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There is Bible verse that I have heard abused and misused several times that I think deserves an accurate explanation. Actually, there are two verses that are usually presented together. They are Jeremiah 6:16 and Jeremiah 18:15. Both of these verses refer to the “old” or the “ancient” paths.

Those who misuse these verses usually say something like this: “We need to get back to the old ways of doing things. We need to revert back to the old-time methods and old-time standards.” Unfortunately, you have probably heard this kind of application.

There are several problems with this kind of interpretation and application. However, I will only mention the most egregious. The historical and textual context is completely ignored. The paths that are being referred to are specifically the following of the one true God instead of the many false gods. The decision to fall down and worship idols had been an obvious stumbling block to the nation of Israel. Jeremiah was encouraging them to walk in the paths of monotheism. The old paths specifically refer to the paths of the previous generations of Jews who had remained faithful to God.

An accurate interpretation of these verses deals very specifically with idolatry. Any other application is outside the authors intended meaning and thus is an abuse and misuse of Scripture. The terms “old paths” refers specifically to the paths of worshipping God instead of worshipping false gods. It refers to remaining faithful to absolute truth instead of turning your back on God’s truth. If that is that meaning; and it is, then based on these verses, we should be encouraging people to stay true to God’s Truth and to continue to worship Him. Although there may be many false gods we could be worshipping, we should remain in the “old paths” of the ancient Jews in worshipping the one true God.

Are there certain principles and standards to which we should be committed? Absolutely, but we should be committed to them because they are biblical, not because they are traditional or conservative. The standard should always be the Bible; nothing more and nothing less. Either way, these verses are not teaching on principles or standards at all. They are teaching about the need for the nation of Israel, in the Old Testament, to stay committed to serving and worshipping the one true God.

Psalm 37:4 is another verse that is commonly misused. This verse says “Delight thyself also in the Lord; And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” There are people who read this verse and think that following God and obeying God is a way to get what they want. They say that if we obey God, He has promised to give us the desires of our heart. But, is that really what this verse is teaching? Clearly, the answer is ‘NO’.

Many people wonder how they can know what God wants them to do. How can we truly know what decision God wants us to make? As I stated in an earlier post, the key to knowing God’s specific will for your life is to live in obedience to His already revealed will. Live a life of obedience to God. Or as this verse says “Delight thyself also in the Lord…” What is the result of this daily obedience and daily delighting in the Lord?

The verse teaches that God will place within us the desires that he wants us to have. This is not a human-centered verse that promises that our genie-in-the-sky (God) is there to give us what we want if we will obey Him. God does not bribe us by promising to give us whatever we want. His promise is a promise of divine guidance as the results of living in obedience to Him.

In fact, the next verse then instructs us to commit our way to the Lord. Here is the truth from this verse. As we live in obedience to God’s will; as revealed in Scripture, and as we delight in Him, He will lead and guide us by placing within us the desires that He wants us to have. Our individual responsibly is not to search for God’s will as though we were hunting Easter eggs. Our individual responsibility is to live in daily obedience to God, and trust Him to place within us the desires that He wants us to have. And as we act on those God-given desires, we will find ourselves in the center of God’s perfect will.

I’m not sure this verse can be considered commonly misused, but it is difficult to understand.  For that reason it is often misunderstood.  I Corinthians 7:14 says:

“For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.”

This verse is a part of a larger section dealing with divorce and remarriage.  That context must be kept in mind in order to accurately understand this verse.

Those who misuse this verse assert that salvation of one spouse guarantees the salvation of the other spouse and children.   For instance, if the husband is a Christian and the wife is not, the claim is made that that she is covered under her husband’s salvation and there is no need for her to make a personal decision for Christ (that applies to the children as well).  According to this teaching, the home is covered by the salvation of any individual in the home and a personal salvation decision is not needed by each individual.  There are several problems with this interpretation.

First, this interpretation does not line up with the rest of Scripture.  Romans 3 tells us that all have sinned and that the penalty of each individual’s sin is that individual’s death.  There are numerous passages that could be pointed to in order to see this truth.  But it will suffice to say that according to Scripture, each person’s salvation is dependent upon them making an individual decision for Christ.

