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God’s Word Abused

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What Are Some Things Not to Do with the Bible?

Temptation in the Garden

From the very beginning, Satan knew this was to be the foundation of everything–believing and obeying God. It’s not surprising, then, that we can discern a number of ways of mistreating the Word of God in the account of Satan’s attack on Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-13).

1) We must not doubt or slander it.

“Has God indeed said…?” the devil asked (3:1), when both he and Eve know full well God had! In effect, Satan seeks to ridicule God’s Word, in the process making Him seem unfair, and casting doubt on His goodness.

2) We must not add to it.

“Nor shall you touch it…” (3:3a)–which, as far as the record shows, God had not said (cf. 2:17). Eve has begun to take Satan’s side, representing the Lord as unfairly harsh.

3) We must not subtract from (or weaken) it.

“Lest you die (3:3b, lest perhaps, in case you might). But God had said “You shall surely die” (2:17). Eve weakens the impact of God’s holy Word, implying a possible inconsistency on His part.

4) We must not reject (deny) it.

“You will not surely die” (3:4). Satan builds on Eve’s growing uncertainty, now impugning God as a liar.

5) We must not disobey it.

“She took of its fruit and ate (3:6a). Eve replaced God’s standard with her own, in essence becoming her own god.

6) We must not tempt others to disobey it.

“She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate” (3:6b). The tempted becomes the tempter, urging the devil’s ways upon another. Eve, the first missionary!

7) We must not evade responsibility for disobeying it.

“The woman whom You gave me…she gave me of the fruit….The serpent deceived me…” (3:12-13). Denying responsibility for sin stands in the way of true repentance and reconciliation. It is one more thing not to do with the Bible.

Remembering

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I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. (I Cor. 11:23-26)

The signing of the armistice by the Allies and the Germans, on the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” in 1918, effectively brought an end to the First World War (though hostilities continued in some regions for a time). The day was declared a holiday in many of the allied nations, eventually becoming Veterans Day in the United States of America, and Remembrance Day in Canada.

Such an occasion provides us with an opportunity to recall the contribution of the military to the preservation of our freedom and our protection from tyranny. So many have given their lives for their country, yet it is easy to forget their commitment and courage, especially as events fade into the past.

Few veterans of the First World War are still with us. (None in Canada, I believe.) And those that remain from the Second World War are in their eighties now. When they go, we will have lost another link with those times. Who is there left to tell us firsthand of the Nazi Blitz in London, of the Normandy invasion, of Pearl Harbor, and the decisive Battle of Midway? Yet it is important to remember both the heroic victories and the follies of war, if we are to learn from them.

For us as Christians, there is an infinitely more important event that ought to be remembered as well: the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary. From the cross He cried, “It is finished!” (Jn. 19:30). In Greek, that is “Tetelestai!” meaning paid in full. Our debt of sin was fully paid by the shed blood of Christ. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7). How could we help but remember and rejoice at that?

English clergyman Thomas Cotterill (1779-1823) is no relation of mine, as far as I know. (He spelled his name differently, as you can see.) But in 1805, he wrote a lovely Communion hymn (originally part of a longer poem). It reminds us of the need to continue to meet at the Lord’s table (“in remembrance of Me,” Jesus said) until He comes again (I Cor. 11:23-26). Remembering Christ and His cross is both a duty and the delightful privilege for every child of God.

In memory of the Saviour’s love
We keep the sacred feast,
When every humble, contrite heart
Is made a welcome guest.

Symbolic of His broken flesh,
We take the broken bread,
The cup in token of His blood
That was for sinners shed.

Under His banner now we sing
The wonders of His love
And so anticipate by faith
The heav’nly feast above.

Lord’s Day Meditation – The Need for Endurance

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Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: “For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry.” (Heb. 10:35-37)

We “have need of endurance.” The Greek word is hupomone, and it refers to steady patience, or patient endurance. Literally, the word means to remain under, meaning to stay the course without faltering (as patient Job did, Jas. 5:11). It is a quality represented by the seed that fell on good ground in Jesus’ Parable of the Soils (Lk. 8:13)–which stays there till its job is done.

Having said that, it is important to note that the Bible’s patience, or endurance, is not a passive resignation to our fate. It is a characteristic of vital, active Christians, committed to serving the Lord in spite of obstacles and difficulties, and who understand that the positive effects of their service may not be immediately apparent. That is the thrust of the reminder in Hebrews 10:37 that Christ will come back in “a little while.” It is then our varied ministries will come to full flower, and we shall reap eternal rewards.

