Let's Avoid Scripture Twisting: Part 2

 

Part 2: Learning from Bad Examples (Old and New)

By Brother R. Michel Lankford

 

Principles Overview

1. What Scripture Twisting is: Scripture twisting is the practice of turning, twisting, or spinning the interpretation of what Scripture says to give it a meaning or conclusion which the weight of Biblical evidence does not correctly support. This is usually done in an effort to assume permission to live differently than Scripture requires while still presuming to consider oneself to be Biblically observant, righteous, and justified, even as one is living according to their own pleasure, instead of seeking and choosing what Scripture says truly pleases God.
2. Scripture twisting is an equal opportunity sin: None of us are immune. It is NOT isolated to any group, religion or denomination. All of us are capable of it and we must all resolutely stand on our guard against it. Some Scripture twisting is an honest mistake because we all understand in part and see through a glass darkly, but it's our responsibility to remain open and teachable and not be stubborn (Isaiah 30:21; Isaiah 1:19; 1 Samuel 15:23; John 14:26; John 16:13; Psalm 24:4-5).
3. Habits traditions and customs play a large part in Scripture twisting: Very often, we read, understand, interpret and apply Scripture in a particular manner because that is what we were taught to do, that is what we’ve always done, and so we assume that our customs must be right. So we often twist Scripture to agree with what we are already accustomed to believing and doing, regardless of what Scripture actually says.
4. We must stick to what Scripture actually says, not what we wish it said: Remember, Jesus said "IT IS WRITTEN," He did not say, it is commonly taught, or is commonly accepted and practiced, but, "IT IS WRITTEN."
5. It's ONLY Scripture when it's RIGHTLY DIVIDED. Otherwise it becomes only personal commentary. Scripture is Scripture because God said it, and not because we collected God's sayings together in a book called the Bible (2 Timothy 3:1-17). The whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation is God's written Word. It's Scripture, but only so long as you remain true and accurate to what the text actually says. If you extract a portion of the Bible and you twist it to give it meaning, implication or application that is contrary to the text as a whole, then it is no longer Scripture at that point, because it does not remain true to what God actually said. At that point it's personal commentary on the Scripture, but is no longer Scripture, because God didn't say it.
6. I am responsible for learning what to believe, for what I practice, and for what I spread to others: If I learn that the models I had growing up and how I was trained to think and practice is not true according to rightly divided Scripture, then it is my responsibility to find and follow better models.
7. If my models were bad, I can always look to Jesus: Yeshua the Messiah is the living embodiment of God's Word. What He taught, what He said, how He obeyed God, how He responded to pressures, how He treated others was and is always correct. If my models were bad I have no excuse for repeating bad modeling, because I can always choose to look for a different model. I can always look the Yeshua the author and finisher of my faith (Hebrews 12:1-2). I can always ask Yahweh to help me learn how to walk as Messiah walked (1 John 2:4-6), which is what I should be doing anyway, no matter how good bad or indifferent my models were.

Today we're going to look at how our various examples in life can either cause us to twist Scripture, and how they can help us learn to prevent it. We are also going to learn some important lessons from Messiah's time of trial and temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4; Luke 4). I will also interweave some of my own testimony to give you some insight from my background as well. We have a lot to cover and learn today, so buckle up and hang on tight.

Life Lessons from the Printing Store

When I lived in Indianapolis as a boy, my adoptive mother (God love her), used to get a lot of printing jobs done at Pip printing stores. It was a unique feature that at these stores, one could pick up printouts of handbills with thought provoking quotes and witticisms printed on them. I think it was her idea of trying to 'Silently educate me.' Not that this is always necessarily a bad thing, depending on the messages you send. In any event, I had a significant portion of a wall in my bedroom covered and to end with corkboard or bulletin board which was often plastered with these fluorescent colored handbills boldly printed with witty sayings and quotations and the Pip logo in the corner.
Interestingly, as often as I saw these handbills, I can only recall two of them with some effort, but one I have never forgotten throughout my days. It's the only one of those handbills that I have constantly remembered by heart. It read:

"Every individual is good for something, even if it is only to serve as a bad example."