Second, this interpretation requires ignoring the context. At this time Paul was writing to combat a practice that was detrimental to the Christian testimony.  Christians who were married to unbelievers were pursuing divorces solely on the basis that they did not want the unchristian partner to negatively influence the children in that home.  They believed that the negative influence of the unbeliever would outweigh the positive influence of the believer.  They incorrectly thought that the only way to remedy this was to pursue a divorce. Paul wanted them to understand that this was not the case.  In fact, the exact opposite was true.  (In addition, this is not a passage dealing with salvation but divorce and remarriage.  This can be seen in the verses surrounding verse 14.)

Third, this viewpoint requires a misunderstanding of the word ‘sanctify’ in this passage.  While it is true that the word ‘sanctify’ is used often in Scripture to refer to salvation, there are exceptions to this.  The word ‘sanctify’ literally means to set apart or to be special or holy, and in this passage has a meaning different from salvation.  What Paul is teaching is that the Christian testimony and influence of the believing partner will be effective.  He wants the readers to understand that through the testimony of the believer, Christ’s love can be seen, and that it can be that influential testimony of the Christian that is lived before the unbelievers that will possibly result in their salvation.

As one commentator put it, divorce in these situations was to be avoided because the believing spouse was a channel of God’s grace in the marriage.  In essence, the unbeliever is set apart to receive the Christian witness, and the influence of the believer has a greater impact than the influence of the unbeliever.  The believer has a spiritual influence in the home that God can use in the life of the unbeliever.

Paul in no way is teaching that one person’s salvation can be spread to someone else like an infectious disease. He wanted them to understand that God can use the Christian testimony in the life of the unbeliever to bring them to Christ.  For this reason divorce was not to be pursued.

As always, it is important to interpret Scripture in context and in view of the rest of Scripture.

There is another Bible verse that I have heard abused and misused several times this week that I think deserves an accurate explanation.  Actually there are two verses that are usually presented together.  They are Jeremiah 6:16 and Jeremiah 18:15.  Both of these verses refer to the “old” or the “ancient” paths. 

Those who misuse these verses usually say something like this:  “We need to get back to the old ways of doing things.  We need to revert back to the old-time methods and old-time standards.”  Unfortunately, you have probably heard this kind of application.

There are several problems with this kind of interpretation and application.  However, I will only mention the most egregious.   The historical and textual context is completely ignored. The paths that are being referred to are specifically the following of the one true God instead of the many false Gods. The decision to fall down and worship idols had been an obvious stumbling block to the nation of Israel.  Jeremiah was encouraging them to walk in the paths of monotheism.  The old paths specifically refer to the paths of the previous generations of Jews who had remained faithful to God.

An accurate interpretation of these verses deals very specifically with idolatry.  Any other application is outside the authors intended meaning and thus is an abuse and misuse of Scripture.  The terms “old paths” refers specifically to the paths of worshipping God instead of worshipping false gods.  It refers to remaining faithful to absolute truth instead of turning your back on God’s truth.  If that is that meaning; and it is, then based on these verses, we should be encouraging people to stay true to God’s truth and to continue to worship Him.  Although there may be many false Gods we could be worshipping we should remain in the “old paths” of the ancient Jews in worshipping the one true God.

Are there certain principles and standards to which we should be committed?  Absolutely, but we should be committed to them because they are biblical, not because they are traditional or conservative.  The standard should always be the Bible; nothing more and nothing less.  Either way, these verses are not teaching on principles or standards at all.  They are teaching on the need for the nation of Israel, in the Old Testament, to stay committed to serving and worshipping the one true God.

Although I have included this passage on the page with misused and abused Bible verses, these verses would be better classified as misused and partially ignored.  Matthew 28:19-20 is one of the most familiar passages of Scripture.  These verses say:

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen”

There are many people and many churches who think they are being obedient to this passage, but really are not.  There are many people who assume that the are fulfilling the great commission, but are not.  There are pastors who think that seeing people saved on this mission field makes them obedient to this passage, but it might not.  Let me explain!

Undoubtedly you have heard that these verses are commanding us to “GO” and win other people to Christ.  While I would readily agree that this is the duty of every Christian, I do not think this is the command that these verses are teaching.  As I have studied these verses in great detail over the past couple of weeks there are several things that I learned that led me to, what I believe to be, the proper application of this passage.

