“Let God be true, but every man a liar.” Romans 3:4

Brothers and sisters, grace and peace be multiplied unto you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord!

I come to you today not as a master, but as a fellow pilgrim and one who has walked this road, stumbled upon it, been corrected by it, and been gloriously set free by the very Word I once tried, in my ignorance, to bend. My heart burns within me as I write these words, for I carry a burden from the Lord: that we, the beloved people of God, would lay down our own ideas at the threshold of His Word and let the Scriptures be what they truly are the very oracles of the living God.

The apostle Paul, standing before the unbelief of men, made one of the boldest declarations in all of holy writ: “God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4). Oh, that this would become the anthem of our hearts! Let God be true and every voice that contradicts Him, including our own, be counted a liar.

I. The Word Is Not Ours to Remake

Hear me. Before we speak of anything else, we must settle this one foundation deep within our souls: the Bible did not come from us, and therefore it does not answer to us.

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:16–17

The Word was given; it was not invented. It came down; it did not rise up from the fountains of human thought. And what is given by God is owned by God. We are not editors of Scripture; we are its servants. We do not stand over the Word as judges; we fall under it as defendants.

Oh, how subtle the enemy is in this hour! He has not changed his tactic since the dawn of creation. What did he whisper in the garden? “Yea, hath God said…?” (Genesis 3:1). And when Eve added to the Word and softened the command, the serpent pressed further: “Ye shall not surely die.” The very first temptation recorded in holy writ was an invitation to reinterpret what God had plainly spoken. The fall of man began with a woman and a serpent sitting in judgment on the Word of God.

And that same serpent whispers today: “That verse doesn’t really mean what it says. Surely it means something else. Surely it means what you want it to mean.” And if we are not watchful, we will take the fruit of our own imagination and call it the bread of heaven.

“Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” Proverbs 30:5–6

Do you see the severity, dear saints? To add to the Word to pad it, to bend it, to reshape it with our preferences is to be found a liar before the God who cannot lie. And to take away from it is no less dangerous:

“If any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life.” Revelation 22:19

This is not a game. This is not a matter of opinions to be tossed about like toys. This is the Word of the living God, and He has jealously guarded its honor.

II. The Peril of Private Interpretation

The apostle Peter, moved by the Holy Ghost, gives us a warning we must carry with us every time we open the sacred page:

“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” 2 Peter 1:20–21

“Knowing this first” before anything else, before doctrine, before debate, before we ever open our mouths to say “thus saith the Lord,” know this. The Scripture did not originate in man, and it cannot be unlocked by man alone. It was authored by the Spirit, and only the Spirit can unveil it.

This is why so many read the Bible and see only a mirror. They do not see God; they see their own reflection. They find in the text whatever they carried into it their politics, their grievances, their ambitions, their fears. The Word becomes a wax nose to be twisted any way they please. But hear me: a mirror shows you yourself, but a window shows you heaven. Let the Word be a window!

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8–9

If God’s thoughts are higher than ours, then we must climb up to His Word the Word will not stoop to be conformed to our smallness. We do not drag Scripture down to our level; the Scripture lifts us up to His.

The Example of Uzzah

Remember Uzzah, dear friends (2 Samuel 6:6–7). The ark of God was stumbling on the cart, and Uzzah reached out his hand to steady it a natural, reasonable, even compassionate act. And God struck him down. Why? Because God had commanded that the ark be carried upon the shoulders of the Levites, not hauled on a cart. Uzzah’s good intentions could not sanctify a disobedient method.

So, it is with the Word of God: our sincerity cannot sanctify our mishandling of it. We cannot steady the ark with the hands of human reasoning. The Word carries us; we do not carry it.

III. The Enemy Within

Emotions, Flesh, and the Opinions of Men

Now let me speak gently but honestly, for I love your souls, and I have walked this minefield myself.

A. Do Not Let Your Emotions Interpret the Word

How often have we come to a verse that pierced us, that pressed upon the heart like a physician’s healing hand, and instead of surrendering, we recoiled and said, “I believe this means something else.” Oh, what a tragedy! We trade the scalpel of the Spirit for the bandage of self-comfort. We take the bitter herb that would heal us and pour sugar over it until it can do nothing at all.

