that book down gentlemen. He sees I'm looking. Yeah put it down. He's the fellow who reads his study Bible while the pastor is preaching. He's looking at his notes saying is this right, is this right?

But that gets right at the point. That gets right at the point because too often what we're doing is not listening to the word of God being preached. We are thinking about other things. And too often those standing in the pulpits are not preaching the word of God indeed.

Now Spurgeon said that all originality and no plagiarism makes for dull preaching. Now of course he said that in jest. But indeed too many preachers and too many so-called pulpiteers as Pastor King mentioned last night are too consumed with their own traditions, too consumed with their own eisegesis, reading their own ideas, their own traditions into the text that what they're actually doing is preaching their own traditions, giving people in the pews their own traditions, their own words, their own thoughts.

I was talking with someone recently about their church and talking about the pastor who's no longer there and he said, well, one thing I love about that pastor is that every Sunday, every Lord's Day, he poured out his heart.

He gave me his heart. That sounds nice, doesn't it? That sounds really cuddly, doesn't it? But the truth of the matter is, and as I spoke to this person, I said, understand that what we're not looking for here is the heart of the man.

It's wonderful that he poured his heart out, but we're not looking for his heart. We're looking for the heart of God. Oftentimes you see behind pulpits, you see a little inscription on a plate of some sort that says, please, sir, give us Jesus, not yourself.

And too often pastors and pulpits throughout this country and throughout the world are consumed with giving people themselves, giving people their own hearts. As Pastor King spoke last night on Sunday morning services, pastors are too consumed with giving people their own jokes and stories and so forth and not the word of God.

So let us turn our attention to the word of God this morning. Paul gives to the Colossians several admonitions throughout this text and he says, for I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you.

I'm concerned about you and those in Laodicea and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, that their hearts may be encouraged. He says, I'm here concerned, people of Colossians, people of Laodicea, that you hear my heart.

You've not seen my face. You don't know me. This is not the best way of communicating. I'm writing you a letter, but I want you to hear my concern. I want to encourage you, he says, being knit together in love and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding to the knowledge of the mystery of God.

That's an important point Paul brings up here as he says that we are to attain to this. We are to understand this in a full assurance of understanding as it pertains to the knowledge of the mystery of God.

Now too often in churches and folks who are in evangelical churches throughout this country, many folks who have swapped their faith for a bumper sticker or a fish on their car, not that fishes on cars or bumper stickers are bad things, but when you've swapped your faith for such things and you've actually duped yourself into thinking that I don't need this faith.

I simply need a fish. I simply need a bumper sticker. I simply need a t-shirt. I simply need a star on my shirt when I come to church. I simply need an attendance record at this conference or that and so forth.

But we above all people shouldn't swap our faith for such things, but those folks within evangelical churches throughout this country and throughout the world say you reform people. You delve too deeply into the mysteries of God.

You think that you understand God's mind and God's ways far beyond what he's given us. You try to delve into those deep passages in the recesses of scripture when you shouldn't be. Plainly, Paul tells us in Ephesians and in Colossians here that we are to attain this full understanding, this full assurance.

We are to understand those mysteries that God has given to us and Paul unfolds them for us. Nevertheless, we are not to go beyond the mysteries. We are not to add to scripture. We are not to bring our own ideas and opinions and traditions into scripture, thereby trafficking, if you will, our own ways and means and modes of doing things, protecting our people, programs, projects, and public image and not protecting the word of God.

That's what we're called to do. But it's not only a call for pastors, it's a call for the people of God. Going on, Paul says very plainly, this is something that we are to understand regarding both the Father and Christ in verse 2, and then in verse 3, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Verse 4, now this I say, lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words. I say this, listen again, folks, if you haven't woken up yet. Verse 4, now this I say, lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words.

Words that are empty in and of themselves, but the way in which they're spoken, the way in which they're used, the way in which they're so carefully crafted by those using them, want to persuade you, want to trick you, want to deceive you, want to dupe you, if you will, with their words.

