Twisted Scripture - Psalm 116:15

I Did a Series at Livingston a While Back Called “Twisted Scripture”

I would Take Different Verses or Passages…

That We are Often Guilty of Misinterpreting/Twisting…

And I would Focus on the Context of the Passage

There are Lots of Verses/Passages We Like to Quote to Make Certain Points…

But When We Study the Context of the Passage…

We Often Find Out that We’ve Been Twisting that Passage a Little Bit

When You Keep a Passage in its Context…

You’re Much Less Likely to Twist the Passage…

And You’re Much More Likely to Understand the Intended Meaning

And Understanding What the Authors of Scripture Actually Meant…

Will Lead You to Better Application of the Scriptures…

Which Leads to Greater Christ-Likeness

So, Correctly Interpreting the Scriptures should Extremely Important to Us

Because Being More Like Jesus should Be Our Primary Goal

I Want to Start with an Example Passage…

That Many of Us are Probably Familiar with…

And Many of Us have Likely Heard Interpreted Incorrectly

Philippians 4:13 (NET)

13 I am able to do all things through the one who strengthens me.

This is the Sports Player’s and Motivational Speaker’s Favorite Verse

When Ripped From its Context…

This Verse Seems to Say:

“God will Give Me the Strength to Accomplish Anything I Set My Mind to!”

“I can Hit that Game-Winning Shot”

“I can Catch that Game-Winning Touchdown Pass”

“I can Get that Promotion”

“I can Achieve My Dreams”

“As Long as I’ve Got God on My Side…”

“Nothing can Stop Me from Living My Best Life”

That Sounds Great…

Until You Actually Study the Context

When Paul Wrote Those Words, He was Sitting in a Jail Cell

Much of Paul’s Life After Becoming a Christian Consisted of…

Being Punished/Persecuted for His Faith/Allegiance to Jesus

Just Knowing that Little Bit of Context…

Already Starts to Call into Question the Way Many People Interpret this Verse

If God Strengthens His Faithful People…

To Accomplish All Their Hopes and Dreams…

Then Why Didn’t He Do that for Paul?

I have a Feeling Persecution/Imprisonment weren’t on Paul’s Wish List

And Yet, Here He is

So that Little Bit of Information Alone is Already Causing Issues

But When You Read the Text in its Immediate Context…

Then it Becomes Obvious that this Text has Been Twisted

Philippians 4:10–13 (NET)

10 I have great joy in the Lord because now at last you have again expressed your concern for me. (Now I know you were concerned before but had no opportunity to do anything.)11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content in any circumstance. 12 I have experienced times of need and times of abundance. In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of contentment, whether I go satisfied or hungry, have plenty or nothing. 13 I am able to do all things through the one who strengthens me.

The Context Allows Us to Discover What Paul Actually Meant

He wasn’t Talking About God Giving Us the Strength to Do/Be Whatever We Want

He was Saying:

Jesus Gives Him the Strength to Make it Through Any/Every Circumstance

Whether Rich or Poor

Whether Full or Hungry

Whether Clothed or Naked

Whether He has Roof Over His Head or is Homeless

Paul has Learned to Be Content No Matter the Circumstances

To Paul, Belonging to Jesus is Enough

And We All would Be Greatly Blessed if We would Learn What Paul Learned:

To Be Content/Satisfied No Matter Our Circumstances…

Simply Because We are Citizens of Jesus’ Kingdom…

And Heirs of the Eternal Life He’s Promised

There’s More We could Dive into Concerning this Passage…

But Isn’t the Correct Interpretation So Much More Beautiful and Practical?

The Twisted Interpretation of Philippians 4:13 is All About Me

But the Correct Interpretation is All about Jesus…

And the Strength He Provides to His People…

To Be Content Through Whatever Difficulties Life Throws at Us

That’s a Much More Important Lesson to Learn and Application to Make

The Twisted Interpretation is About Satisfying All of Our Lusts

The Correct Interpretation is About Transformation/Sanctification

It’s About Becoming More Like Jesus

So, that’s a (Sort of) Quick Example of How Scriptures can Often Be Twisted

But the Scripture I Really Want to Focus on is Psalm 116:15

This is Also a Well-Known Verse

You’ve Probably Heard it Many Times in Funeral Homes

I Use it in Almost Every Funeral I Conduct

Here’s How You’ve Likely Heard it Translated:

Psalm 116:15 (NKJV)

15 Precious in the sight of the Lord Is the death of His saints.

It Has a Beautiful Poetic Sound to it

When One of God’s Children Dies, it’s a Precious Thing in His Sight

I’ve Often Heard it Used to Comfort…

Those Who are Mourning the Death of a Loved One

And Often, the Way it Seems to Be Interpreted…

Is Essentially: “Death Isn’t So Bad!”

