Fred Widdowson's Blog: 2021

Sunday, December 19, 2021

Misrepresenting God - a sermon given at Lake Marburg Baptist Church on 12.19.2021

Job 42:7 And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.

What did Job’s friends say that misrepresented God? Certainly, there were many things they said that were confirmed in other parts of the Bible and so were true.

Eliphaz spoke the following words which are true and resound throughout the Bible.

Job 4:17 Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?18 Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly: 19 How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?

Both Isaiah and Peter confirmed how frail and weak we are.

Isaiah 40:6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:

1Peter 1:24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

Solomon and Paul confirmed that we are not pure.

Ecclesiastes 7:20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Jesus Himself confirmed that only God is good in Matthew 19:17.

Bildad, another friend, asked the rhetorical question whose obvious answer is no when he asked…

Job 8:3 Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice?

He also made important points about the universe’s fallen state and man’s pathetic condition.

Job 25:4 How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?5 Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not [doesn’t emit its own light but reflects instead the light of the sun]; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight. 6 How much less man, that is a worm? and the son of man, which is a worm?

Zophar, the third friend, said…

Job 11:7 ¶ Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? 8 It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? 9 The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. 10 If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder him? 11 For he knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider it? 12 For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass’s colt.

That certainly wasn’t wrong. It is confirmed by many other verses throughout the Bible.

Psalm 145:3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 ¶ He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

Isaiah 40:28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

Matthew 11:27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

Romans 11:33 ¶ O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

What did these good friends say that was wrong? What do we need to be aware of in this oldest book written in the Bible? God Himself accused them of misrepresenting Him. How so?

Well, Job’s three friends consistently told Job that bad things could not happen to him unless he had committed some secret sin that they were unaware of. They insisted that bad things happen only to the wicked and that good people are blessed always with good fortune.

Eliphaz said;

Job 4:7 ¶ Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off? 8 Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.

Bildad stated;

Job 8:20 ¶ Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he help the evil doers: 21 Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing. 22 They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame; and the dwelling place of the wicked shall come to nought.

Zophar insisted in Job, chapter 20, and I don’t need to repeat the entire chapter here, that evil people, bad people, wicked people always come to a bad end and always get their just desserts in the end in this life. He insists that God always calls in accounts in this life.

Is that true? Prophets in the Bible noted otherwise. Jeremiah observed;

Jeremiah 12:1 Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?

Other Bible writers noted how bad people seem to often, too often, get away with their wickedness and even prosper. We’ve all seen it in the world, where evil men rule and triumph and seem to have no reckoning imposed upon them for their iniquity.

Psalm 73:1 ¶ « A Psalm of Asaph. » Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. 2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. 3 For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4 For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm. 5 They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men. 6 Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment. 7 Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish. 8 They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily. 9 They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth. 10 Therefore his people return hither: and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them. 11 And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High? 12 Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches. 13 Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency. 14 For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning.

This is not to say that there is no cause and effect with regard to our sin. Prisons are filled with men and women who are called to task for their wickedness.

Psalm 73 continues and turns around in that regard;

15 ¶ If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children. 16 When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; 17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. 18 Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. 19 How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors. 20 As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image.

21 ¶ Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. 22 So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. 23 Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. 24 Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. 26 My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. 27 For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. 28 But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.

The problem is that there are plenty of people on the outside of prison who will never be forced to pay for their wickedness, at least in this life. Job himself acknowledges this frustrating fact.

Job 12:6 ¶ The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand God bringeth abundantly.

We know that God provides for the good and for the bad. They eat, they live, they laugh, they enjoy life, and yet their end is an eternity of agony. But, in this life;

Matthew 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Luke 6:35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

The Book of Job teaches us that bad things happen to good people and they often have no idea why they are happening and will not know in this life. We are simply called to trust God, which is not always so simple, is it?