I say this, I'm giving you this admonition, people of Colossae, lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words. Verse 5, for though I am absent in the flesh, he says it again, yet I'm with you in spirit.

And then he says something interesting, rejoicing. I'm not with you in the flesh, many of you have not even seen my face, he says, but I'm with you in the spirit, and not merely with you in the spirit apart from you, I'm with you in the spirit rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith.

He was complimenting them, encouraging them on their assurance. He was complimenting them on their steadfastness in the faith that they were not being moved in the faith. Why were they not being moved in the faith?

Why did they have a solid, assured faith? Why was their church not moved? Paul continues on in this encouragement sort of admonition, he says in verse 6, as you therefore, in this way, such as you have been this, as you therefore have received Christ Jesus as the Lord, so walk in him.

Paul says in other passages like Galatians 5 .25, you know, the works of the flesh and the fruit of the spirit. And in that passage, he says, well, since we live by the spirit, let us walk by the spirit.

He says it all over the place. Since we know these things, let us live in such a way. The entire epistle to Rome, if you look at the chapter outline of the entire epistle, you see in the first 12 chapters, Paul gives us the deep doctrines of the faith.

He unfolds, if you will, the mysteries of God, doesn't he? But then in verses, chapters 12 through 16, he says, so walk then, so live this way. Now that you understand these things, so live in this way and be this way.

Too often we make much ado about the first 11 chapters of Romans, but we do not spend the adequate time on those four remaining chapters, which give to us the method and means of all the doctrine and theology that we found through the first 11 chapters.

Paul says throughout his epistles, since you know this, walk this way. And I will simply say, folks, for those of us who are informed, for those of us who are more concerned to take out our 38 specials, five shooters of the points of Calvinism and shoot every Arminian and semi-Pelagian down with them, we need to be on guard.

We need to walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, making sure that what we know is lived out. That is one of the greatest concerns I have for reformed churches and reformed people in this country, that our head knowledge does not become a heart knowledge and a heart knowledge becoming a life knowledge, if you will.

Since we understand these things, let us walk this way. You know Christ, thus walk in him, verse 6. Verse 7, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

So he is complimenting them and encouraging them, saying, continue in this way, keep doing this. And then he gives them this final admonition in this passage, beware, in verse 8, lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit.

Now let's stop there for a minute. I want to point out a couple of things. Paul uses two words here that are unique to this passage. In fact, he doesn't use these words in any of his epistles. And not only are these two words not used in any of his epistles, they're not used anywhere else in the New Testament.

Look at these words. He says, beware lest anyone cheat you. Now the main idea of this word here is that we're not to be cheated. We're not to be, if you will, taken captive. The literal translation is that one would be kidnapped or carried off, if you will.

Let no one cheat you. Let no one take you captive. We're not to be taken captive, people, by mere persuasive words. We're not to be taken captive by the words and the flowery messages and, if you will, those traditions that are inserted at every point possible in order for us to be good and nice people.

We're to take the word of God wholly and fully, as Pastor King spoke on last evening from Acts 20. We're not to be taken captive by the word of God. Beware lest anyone take you captive or cheat you through philosophy.

Now that's a common word. We use it commonly here, but it is a word that Paul uses one time. It's a word used here only in Colossians 2. As we see, the breakup of this word, you know it well, probably phileo, love, sophia, wisdom.

It's the love of wisdom. But it is the love of wisdom itself. We love philosophy. We appreciate philosophy. We appreciate those who have taught us philosophy throughout history, but we don't love philosophy as an end in and of itself.

We don't consume ourselves with philosophy as an end in and of itself. It is philosophy by God and for the sake of God, much in the same way that Thomas Aquinas said, adeo docetur, adem docet, adem docet, theology, doctrine, proceeds from God.

Our doctrine and what we know about God comes from God. And let me ask you, friends, where does it come from? Is it from some audible voice that we hear at night when our heads are upon our pillows or after we've done this or that or we've sat around for a while worshiping?

