Scripture Twisting

2 Peter 3:15,16

Scripture Twisting

Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.  He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters.  His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

hen the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong [Ecclesiastes 8:11].  Just as this ancient adage holds true in the physical realm, so it also holds true in the spiritual realm.  God displays His patience, delaying judgement.  His patience means salvation for all who will receive Him.  In this delay is opportunity to repent and to turn from the certainty of divine wrath.  Wicked people misinterpret this mercy, however, distorting this truth to their own supposed advantage – and this they do deliberately and to their own destruction!

Peter has invested the majority of his second letter with identifying the false teachers who were even then plaguing the churches.  False teachers cannot disseminate error without twisting the Word of God to support what they wish it to say.  God has given us a perfect revelation, complete in presenting all that is necessary for faith and practise.  The simplest believer can know the revealed mind of God simply by reading the Word which God has given.  Unfortunately, evil people can distort that Word to their own momentary advantage to the misfortune of the unwary.

In order to more perfectly protect the members of this congregation from such Scripture twisting, the message this evening is now presented.  The message is divided into three parts, each of which builds upon the other.  First, I shall endeavour to point out the one great, singular theme of the Word of God.  Then I propose to remind you that the Word may sometimes be difficult to understand.  At last I will seek to warn that Scripture is liable to distortion.  In the process I will make every effort to provide some simple rules for understanding the Word of God.

Scripture has One Great Theme Predominating.  When Peter enjoins his readers to bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, he points to the one great theme of all Scripture.  If you wish a simple phrase by which to remember the central theme of Scripture, it is ruin, redemption, and regeneration.  Man was ruined by the fall, redeemed by the grace of God, and all heaven and earth shall be restored by the mighty hand of God.  Follow in an exploration of that theme as we take an excursion through the Word.

The statements of man’s wickedness are multiplied throughout the Word.  Our first father sinned, rebelled against the clear command of God, plunging the entire earth into a state of sin.  Since that time the whole world has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time [Romans 8:22].  It was not simply that Adam sinned, but that He, as federal head of the entire race, insured that all creation was contaminated by the virus of rebellion and sin.  Thus it is accurate to say that sin entered the world through one man, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned [Romans 5:12].  Death is the evidence that we are sinners.  Death is the evidence that our race is under sin.  Death is the evidence that our world is under the curse resulting from sin.

I dare not move so rapidly that we avoid confrontation with this great truth.  We die because we sin. We are under sentence of death, and just as we are sentenced to die physically, we are under sentence of death spiritually.  What is physical death but separation of the soul from the body?  Man is a living soul.  The body serves only as a temporary residence of the soul, but we are so much more than a body.

When we die, do we simply cease to exist?  Rather, every evidence is that we continue on in another dimension.  Our every hope is that there is more beyond this moment we call life.  Therefore, death is but a separation of the spirit from the body.  It is a transition to another plane.  But if there is a physical death, there must be a spiritual death as well.  If physical death is separation of soul and spirit from the body, then spiritual death must be separation of spirit and soul from God who is life.  Spiritual death must be banishment from the love and grace of God.

That is the teaching of the Word.  Each of us were at one time dead in … transgressions and sins [Ephesians 2:1].  Should we die physically in that state of spiritual death we will be forever separated from God.  For the lost who will not receive God’s grace while they walk on this earth, there is no promise of grace following this life.  Those who reject God’s love during the days of their flesh have no hope of that love beyond this moment we call life.

The wages of sin is death [Romans 6:23].  The statement by itself is sad, disheartening and distressing.  Were there but a way to deal with sin, perhaps death could be averted.  Perhaps if we could be freed from sin we would never need die.  Of course that is the heart of the Good News which the churches of our Lord have proclaimed throughout the millennia since Jesus walked among men.  The essence of the message of Christ is freedom from condemnation, deliverance from sin, that men may be made alive in Christ.

The message of life is a message of grace and love delivered to dying people.  If you will but heed the message you will be given life.  God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life [John 3:16].  Ruined by the fall, we may be made new in Christ.  Cursed and condemned by sin, we may be forgiven and given now new life in Christ the Lord.

Neither is this promise of life something for which we need wait.  Though the curse of physical death remains, spiritual death is set aside.  The transition from death to life is immediate and the child of God has the testimony of that transformation immediately.  Life in Christ, salvation, is not something for which we must wait.  Eternal life is the present possession of the child of God.  Indeed we wait to see the full change, but the promise is a present reality for the child of God.  Jesus said, I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life [John 5:24].  Eternal life is the present possession of the child of God, though the promise of transformation remains.

The Spirit of God dwells within the believer, the seal of God’s ownership and His deposit guaranteeing what is to come [2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5].  Just as the Apostle has said, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death [Romans 8:1,2].  Without condemnation, we may live without fear.  The practical consequence of this is that we may now live lives marked by peace, joy and confidence.  All this is the result of the redemption we may have in Christ as Lord of life.  All this is but the precursor to heaven itself, where God gives Himself to His children.