Such patient endurance leads to the further development of Christian character (cf. Rom. 5:3-4; Jas. 1:3; II Pet. 1:6). It is something to pray for (II Thess. 3:5), and to strive for. So “let us run with endurance (Heb. 12:1). And God is the source of this quality. He is “the God of patience [same Greek word]” (Rom. 15:5).

To lift some words of the author of Hebrews out of their context for a moment, “Let us go on!” (Heb. 6:1). As Philip Bliss’s 1870 gospel song puts it,

Ho, my comrades! see the signal waving in the sky!
Reinforcements now appearing, victory is nigh.

“Hold the fort, for I am coming,” Jesus signals still;
Wave the answer back to Heaven, “By Thy grace we will.”

Fierce and long the battle rages, but our help is near;
Onward comes our great Commander, cheer, my comrades, cheer!

Lord’s Day Meditation – Power for the Weak

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Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armour, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will work for us. For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few.” So his armour bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Go then; here I am with you, according to your heart.” (I Sam. 14:6-7)

Nothing…by many or by few! What a tremendous statement of faith from Jonathan. Only one sword between them (I Sam. 13:33), climbing up toward the enemy (and thus exposed and vulnerable), and outnumbered at least ten to one, they were about to attack a garrison of the Philistines (I Sam. 14:4-15). But Jonathan showed great courage, because his confidence was in God. I wonder, did he have in mind Gideon’s great victory with 300 men against 135,000 Midianites (Jud. 7:1-25; cf. 8:10)?

Through most of my 40 years of ministry, with a couple of exceptions, I have worked with smaller congregations, smaller ministries. But the encouragement of this verse is that numbers are, in one sense at least, irrelevant! If we are doing the will of Almighty God, He can work through us to accomplish great things, whether we be many or few. Power-wise, we are in the majority, no matter what (cf. Rom. 8:31).

Jonathan’s victory that day was a gracious lesson to fearful Israel, and to us: That God delights to work through the smallest grain of daring faith in Him. Since Christians will always be in the minority, until the end of time, we need that kind of bold confidence in the Lord. Take courage from another passage: “He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength” (Isa. 40:29).

This chapter in Isaiah contrasts God and man. The Lord is everything we are not. His power is infinite (vs. 8, 10, 22-24, 26, 28), while ours is feeble and inadequate. And this great God stands ready to help those who meet but two qualifications:

  • They are weak, and they know it (vs. 29)
  • They are waiting, looking up to God in faith (vs. 31).

Jonathan’s exploit, through faith in God, reminds me of Kitty Suffield’s challenging gospel song, Little Is Much When God Is in It.

In the harvest field now ripened
There’s a work for all to do;
Hark! the voice of God is calling
To the harvest calling you.

Little is much when God is in it!
Labour not for wealth or fame.
There’s a crown—and you can win it,
If you go in Jesus’ name.

Does the place you’re called to labour
Seem too small and little known?
It is great if God is in it,
And He’ll not forget His own.

Lord’s Day Meditation – Why?

Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance. (Ps. 42:5)

“His countenance” (or His face) is a Hebrew expression referring to God’s presence and intervening help. The psalmist is telling himself, “Hope in God; He will help you!”

The verse and chapter divisions in our Bibles are not part of the inspired text. They were added much later to help us locate the passages we want. And the verse division at this point is probably incorrect. The words that begin vs. 7 likely belong to vs. 6. The Bible in Basic English seems to have it right, with, “Why are you crushed down, O my soul? and why are you troubled in me? put your hope in God; for I will again give him praise who is my help and my God.”

There is at least one ancient Hebrew manuscript that has it that way. And the latter rendering has a better poetic cadence, as well as matching vs. 12 and Ps. 43:5. (Many old Hebrew manuscripts also combine Ps. 42 and 43, which would mean that our verse is a kind of refrain, three times repeated in the full psalm.)

But there is that jarring question to deal with: “Why are you cast down?” Why bowed down and virtually in despair? Why? And there are many possible answers. Here are a few.

