If a person will not hear God's Word, or when a person is simply careless and does not love God's Word, at some point God gives them over to blindness and deafness to His Word. We must give ourselves to hearing, reading, studying the Bible and if we do so, God will give us even clearer sight and hearing.
Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and scribes for elevating their traditions above God's Word. We must take care that we do not create unbiblical traditions ourselves.
Even a cursory reading of 2 Timothy makes it clear that the fundamental calling of a pastor is to preach God's Word.
Ryle's sermon entitled Freedom demonstrates to us that the most important kind of freedom is spiritual, the freedom only Christ can give.
The Lord has intentionally left the time of His return, secret, known only to Him. We must be continually ready because there will be no time to prepare to meet Him when He comes.
In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax-collector, we see in the Pharisee how pride leads the sinner to create an image of himself to be worshipped. It is idolatry of the worst kind.
