Which Interpretation is Right?

Not long ago I saw a “meme” on Facebook that read: “If everyone can interpret Scripture independently, who finally decides which interpretation is correct? (St. Thomas Moore).” That meme generates this article.

Who is St. Thomas Moore? A man who lived in the 15-16th century, and died as a martyr within the structure of the Catholic Church religious hierarchy.  There is an institution with this name in proximity to Ohio State University, “a Catholic campus serving the students at Ohio State.”

Did Thomas Moore actually say this? Perhaps, but whether he did or not, the Catholic Church would certainly accept the framing of the sentiment in the form of a question, with the unstated answer that no one can know which interpretation is true; thus, it is best to rely of the Catholic Church to give clarity to such an issue.

The Catholic Church subscribes to three sources of authority (Scripture, Tradition, and  Magisterium: the teaching authority of the Church); which authority source warrants this thinking? It is not Scripture, so it must be one of the other two. Yet, Scripture does not recognize two of the three sources of authority that Catholic Church makes use of. The only source of authority Christians accept (or should accept) is Jesus and Him crucified (1 Cor. 3.11), and His revealed will through those whom He chose (cf. John 16:13). This means that when another source of authority presumes to speak in the name of God, it is paramount for Christians to utilize the example of the Bereans, searching the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:11).

From Scripture we learn nothing about a “Catholic Church,” neither do we learn (read) anything pertaining the positions known as Pope (Bishop of Rome and successor of Peter), cardinal (bishops, but close collaborators to the Pope), archbishop /bishop (successors to the apostles), or priests (over a parish). For Christians, Scripture is our only source of authority.

To make the point further, notice:

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world (1 John 4:1).

But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema (Galatians 1:8).

Since there is no divine approval (or acceptance) for these positions in Scripture, from where do these positions come? Not from the Lord, but only from man. The Magisterium and Tradition are the words of man, not God.

It was Jeremiah who wrote, O Jehovah, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps (Jeremiah 10:23).

The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly corrupt: who can know it (Jeremiah 17:9)?

Why do people think the wisdom of man is greater than the revealed Word of God? Because man regards himself as sincere and determined he won’t lie in the name of the Lord. He may not lie (intentional), but he frequently is wrong.

How do we know which interpretation is right? “let us reason” together, “testing the spirits” to see if they have come from God or not. In this process, more is easily determined than you might think. In the end, only God is in the absolute position of determining which interpretation is correct. 

Ron Thomas 

“Putting In Your Cents Worth”

I read an article about Mike Haynes. Mike was a freshman at the University of Illinois in 1987. He found a rather unique way to fund his education. He convinced a columnist for the Chicago Tribune to ask his readers to “send a penny for Mike.” “Just one penny,” Hayes said. “That’s all I’m asking. A penny from each of your readers.”

In less than month the fund was up to 2.8 million cents. Donations came to the fund from all over the US, as well as Mexico, Canada, and the Bahamas. Mike eventually ended up with $28,000.

What about all of the Christians reading this article? If you just did a little more for the church where you attend, what great things could be accomplished! If you have been lax in your attendance, please make it a priority to go next Sunday or Wednesday. This encourages everyone. If all you can do for the church is attend services, you are contributing something. There are others, however, that only attend; but can do more.

The writer of the book of Ephesians, Paul, indicates that the church grows when “every part does its share” (Eph. 4:16). If you have talents, the church can use them. Every part of the church is important. Paul reminds the church at Corinth that “You are the body of Christ and members individually” (1 Cor. 12:27). Everybody in the church is important.

If you served in the church in some capacity in the past, but have stopped, why not pick it back up again. God wants us working, active, and prepared when judgment comes. The church needs everyone.

Let’s try to “rev” up just a bit how we serve. If you can teach, you should teach (Heb. 5:12). Men, if you can pray publicly, why not help in this area? If you haven’t visited anyone in a while, do it soon. If you can write your name on a card, make a phone call, give someone a ride, talk to someone you know, there is something you can do. We are all required to do what we can as long as we can, if we want to be pleasing to God.

Let us ALL give the church our cents worth. Like Mike Hayes, we might be surprised with the outcome.

Bill Brandstatter

 

That Settles It!

I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying or read the bumper sticker that declares, “God Said It, I Believe It, and That Settles It!” In actuality, this concept was recorded in Scripture 1,000 years before Jesus was born – except it is given in a different (and more correct) order.

In Ecclesiastes 3:14 we can read, “I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.” Notice that the writer of Ecclesiastes first declared that God did it. This would include dispensing His will to mankind. Thus “God Said It.”

Next, the Preacher reminds us that whatever God does is enduring and that there is nothing we can do to change it. Thus: “That Settles It.”

And finally, what should be the result is expressed: so that people would believe in and respect and honor God. Thus: “I Believe It.”

That should be good enough for us, also. If God said it and does it, then that settles it, and I’d better believe it and act upon it!