Job’s friends misrepresented God by insisting that there was always an observable cause and effect. If you are wicked you will suffer in this life and if you are good, then all will be lollipops and roses. That is not necessarily always true.

If you have a family member or an acquaintance who seems to be living a life where they want to do right, walk close with God, and leave that legacy to their children and something terrible happens to them you must not assume that they are being punished for some secret sin they’ve hidden from you and the world. That may be the cause but without evidence you don’t know that for sure. Christians with cancer, multiple miscarriages, dead children, loss of employment, mental or physical illnesses like schizophrenia are often not being punished for anything they’ve done and we can’t stand that uncertainty so we usually link it with something they’d done we don’t know about or as some kind of a test of their faith. Yet, what if God was just talking to Satan and said, what do you think about so-and-so, a man or woman of great faith? Then, if you’ve read the first two chapters of Job you know the rest.

The truth is, in this world under judgment bad things can happen to us that seem to have no bearing on what we’ve done. Remembering evil as the trouble that can come to us in a day as in Jesus statement in;

Matthew 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Job said;

Job 2:10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

Lamentations 3:38 Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good?

The trouble is, we come to God and want a business deal. “I’ll be good, God, and you be nice to me.” It doesn’t always work that way. Good people suffer. Remember what God said about Job at the beginning of the book.

Job 1:8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

We not only want a business deal with God but we want certainty and we want, if we believe in God, His approval, His backing for what we do, too often, even if it is wrong.

For two thousand years kings, princes, and officials of various Christian churches have used God’s word to justify oppression and tyranny. Fascist ecclesiastical organizations have burned people at the stake; not only unbelievers but other Christians for having variant opinions and interpretations of what God wants. Speaking for God they have enacted monstrous crimes on humanity all under the guise of doing God’s will. How is this possible?

The emperor Constantine, in the 300s AD, made his version of nominal Christianity the state religion of Rome and exchanged the persecution by non-Christians for the persecution of non-Christians. The situation went from Christian places of worship being burnt down to pagan temples being burnt and from Christians being killed to non-Christians being killed.

The Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches of Late Antiquity and the so-called Dark and Middle Ages murdered millions of non-Christians, and Christians who held to different views of what Christ’s church was all about. The Protestant churches of the Reformation murdered thousands and hundreds of thousands. Even great Reformers like Zwingli in Switzerland had Anabaptists tied up in sacks and thrown in Lake Zurich to drown. Calvin’s Geneva, Switzerland had a man burned at the stake for his variant Christianity although Calvin preferred he be beheaded. How could this happen?

Countries like Great Britain, Tzarist Russia, and Germany viewed themselves as God’s agents on earth. German preachers during World War One likened the German army to the Holy Spirit going out into the earth. Americans viewed their country as a redeemer-nation, a Christ-nation, destined to bring in God’s kingdom on earth. Teachers talked about the state as being God’s agent on earth and about a divine right of the state taking the place of the divine right of kings as in Johns Hopkins professor, Richard Ely, mentor of President Woodrow Wilson.

Any oppression by the state and any unfairness in the social structure, even racial slavery or the abuse of women, was to be justified by the Bible and “God’s order or things.” How was this possible?

Since we don’t have many governments outside of Islam insisting they are doing God’s will any more or justifying their conquests and excesses by using the Bible let’s look at Fundamentalism for a moment, that 20^th century social reactionary movement that uses the Bible as a prop. I consider myself a Bible-believer, by the way, not a Fundamentalist, who Peter Ruckman called ‘funnymentalists’. Believing the Bible, the context in which it is written, without wrenching verses out of context, doing violence to the source of my convictions to prove a point, is important to me. We are warned not to add or to detract from God’s words which is standard fare for Fundamentalists.

Deuteronomy 4:2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.

