Do you know who the scribes were in New Testament times? They were the equivalent of what we call “theologians” today. Jesus said, “Beware of the scribes.” Today He would say, “Beware of the theologians.” He would also say, “Somebody has it wrong folks!” If one preacher says one thing and the preacher across the street says the opposite, then somebody has it wrong – and maybe both are teaching error. So, take your Lord’s advice and, “Beware!”. Realize that they are not infallible. They can err and err greatly. Those who do not know the Word of God intimately well are ripe for embracing error.
.I have no doubt that some of the scribes of Jesus’ day were honorable men, clean living, faithful husbands and good providers for their family. And, of course, some were unscrupulous, crafty and men of greed and dishonest. I suppose most “preachers” of today are basically honorable men, clean living, faithful husbands and good providers for their family. But, folks, that doesn’t mean they are right in everything they teach and say. A Baptist does not believe and teach what a minister in the Assemblies of God church believes and teaches. A Seventh Day Adventist minister does not believe and teach what a Presbyterian minister believes and teaches. Yet they will all say God “called” them to preach. Did God call one to preach “once saved, always saved” and call another one to preach that you can most certainly lose, or forfeit, your salvation? Did He call one to teach that the seventh day Sabbath is holy time while calling another to teach Sunday is God’s sanctified time for worship and the assembling of His people???
.Beware of the scribes! But in order to discern which scribe one must be wary of, one must himself, or herself, have a good knowledge and understanding of scripture. One must depend upon the enlightening and guiding influence of the Holy Spirit in their minds and thinking. And one must themselves be obedient to God and faithful to Jesus Christ. Fail here and the scribe, i.e., preacher, you follow might well be one of those of whom Jesus was speaking when He said, “Beware of that one!”
.Revelation and obedience are conjoined twins. They cannot be separated. Speaking to His prophet Jeremiah about Israel, God said, “This is the nation that obeys not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receives correction. Truth is perished and cut off from their mouth” (See Jeremiah 7:28). And Daniel the prophet wrote, “As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us, yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God THAT WE MIGHT TURN FROM OUR INIQUITIES AND UNDERSTAND THY TRUTH” (See Daniel 9:13). Continue in your sins and you will but go deeper and deeper into error. That’s a spiritual law as valid as any law of physics.
Christ’s Faithful Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),
Donald Wiley