1 Corinthians 1:20 (NIV) For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.

When I was in grade school, I had a teacher who when he wanted to emphasize a direction that he had given us or a rule for his class, he would accentuate it by adding, “and I don’t want any ifs, ands or buts.” In other words, he didn't want to hear any excuses for not obeying what he said and he didn't want us to add anything to it or take away anything from it. As far as that command was concerned, it was a done deal.  Knowing how serious he was about this, most of us did not challenge him. That makes me think about God's Word and how we view it. Jesus’ version of “no ifs, ands or buts” is “Heaven and earth will definitely pass away but nothing in my Word, not even the punctuation marks will ever pass away” (a paraphrase of Matthew 5:18).

Knowing that this is how the Lord speaks about His Word, it leaves me to wonder how Christians take it so lightly many times. We are supposed to be in lock step with what Jesus said and live according to what He commanded us. But many are so arrogant that they are not only questioning God's Word but are saying that it has evolved and are trying to put words in God's mouth that directly contradict was He has said and decreed. Things that the Word of God says are sinful are now accepted by many Christians because the people in the world say they are good. Many have bowed to the god of “tolerance” and the god of “getting along” and have set themselves up against what God has said. Instead of saying the “Amen” in agreement with what the Lord has said, they are making their own rules and making their own decisions about things. I can't even imagine what judgement day will be for people like that when they face Jesus, the Living Word (John 1:14) and try to explain why they replaced His Word with the words of the world, which have their origin in Satan, the god of this world.

If you want to live in the Truth and in the blessing that comes from agreeing with God's Truth, then speak the “Amen” to the glory of God when it comes to the whole counsel of God through His Word. Don't ever doubt, compromise, or try to water down the Word. Our responsibility as children of God is to have the attitude that if God said it, we believe it and that settles it! Say amen, which means “so be it” because so it will be with everything that our Sovereign God has said, no ifs ands or buts.

Pastor Joey Vazquez

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