Believe me, that little poster helped me to get through abusive parents, abusive clergy, and unhealthy friendships, and still remain relatively sane. It forced me to focus on some very useful yet painful truths for my life. I'll just let you eavesdrop on some of them:
First, not every example that you are going to get in life is going to be a good one, so you are going to have to learn to thoroughly distinguish the difference between the good and bad examples for yourself. Throughout my formative years, it was vividly and frequently pounded into me, that not everyone bearing the title mom, or dad, or teacher, or pastor was worthy of the honor of those titles. In my experience, as often as not, the very ones who were supposed to love you, nurture you, protect you, guide you, train you, correct you, and prepare you to build a healthy and successful life, these were often the ones who used their position of trust and authority to control the weakest among them, in order to satisfy their own unspeakable sinful passions. Over and over again, I found myself putting a little check mark in my mind, "Okay, this one really is being a bad example, so whatever you do, if you want to be a decent person, don't copy this one. Learn to do the opposite."
Second, like it or not, fair or unfair though it may be, you are responsible for choosing which models you will copy and follow, and which you will discard. Like it or not, easy or not, it ultimately is my responsibility to learn to retain and copy the good examples, and ditch the bad ones. Like it or not, fair or unfair though it may be, when I was a child I had no power or control about who my models were, and what examples they fed me, but as I grow up, if I realize that my models were bad, then as an adult it becomes my responsibility to look for, to find, and to follow better models.
Third, other people will be affected either for better or worse by the kind of person and example that I become. I quickly learned how painful and difficult it is to learn how to grow up, how to truly thrive, and how to succeed with so many unhealthy and horrible examples in my upbringing. Honestly, sometimes it feels like you're trying to run a marathon with 25 pound running shoes on each foot!
Anyway, what all that pain triggered in me was the understanding that since my life was going to serve as an example to someone; I wanted to serve as a truly good example, and not a bad one. I wanted to be one who blessed people's journey through this life, and not one who made it more difficult for them to do right. I completely realized and understood that if I was going to succeed at becoming a good example, I do not dare copy the majority of the models that I have experienced. I knew that I would have to learn to think, to process, and to behave differently in order to form different habits, which would help me to respond to my impulses much differently than my models had done.
This would be quite a huge undertaking. Considering my upbringing, it feels roughly reminiscent of swimming with a boat anchor tied to your leg, or trying to climb Mount Everest in nothing but your Fruit of the Looms. Nevertheless, climb I must, and swim I must, if I am to become a useful and praiseworthy living offering to the One who created me.

 

Trying to Find Better Models

 

The Sacramental Approach

When I became born-again in my early 20’s I developed an unbelievable passion for God's Written Word, which remains active within me to this day. This was a radical departure from the way that life was modeled to me as a child. I was brought up in sacramentally focused churches. A sacramentally focused church would be those denominations which believe and teach that the blessings and salvation of Almighty God and Jesus Christ are conferred upon people through a denominational church and its clergy. These are churches that teach that one is saved and blessed by God through the prayers and sacraments of the church, its leadership, its bishops, priests and the various rituals and routines that they perform. In fact, in many cases the religious establishment is so certain of their sacramental procedures that more emphasis is placed on these than on helping people become successful disciples and followers of Jesus Christ. The belief generally is that as long as you go through the sacramental blessings of the church, your salvation is secure. These congregations most generally include your Roman Catholic, Episcopalian and Lutheran.
When I first heard the gospel, and received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior (which occurred outside the church walls), and I began ravenously devouring the Scriptures for myself, I was greatly shocked and horrified to discover that the plain reading of the New Testament clearly shows a completely different approach and method to receiving the free gift of salvation than these congregations routinely modeled and preached. In my experience with these congregations if they use Scripture at all, it is more as a matter of ritual than to teach the scripturally sound way of life.
For these groups, Scriptural requirements and mandates are rarely considered at all, and when it is it is usually twisted in such a way as to seem to ratify what we have already believe taught and practiced for generations without question. What is generally believed and practiced (if not overtly stated) is that God will bless whatever our church chooses to do, because our church and our clergy is the Avenue of salvation to people, and since God does not want people to be lost, then God will bless whatever we choose to do, and even supersede his written word to do it. In other words, because we are God's church, and because we and our sacraments are the only way for people to get saved, (or so tradition teaches them), then God will honor what we say and do even above His own Word. In such a situation, whatever you have to do, either by force or compromise in order to bring people into the umbrella of "the church" becomes seemingly acceptable whether it's Biblical or not. That was my early experience with religion.