  • Perhaps the person suffers from some physical weakness, an illness, or chronic disability, or possibly a mental-emotional disorder that leaves him or her vulnerable to discouragement.
  • Perhaps there is unconfessed sin to be dealt with, sin that is hindering the person’s fellowship with God and an effective ministry for Him.
  • The trials of life, common to all in this fallen world, can at times drag us down and dishearten us. Even the sagging economy can have this depressing effect.
  • Added to this, the burdens of Christian ministry are great, and can be overwhelming for the servant of God at times (cf. Rom. 9:1-3; II Cor. 11:28).
  • The attacks of Satan, the enemy of our souls, can bring on such feelings. And the devil has many human agents who willingly do his evil work. That was the psalmist’s particular problem, enemies that mocked him because God didn’t seem to be coming to his rescue (Ps. 42:3, 9-10; Ps. 43:1).

With all of this in view, perhaps the question could as well be, “Why not?” Discouragement and even despair is surely not surprising. And yet there is a remedy in God. Despair is actually the antithesis of hope.  It sees nothing better up ahead, and no relief in sight. But there is a glorious future for each child of God. Sometimes it helps, when we’re going through such a time, to look in the mirror and give ourselves a good talking to! That seems to be what the psalmist is doing by the repeated refrain of these two psalms. But there has to be more than that. More than simply our determination and effort.

There is a dimension that is missing from the pop psychology and secular self help techniques of our day. Here the psalmist brings to mind the greatness of God, and His power, and he prays for help. He prays honestly about how he feels, and calls upon the Lord to come to his aid. He also reflects upon the blessings of past days (vs. 4). And he challenges himself to continue to hope in the Lord, and expresses his confidence for the future: “I shall yet praise Him.” Brethren Bible teacher F. W. Grant writes:

Hope thou in God. Yes, here is what is permanent, what is eternal: hope in God even though thou canst not find Him; though clouds are round about Him, and thou canst not come unto His seat; though His ways are deepest mystery; though even thou couldst not find a promise thou couldst claim undoubtedly. He Himself is promise!…In Himself thou canst find refuge….Can He say, “You have trusted Me too much?” Nay, He cannot. Here is His word at last that applies, if nothing else does: “Blessed are all they who put their trust in Him” (Ps. 2:12).

From Nahum Tate’s metrical version of Ps. 42 we have:

As pants the hart for cooling streams,
When heated in the chase,
So longs my soul, O God, for Thee
And Thy refreshing grace.

Why restless, why cast down, my soul?
Hope still; and thou shalt sing
The praise of Him who is thy God,
Thy health’s eternal spring.

Lord’s Day Meditation – What to Do

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Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him [as Lord], and He shall direct your paths.

Prov. 3:5-6

This passage literally tells us what to do about everything! (Note the double “all” that covers everything on the inside of us–our hearts, and everything on the outside–our ways.)

What to Do with All Your Heart

The heart of man, in biblical terms, is the inner self, including the rational mind, the will and emotions, as well as our values and desires. In our hearts we are to centre our trust in God. Proverbs exhorts each of us: Trust in Jehovah God, put your full confidence in Him. Have faith in God and don’t be afraid.

The opposite, to be avoided, is leaning on our own understanding. This does not mean we are to exercise a blind, presumptuous faith, and not use the power to think and reason that God gave us. But we are not to rely and depend (or “lean”) upon our own mental powers. What our fallible opinions must not be the bottom line.

This even applies to our understanding of God Himself. As an infinite Being, He will always be far above our full understanding. Where is our faith to be placed? Not in our own understanding of Him, but in God Himself, whether we fully understand or not! Hudson Taylor said: “Trust in the Lord is not heavy baggage, and it never fails.”

What to Do with All Your Ways

While the heart speaks of the inner self, ways and paths have to do with our outward experiences, the events and actions that make up the practical outworking of our daily lives. And where our inward response is to be faith, our outward response, intimately connected with this, will be obedience. To “acknowledge” God is, I believe, to own and recognize Him as Lord, giving earnest heed to His will for us.

Our daily lives are should involve a walk of obedience that consistently acknowledges His Lordship. Then we may be assured that He will direct us in the best way, showing us the path to take, and dealing with any obstacles and dangers ahead, in order to bring us to our goal. And what is that? It is the achievement of His purpose for us, to His own glory and honour.

Thomas Chisholm’s 1937 gospel song is based on this text.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
This is God’s gracious command;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
So shall you dwell in the land.

Trust in the Lord, O troubled soul,
Rest in the arms of His care;
Whatever your lot, it mattereth not,
For nothing can trouble you there;
Trust in the Lord, O troubled soul,
Nothing can trouble you there.

Lord’s Day Meditation – Abounding in Hope

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Rom. 15:13

This is one of the loveliest prayers in the Word of God. Short, and simple, yet simply profound. It may be thought of as a capstone and conclusion to all that has come before in the book of Romans. What we are to “believe” includes the apostle’s comprehensive teaching on God’s great work of salvation in the chapters before. Or the verse may be seen as an introduction to what comes after, the personal news from Paul, and the greetings to his friends that follow. But as he prays for his friends, so we may pray for one another.

Graphic Hope Diagram

The desire and goal of the prayer is that we “abound in hope.” Hope may be defined as: the joyful certainty of future blessing. Surely Christians ought to be just bubbling over and overflowing with it. And the verse gives us a kind of anatomy of hope, or, if you will, a prescription for hope. As we trust in the promises of God’s Word, the Spirit of God awakens joy and peace in our souls. The full flower of the process is hope. Perhaps we might say: faith + joy + peace = hope.

It is when we are depending on God, and filled with joy and peace–when our thinking and planning, and all our relationships are flooded with it–that hope overflows and blesses those around us. In contrast, when we fail to trust in God, our lives are more likely to be filled with crankiness and criticism, and with frustration and stress. Then we will surely abound and overflow with dis-couragement–which will easily spread to others.

How can people survive without hope. In fact, they probably can’t. Sometimes it seems as though suicide is epidemic in our day. And what would bring a person to a point where he would take his own life? At the bottom of it there is a loss of hope, and the conviction that things can only get worse. The individual feels surrounded on all sides by a blank wall of despair. No way out. No hope.

But we have a message for the hopeless, a message of the imperishable spring: That  through a personal relationship with the Lord the picture will begin to change dramatically. To be without God, is to be without hope (Eph. 2:12), since He is “the God of hope.” It is only the Christian who is able to abound in eternal hope. And central to the Christian’s hope is Christ. He is “the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope” (I Tim. 1:1). That is where Norman Clayton’s hymn takes us.

My hope is in the Lord
Who gave Himself for me,
And paid the price of all my sin
At Calvary.

For me He died, for me He lives
And everlasting life and light
He freely gives.

Lord’s Day Meditation – A Bosom Full

Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.

Lk. 6:38
Graphic Robe

Luke chapter 6 repeats some of the teaching found in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5–7). And this promise is a picture of the Lord’s abundant blessing. In those days, both men and women wore long robes, tied at the waist by a cord or sash. The “bosom,” was the full gather of the robe above the sash. It was used to carry children (Num. 11:12), lambs (II Sam. 12:3) and other things (cf. II Kgs. 4:39; Prov. 17:23; 21:14). If a quantity of grain was purchased in the marketplace, it could be poured into the bosom to be transported home.

Here, the portion is delightfully generous. More than was expected. The principle is that we can never out-give the Lord. Whatever of time, talents and treasures we invest in His service will reap blessing and reward many times over. And it is humbling to realize the goodness of God in the face of our frequent ingratitude–or our careless misuse of His gifts. In the context, Jesus says:

Love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful (vs. 35).

“Hoping for [expecting] nothing in return.” What a high standard! Mercy and grace, even to those who may well deserve just the opposite! But that is how the Lord treats us. And to live in this way–since it is characteristic of God Himself–can be seen as a result of being made in His image. Treating those well who do the same to us is hardly a demonstration of grace. It is common in the unsaved world (vs. 34). But the child of God is to live by a higher standard.

And a brief note on the expression “You will be sons of the Most High.” This is not speaking of how to earn eternal salvation. That is, the Lord is not saying, “Do good, and your good works will get you into heaven.” That would be totally at odds with the Bible’s emphasis on salvation by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9).

Rather, the expression should be seen in the context of the Jewish culture  of that day. To them, “son of” often meant the person showed characteristics of his family relationship. Jesus means that those who live as He describes demonstrate that they are members of His family because they reflect their Father’s character. Contrast this with Jesus’ stinging rebuke of the Pharisees: “You are of your father the devil” (Jn. 8:44).

In our kindness toward the undeserving and our love of the loveless, we are to be like the Lord Jesus. In the words of James Rowe’s 1911 gospel song:

Earthly pleasures vainly call me;
I would be like Jesus;
Nothing worldly shall enthrall me;
I would be like Jesus.

