Have you ever misquoted Scripture?
I have; and I know that before I began to study the Word more, it didn’t seem to really matter much. I mean, as long as I got the general meaning of it out there, I didn’t have to quote it exactly, did I? I didn’t need to have the reference, either, I mean, someone could go home and look it up for themselves.
I believe it is important for us to be able to quote verses as they are written, and know the reference for them. Now, don’t think I know the whole Bible by heart and I don’t think I ever will, but if I can’t quote it, I should at least be able to look it up and read it.
It’s really funny that I remember saying that I just couldn’t remember Scripture, and I was okay with that. But then I realized I could quote movies line for line, remember conversations word for word that I had with other people, and quote other books. Why? Because this is where I spent my time.
When I spend my time in the Word, I remember the Word. As I study more and more, I remember more and more. I am reading things that I never realized were in Scripture! And I am also finding out that a lot of popular sayings that people attribute to the Bible just aren’t there (but that’s a post for another day).
There are verses that we misquote a lot, and I am digging into that more. But one that comes to mind right now is John 14:6.
Fill in the blank:
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the _______: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me“.
What did you say? Did you say Light? I remember sitting in church one Sunday morning a few years ago, listening to a children’s sermon regarding Advent. We always let the kids light the candles on the Advent wreath, and the person doing the message this particular morning said something to the effect of that lighting the candle reminded us that in John 14:6, Jesus said he was the way, the truth and the light.
Well, Jesus didn’t say that.
For years, I thought He did. I asked my mom about it and she said growing up, that she always heard that verse quoted that way and said it that way herself. I said it that way.
What did Jesus say?
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
This can be an innocent mistake, but one that changes the meaning of the verse.
I think that when we are quoting Scripture, we have a responsibility to be right.
I think we have a responsibility to use Scripture correctly, not out of context, and not to suit our own desires.
Why?
Because Satan looked at Eve and said, “Did God really say?”
Have you ever been misquoted? Had something you said taken out of context? How did that make you feel?
How do you think God feels when we do this to Him?
Satan is going to look at us and say, “Did God really say?” And we need to be able to answer correctly.
This is the command that God gave Adam:
Genesis 2:16-17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
He has given them a Garden full of food to consume; except one tree. Eat from it, and die.
Let’s look at the exchange between Eve and the serpent:
Genesis 3:1-4 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
Satan attacked God’s instructions; Eve misquoted what God said. She took away from it and added to it.
What were Eve’s three mistakes here?
1. She is careless with her wording of Genesis 2:16, as she disparages the privileges of God by leaving out the word that conveys the sense of “freely eat” of all of the trees;
2. Neither shall ye touch it: by adding to His command Eve exaggerates the limitations God had set forth;
3. Lest ye die: this reveals Eve’s third error, toning down the penalty and certainty of death for eating. “Lest” expresses a fear of possibly dying when God had already expressed the certainty of it in Genesis 2:17. (The King James Study Bible, 1988)
See the importance of knowing Scripture?
Satan tried this same thing with Jesus. We see this account:
Matthew 4:1-11 Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward hungry. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Deut. 8:3). Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone (Psalm 91:11-12). Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God (Deut. 6:16). Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve (Deut. 6:13; 10:20; Joshua 24:14). Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
Satan tempted Jesus, and he used Scripture to do it. But Jesus had an answer for each temptation; He used the Word to fight the temptation. Jesus shows us the importance of using the Word of God to defeat the enemy. It is the only way to do it.
We must hide the Word in our hearts, so when temptations come, the Word is what comes from our mouths.
Next time, we will look at the ways Satan uses some people to distort God’s Word.
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