What do you think about someone claiming you can make an idol of God’s Word?
Question:
First, I wanted to thank you for all the information you provide on your website. I came upon your website when I was looking for pictures for a Bible class I was teaching.
Let me say that my husband and I were baptized into Jesus Christ. I was raised Catholic and my husband was raised Lutheran. We were both searching for the truth when we first entered the church of Christ. We were blessed to have found the truth after being taught incorrectly up to that point. For this reason, I thank you for your efforts in spreading the truth to all those who have questions. I have learned more from your website than I was ever told as a Catholic. I do want to say that I found that the information that you have on your website regarding Catholicism has been spot on. (e.g. the worship of Mary.) Those who have argued with you are obviously not searching for the truth. Continue staying faithful in your stand for the truth. God bless you.
Second, I was wondering what you thought of the following statement I heard on the radio: A woman caller said, "We should be careful that our mission doesn't become our idol." She went on to say that her preaching job had relocated her to another state, but her husband refused to relocate his job to another state. She continued with "I should have put my husband before my preaching of the Word." She said that this "idol" had separated her from her husband. My first thought was that God and His Word should be first and foremost in our lives. I also thought that if she was truly following God and His Word she would've not been a preacher (a teacher but not a preacher) and she wouldn't have found herself in the predicament she was in. What are your thoughts?
Answer:
"Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth" (John 17:17).
"Buy the truth, and do not sell it, also wisdom and instruction and understanding" (Proverbs 23:23).
"Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; love her, and she will keep you. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. Exalt her, and she will promote you; she will bring you honor, when you embrace her" (Proverbs 4:5-8).
"Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart" (I Peter 1:21).
The only way a person is saved is through the Word of God. Most understand the necessity of faith to salvation but forget the faith is based on what is learned. "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). God's Word, the Bible, is the teachings of the Creator. We worship God, so it should be obvious that God's teachings are critical to the believer. "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome" (I John 5:3).
The reason this person disparages the Word of God is that it got in the way of what she wanted to do. She placed her family ahead of serving God, but Jesus said, "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life" (Matthew 19:29). We have duties to family but our duties to God come first.
But you are correct that this woman already started off on the wrong foot when she violated God's teachings and called herself a preacher. "And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence" (I Timothy 2:12). Since she already did not have respect for God's teaching, giving herself further reasons to ignore God was not a large step for her.