Believers now have the Spirit of God dwelling within, and so we may say to all: You are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.  And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.  But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.  And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you [Romans 8:9-11].

One of the great summary statements of the redemption we have in Christ is that which is found in Hebrews 9:27,28.  Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgement, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.  At that time we will be complete in Him and the final act in the great drama will be complete … we will witness the regeneration of the entire ruined universe.

John spoke of that regeneration when he saw a new heaven and a new earth.  He says that the first heaven and the first earth had passed away [Revelation 21:1].  Our Lord, seated on the throne of glory, says, I am making everything new [Revelation 21:5].  No more will the earth be cursed with death or pain or hurt.  At every funeral which I conduct for the saints of God it is my practise to read Revelation 21:3,4.  I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.  They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”  No sorrow!  No tears!  No pain!  It is beyond our imagination, and yet it is the hope of all mankind.  In Christ we shall at last be complete.  This is the central theme of the Word of God.  Glory to His Name.  Amen.

Scripture may Sometimes be Difficult to Understand. 

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter;

to search out a matter is the glory of kings

[Proverbs 25:2].

Our God is greater than human imagination.  Paul, writing the Corinthians in his first letter, quoted Isaiah to remind believers that

No eye has seen,

no ear has heard,

no mind has conceived

what God has prepared for those who love him

[1 Corinthians 2:9].

Since God is beyond human comprehension, should it be a surprise that we know Him only through the revelation which He Himself gives mankind?  It is only as God condescends to reveal Himself to us that we know of Him.  Thus, even that which He does reveal is often difficult to comprehend.  So Peter says that Paul wrote of the patience and the mercy of God in his letters.  Then, in obvious understatement, Peter says that Paul’s letters contain some things that are hard to understand.  Is this actually a surprise?

Paul writes of the mercy of God.  Though recipients of His mercy, can we really understand how mortal man can sin so defiantly and so blatantly against God and yet receive mercy?  Since God is infinite our sin is infinite because it is against Him.  We have horribly transgressed against Him and deserve only condemnation.  How can we receive mercy when we have sinned so grievously?  That God is merciful is evident in that we are not immediately destroyed.  Mercy is not what we expect.

How can infinite God love fallen man?  Though we can never explain that love, we who are believers have experienced it.  God loves, not because the object of His love is worthy of that love, but because He can do nothing other than love.  God is love, and as the water springing up from an artesian well flows unbidden, so the love of God flows undeserved and as a revelation of His very character.  Who can explain that love?

There is a dark side to God’s love, for without the capacity to hate, love has no meaning.  Just so, the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them [Romans 1:18,19].  I cannot explain how God who is love can hold wrath, though I am confident that He is able to express that wrath perfectly.  What is a marvel to me is that God can withhold His wrath, patiently extending His mercy to man until that awful day when His righteous anger shall burst forth in awesome judgement of all wickedness and evil.  There shall be no stopping that frightful wrath in that day.  Who can explain such wrath, though sinners are even now under condemnation and without hope and without God in the world.

Who can explain how God redeems wicked man?  Who can explain how He would give His very Son in the place of rebel man?  Who can explain how the Spirit of God awakens the sinner?  Who can explain how the Spirit of God calls the sinner to life?  Who can explain why God chooses to permit those who are believers to be called fellow workers together with Him?  Who can explain how God answers prayer without violating man’s will?  All these are aspects of Paul’s writings which are inexplicable.  Yet God has revealed all these truths to the praise of His glory.

On one occasion someone asked Samuel Clements, whose pen name was Mark Twain, whether he was concerned about those difficult things which are written in Scripture.  Clements answered that it was not the things which he did not understand that concerned him, but that rather he was concerned about those things which he did understand.  There are truths difficult to understand, although they are not impossible to understand.  Rather than concerning ourselves unduly with that which we do not understand, let us determine to thoroughly apply that which we do understand.

Though we are hard pressed to understand the mercy and love and grace of God, we can assuredly understand His wrath.  That which is opposed to Him must at last be consumed by His wrath.  That which is unholy and unrighteous, including all the fallacious efforts of fallen man to obtain peace or to obtain the forgiveness which is already extended, must at last be put far away from His holy presence.  That God is capable of wrath should be no surprise.  It is only because we have so focused on His goodness to the exclusion of His holiness that we can even think of a God unable or unwilling to call the wicked to account.  Though I cannot ignore God’s goodness, I am compelled to acknowledge His holiness.  In fact, His mercy and love and grace are without meaning if there is no capacity to hate.  It is only as these welcomed aspects of His character are displayed against the backdrop of holy wrath that they have meaning.

