Twist the Scriptures

Monday July 12, 2021

Twist the Scriptures

Our beloved Brother Paul also wrote it to you, in accordance with the wisdom given to him. This is what he does in all the letters or he talks about these things ; there are certainly points that are difficult to understand, and ignorant and ill-established people twist their meaning, as they do with other Scriptures, to their own ruin. 2 Peter 3:15, 16

The apostle Peter teaches us, by this remark concerning the letters of Paul, that, from their publication, their meaning was seriously distorted. The misuse of these letters, which were to be incorporated into the New Testament, Peter attributes, certainly for the sake of moderation, to ignorant people or people not firmly established in the truth.

It’s true, we are all a little ignorant or insecure, we know only a little. Let us have great support and mercy when a commentator seems to us to misinterpret a text of Scripture. Perhaps it would be good to engage in a dialogue with him to understand what he means and what we feel is a misunderstanding.

History teaches us that there are various reasons for the fraudulent manipulation of biblical passages, for example the desire to justify by the Bible a personal point of view which one holds or to establish a doctrine on words taken out of context.

Here are some ways to twist the Scriptures : emphasizing one passage in the Bible to the detriment of others, matching identical words that do not necessarily mean the same thing, truncating quotes, and so on.

How to avoid twisting the Word of God, even unconsciously ? First, and this is the main thing, by living in the presence of God so that his Spirit can communicate his thoughts to us when we read the Word which then becomes an open book, for it is God who speaks. We have everything to receive from him who is sovereign and who knows everything.

Let us be very humble about what is revealed to us, we have no merit since we have received it and, therefore, no reason to be proud of it. Let us remember that God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble (James 4: 6), the grace to enter into his thoughts expressed in the Bible.

Source (Pleasing the Lord)