In The Error of the Sadducees and Pharisees, it was noted that the Pharisees’ mistake was adding to the Bible and then esteeming their additions as more important.
Jesus notes that they break God’s commands in order to keep their own, man-made traditions (that is, the religious rules they added to the Bible). He then gives an example and quotes Isaiah, deeming it as worthless worship.
While most God-loving people would shutter at the thought of doing this, their actions often belie their intentions.
Consider being fixated on what a certain scholar says about the Bible and knowing his or her work better than the Bible or jumping on the bandwagon of the latest “hot” author, pouring over his or her writings with great fervor, while relegating the Bible to second-class status.
Studying scholars and writers who point us to God can be a positive and helpful thing, which should not be dismissed. However, giving them undo importance, or diminishing God and what the Bible says about him in the process, is never good.
It is the error of the Pharisees.
[See Matthew 15:3-9, Mark 7:5-13, and Isaiah 29:13.]
A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.
