[Decrees]
The unbelieving mind cannot bear to hear of the sovereignty and predestination of God without instantly being upset and without audaciously attempting to call God to an account for His eternal decrees, or without accusing God with injustice, having sought to measure Him by the yard stick of their own observation, experience and reason. (361)
It is certainly permissible to bring any questions we have about the Bible’s teaching on the decrees of God to the Bible to have it answer and explain them, but they must be questions that arise in a humble, believing, submissive and teachable mind. Questions regarding God’s sovereignty that are hostile or quarrelsome are transgressions of the Third Commandment. (362-363)
[Providence]
Murmuring against, quarreling at or discontentment with God’s providential dealings with us is also a taking of God’s name in vain. (363)
We will always murmur against and quarrel with God’s providence, whenever we judge God by the standard of our experience and when we think that God is answerable to us to explain the why’s and wherefore’s of His providential ways with us. It is the other way around, we are accountable to Him. Furthermore, there is never any basis for our murmuring, for God never, never acts out of character, He never treats His creation unkindly or unjustly—“Far be it from God to do wickedness, and from the Almighty to do wrong” (Job 34:10). (363-364)
God makes this point in Deuteronomy 29:29: “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.” God commands us to do three things in this verse. First, we are forbidden to allow our curiosity to lead us to pry into the secret
counsels of God concerning what He has decreed to do, but which things He has not revealed, so that we can have “inside information” so as to know and control the future apart from the Word of God. Second, we are directed diligently to make full inquiry into what God has revealed to us in His Word, because all that is revealed
there is for our benefit and guidance....Third, we are also to acquaint fully our children with the things God has revealed in His Word that they, with us, might observe His Law and believe His promises with all our heart. (364-365)
In Romans 3:1–8, Paul is vindicating the character and decrees of God from the complaints and accusations of unbelieving man, who deliberately tries to misapply God’s decrees and providence so as to make God look foolish to justify his own unbelief and to evade the true implications of that character and those decrees. Here we can see the difference between the believer and the unbeliever: a believer always justifies God and accuses self, but an unbeliever always accuses God and justifies self. (365-366)
Any misapplication and misinterpretation of God’s decrees that would make those who live in sin immune from divine punishment is a taking of God’s name in vain. God is faithful to His promises, but He never promised to forgive those who refuse to repent and believe in Jesus. (367)
Furthermore, any doctrine of men that excuses sin, removes its odiousness, alleviates its guilt, compromises the need for repentance of it, and condemns the need for continuing conviction and confession of it is of Satan and is to be despised. (367)
Interpreting the Bible is exhilarating and humbling at the same time. It is also dangerous. Interpreting the Bible in any way, ignorantly or deliberately, that denies the true meaning of God’s Name—i.e., of the Biblical revelation of the character, will and ways of God—is a transgression of the Third Commandment. It is for this reason that the Bible warns: “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment” (James 3:1) and exhorts us to: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15; emphasis added). “The man who handles the word of the truth properly does not
change, pervert, mutilate, or distort it, neither does he use it with a wrong purpose in mind. On the contrary, he prayerfully interprets Scripture in the light of Scripture.”162
All believers are privileged, commanded and enabled by the Spirit to study and interpret the Bible for themselves (Josh. 1:8; Ps. 1:2, 3)...
However, believers do not have the right to interpret the Bible any way they see fit, and any ignorance of Biblical principles of interpreting the Bible, which ignorance leads to misinterpretations of the Bible, is of no excuse before God for distorting His Word.
162. William Hendriksen, Exposition of the Pastoral Epistles (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, [1955] 1979), 263. (369)
The only infallible interpreter of the Bible is the Bible.
Each text of the Bible has one true meaning and not a variety of possible meanings.
The less clear texts of the Bible are to be interpreted by the more clear and not vice versa. (372)
Not only is misinterpreting the Bible a taking of God’s name in vain, so is misapplying the Word or any part of it. Correct interpretation leads to practical application; believing the truth leads to doing the truth. Therefore, misinterpretation leads to misapplication; but, furthermore, a misapplication is sometimes drawn from a correct interpretation. (372)
What is wisdom? It is insight into the true nature of God, life and the world that comes from diligent study of the Word of God, plus the practical skill in applying those insights to everyday situations and decisions. (373)
It should be obvious that deliberately perverting the Word or any part of it, twisting and distorting it to suit our purposes or to represent our viewpoint is a great evil. If anything takes the Lord’s name in vain it is this. (378)
"[W]e must not read the Bible just to conform our own ideas and support our own theories…this is what Peter has in mind, and this is what Paul has in mind when he corrects this tendency—the danger of coming to the Scriptures with your own ideas and theories.…That is one way of wresting the Scriptures to your own destruction. " 171. D. M. Lloyd-Jones, Expository Sermons on 2 Peter (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1983), 215–16. (379)
Immorality, impurity and greed, along with everything that leads to these sins, are to be avoided by God’s “beloved children” (5:1–2), and not only avoided, but not even made the topic of conversation, for it is inconsistent with the character of “saints,” i.e., people called out of the world and consecrated to God. “Filthiness” is obscenity and whatever excites moral disgust, the opposite of what is good, beautiful and wholesome, whatever is disgusting in word and conduct....“Silly talk” is the frivolous and senseless talk of fools or drunkards who despise wisdom (Prov. 1:7). “Coarse jesting” (profane jesting) is difficult to translate. It means literally “that which turns easily” and in its early usage means “urbanity” and “politeness.”...Paul is warning us of talk that moves easily and comfortably into the mire of unbecoming expressions. This can happen in people who have a “garbage mind,” that turn every topic of conversation into some off-color, coarse joke or story. Thus, the word came to mean in Paul “coarse jesting,” wittiness in telling coarse jokes and stories. (381-382)
“Foolish talking and jesting are not the ways in which Christian cheerfulness should express itself, but rather giving of thanks. [The Christian] [r]eligion is the source of joy and gladness, but its joy is expressed in a [Christian] way, in thanksgiving and praise.”180 This is the reason that such “coarse jesting” is a transgression of the
Third Commandment, a taking of God’s name in vain. If we move easily, continually and naturally into coarse and profane talk, we are not able or desirous to give praise, honor and thanksgiving to that Name which is above every name. 180. Charles Hodge, Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., n.d.), 284. (383)
What exactly were these individual who yearned to be known as expert teachers of the Bible doing?
