The Applied Word of God: Part 20

Matthew 7:6 ‘ “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.’

God is instructing the people, do not give dogs what is sacred! This is also a warning to his children. 
What does it mean? He is implying that the sacred Word of God should not be given to those who do not value it. 
In Philippians 3, we know that dogs go back to their vomit and pigs to the dirt. Those who do not value the Word, will trample over it and they might even come back to harm you. 

In the history of the world, the Pharisees and Jews are the ones who have deformed the Word the most. They have added extra information to the Word of God. If we take the commandments of Moses, the Pharisees have added sub commandments and laws to it. In doing this they have strayed away from the original commandments given by Moses and instead made a mountain of their own laws.

This is why Christ said in Matthew 15:8 ‘“‘These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’

They had no relation with God. It is the man made rituals and religious acts that they followed and obeyed. And the common man had to follow this as the Word was not easily available to them.

The Bible was written in Hebrew and Greek. And at one point, the authorities did not allow the Bible to be translated into any other language. 
Many people tried to translate the Bible into English. John Wycliffe was successful in doing so but before he could complete the translation, he passed away.  The religious people found fault in him and blamed him. In anger, the counsel dug up his tomb and took his bones out and burned them to ashes.  And they went and poured the ashes into a river.
What was the mistake that John made? He translated the Bible so that the people could read it and understand the Word of God. John Huss was a follower of John Wycliffe. John Huss tried to continue the work of Wycliffe. And he was burned alive. 

During this time Huss prophesied that in about 100 years, there will be a great revival and God will raise up a man whom no one or no power can stop. He will be a fire brand for God! 
Martin Luther had a desire to become a monk but he chose a different path and became a lawyer. A few years later one day he barely made it alive from lightning. And he thought God was punishing him. So he surrendered his life to God and became a monk.  
While reading the Word he realised that there were mistakes and things did not add up. He felt that the church was not truly following Christ but instead valued the religious practices. He understood that the people were not preached to the right Word but a deformed version.
God spoke to him from Romans 1:17  ‘For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”’

This one verse changed everything in the church. A revival broke out. The salvation through faith was revealed to him.

Another man, William Tyndale also was involved in translating the Bible to English language. He was a Bible scholar and a great reformer. He was put in jail for 1.5 years and later burned to death. 

God used many people to translate the Bible and produce it in the purest form to the people.  When God’s Word was applied, a revival broke out and history changed. That is the power of God’s Word.

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