I once heard a successful business man quote what he supposed to be a verse from the Bible. He said, “the Bible says if you ask God for three things and God grants you one, you should be thankful.” Well, I know the Bible speaks extensively of giving thanks to God; but I have never come across a verse stipulating what the man referred to. That was another attempt of how we try to read rhyme into scripture. You probably know of other human opinions being held as God’s word. Not a few believe that “heaven helps those who help themselves” to be a verse of scripture. You may have others accredit to the Bible that money is the root of all evil.

A little infraction can make entire mess of God’s word and render it ineffective…Rhetoric or human opinion cannot defeat the devil; only God’s word can do that. The power of the word lies in its accurate rendering.

Jesus said, “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” Matthew‬ 5‬:18‬ NKJV‬‬. God cares for every provision in His word and wants it preserved that way. A little infraction can make entire mess of God’s word and render it ineffective. On three different occasions that the devil tempted Jesus at the beginning of His public ministry, he was rebuffed not by hearsay or popular opinion. Jesus got the victory by accurately relaying what was written. The devil had no answer to the authentic word of God, and he had no choice but to leave Jesus alone on that occasion. Rhetoric or human opinion cannot defeat the devil; only God’s word can do that. The power of the word lies in its accurate rendering.