DCLM Daily Manna 30 April 2026 — Don’t Distort God’s Word

The deliberate distortion of the message of a diplomatic dispatch, Ems Telegram, caused the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. Early that year, the vacant Spanish throne was offered to Prince Leopold of the Hohenzollern dynasty which also ruled Prussia. The French Emperor, Napoleon III, worried about the extension of Prussian influence to Spain, voiced his concerns to King Wilhelm 1 of Prussia. The king agreed to withdraw his support for Prince Leopold. However, he courteously declined to give a written guarantee to the French ambassador, Benedetti. The Prussian king later sent a telegram to his Chancellor, Otto Von Bismarck, to brief him on the development. Bismarck mischievously altered the telegram to create the impression that the king and the ambassador were disrespectful of each other. The inflamed emotion led to war.

Also Read: Open Heaven 30 April 2026 – No difficult Problem

In our text, Apostle Paul contrasts his ministry with those mixing the words of Christ with Jewish traditions and the Law of Moses. The hallmark of a faithful preacher, he stresses, is to boldly and sincerely focus on the message as received from God.

Also Read: DCLM Daily Manna 29 April 2025 – Balancing The Scales

In our age, some adulterate the word of God by subtracting from or adding to it or through outright misrepresentation. However, faithfully translating the Bible into local languages does not amount to corrupting the Scripture. It is only an attempt to take the gospel to people in languages they best understand, and can therefore easily respond to its injunctions. Similarly, selecting a few Bible passages as references for a message, where there are many others, cannot mean subtracting from the word of God, nor does the use of contemporary illustrations in preaching constitute an addition to the Word. We add to the word of God by introducing human fads, fancies and false interpretations. Some subtract from the word of God when they routinely skip messages that could make people uncomfortable, sad or fearful, such as repentance, restitution, God’s judgment or even hellfire. The preacher of the Word must be faithful to the message sent from heaven, to avoid incurring the wrath of God.