No. Theology and doctrine proceeds from God through his word. And as it proceeds from God, it teaches us about God. But it doesn't stop there. It leads us back to God. Our theology from God comes from God, teaches us about him, and turns our faces back to him in worship.

That's what theology does. And if it doesn't do that, mind you, ladies and gentlemen, if your theology and your doctrine doesn't do that, it could be that your theology is not biblical theology. It could be that your theology and your doctrine is made up merely of the traditions of men.

So, take this warning from Paul to the Colossians, beware lest anyone cheat you or kidnap you or take you away through philosophy and empty deceit according, now listen, according to the tradition of men.

According to the basic principles of the world, those things which are elementary, those things which are simply set in a very easy row like an alphabet of sorts, those basic principles. Let no one deceive you, let no one take you captive, but as Luther said before the died of Worms in 1522, he said, my conscience is held captive by the word of God.

Not by the traditions of men, not by my own understanding of things. My conscience and our consciences, ladies and gentlemen, should be held captive by none other than the word of God. Look at Acts chapter 20 with me briefly.

It was covered last night very well. I want to point out one interesting thing. The passage that was covered, we look at verse 27, these Ephesian elders are exhorted, and here we read this passage in verse 27, let me just look at that one verse particularly.

Chapter 20 of Acts verse 27, for I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. I have not shunned to declare to you, I have not been ashamed, Paul says throughout his epistles, he tells Timothy as well, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me, his prisoner.

He says in Romans chapter 1 verse 16, I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God. I'm not shunned, we read here in Acts, I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Now this is interesting because we don't simply read here the counsel of God or parts of the counsel of God, but the whole counsel of God.

Now the reformers, as you know, were concerned not only about Sola Scriptura, which every one of us here would affirm, but very rarely do people understand and very rarely have people understood and studied this doctrine of Tota Scriptura.

It's not merely scripture alone, but it's all of scripture. It's the whole of scripture. For that is where our messages and that is where our interpretations, our hermeneutics, that is where what we know from scripture is learned.

Comparing scripture with scripture, that great hermeneutic recovered during the reformation. We are to understand scripture, dearly beloved, by looking to scripture itself, not by looking to the world around us, not by looking to the traditions that we've established for ourselves within our churches.

As Dr. White points out in his book, anytime something is done in the church twice, it becomes a tradition. But in truth, we are to look to scripture itself, for it is indeed the scriptures itself that give to us that only infallible rule.

The Baptist Confession of 1689 says the Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience. Listen, if you didn't listen the first time. The Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge and faith and obedience.

And you say, but aren't you quoting from a confession or a creed? Aren't you quoting from a tradition? Aren't you giving to us those things which are apart from the Bible? Well yes, creeds and confessions and those things that we hold dearly are apart from the Bible.

They are separate from the Bible. Recently, I was asked about the new printing of the Reformation Study Bible that Ligonier Ministries is involved in, and they asked, well, during this reprinting, what should we include in the Bible?

Should we include this, that, and the other? Different notes and so forth. And one question came up, well, should we include the confessions and creeds in the back of the Bible? Should we include the Westminster Confession and the catechisms?

What should we include there? I said, don't include any of them. Let people buy a separate book because they shouldn't be, in my opinion, put within the same Bible. I even have a problem with study Bibles, if you will, because I can't hold this up, can I?

And say, this is the Word of God. This is the Word of God, and to some degree, the comments and traditions of men. Now they help us, and the Reformers did well to help us, but I will say, folks, that we need to be so careful that that nice dividing line in our study Bibles between the text and the commentary does not get erased.

And this is a problem, ladies and gentlemen, not only for Baptists. It's a problem for Presbyterians. It's a problem for every group who calls himself a Christian. And why is that? It's because we want to protect certain traditions, because certain traditions are right.