 

Learning from Messiah's Temptations

(Matthew 4; Luke 4)

The temptation of Jesus in Matthew 4; Luke 4, gives us a clear answer. The enemy first attacked Messiah's identity. "If you are the Son of God..." then prove who You are. Then the enemy tried to tell Messiah what he must do as proof. "Command these stones to become bread." (Matthew 4:1-3). Prove Your identity. Prove Your power. Prove Your authority to act. If You truly are the Son of God, as You say You are, then meet Your own needs Your own way, according to what suits Your situation, the implication being that God will honor it simply because of who You are.
The implication that the enemy makes of course, is that this is the ONLY way to prove that You are the Son of God, so that supposedly if Messiah chose not to do that, then the implication was that Messiah was not who and what He claimed He was. Do you see how the enemy attempted to define and redefine the terms and parameters of what was required to prove that Yeshua the Messiah was from God? The enemy tried to make it SEEM as though Messiah had no other choice but to follow the enemy's directives. One of the first ways that Messiah overcame the evil one is by not allowing the enemy or the present situation to redefine the terms by which Messiah would make His decisions. Messiah retained and used God's definition of Sonship, and He did not let the devil redefine His terms.
Yeshua the Messiah understood by having practiced obeying God for decades before He ever faced the devil head on, He understood that just because He had the power to do something, just because He could do a particular thing, this did not necessarily mean that He had to or that He should. Jesus understood what so many of us have forgotten:
We are the child of whomever and whatever we OBEY. Yeshua the Messiah understood that the real proof that He is God's child is that He obeyed God. Messiah responded with God's written Word:
Matthew 4:4 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'" Matthew 4:4 (NASB; cf. Deuteronomy 8:3).

 

The Bible Seekers Approach

Once I discovered that the way I'd been brought up was not truly biblical at all, but that it was instead merely the traditions of men I had a decision to make. Would I stay in the familiar comfort and ease of the sacramental system in which I've been raised, knowing that it was not truly biblical, or would I be brave and look for other pasturelands to feed my soul? I was not unique in that, for many other pilgrims on the journey of faith have faced the same decision. When I was first born-again, I was ravenously feasting on and meditating upon God's written Word at all hours of the day and night, and I was shocked and a little frightened at how sorely neglected my spiritual upbringing had been to that point.
Nonetheless, even in this I was pretty naïve in the beginning. I mean, I'm talking I was greener than fescue. You see I sincerely believed (and I have heard it repeated in my hearing many times since), that as long as you are in a Bible believing/Bible preaching church, you'll be all right. The implication is that once one breaks away from the sacramental approach into a more biblically centered approach, that this is a cure-all or panacea that solves almost all of your problems from a religious standpoint. Boy was I GREEN!
You see, when I was first born-again after accepting Yeshua as my Lord and Savior, not only was I ravenous for God's written Word, but I was overwhelmed with joy at being forgiven, with gladness at being received into God's family, with surprise and wonder at the new truths and wonderful advice for living which I was discovering from His Word, but which I'd never been taught. I was so overflowing with thankfulness at the answers to prayer that I was experiencing, and the increasing measure of faith which was rising up within me, that I honestly believed at the time that every person claiming the name of Jesus and claiming to be biblically based felt the same way.
Moreover, since I had been without the experience of God's Word coming alive in my heart for so many years so to speak, I had a great respect for getting God's Word right. I was enormously surprised to learn that not everyone claiming Bible-based beliefs responded to the word the same way. I was learning the benefits of being in God's Word so strongly that I thought surely every Bible-based preacher and believer was as concerned as I was about knowing God's Word correctly.
What's more, I was developing such a reverential fearful respect for God, at the power of God's written Word, that I thought surely every person claiming biblically centered faith would be too afraid of God to actually twist misuse, and abuse the Scripture. I don't know why I thought this, but I thought that once everybody came into the knowledge of who Jesus is, that absolutely everybody wanted to straighten up and fly right, they were just uninformed, and didn't quite know how to get it done and live that out in practical ways. Honestly, I was so naïve that it never occurred to me that people would twist Scripture to manipulate others. I would quickly learn that not everything that says it's biblically based, actually is.

