“Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye” (Mark 7:13).

To be sure, the Scripture is a powerful force that has had an enormous impact on history, transforming any person that will heed it. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12). The word of God is the only offensive weapon amongst the spiritual armor of Ephesians 6, and it has been wielded to good effect by heroes of the faith. When we quote Scripture, we are assured by God that it is effective: “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please” (Isaiah 55:11).

How is it then that our text condemns those “making the word of God of none effect”? Note the verses proceeding it: “For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men” (v.8). The Pharisees had built up a vast body of religious tradition and self-serving interpretations that eventually came to supersede the law of God. The power of Scripture is blunted when traditions, human reasoning, or politically correct fads become authoritative.

Another way to make the Bible ineffective is twisting the plain literal meaning with strained interpretations. If God does not mean what He said, why did He not say what He meant? What power is left when a passage can be “interpreted” to say whatever the reader desires? The Bible describes how some “that are unlearned and unstable wrest . . . Scriptures, unto their own destruction” (II Peter 3:16). Peter discusses being an eyewitness of Christ, but then stresses the supremacy of Scripture: “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed” (II Peter 1:19). DW