Pictured to the left is a copy of a version of the Holy Bible, known as the GOD'S WORD TRANSLATION ( GW ); being entitled: PRAY THE SCRIPTURES BIBLE. Matthew 15:1-20 read as follows:
"1 Then some Pharisees and experts in Moses' Teachings came from Jerusalem to Jesus. They asked, 2 'Why do your disciples break the traditions of our ancestors? They do not wash their hands before they eat.' 3 He answered them, 'Why do you break the commandment of God because of your traditions? 4 For example, God said, '"Honor your father and your mother"' and '"Whoever curses father or mother must be put to death."' 5 But you say that whoever tells his father or mother, '"I have given to God whatever support you might have received from me,"' 6 does not have to honor his father. Because of your traditions you have destroyed the authority of God's word. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 8 '"These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 Their worship of me is pointless, because their teachings are rules made by humans."'' 10 Then he called the crowd and said to them, 'Listen and try to understand! 11 What goes into a person's mouth doesn't make him unclean. It's what comes out of the mouth that makes a person unclean.' 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, 'Do you realize that when the Pharisees heard your statement they were offended?' 13 He answered, 'Any plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. 14 Leave them alone! They are blind leaders. When one blind person leads another, both will fall into the same pit.' 15 Peter said to him, 'Explain this illustration to us.' 16 Jesus said, 'Don't you understand yet? 17 Don't you know that whatever goes into the mouth goes into the stomach and then into a toilet? 18 But whatever goes out of the mouth comes from within, and that's what makes a person unclean. 19 Evil thoughts, murder, adultery, other sexual sins, stealing, lying, and cursing come from within. 20 These are the things that make a person unclean. But eating without washing one's hands doesn't make a person unclean.'"
The phrase "politically correct" is defined as follows: "a pejorative term used to criticize language, actions, or policies seen as being excessively calculated to not offend or disadvantage any particular group of people in society." [ This definition is based on a search within the following website: wikipedia.com. ]
Jesus' answer, in verses thirteen and fourteen ( above ), indicates that He was not concerned with being politically correct. Moreover, there is an Old Testament lesson contained within this New Testament passage. Specifically, Proverbs 26:5 reads as follows: "5 Answer a fool with his own stupidity, or you will be like him."
Jesus answered the Pharisees and experts in Moses' Teachings with their own stupidity here ( see verses three through eleven ). In so doing, He explicitly called them hypocrites, and implicitly called them fools. One lesson, regarding this observation, is that all who honor the heavenly Father with their lips, but not with their heart, and whose teachings are the rules of humans, are considered by Him to be fools and hypocrites.
In short, all those who practice false religion, such as the Baptist false religion, the Methodist false religion, the Episcopal false religion, the Pentecostal Holiness false religion, the Muslim false religion, the Buddhist false religion, and the Hindu false religion, for example, are fools and hypocrites. Jeremiah 10:8 reads as follows: "8 They are complete idiots. They learn nonsense from wooden idols." Thus, the heavenly Father has revealed to us His thoughts ( see Psalm 92:5; 111:2, for example ), here, regarding all those who practice human ( or false ) religion: He calls them complete idiots.
In Exodus 24:7, God's covenant people said, "We will obey and do everything the LORD has said" ( please read verses one through eleven to get the immediate context ). There are four categories of human religion. They are:
1. Doing most of what God has said and a little of what mankind has said.
2. Doing some of what God has said and some of what mankind has said.
3. Doing a little of what God has said and most of what mankind has said.
4. Doing none of what God has said and all of what mankind has said.
If you, the reader, fall into one of these categories, know that the heavenly Father considers you to be a fool, a hypocrite, and a complete idiot.
Please repent ( see Luke 13:3, for example ) and be baptized by immersion in water, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your past sins ( see Acts 2:38; 8:26-40 ( especially verses 36-39 ( KJV, for example ), for example ), Romans 3:21-31 ( especially verse 25, for example ); 6:1-4 ( especially verses 3 and 4, for example ), and Galatians 3:26, 27, for example ). Jesus ( see John 8:28 ) said concerning the Father in verse twenty-nine, ". . . . I always do what pleases him" ( please read both verses to get the immediate context ). See also 1 Corinthians 11:1, for example. Please study the Holy Bible ( which is God's word - see Psalm 119:65-73, 142, 151, John 17:1, 3, 17, and 2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16, 17, for example ).
If you have any questions about the Holy Bible, you can contact me by e-mail at:
<rewillis1_1@juno.com>
<Russell E. Willis>.