Certain traditions are good. Paul tells the Thessalonians, he says, stand fast and hold firm to those traditions which you have heard, to the epistle and to the Word of God. Listen to those traditions.

There are certain traditions that are good, but understand, it is only the traditions that come from the Word of God that we should remember. It's only the traditions that are part of the pure preaching of the Word of God that we should so dearly covet.

So why do we refer to creeds and confessions and, if you will, these things that are extra-biblical? Because we believe them to be, generally speaking, good and accurate summaries of the Word of God.

A. A. Hodge says very plainly in his book, The Outlines on Theology, he says, the matter of all these creeds and confessions binds the consciences of men. Now listen, it binds the consciences of men only so far as it is purely scriptural.

And because it is so, the form in which a matter is stated, on the other hand, binds only those who have voluntarily subscribed to the confession and because of that subscription. So if we subscribe to a confession or a creed, then we need to stand by that creed, but only and ever insofar as it purely gives to us the Word of God.

I want to think about that one word for a second, that whole concept that Hodge brings to us about as it purely adheres to or purely holds to the Word of God. One of the marks of the church. Is it not the pure preaching of the Word of God?

Most churches today don't even hear about the marks of the church. What are the marks of the church? Calvin said very plainly in his Institutes, he said, wherever we see the Word of God purely preached and heard and the sacraments administered according to Christ's institution there, it is not to be doubted, a church of God exists.

Wherever we hear the Word of God purely preached, he didn't say simply preached, but wherever we hear it preached with purity, wherever we hear the Word of God given to us unabashedly, without shame whatsoever.

Tradition, Hypocrisy, and the Commandments of Men

Turn with me to Mark chapter 7, another passage I want to cover briefly. Jesus is addressing the Pharisees and the scribes and incidentally as we see from Matthew chapter 15, it is the first place, this is the first narrative in the Gospels where Christ calls the Pharisees and the scribes hypocrites.

If we look to this passage, folks, I want us to be thinking about ourselves, our own situations, our own congregations, our own lives. Because conferences like these and conferences like the ones that Ligonier Ministries holds, too often there is a danger with those coming, is that we simply, if you will, preach to the choir.

We simply preach to those who understand and agree with everything that's been said. But if we do not challenge you here, if there is not some sort of admonition with encouragement, then you'll be sitting there scratching your heads, asking yourselves, well, so what, Pastor?

So what, Dr. White? So what? What are we here for? Are we here simply to hear those things that we already agree with and understand and are cheering you on about? No. There's that indeed, but there is also the entire aspect of what we're here to do, to challenge and encourage.

So listen to these chastisements that Jesus gives to the Pharisees and the scribes. Looking at verse 1 of chapter 7, then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to him, having come from Jerusalem.

Now, when they saw some of his disciples, he bred with defile, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees and the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way. Now, holding to the tradition of the elders, holding to this long-held tradition, this Mishnah, well, I was in Iran a couple of years ago.

I met with the Center for Interreligious Studies there in Tehran, had the opportunity to travel to Qom, which is the center of training for all Shiite Muslim clerics. I met hundreds and hundreds of clerics and had tea with the vice president of the parliament in 2004 before the hardline party came to power and the current president, Mahmoud Hamari Nejad, came to power.

I noticed something very interesting as we walked into the mosques and to some of their places of worship there in Tehran and throughout Iran. I noticed that Shiite Muslims wash their hands in a certain way and Sunni Muslims wash their hands in a different way with their arms and hands turned in different directions according to the traditions of their elders.

That's certainly not a part of the Koran anywhere, but to wash their hands and to cleanse themselves with certain rites, and these are the traditions that they hold so dearly. It's interesting that the Pharisees were chastising Jesus and his disciples for much the same thing.

They don't wash their hands unless they do it in a special way, holding to this tradition, to these Mishnah. Verse 4, when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups and pitchers and copper vessels and couches.

That's nice. Verse 5, then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands? Now, I could ask the same question, but in a similar and different way.

