Fire and Hammer: When God’s Word Breaks the Lie

[David]

Fire and Hammer: When God’s Word Breaks the Lie

Jeremiah was not trembling because pagans were attacking Israel. He was trembling because the men claiming to speak for God were lying. He said, “Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets… because of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness” ~Jeremiah 23:9. Jeremiah saw firsthand what happens when holy God exposes unholy men.

God exposes the rot plainly. “For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD” ~Jeremiah 23:11. The problem was not outside the religious system. It was inside it. The very men who should have been guarding truth were spreading lies.

And here is what made it so destructive. Instead of calling sinners to repent of their ways, the prophets comforted them in sin, just like so many preachers are doing today. God rebukes them by saying they “walk in lies… they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness” ~Jeremiah 23:14. The gospel message that leaves hearers just as they were.

Listen to their message. “They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace… No evil shall come upon you” ~Jeremiah 23:17. Peace without repentance. Blessing without obedience. Heaven without holiness. That lie was deadly in Jeremiah’s day, and it is just as deadly now.

God answers it with a question that slices through every pulpit and every platform. “For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word?” ~Jeremiah 23:18. Not who had a dream. Not who had a feeling. Not who had a vision. Who actually heard the Word of God?

God exposes them without hesitation. “I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied” ~Jeremiah 23:21. They had religious language, religious titles, and religious crowds. But they did not have God’s authority.

And God tells us what the real Word would have done if they had preached it. “If they had stood in my counsel… then they should have turned them from their evil way” ~Jeremiah 23:22. The true Word of God does not make sinners comfortable. It calls them to turn.

Then God draws the line that every generation must face. “He that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat?” ~Jeremiah 23:28. Chaff looks big in a pile, but the wind carries it away. Wheat feeds the soul. Human ideas are chaff. God’s Word is wheat.

And that Word is not soft. “Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?” ~Jeremiah 23:29. God’s Word burns away lies and crushes hardened hearts. It does not decorate sin. It destroys it.

This is why Jesus warned, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” ~Matthew 7:15. And Peter said the same thing would continue among professing believers: “There shall be false teachers among you” ~2 Peter 2:1.

So the issue is not complicated. It never has been.

If a message ignores sin, it is not from God.

If it promises peace while people walk in rebellion, it is not from God.

If it is built on dreams, feelings, or imagination instead of Scripture, it is not from God.

God has already spoken. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God… that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” ~2 Timothy 3:16–17.

The question is not if someone sounds good. The question is if God’s Word is being preached. Because when God’s Word is preached, people hear a standard they have rejected. Sinners hear their sins exposed. The heart is broken over truth. And people are called upon to repent of their sins. Period.

Everything else is just noise.

If someone claims to speak for God but their message ignores sin and never calls people to repentance, are they truly speaking for God or just speaking for themselves?