The Danger of Emphasizing the Wrong Things

One reason why textual studies are so important.

Image from Canva.

The following quote is one we should consider.

We have somehow got hold of the idea that error is only that which is outrageously wrong; and we do not seem to understand that the most dangerous person of all is the one who does not emphasize the right things. - D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Sermon on the Mount, 2:244

The most dangerous kind of false teacher may not be the one who teaches something blatantly false. The most dangerous false teachers may very well be the ones who never teach any outright error.

The Most Dangerous Spiritual Leaders in the Gospels.

Who would you say were the most dangerous spiritual leaders during Jesus’ ministry on this earth?

Based on our Lord’s interaction with the people, we would have to conclude it was the scribes and Pharisees.

Do you remember what Jesus told them about what they had improperly emphasized?

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! (Matthew 23:23-24)

They emphasized tithing - all the way down to the herbs that grew in their gardens. But they “neglected the “weightier” or more important matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith.

Both ought to have been done; tithing was a command from God under the Law of Moses (Leviticus 27:30) - but they failed to emphasize the right things.

Our Tendency to Emphasize the Wrong Things.

We tend to emphasize the things that we think need to be emphasized, but we might not be emphasizing the things God wants emphasized.

This is one of the dangers of topical studies.

Now, let me be clear - a topical study of God’s word is not wrong. Topical sermons are not wrong if they faithfully follow God’s word.

But the danger of topical studies and sermons is that we will emphasize what we think needs to be emphasized - and we might be wrong.

When we engage in a textual study - going through an entire book or a large section from a book of the Bible - we let God choose through His word what topics and issues are addressed.

We will emphasize what God wants emphasized - not what we think should be emphasized.

We will emphasize the right things.

Last I checked, God’s pretty smart and knows what His people need. Do we trust Him or ourselves to provide the answers we need?