Twitter Scripture Twisting With Rick Warren

Rick Warren twists Scripture with this tweet:

Doctrine and Duty? God wants my love? Let's take a look at the other half of the verse that Rick Warren failed to tweet:

Hosea 6:6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Hosea chapter 6 speaks to the unrepentant tribes of Juda and Ephraim. Both had broken God's covenant that was forged at Mt. Sinai. A covenant that not only promised a new land, but a covenant that would teach the Hebrews who the the One True God is and who they would be as a new nation. As a witness to the nations. The nation known as Israel, governed by God.

In John 14:21 Jesus highlights the connection between having and keeping commands ( doctrine driven obedience) and love toward God:

21 The one who has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me. And the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father. I also will love him and will reveal Myself to him.

The knowledge of God as revealed in the Scriptures, otherwise known as doctrine, is essential to a steadfast love of God. A body of doctrine that is first preached. A body of doctrine that regenerates those called by God. A doctrine that would produce faith, obedience, love and the manifold gifts of the Spirit.

Christian, are you governed by God or by a program driven by romantic notions of spirituality and mere human caliber?