Consider David. When Nathan the prophet told him the story of the little ewe lamb, David burned with righteous anger “The man that hath done this thing shall surely die!” and then came the thunder: “Thou art the man” (2 Samuel 12:5–7). David’s emotion was ready to judge another man; the Word came to judge him. Thank God, David did not argue with the Word. He fell before it: “I have sinned against the LORD.” And God, who is rich in mercy, declared through Nathan, “The LORD also hath put away thy sin.” Oh, what grace meets the heart that surrenders to Scripture rather than reshaping it!

Hear this and mark it well: for the believer, conviction is not condemnation.

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1

Condemnation is the voice of the accuser that drives you away from God in shame. Conviction is the voice of the Comforter that draws you to His side in hope. Condemnation says, “Flee!” Conviction says, “Come.” When the Word cuts you, it is not to kill you it is to heal you.

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

Do not run from the sword. The Surgeon wounds only to save. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend” (Proverbs 27:6) and what truer friend do you have than the Word that tells you the truth about yourself?

B. Do Not Let Your Flesh Interpret the Word

The flesh is a cunning interpreter. It reads the Bible the way a thief reads a law book looking for loopholes.

“Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Romans 8:7

The carnal mind is not neutral toward the Word it is at war with it. And yet how many of us come to Scripture in the strength of the flesh, expecting the flesh to understand the things of the Spirit? Paul declares it cannot be:

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:14

And here is a great mercy: God never asked you to understand His Word with your natural mind alone. He has given you a Teacher! The Lord Jesus promised:

“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth… and he will shew you things to come.” John 16:13

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26

And hear the prayer of Paul for the saints:

“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened.” Ephesians 1:17–18

Do you see it? Understanding comes from enlightened eyes, not from clever arguments. The psalmist prayed, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law” (Psalm 119:18). Pray that prayer every time you open the Book! Ask the Author to sit with you and explain His own letter. He has not left us as orphans He dwells within us, and He delights to teach the humble.

“Who is wise? Let him understand these things: prudent? Let him know them? For the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them.” Hosea 14:9

And what does Scripture itself say unlocks this wisdom?

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10

Not cleverness. Not credentials. The fear of the LORD. Reverence is the door to revelation.

C. Do Not Let the Opinions of Others Interpret the Word

Oh, we live in an age of a thousand voices. Every screen, every pulpit, every feed is full of men and women telling us what the Bible says. Some speak truth; many do not. And even the true teacher must be tested!

“Believe not every spirit but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1

The Lord Jesus warned us plainly:

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” Matthew 7:15

And Paul wept as he warned the Ephesian elders:

“For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also, of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” Acts 20:29–30

“To draw away disciples after them” not after Christ, but after them. Do you see the danger? There are teachers who will tell your flesh what it wants to hear, who will tickle your ears with a gospel of comfort without a cross:

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” 2 Timothy 4:3–4

And hear the word of the Lord through Jeremiah, which speaks as loudly today as it did then:

“Thus, saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.” Jeremiah 23:16

A vision of their own heart and not out of the mouth of the LORD! How many today are feeding on the visions of men’s hearts while the true bread of the Word sits untouched on the shelf?

“How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” Psalm 119:103

But you will never know that sweetness if you live on the secondhand food of other people’s opinions. There is a place for teachers, yes God gives pastors and teachers to the church (Ephesians 4:11) but the Bereans show us the order: receive the teaching, then search the Scriptures to see if it is so!

IV. Be a Berean: The Noble Way

“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Acts 17:11

Catch the beauty of this! The Bereans sat under the preaching of the apostle Paul himself an apostle who had been caught up into the third heaven! still they searched the Scriptures daily to verify his words. And Luke, writing by inspiration, does not scold them. He commends them. He calls them noble.

Oh, that God would raise up a generation of noble believers! Not suspicious hearts that reject everything, but hungry hearts that test everything. Not gullible sheep led about by every wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:14), but discerning saints who hold every sermon, every book, every broadcast up to the light of the Word and say, “Let me see if this is so.”

Notice their method:

They received the Word with readiness humility, not hostility.

They searched the Scriptures diligence, not laziness.

They did it daily consistency, not convenience.