I might say to Jesus and to his disciples, why don't they wash their hands before they eat? Don't they know that's disgusting? When we come in from outside, we come in from working, when we come in from petting the dog and so forth, what do we do?

We wash our hands. It's a good thing to do. It's an appropriate thing to do. But that's not legalism. The legalism and the traditions that the Pharisees and the scribes were bringing to Jesus, bringing to Jesus, mind you, and to his disciples, was this whole bit about washing their hands in a special way, because of the tradition of the elders, because of the Mishnah, because of what the elders had said you must do.

He answered and said to them, now in Matthew, we see him call them hypocrites, Matthew 15, Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, this people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me, and in vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.

Therein is the problem. People too often, in too many places, in too many churches, can end up honoring and worshiping God with their lips, paying lip service to the Almighty, without having hearts that are cleansed and right before him.

Why? Because they're too often teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside, verse 8, the commandment of God, laying it aside, you hold to the tradition of men, the washing of pitchers and cups and many other things that you do.

He said to them, all too well you reject the commandment of God, for by adding to it, ladies and gentlemen, they're rejecting it, so that you may keep your tradition. Verse 10, for Moses said, honor your father and your mother, and he who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.

But you say, if a man says to his father or mother, whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban, that is a gift to God. Verse 12, then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition, which you have handed down and many such things you do.

Look at what Jesus says in verse 13 again, making the word of God of no effect by your tradition, through your traditions. How in the world can mere men make the word of God ineffectual by their own traditions?

As if they could do it, if you will, they do it by adding to it, adding to the word of God and thus rejecting the word of God. When we bring first and foremost and fundamentally our own traditions into the pulpit, when you as the people of God simply rest in that and say, well, it's okay because he's a nice fellow.

It's okay because he says a lot of good things. It's okay because from time to time, we do hear the word of God. No, no, no. People often say, well, God said it. I believe it. That settles it. Folks, it has nothing to do with whether or not we believe it.

We need to tell our pastors and pastors need to tell themselves and pastors need to tell other pastors that it's not first and foremost about how you say what you say. And even if your people believe it to some degree, what's fundamental is that you give them the word of God, is that you give them what God indeed did say, for it's only then when indeed they can believe it.

Nevertheless, it remains true. They make the word of God without effect by giving traditions, by giving their own words, by giving their own ways of doing things, their own modes, their own projects and so forth that they're trying to bring the people of God to think on, they make the word of God without effect.

Now, Paul says in Romans chapter three, verse three, don't make the faithfulness of God without effect as if you could Romans chapter nine, verse six. It's not as if the word of God is without effect.

The Word That Does Not Return Void

There's another passage that we're all familiar with, and I'd like you to turn there with me, is Isaiah chapter 55. I could simply quote this one verse that we're all familiar with, but I want us to look at the passage.

Some of us haven't done it for some time, and it's important that we do so. Isaiah chapter 55 verses, we'll simply read verses 11 and 12. As you're turning there, I want to quote Samuel Adams, who is the father of the American Revolution.

He said, and if we now cast our eyes over the nations of the earth, we shall find that instead of possessing the pure religion of the gospel, again, there's that word pure, this pure religion of the gospel.

They may be divided into either infidels who deny the truth or politicians who make a religion of stalking a horse for their ambitions or professors who walk in the trammels of orthodoxy and are more attentive to traditions and ordinances of men than to the oracles of truth.

Ligon Duncan, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Mississippi, speaks of Mark 7, and he says this, he says, it is important to note that Jesus does not critique the Pharisees for being too tied to old-fashioned practices, caring about what the Torah says too much or being too nitpicky about God's law.

He charges them exactly with this, with ignoring God's law and attacking God's law by adding to it. That's what he charges them for, and he'll charge us for the same thing if we are not mindful. Again, Isaiah chapter 55, you're all there now, hopefully, verse 11, we read this prophet saying, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth.