Pleasing God Podcast
Pleasing God Podcast
Misunderstood Verses Unpacked
Have you ever felt like you're misinterpreting Scripture? In this eye-opening episode, we tackle some of the most commonly misunderstood Bible verses and reveal their true meanings by diving deep into their contexts. Unraveling the misapplications surrounding verses such as Philippians 4:13, we shift the focus from personal achievement to the Apostle Paul’s message about contentment amid life’s challenges.
We also explore Jeremiah 29:11, clarifying that it's not a blanket promise for personal prosperity but a reassuring reminder of God's sovereignty even during hardships. Matthew 7:1 faces scrutiny as we address its frequent misinterpretation regarding moral judgment. Listeners will learn the importance of discerning scripture carefully and the potential dangers of cherry-picking verses without understanding their backgrounds.
By encouraging thoughtful and holistic study of the Bible, we aim to equip you with the tools necessary for deeper insights. The episode closes with a challenge to examine specific verses in their entirety, fostering growth in your biblical knowledge. Together, we can build a more nuanced understanding of God’s Word and its impact on our lives. Don’t forget to subscribe and share your thoughts on the verses that have challenged you the most!
Stock Music provided by wolfgangwoehrle, from Pond5
Hi and welcome back to the Pleasing God Podcast, a show focused on helping Christians to think biblically, engage practically and live faithfully for the glory of God. I'm your host, jonathan Soul, and on this episode I want to talk about misunderstood Bible verses. These are passages of scripture that are commonly used and can be taken out of context, misapplied, misunderstood and I've heard it many times, also in younger years it was probably one who misused some of these verses, misapplied them to, not understanding the context. If you've ever been in a small group, maybe you've heard someone use a verse and you start to think I don't think that's what that verse is talking about, or maybe even the danger of you being on that side of things and you've used verses or passages that sound good and might be used to encourage, but it doesn't actually mean what you're saying it means, and so I want to explore common passages of scripture that are misunderstood and then kind of explain what they really mean, and the hope is that this would better us, as interpreters of God's word, understanding the Bible, because context matters in biblical interpretation and there's a danger when we would go to a certain passage of scripture and kind of just cherry pick a verse out, pull it out and not understand what's happening around in and through that verse, and so I want to look at those dangers and explain why context matters and avoid the danger of cherry picking, and then, hopefully, to encourage you, the listener, to study scripture carefully.
Speaker 1:So what are some of these often misunderstood passages of scripture or verses? Well, I think the first one that comes to my mind is Philippians, chapter 4, verse 13, which reads I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. And this is a verse that's commonly used in sporting events for athletes. It's used as a motivational quote for personal success, and the thought is that Jesus gives me strength so I can accomplish these things. I could get an A on this test because Christ strengthens me. I can throw for this passing touchdown or I can hit this home run because Christ strengthens me. I can do all things, I can overcome all these things.
Speaker 1:Well, that's not what the author meant when he shared that verse. Actually, what the Apostle Paul is saying there the all things is contentment. He's talking about contentment in all circumstances, whether in plenty or in need or in want, and he's saying that I can do all things, I can be content in all things because it is Christ who gives me strength. So when we want to use that verse, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. It's best used in a time where you're battling contentment and use it as a reminder that the Apostle Paul, though his circumstances were tough, he remained content.
Speaker 1:Here's another one. Jeremiah 29, 11 reads For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, and it goes on plans to prosper and this verse is I think it's the graduation verse. Go to a homeschool, high school graduation, christian school graduation, and you know, if you go to a dozen of them, 10 of them, we'll use Jeremiah 29, 11 for you know plans that for the students as they are graduating and moving on, and just a reminder to the students God has a perfect plan for your life, that this verse is a personal prosperity promise that you're going to prosper because the Lord has plans for you. What was happening in Jeremiah's day and what was Jeremiah doing? He's writing to the nation of Israel, the southern kingdom, Judah, and the statement here is that God is speaking to his people and it's a promise to his people as they're going into exile and during their exile, and he's saying during this time of punishment for your disobedience. During this time of exile and difficulty, just remember I am sovereign, that I do have a plan for you and that this wilderness, this season, this time of again being removed from the land, is not going to last forever. Once again, you will flourish, but you have to go through suffering first. But you have to go through suffering first. And so the broader application of Jeremiah 29, 11 isn't personal prosperity plan, but trusting in God's sovereignty, even when things don't make sense, even when it seems upside down and backwards. Matthew, chapter 7, verse 1.
Speaker 1:I've heard this one dozens of times Judge not, that you be not judged. People say, hey, you can't judge that person. The Bible says do not judge. Who are you to be judgmental? Who are you to make a judgment call on that person's life? Only God sees the heart. This is the kind of speech that comes up often in Christian circles and say I can't judge, and it's used to silence any moral or doctrinal correction. Well, that's just their life and that's just their. You know, they do their thing and that's their theology.
Speaker 1:The very next passage Jesus says do not cast your pearls to swine. He makes a judgment that we are to make, a judgment. We have to judge who is swine. Makes a judgment that we are to make a judgment, we have to judge who is swine. And so what Jesus is saying here in judge, not that you be not judged is do not commit hypocritical judgment. He's not saying avoid righteous discernment. We make judgment calls all the time. Jesus later on, in the same chapter, talks about false teachers and how we need to make judgment about them. Beware false teachers. He talks about a tree will be known by its fruits. You must evaluate, must have righteous discernment. We must make judgment calls based off of the fruit that is evidence of someone's life. And so judge, not that you be not judged is do not be a hypocrite in your judgment, but exercise righteous discernment. We are to judge. We are to do it carefully and with precision.
Speaker 1:Here's another misunderstood verse Romans, chapter 8, verse 28. Read all things work together for good, and sometimes it just kind of stops right there and the thought is that this is a verse of encouragement. And the thought is that this is a verse of encouragement. And it absolutely is. It is a verse of encouragement. All things do work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purposes. So we've got to finish the verse, and the misunderstanding here of this passage is that everything will turn out fine in life, all things will work together for good, everything's going to be okay.
Speaker 1:Now, as a Christian, we recognize that ultimately everything will be okay, but it might not be in this life. Ultimately everything is going to be okay because Jesus died on the cross, conquered death, rose again and is returning and he's to bring us where he is, so that in the end, the ultimate analysis, all things will be okay in the end. But that doesn't necessarily mean that all things will turn out good in this life. In this life you will have trials and tribulations. This is what Jesus says. But take heart, I have overcome the world.
Speaker 1:So, again, our source of encouragement is in the accomplishments of Jesus Christ and contextually in Romans, chapter 8, this all things work together for good. It's our sanctification, it's the things that are good, are what God defines as good, and it is our growth in the likeness of Jesus. So what we need to see is the circumstances, and the suffering and the difficulty and the trials of life can be and will be worked out for good if and when they produce in us a greater likeness to Jesus, us a greater likeness to Jesus. So when we think about difficulties, trials, circumstances, all the things that are tools in this life, that they can be and should be used for good to promote holiness in us. And so sometimes the things that work together for good are suffering. Here's another one Proverbs 22, 6. Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
Speaker 1:A danger, not just with this verse but with a lot of the Proverbs, is a misunderstanding between promises and principles, and so the misuse of this verse is that it's used as a guarantee that good parenting will produce godly kids. I want to say that that is not true. It just simply isn't that we should apply. But to say that here's the promise if a parent trains the child exactly how and you know right doctrine, right ethics, right beliefs that guarantees the success and the growth in godliness of the child, is a false statement. There are many, many parents I'm sure some are even listening now who have done everything that they possibly could to be faithful in what they knew and thought was best at the time for raising their children in a godly way, to have children walk away from the faith, to backslide to the point of maybe even deniers of the faith. And many times parents have been discouraged because they have been told that this verse is a promise and there's, you know, much time. Just where did I go wrong, reevaluating everything from parenting, to say that you know to believe that well, I didn't train them enough, I didn't train them well. And then the burden of responsibility is the parent is shouldering it for a wayward, prodigal or even rebellious child, and that is an unnecessary burden. The proverb is a principle Children will still make their own choices. I think that's important to recognize and remember. But parents should be diligent.
Speaker 1:Deuteronomy, chapter 6, speaking of the things of the Lord, instilling a God consciousness, talking much about the Lord as you go, as you lay down, by the way, as you rise, all of life being consumed with all of Christ. And so here's another one, matthew, chapter 18, verse 20, where two or three are gathered in my name. There I will be also. And oh man, I don't know how many times I've been in a church prayer meeting and it might be like small in numbers, you know. Half a dozen people show up and facilitator of the prayer meeting just says well, you know, it's okay. I mean, where two or three are gathered, you know, there Christ will be also, and it's like you know. This is fine, you know.
Speaker 1:But what the verse is interpreted as needing multiple people or that invokes God's presence. Then there's something else going on and it's just a common misunderstanding of context of the passage and what is being stated here. The Holy Spirit resides in every believer. Therefore, the presence of Christ in his spirit is in every individual believer. So then, why is it that if two or three are gathered in his name, there he will be also, if he is within each and every individual believer? Well, this is why we would examine the context of the passage.
Speaker 1:And in Matthew, chapter 18, jesus is instructing his apostles how to exercise church discipline. Well, and it's not a, so it's not a proof text for the presence of Jesus at your prayer meeting because there's multiple people there. No, he's speaking of the collective decision of the church in a matter of church discipline. And so, as the people gather in the name of Jesus, where there's more than just one person exercising discipline, but a gathered church, we can recognize when there's unity and agreement among those gathered on a matter of discipline. It's guided by the presence of Christ. So it also is a verse to tell us don't do church discipline with one person as the authority. There's to be a gathering of Jesus's people for discipline.
Speaker 1:And so, as I think about this, these are some of the often misunderstood passages. Maybe another one in 2 Chronicles 7, if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, I will turn and I will heal their land and it's treated like you know. America needs to turn back to Jesus and all the evils of our nation will be fixed and there'll be this wide, sweeping revival. The chronicler had no thought of America in writing that verse, no, but did think about the covenant people of God in Israel and the land promises to Israel of the Old Testament as he wrote that passage and you actually see that played out throughout the Old Testament as the people of God turned and repented, there was blessing, and as the people rebelled and turned away from God, there was curses. It's just what was stated in Deuteronomy and it happens.
Speaker 1:And so we need to be careful of not reading our own social, political agendas or context into passages of the Scripture. That promise is not made to America. There is no promises to America in all of the Scriptures, but if you are to kind of draw a principle out of there, it would apply to the covenant people of God and that the covenant people of God receive blessing as they seek the Lord, as they are to turn from wickedness and to follow righteousness and to pursue righteousness. Maybe it'd be better applied, not healing the land, but maybe healing a wayward church that is in need of restoration. Maybe it's a revival of the church, not the nation state that did away. That was done AD 70, the nation state ended, and so again, these are just a common misunderstanding, verses that are misunderstood. That can easily be fixed if we are to carefully read the passage in context, study the scriptures as we can.
Speaker 1:This means understanding what historical events are taking place at the time, distinguishing between your Old and New Testament. There's big things that have happened there. Where are you if you're in the Old Testament of the history of Israel? What covenant were they operating under? Was it Abraham, moses? Had they received the Davidic covenant? Also, another thing to do is understand the literature that you're reading. We don't necessarily interpret narrative the same way we would interpret a proverb, for example, principles versus promises. Sometimes narrative is descriptive, sometimes it's prescriptive, and so, understanding what's happening there and, yeah, ultimately theological context, where are you in the biblical map concerning the Christ event? We will interpret passages post-cross, burial and resurrection and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit than we would necessarily in the Old Testament times in their lesser revelation and understanding of the fullness of the gospel promise. And so I just want to encourage you as you think through some of these verses and maybe even ways in which you can be helped to better understand and apply the scriptures. Listen to faithful teachers, listen to people and trusted resources and if you don't know what those are, talk to your pastors, talk to your elders. They are your first and primary trusted resources for helping to understand the Bible better.
Speaker 1:And let me close with giving you a challenge I want you to read. I would encourage you to read one of the misunderstood verses that I gave here in this episode, and I want you to read it in its full context. So zoom out from the verse itself and read what's happening around it If it's Matthew 7 and judge not to be not judged, maybe read all of Matthew, chapter 7, or maybe even zoom out and say, hey, this is the Sermon on the Mount. This is Jesus teaching about the ethical implications of living as a kingdom follower, living in the kingdom of God, and you know. Take it all in and then hear that verse as you're reading through and you'll start to see, oh, there's a lot of other layers around this. Or the letter to the Philippians in chapter four. Read chapter four layers around this. Or the letter to the Philippians in chapter 4. Read chapter 4, and then, when you get to 4.13, you start to see why he says what he says. And so pick one of the verses. I would encourage you read it in its full context and pray through that passage that you would have illumination and understanding as you seek to interpret and apply God's word faithfully to your life.
Speaker 1:I want to thank you for listening to the Pleasing God podcast. If you have any questions, I'd love to hear from you. You could reach out at questions at pleasinggodpodcastorg. And remember 1 Thessalonians 4.3,. This is the will of God, your sanctification.
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