Edd Sterchi

A Lying Tongue: Why Truth Matters to God

Proverbs 6:16–19 identifies seven things the Lord hates. Remarkably, two involve dishonesty: “a lying tongue” and “a false witness who speaks lies.” That repetition should get our attention. Lying may appear small to people, but God treats it as a serious matter.

Lying is more than speaking words we know are false. It includes deliberately creating a false impression through silence, gestures, exaggeration, or deception. The biblical idea carries the sense of breaking faith. Once trust is broken, it can be painfully difficult to rebuild. Dishonesty can also deceive the liar, making honest self-examination harder (James 1:22; 1 John 1:8).

People lie to avoid consequences, improve their reputation, spare someone’s feelings, appear polite, or cover an earlier lie. Peter denied knowing Jesus because he feared what might happen to him. Abraham also spoke deceptively out of fear (Genesis 12:13). Whatever the motive, one lie often demands another. Truth, however, needs no complicated defense or carefully maintained story.

Dishonesty damages relationships, weakens character, and can become habitual. James compares the tongue to a small fire capable of setting a great forest ablaze (James 3:5–6). Scripture repeatedly connects lies with destruction: false witnesses face judgment (Proverbs 19:5, 9), deceptive teachers bring ruin upon themselves (2 Peter 2:1), and Revelation 21:8 warns of lying’s eternal consequences. Society sometimes excuses dishonesty when circumstances seem difficult. Yet Scripture never praises lying. Rahab is commended for welcoming the spies and sending them away safely—not for her false statements (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25). Jesus showed that silence can be wiser than answering a wrongful demand (Matthew 26:59–63). We are not required to reveal every fact to every questioner, but whatever we do say should be true.

God cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18), and His children are called to reflect His character. Jesus said, “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’” (Matthew 5:37). There is never a right time to do a wrong thing. Let us speak truth with others, with ourselves, and before God. A lying tongue is a serious matter to Him; therefore, it must be serious to us.

Dale J. Babinsky

Jesus in the Tomb

In Matthew 12:39-40, Scripture reads: But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet: for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (ASV).

Was Jesus three days and three nights in the tomb? If that is so, then what some are saying about a Friday crucifixion is wrong because that is only two nights, one full day, and two partial days. So, what are we to understand?

To complicate this, notice the words of biblical scholar Leon Morris: “As we count time, three days and three nights points inexorably to three periods of twenty-four hours each” (Matthew, p. 325). Thus, if we press the matter of three days/nights use in Matthew 12, it would be the fourth day in which Jesus had risen from the dead; three full days and three full nights equals seventy-two hours, meaning that at the moment the resurrection occurred after the three full days/night it would be the fourth day. Since Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day, the expression in Matthew 12 needs explanation.

The timeline in the Gospel accounts has Jesus, clearly, given over to the Romans for a crucifying death on the sixth day (our Friday). In Luke 23, Jesus was on the Cross and taken down from the Cross, placed in the tomb on the day of preparation before the sabbath (23:54). The ESV reads: “It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning.”

Here is what we know (working backwards): Jesus was resurrected early on the first day of the week. Jesus was in the tomb during the whole of the seventh day. According to Luke, on the sixth day, He was arrested in the Garden, suffered through sham trails, nailed to the cross at the noon hour (the sixth day three-quarters over), taken down, and placed in the tomb on the day of Preparation (also called a “high-day” this particular year, meaning "…this was the day of preparation for the Sabbath and the Passover” (NET study note on John 19:31)).

Thus, it was on the sixth day (Friday) our Lord was crucified and lain to rest in the tomb, sealed with a very heavy boulder / rock.

So, what about the expression in Matthew 12? If the information from AI’s Copilot is of any authority, the expression is a Hebrew idiom. “In Hebrew usage, ‘three days and three nights’ is an idiomatic way of saying a period that ends on the third day, not a literal 72‑hour span. Any part of a day counts as a full day” (9/2/26).

An “idiom” is defined as an expression that is not intended to be interpreted literally. Let me offer an Illustration of an idiom in our language: “Did you see the game Friday night? It was a bloodbath, beaten 55-0.” A “bloodbath”? An expression that means a beatdown, a lopsided win on the victor’s side.

The biblical record, chronologically, is clear, and the idiom gives explanation to why Jesus made use of the expression.

Ron Thomas

The Spirit of God leaves the Temple

Ezekiel 10:18; 11:23

There’s a particular kind of silence that happens when someone you love pulls away from you a little at a time. No slammed door, no final argument. Just a slow, quiet distance that you almost don’t notice until one day you realize they’re gone.

That’s the picture Ezekiel gives us in chapter 10. Israel had turned from God to idols, until God finally refused to keep dwelling in their presence. And the way he left was almost unbearable to read. “Then the glory of the LORD went out from the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim” (Ezekiel 10:18, ESV). From there, the glory moved from the Holy of Holies, out of the temple, out of the city, and settled on the Mount of Olives (Ezekiel 11:23). One slow step at a time, God’s presence withdrew from the people he had chosen. And no one noticed. No one cared enough to stop it.

