My father mispronounced a number of words: “crick” instead of “creek,” “choirpractor,” instead of “chiropractor,” and “warsh” instead of “wash.” It wasn’t until my teen years that I learned, to my embarrassment, that I too had been mispronouncing these words. My father and I would have been well served to have checked the right pronunciation with an authoritative source, such as a dictionary. Correcting an error is always better and wiser than stubbornly persisting down an errant path.

The Bible is not just a source of suggestions. It is to be our supreme and final authority in what we believe, teach, and practice. Our testimony is to be: “…I will keep Thy precepts with my whole heart” (Psalm 119:69). It is important for us to recognize that dangers exist when we resist the revealed will of God. We tend to do this when it runs contrary to what we want, or what someone has taught us. Today, believers quite often persist in practices that conflict with biblical standards. In error, some ignore the biblical qualifications for elders and deacons (I Timothy 3:1-3; Titus 1:5-11) just to keep a quota in a church constitution. Even though the Bible consistently condemns the practices of homosexuality (Romans 1:27-28), and practicing sex outside of marriage (I Corinthians 6:18; Hebrews 13:4), many Christians have come to accept both. Though nature and Scripture tell us it is a shame for men to wear long hair (I Corinthians 11:14), it has become commonplace today. Many believers continue to use vulgar language after salvation when God tells us “these things ought not so to be” (James 3:10). When we persist in unbiblical beliefs and practices, we are, in effect, rejecting God’s Word and God’s will. This greatly displeases the Lord and robs us of His richest blessing. Proverbs 19:20-21 says: “Hear counsel, and receive instruction…The counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.” We must not become those who “…have set at nought My [God’s] counsel…” (Proverbs 1:25). As Christians, we need to return to the standard stated by David in Psalm 119:128: “I esteem all Thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.”

Regardless of tradition, or what is accepted by society, we must examine all things by one question: “Nevertheless what saith the Scriptures?” (Galatians 4:30). Whatever God’s Word says, we must bring our thinking, voting, and practice into conformity. Whether or not anyone else stands with you, choose to stand for what God says in Scripture.