 

Learning from Messiah's Temptations

(Its only Scripture when the Bible is correctly read, understood, interpreted, and applied, because only then is it true to what God actually says)
Matthew 4:5-7 Then the devil *took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and *said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, 'HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU'; and 'ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.'" Jesus said to him, "On the other hand, it is written, 'YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.'" (Matthew 4:5-7 NASB)
So here we see where the enemy directly tried to twist Scripture in order to try to get Messiah to sin against God.
Once the enemy knew that Jesus was committed to obeying every word that proceeded out of the mouth of Yahweh Almighty God, then his only option was for him to try to twist God's word and to misuse it to some perverse advantage. Once the enemy encounters a believer who is determined to obey God, one of the few avenues left to the enemy is to try to twist in the believer's mind what God actually said. Once he knows they're committed to obeying the Word the enemy will try to twist God's word in people's mind in an effort to get them to disobey God. That's why Scripture warns us to be diligent in our Scripture reading and study. As it is written:
2 Timothy 2:15-17 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort (NKJV)
The principal reason why it is so critical to make sure that I read my Bible correctly, divide my Bible text correctly, and then faithfully and obediently apply the Bible texts I read correctly, is because God through His Word specifically says that it is my responsibility, and not anyone else's. I am responsible for what I believe, how I study and what I spread to others.
The second reason why it is so critical to make sure that I read my Bible correctly, divide my Bible text correctly, and then faithfully and obediently apply the Bible texts I read correctly, is because if I don't do those three things faithfully, then it is no longer truly Scripture. Think about it.
If I take a Bible text and I twist it to say something that God did not truly say, or if I interpret it to give it some meaning that God truly did not intend, then at that point it is no longer Scripture anymore.
If I do not correctly read, rightly divide, correctly interpret and faithfully and obediently apply the Bible, it then becomes a personal commentary on the Scriptures, but it is no longer Scripture at that point, because one is not remaining true to what God actually said.
You see, Scripture is Scripture because God breathed it, not because we put it together in a collection of books we call the Bible. God caused it to be written by the Holy Spirit working through people, but if you do not remain in agreement with what God originally said, but instead you twist it to say and mean something it does not say, then it is no longer Scripture because it is not agreeable to what God actually said. Think about it.
The devil tempted Eve using and twisting God's own words to his advantage (Gen 3:1-6). Was the serpent truly quoting Scripture? Not really, because he was using God's word and implying that they meant something different then God said. So it wasn't scriptural, even if he was repeating some of God's words.
The devil tried to use the exact same deceptive tactics when he tempted Jesus (Matthew 4:1-13; Luke 4:1-13).
When the devil tempted Jesus, he tempted Jesus to avoid the cross by trying to get Him to jump off of the pinnacle of the temple. When the devil tempted Jesus, Satan quoted Psalm 91:11 verbatim. God forbid, if Jesus Christ the Messiah had obeyed the devil's promptings and jumped off the pinnacle of the temple, using Psalm 91:11 as the justification, could it rightly be said that Jesus Christ obeyed the Word of God? Of course not! That's because such behavior is not the basis under which Psalm 91:11 is to be applied. Messiah understood as we also must if you are not remaining true to what Almighty God actually said and intended in the Scriptures, then one is not being truly being Scriptural, even if their justification attempts to use misapplied Bible to do as they please. Messiah saw through the trick. Messiah saw through the lie, and He responded by quoting applying the Scriptures correctly, which is what makes all the difference between life and death.
In our next lesson we look at how Scripture does twisted over time. Until then, please remember to be a diligent listener, reader and doer of God's word.
Brother R. Michel Lankford