“Go” is not the command in this verse.  The ‘going’ is assumed.  We are not being commanded to “go” to a lost world, it is assumed that we are going to ’go’…that it is natural to ‘go’.  It would be better to translate the first part of Matthew 28:19 as “While you are going…”  or  as Young’s Literal Translation says, “Having gone…”  Once you understand this fact the real command in this passage becomes crystal clear.  Let me offer an outline of sorts that will help visualize what I am talking about.

While you are going…

          …Make disciples or disciple all nations…

                  …by baptizing them…

                            (…in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit…)

                  …And by teaching them…

                             (…to observe all things that I have commanded you…)

…I will be with you always…

         (…even to the end of the age, Amen.)

The command in this verse is to make disciples or to disciple all nations.  We accomplish that by (1) baptizing them and (2) teaching them.  Let me offer an explanation about the instruction to baptize.  Baptisim is in no way necessary for or a pre-requisite to salvation.  However, in Scripture baptism is assumed for the believer.  As a result, baptism is many times connected to salvation as a direct and immediate result of that salvation.  Baptism was the sign of their conversion.  So when this passage instructs us to make disciples by the sign of baptizing them, we can understand that to mean that we are to make disciples (1) by seeing them converted to Christ and (2) by teaching them.

So how are these verses misused and partially ignored?

It is primarily misused by asserting that the command is to “GO”.  While we are to “go” that is not the primary command in these verses.  The command is to disciple all nations.  This passage is partially ignored by churches failing to make disciples.  So many church are so focused on making converts that the fail to make disciples.  The going is assumed…we are to go, we are to disciple all nations by converting people to Christ and by teaching them. 

Any time we only focus on converting people to Christ and yet fail to teach/disciple them we are not fulfilling the great commission.  The only way to be obedient to this passage is to disciple all the nations (starting in your own church) by BOTH presenting Christ to the lost and then after they are converted to Christ, teaching them.  If either portion is neglected the disciple-making process is brought to an abrupt stop.

Read Explinations Of Other Misused And Abused Bible Verses here.

We are wrapping this week of posts up with yet another misused and abused Bible verse.  The verse that we are looking at today is I Corinthians 1:21.  This verse says:

For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. - KJV

Those who misapply this verse are focusing on the act of preaching.  This is completely a wrong interpretation of this verse and in fact, takes away from the gospel.  The main proof of this is found in the original language.  The word that is translated as “preaching” in the King James Version is actually a noun in the Greek, NOT a verb.  It is referring to the message that is preached, not the act of proclaiming or preaching.  God has chosen by the foolishness of the message preached to save sinners.  It is the message that saves not the act preaching.

There are a couple verses that surround verse 21 the also point to the message not the preaching.  The first one is verse 18.  It says”

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

Notice that it is the preaching of the cross that saves.  The cross is the message that is preached…that is the gospel.  The other verse that adds context is verse 23.  It reiterates this point by saying:

But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness.

Again, it is not that they are preaching, it is what they are preaching.  They are preaching Christ crucified…that is the gospel.   The focus of verse 21 is not on the act of preaching it is on the gospel message that is preached.  It is the gospel message that saves, not simply the act of preaching.  The New American Standard Version, which is widely accepted as the most literal translation, is accurate when it says:

For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

As you can see when the emphasis is on the act of preaching instead of the message that is to be preached, attention is take away from the gospel and onto the preacher.  Do not think that merely the act of preaching can save…it is only the gospel message that saves.  To misinterpret this verse in this way is a misuse and abuse of Scripture.

READ OTHER POSTS IN THIS SERIES

Misused and abused Bible verses- part 1- Hebrews 10:25

Misused and abused Bible verses- part 2- Proverbs 29:18

Misused and abused Bible verses- part 3- Proverbs 22:28

Misused and abused Bible verses- part 4- II Chronicles 7:14

Misused and abused Bible verses- part 5- I Thessalonians 5:22

Misused and abused Bible verses- part 6- I John 1:9

Misused and abused Bible verses- part 7- Deuteronomy 22:5

Misused and abused Bible verses- part 8- I Timothy 6:10

Misused and abused Bible verses- part 9- I Corinthians 11:14

The verse that we are looking at today is I Corinthians 11:14.  Please keep in mind that our goal should be to understand Scripture in line with its actual meaning and in agreement with its context.  Attaching our own meanings to a verse undermines the authority of Scripture and should be something that we avoid at all costs.  Here is what the verse that we are examining today says:

Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?- KJV

This is the verse that is used to try and convince people that guys should not have long hair.  One problem up front is that “long” is a very subjective term.  Here is how it is usually used in the circles in which I grew up:  If a guy’s hair touches his collar or his ear then it is long.  But is this interpretation what Paul is trying to teach with this verse?  I don’t believe it is.  Paul is not setting a steadfast standard or rule; he is giving a generalized principle.  This understanding must be the foundation for understanding this passage.

We have to remember that verse 14 is part of the entire passage.  And in this passage Paul was stressing the need to differentiate between genders in worship.  He was teaching that a women’s hair can be her head covering and that men do not need a head covering in worship.  He was not setting a standard of how long or short someones hair should be.  Walvord and Zuck suggest that there was no specific hair length in mind only the need to distinguish between male and female. 

However, the fact that this verse is not setting a specific and measurable rule or standard is not a license to take this liberty to an extreme.  Men’s hair is generalized as short and women’s hair is generalized as long.  But to try and make an absolute rule of what is long and what is short is absurd.  To refer to a guy as sinful because his hair touches his ears is simply wrong .  To hold other people accountable to a standard that doesn’t really exist is ridiculous.  To preach sermons on hair length is not preaching the truth of the Bible but one’s own misguided thoughts.

To try and make a steadfast rule from this verse is to twist Scripture into saying something that it doesn’t really say so that it fits your personal predetermined preferences.  This kind of action is an abuse and misuse of Scripture.

READ OTHER POSTS IN THIS SERIES

Misused and abused Bible verses- part 1- Hebrews 10:25

Misused and abused Bible verses- part 2- Proverbs 29:18

Misused and abused Bible verses- part 3- Proverbs 22:28

Misused and abused Bible verses- part 4- II Chronicles 7:14

Misused and abused Bible verses- part 5- I Thessalonians 5:22

Misused and abused Bible verses- part 6- I John 1:9

Misused and abused Bible verses- part 7- Deuteronomy 22:5

Misused and abused Bible verses- part 8- I Timothy 6:10

The verse that we are looking at today is I Timothy 6:10.  This is another familiar verse that is quoted quite often.  You even here this verse quoted occasionally in movies.  It says:

For the love of money is the root of all evil… KJV

Most of us have probably heard this verse taught in line with the way that the King James Version translates it.  The way that the KJV translates this verse makes it sound like the love of money is the root of ALL evil…just as it reads.  The problem is that this translation is not accurate.  The verse should actually says that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.  The intended meaning goes something like this:

For the love of money is a root of all kinds or sorts of evils…

The way we have heard this verse taught doesn’t even make sense.  Is the reason my 3-year old son doesn’t pick up his toys when I tell him to a result of him loving money?  Of course not!  The love of money is NOT the root of all evil, it is the root of all kinds or all sorts of evil.  With just a little study the true meaning is clear.  Let’s not be lazy in our study of Scripture.  Doing so leads to the abuse and misuse of Scripture.

READ OTHER POSTS IN THIS SERIES

Misused and abused Bible verses part 1- Hebrews 10:25

Misused and abused Bible verses part 2- Proverbs 29:18

Misused and abused Bible verses part 3- Proverbs 22:28

Misused and abused Bible verses part 4- II Chronicles 7:14

Misused and abused Bible verses part 5- I Thessalonians 5:22

Misused and abused Bible verses part 6- I John 1:9

Misused and abused Bible verses part 7- Deuteronomy 22:5

The verse that we are looking at today is Deuteronomy 22:5.  This verse may not be a big deal where you live, but for some reason in the south it is one of the most abused and misused Bible verses there is.  This is a case where Scripture has been twisted to match what people want to believe.  What is sad is that people are living their lives based on an inaccurate view of Scripture. 

Here is what the verse says:

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.