Scripture is Subject to Distortion.  In the view of fallen men, mercy is seen as cowardice, grace becomes intolerance, goodness is construed as evil.  God’s goodness toward man is twisted to mean that God wants only to take away our pleasure.  God’s grace is seen as intolerance.  God’s mercy is an indication that He is either unable to act or that He is perhaps indifferent to sin.  That wicked men would dare distort the Word in such a manner is evidence of the evil which reigns in their heart.

It is an unflattering portrait of mankind which is painted in Romans 3:10-18.

There is no one righteous, not even one;

there is no one who understands,

no one who seeks God.

All have turned away,

they have together become worthless;

there is no one who does good,

not even one.

Their throats are open graves;

their tongues practice deceit.

The poison of vipers is on their lips.

Their mouths are full of cursing and

bitterness.

Their feet are swift to shed blood;

ruin and misery mark their ways,

and the way of peace they do not know.

There is no fear of God before their eyes

Of all the unflattering statements compiled in that assessment, the most damning is that final assertion that there is no fear of God before their eyes.  Since God is a distant entity, why worry?  Live as we wish; He can do neither good nor evil.  He cannot see us.  What does it matter how we live?  It is this arrogant attitude which invites the wrath of God.  Because of such arrogance the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, as we have previously seen [Romans 1:18].

Perhaps if I never sinned I would never die.  But the fact that statistics on mortality reveal that one out of one die, we conclude that all have sinned.  That is precisely the conclusion which the Word draws and as we have already seen.  Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned [Romans 5:12].  Yet, in the face of undeniable fact, wicked people distort the Word to deny the very truths which are so vital to our eternal welfare.

In our evangelical Zion today are a growing number of theologians who teach the doctrine of universalism – that God is too good to ever judge mankind.  He cannot bear to condemn anyone to eternal damnation, so at the last everyone will somehow see the wonderful truth that God is love and be converted.  Did an individual live a wicked, profligate life without concern for God or for man?  No worry!  That one will get another chance and this time will make a much wiser choice.  Has an individual rejected grace and distorted mercy?  Not to worry!  God will never condemn such a one to eternal death.

After all, does not even Peter testify that the Lord … [does not want] anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance?  While the statement is true, it is inaccurate in isolation.  God’s Word must always be interpreted in light of the entire revelation of Scripture.  Immediately before Peter penned those words in question he revealed that by the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgement and destruction of ungodly men.  Underscore in your mind that God has clearly declared that ungodly men shall be destroyed, judged as wicked and banished from His presence!

Indeed, God’s will is that man should be saved, but the salvation offered is salvation from His coming wrath.  God offers salvation from condemnation, under which wicked man already exists.  God offers forgiveness of rebellion against Him and rebellion against His holy will, but God cannot ignore that rebellion.  God is pledged to judge the wicked.  If man rejects grace, God has warned that nothing remains but for that one to be judged as rebellious and worthy of eternal death.

Again, there are those, even within the precincts of evangelicalism who teach that we can add to divine grace through our own efforts.  In this view God saves us but we need to help Him by keeping ourselves saved.  These revered teachers employ Scripture to say that we must mix divine grace and mortal effort to insure that we keep ourselves in the love of God.  The only thing wrong with this view is that it is utterly false.  Having begun in grace, will we actually conclude through our own efforts?  Either salvation is all of grace, or there is no salvation.  Either we are saved fully by God’s grace, or we are not saved at all.  While we may grow in grace, we may not mix grace.

During the brief years of my pilgrimage I have witnessed a variety of conflicts within the ranks of the faithful.  There have been battles over the Bible, battles over interpretation of the Bible, battles over salvation, battles over the means of salvation, battles over the return of Christ, and battles over the judgement of mankind.  Each battle puts those honouring the Word of God on the defensive as progressive thinkers attempt to instate retrograde notions of defiant Israel whom God destroyed in their error.

The Bible is the Word of God, inerrant and infallible.  Either we receive it as given by God or it is but another book, no better and no worse than any other book and valuable only as a window on ancient concepts now outmoded.  But the Bible is to be obeyed, not debated!  Either Jesus Christ is God, or He is not.  If He is not God, we are fools to trust Him and even more foolish to think that He can deliver us from evil.  Either salvation is by faith, or there is no deliverance from condemnation.  If salvation is not by faith, how many good works will suffice to please God?  How much religious devotion is necessary to set aside my sin?  Either we are shown great mercy and grace, or there is no God.  Either God shall call mankind to account, or there is no justice in the universe.  In that case, we are without hope in the world.  Indeed, if God is not just and if He shall not call all to account, we need to heed the ancient maxim to eat, drink and be merry.