Fundamentalists uplift the Victorian era in morals and manners in everything from behavior at the dinner table to choosing a spouse as being Godly and to be copied and emulated if one is to be a good Christian. They act as if that was the most Christian era on earth and that manners and morals had been the same all the way back from then to Christ. This, even though historical evidence shows that this is not the case. What is going on here? Your table manners and ideas of politeness are pretty new for people at our level of society.

First, let’s look at how the Bible is constructed, which for the modern person is very confusing as used as we are to textbooks and user’s manuals. The Bible isn’t like Emily Post’s Etiquette. It isn’t, “put your fork there and your spoon here.” It is more like a conversation, like a letter from one person to another. One error of Fundamentalism is their modernistic tendency to make absolute statements that are pure rubbish, like that so-called Law of First Mention where the first time a word is used that defines it throughout the Bible in every circumstance. This is rubbish.

For instance, in Genesis 2:9 evil is contrasted with good. In Genesis 37:20 it refers to an animal intent to do violence. In Genesis 47:9 it is trouble and suffering in life. In Proverbs 16:6 and Isaiah 59:7 it is violent iniquity. In Isaiah 45:7 it is the opposite of peace and caused by God. In Matthew 6 it is the trouble and suffering in one day, physical suffering that can cause one to doubt one’s faith. Most of the time it is trouble and suffering or malicious intent. You have to look at the context.

Speaking of context, cultural context is important when reading the Bible. Fundamentalists also like to go back in time. Young women no longer offer to water your camels as in Genesis 24 and in conservative American churches we do not offer a holy kiss to each other as Paul commanded in four places. We have unemployment insurance, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and welfare programs to assist the poor so some, but not all, of the pressure has been taken off the church for the care of its weakest or most unfortunate members. We are no longer paid at the end of each day for our labor if we are an employee of a company and, typically, young women are able to go out and find work and their own place to live and make decisions for themselves about who they will or will not marry without father telling them what they have to do. This is not the first century. I’m not saying we’re better, just that we’re different.

Fundamentalists long to restore some of that first century culture to modern times. I say, some, not all. Fundamentalist business owners do not typically say it is a sin to not follow the Bible and pay their employees at the end of each work day even if they insist that their daughters be dependent upon them until they are dependent upon a husband.

Fundamentalist women often have convictions about hair and clothing that seem oddly to try to mix and match eras. They will insist that Godly women have long hair and then let that hair hang down around their shoulders, which was scandalous and had bedroom connotations in the era they try to emulate in America as in, “letting your hair down.” They’ll wear long dresses and long hair and then come to church in flip-flops, sandals, or shoes that show the naked foot, something else which was reserved only for the bedroom in the era in which fundamentalism was born. I’m not criticizing long hair or flip-flops, just trying to make a point about what we are holding on to as proof of our spirituality.

Fundamentalists will raise their children in a bubble, trying to keep them from any and every bad influence and protect them from the world, thinking they will grow up and be pure and faithful to what they’ve been taught. They will use;

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

But, children are independent agents and will grow into their own relationship with Christ. Bad parents can produce good children and good parents produce bad. You can do everything right, and you should try and in fact you should imagine the kind of person you want your child to grow into and then YOU be that person before them, and yet you can still have a wayward child who shocks and disappoints. Just think of how God has to think of us when we do wrong, knowing better. You must pray that they return as Proverbs 22:6 suggests when they realize the error of their thinking and repent of their sins.

Plus, if you are trying to make your children a reflection of your own failed dreams for yourself, to live spiritually through your child like many parents try to do that with sports or academics, then you will often come to great disappointment as your children will have a unique path they walk that you might just find that you cannot control when all is said and done.

People who say they believe the Bible literally are typically guilty of making it say what they want to say just as people who say that God has laid something on their heart often mean it is something they really, really want to do.

Why do we misrepresent God?