This is the proof verse that is used for saying that women should not wear pants.  That is not at all what this verse is teaching…there are so many ways to accurately dispute this interpretation that I’m not even sure where to begin.  Let’s start with the historical context.   At the time of this writing Israel struggled in two main areas, immorality and idolatry.  More specifically, at the time this was written Israel was battling with what to do with pagan temples and false priests.  Women were dressing as priests in the pagan temple and men were dressing as female prostitutes outside the temple.  They had statues built of pagan gods.  The statues were said to be of both sexes.  Sacrifices were offered to the statue by women dressed as priests.

God was telling them not to mix the pure with the impure.  Don’t mix the moral with the immoral.  Moses was combating the sin of transvestitism…cross-dressing and its immoral and impure application within the pagan temples. 

We can also see this teaching of not mixing the pure with the impure in the Scriptural context.   Look at verses 9-11.  Here is what they say:

You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, or all the produce of the seed which you have sown and the increase of the vineyard will become defiled.  You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.  You shall not wear a material mixed of wool and linen together.

If verse 5 is actually teaching that women should not wear pants and people ‘obey’ that verse, why are verses 9-11 not also obeyed?  If you are going to misapply verse 5 you should be consistent and also misapply verses 9-11. 

The only teaching we have in Scripture about what clothes women are to wear is found in I Timothy 2:9.  Women are to dress modestly.  There is no verse that in any way teaches that women should not wear pants.  If you want to live by this extra-biblical standard…go for it, but PLEASE don’t try and make it a biblical issue…it simply isn’t one.  To make it one is to abuse and misuse Scripture.

READ OTHER POSTS IN THIS SERIES

Misused and abused Bible verses part 1- Hebrews 10:25

Misused and abused Bible verses part 2- Proverbs 29:18

Misused and abused Bible verses part 3- Proverbs 22:28

Misused and abused Bible verses part 4- II Chronicles 7:14

Misused and abused Bible verses part 5- I Thessalonians 5:22

Misused and abused Bible verses part 6- I John 1:9

The verse that we are examining today is I Thessalonians 5:22.  This verse has frequently been interpreted as “abstain from all appearance of evil.”  The meaning that is assigned to this verse goes something like this: we should stay away from anything that even looks like evil.  Other than the fact that this is impossible to do, there are several problems with this interpretation.

First, it is simply not accurate.  The word that is translated ‘appearance’ actually means form, figure or kind.  It should say abstain from all kinds or forms of evil.  Out of the 10 commentators that I read,  not one of them holds to the view that we are to avoid the ‘appearance of evil’.  They all agree that the verse is teaching that we should avoid all kinds and forms of evil.  As Vincent says the word that is translated as ‘appearance’ is actually never used in “the sense of semblance [appearance]“.  It means form or kind. 

Second, when this verse is interpreted as ‘avoid all appearance of evil’ we then not only have to differentiate between right and wrong but also what may appear as wrong.  As Fausset says, “There is no intent to draw a contrast between appearance and substance in this verse.”   Christ died to save us from actual sin, not what some may view as sin.  It is our sin that separates us from God, not those things that others may view as looking like sin.  This truth can even be seen in the life of Christ.  Jesus healed the sick on the sabbath, ate with publicans and sinners, and even interacted with prostitutes, actions which bore the appearance of evil, but which were not to be abstained from on that basis. 

Third, as Christians our standard of right and wrong is based solely on Scripture…no one will argue that point.  If something is indeed wrong, it is wrong because the Bible says so.  When we attempt to avoid everything that even looks like evil, we are throwing that standard out the window.  We are no longer concerned with being obedient to Scripture…our focus is on what other people think.  Living based on the opinions of others either leads to legalistic living or liberal living…it never results in biblical living.  When this is our goal we no longer have a solid foundation of right and wrong.  We settle for a standard of right and wrong that is relative to the views of those around us. 

The truth of this passage is found when verse 21 and 22 are viewed together.  We are to test the teaching and practices that we see;  then we are to retain the good (vs. 21), and reject the evil (vs. 22).   Paul is reiterating a truth that is mentioned in Romans 12:9.  There he says, “Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.”  What appears wrong to God…is wrong and is outlined as wrong in Scripture.  What appears wrong to others may or may not actually be wrong depending on that person.  I choose to live by the standard of Scripture; not by a subjective, wishy-washy, man-made, extra-biblical standard.  How about you?