(1) They were “teaching strange doctrines, different” than the Spirit-inspired apostolic teaching. These “different doctrines” were a “different gospel,” which is not really another gospel, but a distortion of the one gospel (Gal. 1:6). Such teaching of different doctrines, then, comes under the strong anathema of Paul in Galatians 1:8–9.
(2) They were preoccupied with “myths and endless genealogies,” i.e., man-made supplements to the Law of God, such as rabbinical traditions, myths, fables (2 Tim. 4:4; 1 Tim. 4:7), and old wives’ tales that were Jewish (legalistic and racist) in
character (Titus 1:14). ....
(3) They were “turn[ing] aside to fruitless discussion,” because they had “stray[ed] from” apostolic doctrine (1:6). They had deviated not only from apostolic doctrine but from the goals of that doctrine—love, a pure heart, a good conscience and sincere faith (1:7).
(388-389)
Having encouraged Titus to preach with confidence the Spirit produced, apostolic gospel of Christ so that those who have believed God may be careful to engage in good deeds (Titus 3:8), Paul warns him to “avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law, for they are unprofitable and worthless” (3:9). Irrelevant investigations into genealogical lore—Jewish legends
and rabbinical traditions, unedifying skirmishes about the Law, unnecessary scholastic arguments and wrangling are all to be avoided simply because they are all of no value whatever. It should be noted that all these things Paul warns Titus to shun are doctrines, teachings, viewpoints, principles, regulations and insights that originate with human reason, experience and observation rather than with the Word of God. (390)
The maintaining or advocating of false doctrines, i.e., teaching that “does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ,” that is not faithful to the divinely-revealed truths of the Bible, is much more than false, it is taking God’s name in vain, it leads away from Christ and godliness, and it is destructive to a person’s spiritual state and to the state of human society. ....
First, the doctrine is “different,” not that it is a different but equally true way of understanding God, but because it is a distortion of the one and only way of understanding God as revealed in the Bible’s gospel (Gal. 1:6f).
Second, this doctrine does not “agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Sound, unimpaired, uninfected and healthy words that promote life, knowledge and godliness are found only in the mouth of the Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, who speaks His words directly and inerrantly through His prophets and apostles in the Bible, and through His ministers of the gospel who
faithfully preach that written Word (Rom. 10:14). .....
Third, this doctrine is not in agreement “with the doctrine conforming to godliness.” .....
Fourth, the person who maintains or advocates these false doctrines “is conceited and understands nothing.” Morally and spiritually he is blinded by conceit, his vision is clouded, he walks and thinks in darkness, and he is “full of smoke.” His false presuppositions and doctrines prevent him from knowing anything true about
God and life. .....
Fifth, the advocator of false doctrines “has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words.”...They waste their time and energy seeking to satisfy their curiosity in answering questions the Bible leaves unanswered, or in answering questions from the perspective of human reason and observation unaided by revelation or in replacing the answers of the Word of God with those of human, man-made tradition. ....
Sixth, from such morbid interests “arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction.” The phrase, “abusive language,” refers to defiant irreverence toward God in our language and behavior, insults directed to God and man.
Seventh, such behavior and attitudes on the part of these who maintain false doctrine reveal that they are “men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth.” A depraved mind hates the truth, opposing and suppressing it.
(391-393)
He charges Timothy to “remind” them of the apostolic doctrine (Acts 2:42), and to “solemnly charge them in the presence of God” to do four things in the carrying out of the functions of their ministerial office, and to do these things himself as an ordained minister.
First, he is to “remind them of these things.” Ministers must never grow weary of preaching time and again all that God has revealed through His prophets and apostles and only what God has revealed in His Word, for these things need to be continually presented and in fact they cannot be too frequently repeated. Ministers are to take great pains to impress the apostolic gospel upon the hearts of their hearers by frequent repetition. ....
Second, he is to charge them before God “not to wrangle about words, which is useless, and leads to the ruin of the hearers,” for such preaching does not treat the revealed name of the Lord with the respect and reverence it deserves. .....
Third, “be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.” When a commandment forbids one sin, it implicitly requires the opposite duty; so that, rather than maintaining useless and false doctrines, ministers are to be faithful and diligent workmen of God, who need not be ashamed of what they preach, because they are “handling accurately the word of truth,” without perverting it, distorting it, adding to it, subtracting from it or using it for wrong purposes. ....
Fourth, “but avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene.” Ministers must guard the treasure of sound doctrine that has been entrusted to them to defend, teach and bear witness to by being diligent to impart solid food in their preaching, detesting ostentation, resisting ambitious desires to impress his hearers with his abililties and scholarship, being cautious not to talk without spiritual purpose, in plain and forthright language and not with a high-sounding, verbose and bombastic style of preaching.
(394-396)