When Peter closed out his second epistle, he gave a warning to his readers, specifically about Paul’s writings (2 Pet. 3:15-16). First, he accuses Paul of penning things that are hard to understand (coming from an apostle who wrote one of the most difficult/controversial paragraphs in Scripture [see 1 Pet. 3:18-22]). Secondly, and more importantly, he acknowledged that “ignorant and unstable” people are given to twisting Paul’s words.
What Peter was right about Paul is true about Scripture in general. Scripture can and is often abused. Paul told Timothy to “rightly divide” God’s word (i.e. “be responsible with” in 2 Tim. 2:15). John, at the conclusion of his apocalyptic revelation, warns his readers not to “add or take away” (Rev. 22:19) from the words of his writing. Ultimately, his warning is the same as Paul’s to “handle with care” God’s word (ironically, more twisting of John’s Revelation has occurred than almost any other part of Scripture).
Jesus addressed twisting Scripture in the early portion of the Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5:21-48). Fueling hate in your heart breaks Scripture’s command not to murder. Lusting after a woman breaks Scripture’s command to not commit adultery. Breaking any oath is tantamount to breaking an oath directly to God. Seeking personal revenge (i.e. “eye for an eye”) abuses a directive given to judicial settings not for the common people (see Ex. 21:23-25; Lev. 24:19-20). And Scripture never taught people to hate their enemies, but just the opposite (Lev. 19:18). In every example Jesus undermines our bent to twist and manipulate Scripture in order to justify our pride or our sin; we’re just not as good as we make ourselves out to be.
Jesus confronted a blatant twisting of Scripture during his temptation by the devil (Mt. 4L1-11; Lk. 4:1-13). Satan quoted Psalm 91:11-12 to assure Jesus that God’s protective promise was on him. Jesus never argued context or meaning, but went to Deuteronomy 6:16, a warning about putting God to the test. It’s one thing to live with a faithful trust in God, but it’s another to arrogantly test God with your so-called “faith.”
While volumes have been written about the tools and guardrails needed for understanding Scripture, time and space limits this particular discussion. Clearly we’re living in a time when people’s understanding of Scripture has been moved to the front burners of life. And some of those approaches to God’s Word has had devastating results. As we try to avoid twisting Scripture to our own agenda Jesus offers at least three principles to keep Scripture straight.
First, loving God and loving each other is the ultimate command to follow (Mt. 22:34-40; Mk. 12:28-34; Lk. 10:25-27). These two commands are tied together so that how we love God is expressed in our love for each other (Jas. 2:8; 1 Jn. 4:20). And as Paul says, every other law can be summed up by loving our neighbor (Gal. 5:14). In other words, god is less concerned with our need to impress him with (said ritual), than he is about how we treat each other.
Secondly, religious rituals were made to serve us, not master us. When Jesus was confronted about Sabbath laws, not only did he claim Lordship and rule-maker over the Sabbath, but he reminded us that the Sabbath was never to be a burden to the people (Mk. 2:27-28). People are more important than the ritual. So if you’re hungry and walking through a grain field, it’s ok to pluck the grain to eat it. The spiritual disciplines and rituals have a place and role, but they are not end game. The disciplines and rituals only lead us to the End Game.
Finally, God is actually more concerned about us showing mercy than he is about our religious rituals, even if those rituals are commanded (Mt. 12:7; Lk. 6:36). When we stand before God on judgment, (I believe) we’ll beg for mercy. The level of mercy God grants us will be in direct portion to the level of mercy we’ve granted here in our lives. Being accused of showing too much mercy in the “here and now,” may be better than being accused of not showing mercy in the “then and there.”
Twisting Scripture is a complicated discussion and study. Our own bias and prejudice tend to blind our spiritual eyes to see clearly. Maybe the key to ironing out our penchant of twisting Scripture is to spray our approach with a little more humility.
Soli Deo Gloria!
(i.e. only God is glorified!)