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STOP INTERPRETING - START READING People are masters at establishing self as the final authority, which is why self DENIAL is one of the first laws of Christianity (Luke 9:23). Even within the ranks of our most firm Bible believers, self often rears its ugly head and attempts to dethrone the word of God by altering a Bible truth rather than simply believing it. One way this is done is through the devilish process of private interpretation and misrepresentation. Here's how it works . . . You say something true and scriptural, but then someone comes along and says, "It seems to me that you are saying such and such." No, you are only saying what you said, but they don't like what you said, so they seek to privately interpret it and then misrepresent it. For instance, they accused Jesus of saying, "I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days" (Mat. 26:61), yet that's not at all what he said, nor was it what he meant (John 2:19-21). But, not wanting to face the truth, they changed his words through private interpretation and misrepresentation. A man is accountable for WHAT HE SAYS and HOW HE SAYS IT, not for what someone thinks he means. If I believed and wanted to say that a sinner must produce good fruit to be saved, then I would say it. But I don't believe that, so I've never said it. Yet, people read my stuff regularly and suggest that I'm getting the "fruit before the root" by suggesting that works are a part of one's salvation. NONSENSE! You can read everything that I've ever written and never see words to that effect, yet it never ends. Someone's always there just waiting to FEEL LIKE I meant something other than what I said. The real trouble is that some people refuse to face Bible facts, so they pretend that something else is being said. That's called private interpretation and misrepresentation, and it's becoming very common among the brethren. Unless a man has a reputation for being sneaky and deceptive with his words, then take him at his word without interpreting anything. If you have questions, ASK, but don't privately interpret and misrepresent his words, because, if you do so, you've offered your services to the devil, not to the Lord.