Isaiah 28:13
“But the word of the Lord was to them,
‘Precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
Line upon line, line upon line,
Here a little, there a little,’
That they might go and fall backward, and be broken
And snared and caught.”
The Word of God is the foundation that a Christian builds their life on. That foundation is built on Christ, the Word made flesh, and is written by the Holy Spirit. The Word is essential to a Christian in order to grow, be strong and healthy. Without it, there is no growth, strength or health. It’s just that simple.
It is not an accident God’s Word is often minimized and even denied within the pale of Christianity. Satan attacks that which works and is effective for the Christian. The Word is front and center in his assaults, knowing that if a Christian stops reading his Bible, he stops growing and becomes vulnerable to all the other attacks he has in his arsenal.
In our text we see the rebuke to those “Men of God” who refuse to teach the Word of God. This “oxymoron” was common in Bible times as it is today. A “true Man of God” will teach the people the “Word of God” without compromise. The Word of God brings rest and refreshing as vs. 12 states, but it also rebukes those who deny it or compromise with it “they fall backward and be broken, snared and caught.”
The way to teach is simply, where the hearer can hear and understand. Then to teach in order, systematically,building truth upon truth, like a child’s building blocks. There is an order to it and a flow where the Word is speaking for itself and not man speaking. The teacher is to present God’s truth and not their own version.
The lesson here is the importance of God’s Word in a believer’s life. To say it’s “foundational” is an understatement. Nothing can really happen for a Christian until they have an appetite for God’s Word. This is often where God begins with the believer. A healthy Christian, like a healthy baby, will crave food.
Be leery of a Pastor or Church fellowship where the Word is not regularly taught. As we see in the text, there has to be a place in the “Body of Christ” where the whole congregation is going systematically through the Word, verse by verse, line by line. This is called expository preaching.
There is a big difference in teaching “from the Word” and “teaching THE Word.” Make sure the Word is being taught and make sure you are prayerfully seeking God and allowing the Holy Spirit to minister and transform your heart. There is just no substitute for God’s Word.