Maybe Death Seems Like a Bad Thing to Us Right Now…

But to God, When One of His People Die, it’s Precious

When We Read this Passage…

We May Imagine God Waiting in Heaven with His Arms Open Wide…

Ready to Embrace His Child Who is Coming Home to Him

That Sounds Good Doesn’t it?

When a 90 Year Old Faithful Christian…

Gently Passes Away in Their Sleep…

It’s Easy to Say at Their Funeral:

“Precious in the Sight of the Lord is the Death of His Saints.”

But What About the 30 Year Old Mother of 3…

Who Dies in a Car Accident On Her Way to Pick Up Her Children From School?

That Doesn’t Leave the Same Taste in Our Mouths, Does it?

It’s Harder to Imagine…

God Considering Something So Tragic/Devastating as “Precious”

Do You Think the Broken-Hearted Husband…

And 3 Motherless Children could Honestly Say…

The Death of Their Wife/Mother is Precious?

Is this Text Really Telling Us…

That God Considers the Death of His Children…

As Precious/Something He Cherishes/Enjoys?

Or has this Verse Been Ripped From its Context & Twisted?

Let’s Read the Entire Psalm and See What We Find:

Psalm 116 (NASB95)

1 I love the Lord, because He hears My voice and my supplications. 2 Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live. 3 The cords of death encompassed me And the terrors of Sheol came upon me; I found distress and sorrow. 4 Then I called upon the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I beseech You, save my life!”

The Psalmist had Pleaded with God to Save Him From Death

5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; Yes, our God is compassionate. 6 The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me.

God Saved Him From Death…

Because God is Gracious, Righteous, and Compassionate

7 Return to your rest, O my soul, For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. 8 For You have rescued my soul from death, My eyes from tears, My feet from stumbling.

The Psalmist can Rest Peacefully Because God has Saved Him From Death

9 I shall walk before the Lord In the land of the living. 10 I believed when I said, “I am greatly afflicted.”

The Psalmist will Live the Rest of His Life in Obedience to God…

Because God Saved Him From Death

11 I said in my alarm, “All men are liars.” 12 What shall I render to the Lord For all His benefits toward me?

The Psalmist Wonders How He can Repay God for Saving Him From Death

13 I shall lift up the cup of salvation And call upon the name of the Lord. 14 I shall pay my vows to the Lord, Oh may it be in the presence of all His people. 15 Precious in the sight of the Lord Is the death of His godly ones. 16 O Lord, surely I am Your servant, I am Your servant, the son of Your handmaid, You have loosed my bonds. 17 To You I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, And call upon the name of the Lord. 18 I shall pay my vows to the Lord, Oh may it be in the presence of all His people, 19 In the courts of the Lord’s house, In the midst of you, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!

The Psalmist will Respond to God’s Salvation (Saving Him From Death)…

With Worship/Praise in the Presence of All God’s People

What is this Psalm About?

The Psalmist is Talking About a Time When He Almost Died…

But God Saved Him

And Now He’s Praising God for Saving Him From Death

That’s the Primary Theme and Message of this Psalm

So, Taking that Overall Theme/Message into Consideration…

Does it Really Make Sense for the Psalmist to Be Saying…

“God Finds the Death of His People as a Precious/Good Thing”?

It Makes Absolutely No Sense in Light of the Context

The Psalmist Begged God to Save Him From Death

And God Answered that Prayer

Death Being a “Precious” Thing Doesn’t Fit the Context at All

At Least, Not the Way We Commonly Use “Precious”

“Precious” = Expensive, Rare, Costly

It’s Not Referring to Something Loved/Adored

What the Word “Precious” Means in this Context is:

Not to Be Taken Lightly

That’s What the Psalmist is Saying

God Sees His People as Valuable…

And He Does Not Take the Death of His Children Lightly

This is Why He Saved the Psalmist from Death

Because the Death of His Saints is Costly

Psalm 116:15 (LEB)

Costly in Yahweh’s view is the death of his faithful ones.