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15

“Rightly dividing” oh, how the Word of God deserves to be handled with skill and reverence! A workman who carelessly hacks at the Word will one day be ashamed. But the one who labors, who digs, who compares Scripture with Scripture, who considers context and covenant and the whole counsel of God that one stands approved before God.

“Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.” Isaiah 28:9–10

Line upon line! Precept upon precept! The Word interprets the Word. Scripture is its own best interpreter when handled prayerfully and honestly. If a text seems dark, let another text shine upon it. If a doctrine seems strange, let the whole counsel of God weigh it. And above all, pray. Ask the Author!

V. The Blessing of the Man Who Hides the Word Honestly

Consider the very first Psalm, and see the portrait of the blessed believer:

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” Psalm 1:1–2

He does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly he does not let the world interpret the Word for him! His delight is in the law of the LORD in the Word itself, not in what men say about it. And the result? “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”

And hear the psalmist’s testimony throughout Psalm 119, the great love song to the Word of God:

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Psalm 119:11

“Therefore, I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.” Psalm 119:127

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105

“Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth forever.” Psalm 119:160

Oh, this is the heart God blesses the heart that treasures the Word as it is, and hides it whole, and obeys it fully!

“But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” James 1:25

Mark this also, dear ones: the goal is not merely to know the Word but to do it.

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” James 1:22

Did you catch that? It is possible to be deceived to twist the Word not with your doctrine but with your disobedience! The one who hears and does not do begins to reinterpret the Word to excuse his life. But the doer of the Word has no need to twist it, for the Word is working in him.

And the Lord Jesus Himself said:

“If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God.” John 7:17

Do you see it? Obedience is the key to understanding. Surrender unlocks illumination. The obedient heart does not need to wonder whether the Word is true it knows, because it has lived it.

VI. Hold Fast the Form of Sound Words

Dear saints, in these last days, hold fast what you have received!

“Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.” 2 Timothy 1:13–14

“Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.” 2 Thessalonians 2:15

“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” Matthew 24:35

Everything else is shifting sand. The opinions of men rise and fall like the tide. The culture changes its mind every season. But “the word of the LORD endureth forever” (1 Peter 1:25). Build your house on it, dear one the rock of hearing and doing the sayings of Christ (Matthew 7:24–25) and when the rains descend and the floods come, you will stand.

VII. A Loving Invitation

So today, with all the love of Christ burning in my heart for you, I invite you:

Lay it all down at the feet of Jesus.

Lay down your preconceptions. Lay down your denominational loyalties and your favorite teachers. Lay down the interpretations you inherited without ever examining. Lay down the verses you’ve made peace treaties with instead of surrendering to. Lay down your wounds, your weariness, your bitterness, your fears all the lenses through which you’ve been reading God’s Word without knowing it.

Come to the Word not to confirm what you already believe, but to be changed by what God believes. Come not to find verses that agree with you, but to agree with the verses. Come not to use the Scripture; come to be used by it. Come not to make the Word fit your life, but to make your life fit the Word.

Come with humility. Come with hunger. Come with a heart that says, “Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth” (1 Samuel 3:9–10).

And I promise you, on the testimony of God’s own Word: when the Holy Spirit becomes your Teacher, the Bible comes alive! It becomes milk for the newborn (1 Peter 2:2), meat for the maturing (Hebrews 5:14), honey for the weary (Psalm 19:10), a hammer that breaks the stony heart (Jeremiah 23:29), a fire shut up in your bones (Jeremiah 20:9), and a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path (Psalm 119:105). In His light, you shall see light (Psalm 36:9)!

“For the word of God is living and powerful…” Hebrews 4:12

“The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” Psalm 119:130

“Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.” Psalm 119:165

Nothing shall offend them! Oh, when you love the Word more than your own ideas, no verse will ever offend you again no matter how deeply it cuts, no matter how thoroughly it overturns you. You will say with Peter, “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).

Let God be true, and every contrary voice including your own be counted a liar.

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He make His face to shine upon you as you search the Scriptures like the noble Bereans. May the Spirit of wisdom and revelation open the eyes of your understanding more and more, until the day you see Him face to face, and every mystery is made plain.

In the matchless name of Jesus, Amen and Amen!

“Forever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.” Psalm 119:89