Today I would like to share and encourage us in truly knowing the meaning behind scriptures even more and being careful not to take scriptures out of context, using partial scriptures, and/or misapplying scriptures. It is one of the most dangerous things we can do, not only in our lives but in encourages others as well.
Often times in media or even false teachers will only use certain aspects of scriptures to fit the view/point they want to make or want others to feel comfortable. As we approach the new year and finish strongly this year, I pray we will lead through His Wisdom and be reminded of the seriousness of His Word, His Holy inspired Word. I pray we are not lead astray by false teachings, because we will know the Truths of His Word for ourselves. We will stand firm, testing everything to the full scripture verses.
Let me give a few examples of what I am meaning:
In John 8:32 the Bible states: “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Most people believe this verse is referencing truth as in not telling a lie. But the appropriate understanding of this passage is that Jesus is the Truth and believing in Him will set you free from the sin He mentions later on in the chapter. Jesus commands us to be honest, don’t get me wrong, but this verse is not about not telling a lie.
Another example is Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
We tend to leave off, “for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” We are all God’s creation, but until we accept Jesus Christ as Son of God and as our Lord and Savior, we are not adopted into Christ’s Family. God said those who deny My Son, deny Me. This promise is not for everyone. It can be claimed and encouraged only by those who have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior and who then are called according to His Purpose. This is all the more reason we want to share Jesus with others, so that they may inherit these Promises from God like we did.
Last example for the sake of length : ) (there are more), Revelation 3:20: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he will with me.”
I myself have gotten this confused before. The apostle John is speaking about the church in Laodicea and how they were lukewarm, materialistic and blind. They were complacent because of their wealth. In the life application study Bible we see that “they felt self-satisfied but they didn’t have Christ’s presence among them, so Christ knocked on the door of their hearts, but they were too busy enjoying worldly pleasures.” This verse is not about a person converting to Christ. It is about Jesus’ message of knocking to the church in need of renewal.
My prayer for all of us is to continue to ask The Holy Spirit to speak Truth to us as we read His Word and truly know what the scriptures are referring to by the study of His Word continually. We then can apply it to our lives correctly and share His Truth effectively with others. Love you all and grateful to grow in Truth with you all.
Verse of the week- proof of testing the scriptures:
Acts 17:10-12 “As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.