We don’t bow down to carved idols, so it’s easy to assume this story isn’t about us. But most of us have quietly turned our trust and confidence toward something other than God without ever calling it idolatry. It rarely happens all at once. It happens the way it happened to Israel, one small compromise at a time, until we’re leaning on our own reasoning, our own comfort, our own plans, and calling it wisdom.

That’s the real warning in this passage. When we place our trust somewhere besides God, it always moves us further from him, whether we feel it happening or not. Scripture is blunt about this. “Do not love the world or the things in the world” (1 John 2:15). “Friendship with the world is enmity with God” (James 4:4). “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2). These aren’t threats. They’re warnings from someone who wants to be trusted, not replaced.

Here’s what’s most sobering about Ezekiel’s vision. It’s possible for our lives to be far from God, and for us to still think everything is fine. Israel didn’t grieve their loss until it was too late to do anything about it.

Jesus said plainly that no one can serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). We can’t build our lives around what we want and still expect God to show up on our terms whenever we need him. He is not our slave, and he does not serve us. He alone is meant to be Lord of our lives.

If it feels quiet in your prayer life lately, that’s worth paying attention to before it becomes normal. God hasn’t moved. But it’s worth asking, honestly, whether we have. The glory of the Lord left slowly and no one stopped it. We don’t have to let that happen to us.

Jeff Arnette 

(Central Haywood Church of Christ)

I Follow Jesus, but Not Organized Religion

The Cry of the Religiously Self-Absorbed

When I was younger, the sentiment was more often worded as something like, “I need Jesus but not the church.” A previous generation heard “the Man but not the plan.” In our era, the wording of the sentiment is typically longer, but the reasoning is the same. Now, in some form or fashion, people feel like they need to make sure they say they love or follow Jesus, but they don’t want anything to do with “organized” religion. Tragically, what they don’t see is that this is the cry of those who want to be religious while, simultaneously, remaining self-absorbed. That may sound harsh, but the words and actions of those who use this type of language give away the game.

You Can’t Separate Them

Jesus stated, “I will build My church” (Matthew 16:18). Paul stated clearly that the church was bought by the precious blood of Jesus (Acts 20:28). Some will push back and say that these verses are talking about the church in some generic fashion, but not “organized religion.” To say such, though, is to avoid a simple step of logic. If Jesus built and bought the church and, thus, it belongs to Him, then what He states about the church is what goes. So, when you read the New Testament, what do you find? An organized church. You find congregations (all you have to do is read the letters to be reminded of that). You find elders overseeing those congregations. You find deacons faithfully serving those congregations. (Take a few moments to read Philippians 1:1 and also Titus 1:5).

And you find those congregations seeking to do their best to follow the organized teachings laid down by Jesus’s chosen penmen. It is impossible to separate Jesus from organized religion, because He put organization in place for the church of which He is the Head.

It Avoids the “One Anothers”

This year at Central, Noah and I are preaching a few of the “one another” passages of the New Testament. We’ve chosen 12 and we’re preaching one each month, but there are more than the dozen we are speaking on. The concept of the church being united and the wording of the phrase “one another” necessarily implies an organized religion. After all, if I don’t know who is part of “one another,” how can I obey the commands connected with that terminology. Certainly, some of them are to be done for all people. We are to love one another, but are also to love even our enemies. We are to be encouragers of all people. And so on.

But, just to take one example, to “stir up one another to love and good works” is couched in a section of Scripture that demands that Christians gather in assembly to worship God (Hebrews 10:24-25). That is a “one another” that requires organization, so that I know the ones with whom I am to assemble. (Which, to go further, then requires following the Jesus-given organized way of following what to do once we have assembled. cf. John 4:24)

It’s about “My” Faith

Just read or listen to those who talk about not wanting organized religion. While they so often scatter in a few Bible verses and a lot of spiritual-sounding phraseology, just keep letting them talk. Eventually, the underlying truth will be exposed. They will begin to talk about “me and God” (which, remarkably, is nearly always how it is worded…with “me” first). They will regularly speak of “my” faith or “my” journey. Submission to elders? Not a chance; at least, not if the elders try to lovingly point out something from Scripture that needs to change in their life. Defending controversial subjects? No way. That’s too harsh and unloving and, here it comes, we shouldn’t judge. But learning “my” truth? Or doing things in a way that makes “me” comfortable? Oh, of course. “Me and God got this.” It is religious self-absorption. I am going to do what I am going to do and then claim that “the church” was holding me back.

Conclusion

I know the context is talking about money, but the principle Jesus laid down in Matthew 6:24 is universally true: “No one can serve two masters.” The mindset behind “I follow Jesus but not organized religion” is simply a spiritual-sounding way to try to void Jesus’s words. I’ll follow Jesus…until His teachings start dealing with organized religion. Then I’ll do what I want. In other words, I get to play my own god. That’s why this sentiment is for those who are religiously self-absorbed. Follow Jesus. And be grateful He has given you an organized family in which to follow Him. That requires submission and humility, but God has always required such.

Adam Faughn