Introduction
The Bible is the bestselling book in history. I would argue that most people have heard of at least some small sayings or thoughtful nugget from within its pages. It’s great that the Bible has such a large recognition; however, this does create some challenges.
Many will hear and repeat portions of Scripture that are misquoted or taken out of context. It’s quite popular, even within the church, to lob individual verses around in various situations. This leads to misunderstandings of what the Scripture actually teaches on a given subject. Here we are going to consider three common examples.
1. Ask and You Shall Be Given
The first commonly misunderstood passage that we will look at is found in Matthew 7:7-11. I like to refer to it as the “ask” passage. Here Jesus seems to imply that He will give believers whatever we ask for.
Matthew 7:7-12
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9Who among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you then, who are evil,know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him.
I have heard many pastors invoke this passage in the pulpit as sort of a motivational slogan meant to encourage the listeners. However, common sense and experience tells us that God doesn’t answer every single one of our prayers with a resounding “YES”. So, we struggle with what Jesus truly means here. But we are aided by the rendering of the same story in another Gospel.
Luke 11:9-13
9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. 10For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 11What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? 12Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13If you then, who are evil,know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”
Not the Prosperity Gospel
Luke 11:13 reveals to us exactly what Jesus was referring to. He isn’t saying that He will give us cars, money, and prestige. He’s telling us that He will not turn away those who genuinely seek Him. He is generous with His love, mercy, and grace and He will give His Spirit freely. All we have to do is come to Him.
I believe this is also true of those spiritual things that bring us closer to Christ and His kingdom. These are the good gifts that He refers to. If you want to understand Scripture better, then ask Christ to reveal it to you. If you want to grow stronger in your trust in Jesus, then seek out His presence. If you want to live for eternity with Him, then knock on the door of His kingdom.
2. Judge Not
Matthew 7:1
1 “Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged.
The “judge not” passage in Matthew 7:1 is probably the passage that is most commonly quoted textually accurately but interpretively inaccurately. It’s the classic example of what happens when we rip a single verse out of the context of the passage it’s in. This is the motivation for Apologist and Author Greg Koukl’s slogan, “Never read a Bible verse.” He’s saying that we shouldn’t view individual verses separately. We should view them in the context they are in. In this case, we should view 7:1 in the context of verses 7:2-7:5.
Matthew 7:2-5
2For you will be judged by the same standard with which you judge others, and you will be measured by the same measure you use. 3Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the beam of wood in your own eye? 4Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the splinter out of your eye,’ and look, there’s a beam of wood in your own eye?5Hypocrite! First take the beam of wood out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye.
We come to a more robust understanding of what Jesus was saying in Matt. 7:1 if we simply continue reading to verse 5. He’s not commanding us not to judge in an absolute sense. He’s commanding us not to judge hypocritically. Jesus is condemning hypocrisy here. He does so throughout the Gospels, most notably in His strong discourse with the Pharisees in Matthew 23. In fact, verse 5 tells us exactly how to judge righteously. We must look inward first. Often this self-reflection on our own experiences and struggles allows us to humbly help others improve without condemning them.
Judging Others
There are many passages in Scripture where we are instructed to judge the character of those around us (1 Cor. 15:33, Prov. 13:20-21, 14:7-31, etc.). We know this intuitively as well. We all make judgements in our daily lives. We consider it good judgement to steer clear of those who bring chaos and conflict, and we instruct our children to do the same.
Avoidance of Accountability
Believers are also instructed by the Apostle Paul to hold one another accountable in Gal. 6:1-2 which interprets very similarly to Matt. 7:1. I believe this explains why it’s so popular to take the “judge not” passage out of context. It’s weaponized by the culture and Progressive Christians to avoid being accountable for our actions. Frankly, it’s easier to deny the light of Christ or disregard the clear teachings of Scripture if no one is allowed to say anything about it. This allows us to hypocritically claim virtue without actually being virtuous.
3. I Can Do All Things
Philippians 4:13
13I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13 is the motivational slogan of motivational slogans. We see Christians, Athletes, and anyone else seeking to complete an accomplishment invoke this Scripture. I don’t think I would be exaggerating to say that most of the time this verse is used out of context. Don’t get me wrong. It’s a noble idea to put all that we seek to do in our lives under the sovereign providence and power of Christ. However, this isn’t what Paul was saying here.
Again, we must look at the surrounding context of what Paul was saying to the Philippian Church to fully understand his message. More broadly, Phil. 4:13 is a practical example in Paul’s own life of what he had been teaching the Philippians throughout the letter about what their relationship with Christ should be like.
Be Content in All Things
More specifically, Phil. 4:10-12 gives the context of Phil. 4:13. Here he’s explaining to them that he’s learned to be content in all circumstances. His joy in the eternal hope that we have in Jesus Christ is unshakable whether he is currently in good times or hard times. Yet, he doesn’t do this under his own power. It is the Spirit of Christ living in us that changes us, comforts us, and strengthens us so that we can have hope and joy in all circumstances. This is the “all things” that we can do through Christ.
Conclusion
It’s important that we interpret Scripture in an honest and consistent way. Our interpretation must be true to what the author was saying in the context in which he was saying it. We also should always verify for ourselves what others tell us about Scripture. We should study our Bibles regularly so that we are not led astray by the misquotes and misinterpretations that we hear. God’s Word is our ultimate guide.
Blessings