In every group of people there is the dominant male or female, what Discovery channel people call the alpha-male or alpha-female. They seek, as part of their personality, to control others, to make what others around them do as an expression of their own will. Typically, when one of these people tell you sweetly that you, “have a servant’s heart,” they mean they intend to make you their servant. I’m not saying that they are not or cannot be saved. I am saying that any congregation needs to be wary of the ambitious one who is always wanting to tell people what they need to do. They will couch it in terms not suggesting that it pleases them but that it pleases God.

It is not enough to be a witness, to them. You must be a witness under their authority and in the time frame they pick. For instance, everyone is getting together to knock on doors and pass out tracts but you have to work. The dominant person will imply that you handing out tracts on your own is a sign of a lack of faith, that your work is your god, or that you are setting a bad example. This attitude is entirely evil and unbecoming of a Christian.

These kinds of people have gotten into the church with shallow conversions after a 1-2-3 repeat-after-me prayer. They have found a perfect pool of broken people who want to serve God, to please Him, and they become the dominant person’s prey.

Socially dominant people will use the doctrines of the Bible and even make up some to get you to do what they think you should do.

We are warned about a danger like this in the gospels. First, a parable Jesus gave. Tares are defined by one source in this manner:

“…the bearded darnel, mentioned only in Matthew 13:25-30 . It is the Lolium temulentum, a species of rye-grass, the seeds of which are a strong soporific poison. It bears the closest resemblance to wheat till the ear appears, and only then the difference is discovered. It grows plentifully in Syria and Palestine.”

https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/tares/

Matthew 13:24 ¶ Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: 25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. 26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? 28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? 29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

Then, Jesus explained the parable.

Matthew 13:36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. 37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; 38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; 39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. 40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42 And shall cast them into a

furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Now, I am not saying that every hard-charging, get-er-done Christian is a fake. Every church needs people who are willing to get things done and organize resources. Not all of us, me in particular, are very well-organized and able to see very far down the road. So, people who are willing to bear responsibility and to lead are vital to a church. I’m just warning you that people who live to dominate other people will wheedle their way into a church organization with that easy 1-2-3 repeat-after-me conversion prayer and little other evidence of a changed life and then begin to work their ways.

When they do people are eventually hurt and churches eventually split. They will manipulate people and pervert the scriptures to get their own way.

So, what do we know? We know that people misrepresent God because they want to be secure in the knowledge that they know why things are happening the way they are. They want to be able to confidently believe in a cause and effect that makes sense.

We also see people who want to use God’s word to satisfy a plan. They will pervert and change it to justify themselves and what they want.

There is another reason why people misrepresent God. They want to be led by a person. They don’t want to read the Bible from cover to cover, pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit, compare what they think they’ve learned with other Christians to make sure Satan or their own will isn’t deceiving them, or generally think for themselves at all. They just want to be told what to think.

But, the Bible says;

1John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

And lifts up people who are careful with God’s word.

Acts 17:10 ¶ And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

You have to question what you are told. Is it true? Is it in keeping with the spirit of the Bible?

We get confused between what was promised to the Jews before Christ and what is promised to us. The Jews were promised temporal, physical success and prosperity if they obeyed God’s commands.

Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

That’s a great inspirational verse that would compel you to read, memorize, and recite Bible verses which will do you great good.

Psalm 1:1 ¶ Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

This too is a great inspirational passage that reinforces what we know, that the best way to have a successful fruitful life is to do right and keep your mind on God. But, do these verses mean that if you are not prosperous or successful it is because you have not done those things? Are we like Job’s friends?

What is to be our response to the misfortune of other believers? “Well, you must have done something really bad to have God take your child like that. You better get right with God ‘lest He kill the rest of your family!” No one would say that, I am sure, at least not any sane person.

What if a person is filled with anxiety or depression and they are having trouble understanding where it is coming from?

Are you so much like Job’s friends that you’d say, “well if you just set your mind on God and do right you wouldn’t have these things”?

What if someone isn’t able to have children? Are you such an arrogant jerk that you’d say, “well, you must be doing something that is causing God to withhold children from you. You need to repent and get right.”

