A young cook was once asked, is it correct to say, “The yolk of the egg is white” or “The yolk of the egg are white?” Which one of these do you think this young cook should choose? Let’s hope your choice would be the correct one so that they could see the difference.

Sometimes when we are confronted with a problem, option or opportunity, we often fail to solve the problem or select the wrong option or miss an opportunity because we become focused on the what we think we see rather than what we really see.

This is often done when it comes to verses from the Bible. One of the most often quoted verses in Scripture is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” – depending on the version you read. In many sermons you may hear this interpreted as God saying that the door to His kingdom is wide open to anybody and everybody that wants to come in, no questions asked.

But that is not true! It states specifically, “whosoever believes.” I’ve heard pastors ask those who come forward or stand up to receive salvation to repeat his version of the sinner’s prayer, but in that prayer I did not hear the words “believe, confess, or forgive.” The apostle Paul said: “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in you heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”¹ And the apostle John made it clear: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”² And Jesus Himself commended the tax collector who being too humble to look up into heaven, smote his chest and cried out for mercy in confession: “God, be merciful to me a sinner.”³

So it is important that when we repeat what God’s Word has to say, to make sure we have it right so that when others examine it they don’t say, “No, that’s not what it says.” Just like the question we mentioned at the beginning that the young cook was asked. By the way, which one do you think is the right answer? No matter which one you may have chosen, they are both wrong. You see, the yolk of the egg is yellow, not white! – Dr. Robert R. Seyda