Psalm 116:15 (NET)

The Lord values the lives of his faithful followers.

Psalm 116:15 (NLT)

The Lord cares deeply when his loved ones die.

God Doesn’t Consider the Death of His People as “Precious”…

In the Way We Typically Use “Precious”

The Death of His People is Costly

He Values the Lives of His People

He Cares Deeply When His People Die

He Takes the Death of His People Seriously

So, should We Not Use this Passage to Comfort…

Those Who are Grieving the Loss of a Loved One?

Sure We can!

It’s an Extremely Comforting Passage!

As I Said, I Use it in Almost Every Funeral I Conduct

But Not in the Way Many People Use it…

And the Way I Used to Use it

Think of the Comfort this Passage Offers to Us

When We’re Experiencing the Pain/Heart-Ache of Death…

This Passage Tells Us:

“God Does Too”

We Care About the Death of Our Loved Ones

And God Does Too

We Don’t Want Our Loved Ones to Die

And God Doesn’t Either

We Don’t Take the Death of Our Loved Ones Lightly

And Neither Does God

The Twisted Interpretation Says:

“Your Loss is God’s Gain”

The Correct Interpretation Says:

“Your Loss is God’s Loss Too”

God Doesn’t Love Death

I would Even Go So Far as to Say…

God Hates Death

Death is Not a Good Thing

But, So Often, Christians Like to Present Death as a Good Thing

And I Understand Why

Because of Jesus, We Expect Blessings on the Other Side of Death

And We See that in Passages Like:

Philippians 1:21–24 (NASB95)

21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. 23 But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; 24 yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.

Paul Believed Dying and Being with Jesus was “Very Much Better”

But, Remember, Paul is Writing this in Prison

He had Experienced and would Continue to Experience…

Lots of Persecution and Suffering

To Die and Be with Jesus Seemed Much Better to Him

But the Fact that There are Blessings on the Other Side of Death…

Doesn’t Mean Death itself is a Good Thing

Jesus has Brought Good Out of a Bad Situation

Along These Same Lines…

It’s Important to Read What Paul Said to the Corinthians:

2 Corinthians 5:6–8 (NASB95)

6 Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight— 8 we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

Paul is Saying:

He would Prefer to Be at Home with the Lord…

Than to Continue Being Alive in His Body

He Prefers Death Over Life

But, if We are Learning Anything From this Lesson…

I Hope it’s the Importance of Keeping Passages in Their Context

To Get a Fuller Picture of What Paul is Saying…

We Need to Read Verses 1-4

2 Corinthians 5:1–4 (NASB95)

1 For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, 3 inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked. 4 For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.

Our True Hope isn’t Death and Being Unclothed From Our Bodies

Our True Hope isn’t a Disembodied Existence with Jesus

Our True Hope is Being Alive and Clothed in Our Bodies…

But Not These Old, Weak, Corruptible, and Mortal Tents

But Being Clothed…

In Our New, Strong, Incorruptible, and Immortal Buildings From Heaven

We Don’t Want to Be Naked/Dead

We Want to Be Out of this Tent and in Our Building From Heaven

Our True Hope is Being Alive in Our New Resurrection Bodies

Paul Prefers Death and Being with Jesus…

Over Living in this Current Tent

But the True Hope is Living in the New Resurrection Body

The Scriptures Don’t Teach a Positive View of Death

You’ll Find Passages Where…

The Author Prefers Death Over Their Current Circumstances

But that’s Always When the Author is Enduring…

Very Difficult Times of Suffering

Death wasn’t What God Intended for Humanity

We were Not Created to Die

We were Created to Live Forever with Him

Death is a Terrible Consequence of the Fall

Death is God’s Enemy, Not His Friend

Psalm 116:15 Shows Us that God Cares About the Deaths of His People

Our Deaths are Costly to Him

Our Lives are Valuable to Him

And He’s at Work to Preserve Our Lives Forever

He has Done, is Doing, and Will Do Something About Death

And that Gives Me an Incredible Amount of Hope

To Me, the Correct Interpretation of Psalm 116:15…

Is a Much More Hopeful Interpretation