Misrepresenting God has been the cause of millions of deaths in the mass murder that is war. It has been the cause of church splits and untold suffering in the hearts of fragile, broken Christians. It is a tool used by dominating people who have an agenda to make a congregation serve them.

The Bible tells us how to deal with the pain of others, not in self-righteous blather and trite platitudes wrenching verses out of context.

Romans 12:15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

2Corinthians 1:3 ¶ Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

So, what would you tell a new Christian on how to keep from being deceived by someone else who is misrepresenting God? First, you would want to tell them that until Christ calls them out of this world by death or translation, whether the uppertaker or the undertaker gets them, to read His Bible from cover to cover, taking verses in context as to what they were intended to mean not what some agenda-driven person wants them to mean.

As an example, this verse was quoted to me as a reason why good things should happen to Christians and that they should get what they want in the way of peace, health, happiness, and prosperity, and it was pointed out to me because the speaker thought that reality made it, and the rest of the Bible, a lie.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

But, the context of this verse is the nation of Israel and the end of their seventy-year captivity in Babylon. It isn’t a promise to you of perfect health, no trouble, and ease of life.

Someone will use the following verse to beat you over the head about faithful church attendance.

1Corinthians 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.

And yet the context is being faithful stewards or caretakers of the mysteries of God, His doctrines and prophecy, His word.

1Corinthians 4:1 ¶ Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.

This verse is used to bash people for not handing out enough gospel tracts or knocking on doors;

Matthew 10:32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

But, the context, like many verses in the New Testament on this subject is not about witnessing to strangers at the gas pump. It is about enduring under persecution.

Matthew 10:16 ¶ Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; 18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. 19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that

same hour what ye shall speak. 20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. 21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. 22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. 23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. 24 The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. 25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? 26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. 27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. 28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold

for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. 32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. 33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. 34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. 35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 36 And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. 39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. 40 He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. 41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that

receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. 42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.

The following verse is used to pump up the door knocker, tract hander outer, and the person who interrupts every family gathering, or stands on a street corner shouting Bible verses at people.

Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

And yet, since this is written under the law by King Solomon to Israelites, in order to fulfill this verse as it is written you would want to stand out in front of the First Baptist Church of Whoville and try to return them to the Lord on Sunday morning rather than a street corner in the city screaming Bible verses at passersby trying to get to where they are going. Not that its not important to reach the lost but that this verse is about returning the backslidden Hebrew, not winning new converts, based on when it was written and to whom it was written

Fundamentalists will use the word in the following, breeches, as referring to trousers or pants and insist that God says women should not wear them.

Exodus 28:42 And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach:

Deuteronomy 22:5 The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.

But, if you read Exodus 28 more carefully you see that breeches were underwear which the priests wore. Both men and women wore robes and tunics and pants or trousers were a late invention by the Persians to make riding on horseback more convenient and written about in the 6^th century BC or possibly earlier by the Chinese. No one in the Bible wore trousers, men or women. Some Fundamentalists even condemn pants on women for “splitting the leg” as if that was from a Bible verse! Your dismay at how immoral your society is becoming and how immodest people are is not an excuse to misinterpret God or His word.

The list goes on and on of verses ripped out of their context to prove a point or to serve an agenda; social or personal.

What then can we say? Do not be deceived. Read the Bible from cover to cover. Read it in context. Run everything you hear by what you read in the Bible in context. Don’t read back your culture or politics or desire for an orderly universe and a reality you understand into the Bible and don’t let someone use you for their own agenda, their own purpose. Pray for guidance and that God would open the Scriptures to you. Believe and trust in the Lord. Do not use the Bible but let the Bible use you.

Be careful. Handle the word of God, the mysteries of God, as a faithful steward. Do not corrupt the word of God, neither add to it or take away from it. Be not deceived. But, above all, don’t misrepresent God. He doesn’t care for that.

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