I cannot change the world through my efforts.  I can insure that I do not permit myself to fall into the trap of twisting the Word to fit my ideas.  I can labour to insure that I declare the Word in truth and in the simplicity with which it was intended to be read.  As Christians, you can each read the Word, making yourself familiar with that Word.  You who share in the services of the congregation are responsible to insure that the preacher declares the Word without distorting that Word to say something which was never meant.  With open Bibles, you can listen to the message, comparing what is said against what is written and applying those declared truths to your own life.

We have come to a day in which church services are at best another form of entertainment.  Churches are ranked according to the landscaping, the décor of the church building, the abilities of the choir and the quality of the special music.  Preaching is simply another means of entertainment, the “little talks” rated on how frequently the emotions of listeners are tickled.  Church is entertainment.  One evidence that this is true is the absence of personal Bibles brought to a given service.  Those in attendance are dependent upon the Bibles provided in the pews, and they are unable to follow the passages quoted because they are unfamiliar with the passages.  This should not be.

Hymnals are rapidly becoming an item associate with a distant age.  Hymns which demand that singers grapple with deep theology or deep thoughts are rapidly falling out of favour.  Instead, choruses are substituted.  It is not terribly important that the theology is frequently in grave error so long as the melody is catchy or they are sung to a lilting air.  If a phrase is repeated often enough no one will seriously question what is being said.  It is questionable whether anyone under the age of thirty knows by heart more than a handful of choice hymns of experience or deep theology today.

Furthermore, pastors are under siege to avoid deep thoughts, to avoid complex analysis, to avoid challenging or demanding great response to the message presented.  Just as education is “dumbed down” and as physical training in the military is reduced to the lowest common denominator, so the message of the Faith must be simplified and rewritten to meet the expectation of a dying world.  We pander to the perverted desires of condemned society and wonder at the loss of power in the church.

In such an environment of surrender to the spirit of the age, should we really be surprised that even professed Christians are susceptible to the efforts of those twisting Scripture?  Where the ministers of God are simply hired to fill an hour on Sunday, should we be surprised that the incidence of Scripture twisting increases.  When worship services and even the preaching of the Word are ranked according to their entertainment value, such Scripture twisting is inevitable.

But we permit distortion of the Word at our own peril, for those who do so, whether through ignorance or deliberately to obtain some momentary advantage, do so to their own destruction.  It is serious enough to think that we distort the Word and bring down the wrath of God on our own heads, but the thought that others may follow us to destruction should give us pause.

Character, such as that which Peter outlined as he began this letter, requires effort.  Someone has said that God always demands payment in advance, but the devil sells on credit.  To be godly requires effort as you constantly move toward that worthy goal.  Faith is the beginning of the journey, and you will need to add progressively goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love.  The alternative is to drift to destruction.

One can be religious, attend a service occasionally if it doesn’t inconvenience him too much, and give an impression that he is pious; if he is careful he will not need to exert himself overly much.  Though such people may be bosses, they will never be leaders pleasing to God.  They may have a modicum of respect from the perishing inhabitants of this world, and they may have a degree of ease now.  They will be buying on credit, however, and payment will be eventually demanded.  When the gales of life begin to blow they will lack familiarity with the Living God.  When their family begins to crumble, they will have nowhere to turn, and they will then pay.

What is worse, their influence will have condemned others to face God’s wrath.  Hell will no doubt hold some who can legitimately say that among their acquaintances were those who did not warn them of God’s wrath nor tell them of His mercy.  It is only through distorting the Word of God that we can justify silence to our family and friends concerning the call of God.  Let us not be guilty of silence or of distorting the Word.

The message today concludes with a call to you who are Christians to stir yourselves to renewed effort while it is day.  Among us are some who need to repent of their sin against Holy God.  We have become so occupied with this dying world that we have ceased labouring for the world to come.  Our godliness is like the morning mist which evaporates as the sun rises.  Though we can list multiplied possessions, we cannot point to a single soul rescued nor to influence for righteousness which has any eternal effect.  We need to repent.

Some within our own congregation have treated the call to godliness and purity as optional.  The consequence of this action is that others are being influenced to evil through our duplicity and silence.  They are deceived and thus brought into condemnation through our laxness.  We need to repent.

Yet others within the ken of our congregation are silent in the face of wickedness.  Whether through fear or through lack of concern, we have refused to confront wickedness.  Our casualness has an awesome cost associated with it, and that cost shall be imposed in due time.  We need to repent.

Each of us needs to determine that we will assume responsibility to insure the welfare of the congregation.  We need to purchase a Bible if we don’t have one, read that Bible and make ourselves familiar with it.  We need to bring it with us and employ it to the glory of God.  We need to endeavour to understand the great themes of the Word, applying ourselves to that Word so that we may ourselves be teachers of the Word.  The message is, then, a call to the people of God to change their attitudes and to change their actions that God may again bless us and use us to His glory.  The message is a call to be leaders worthy of the Name by which we are called.  Do it now.  To the glory of God, be a people which are pure and holy.  Amen.