Be like Jesus, this my song,
In the home and in the throng;
Be like Jesus, all day long!
I would be like Jesus.

Lord’s Day Meditation – Renewing Our Strength

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Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Isa. 40:30-31

Eric Liddell, the “Flying Scotsman,” was the famed gold medalist in the 1924 Olympics. The film Chariots of Fire depicts events in his life around that time. There is a scene in it that is particularly memorable. The actor playing Eric Liddell, on his way to becoming a missionary to China, is reading from Isaiah Chapter 40 in a church service. And, as he reads the verses quoted above, the film cuts to some runners toiling in a race, exhausted, stumbling, falling. It is a powerful image because it emphasizes our human limitations.

The setting of Isa. 40:30-31 is a time of trial and testing. Israel says, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my just claim is passed over by my God” (vs. 27). Historically, the struggle relates to the Babylonian Captivity in which the Jews suffered as slaves for 70 years. Prophetically, it points to the persecution of the nation in the Great Tribulation yet to come (cf. Matt. 24:15-26). But of course there is a broad principle involved that applies to believers personally in every age. While we wait for God to deliver, we can wait on God for strength.

Dr. Harry Ironside, in his commentary on Isaiah, makes this insightful comment:

Mere natural and physical powers will not avail in the hour when one is called upon to face great mental and spiritual emergencies. But they who have learned to refer everything to God and to wait quietly upon Him will be given all needed strength to rise above depressing circumstances, thus enabling them to mount heavenward as eagles facing the sun, to run their race with patience, and to walk with God with renewed confidence and courage, knowing that they are ever objects of His love and care.

In our service for Christ we face not only the daily physical and mental strains but the spiritual struggle against the enemy of our souls. If we are to be both faithful and fruitful, we’ll need to continually renew our strength by the nourishment of God’s Word, and by seeking His daily grace in prayer. There is a gospel song with a lengthy refrain quoting the passage in Isaiah. The author of the words is identified only as G. M. J. The tune was written by James McGranahan.

Ho, reapers in the whitened harvest!
Oft feeble, faint, and few;
Come, wait upon the blessed Master,
Our strength He will renew.

For “they that wait upon the Lord
Shall renew their strength,
They shall mount up with wings,
They shall mount up with wings as eagles:
They shall run and not be weary;
They shall walk and not faint.”

Rejoice! For He is with us alway,
Lo, even to the end!
Look up! Take courage and go forward–
All needed grace He’ll send.

Lord’s Day Meditation – Perfect Peace

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You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because He trusts in You.

Isa. 26:3

I wonder if we think we can accomplish more for the Lord when we are operating at a constant level of high energy and stress. Perhaps there are times when adrenalin kicks in, and we do more than we thought possible. But God never intended that we operate hour after hour, day after day like that. Not only does fruit of such frenetic labours tend to be temporal, and temporary. It may well shorten our lives, and our days of effective ministry! Soul peace is much more productive in the long run, and more conducive to our own spiritual development.

“Perfect peace” is expressed in the original Hebrew of our text as peace peace–a peaceful peace. The same construction is found in Isa. 57:19-21, where a contrast is made with the wicked who have no real and abiding peace. Thus the Bible teaches that true and lasting peace is found in a right relationship with God, and in following the paths of righteousness.

In the context, Isaiah 26:3 is a promise of millennial blessing for Israel, to be fulfilled when Christ comes back again to take up His earthly reign. It has to do with the nation’s assurance of the Lord’s protection of Zion (vs. 1-4). In that day, when the Prince of Peace reigns (cf. Isa. 9:6-7), Israel will be safe from her enemies and enjoy a pervasive sense of tranquility and rest.

Nevertheless, the promise directed to them is rooted in universal principles. It can be applied currently, as well as prophetically, personally, as well as nationally. There are related promises in both Old Testament and New. Clear assurances to all believers that God is in control, and that He will unfailingly work out His good purposes for us (Ps. 138:8; Prov. 3:5-6; Rom. 8:28; Phil. 1:6; 4:6-7). When we become distressed over circumstances, we need to turn to such passages again and meditate on them.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7). We can utterly trust in God’s will to do us good, His wisdom to identify that good, and His work to bring it about. The one who rests His mind on these things will find that the Lord fortifies and garrisons his thoughts with a new fullness of peace.

Think of the tranquil scene in Lk. 8:35. After the demoniac of Gadara is delivered by Christ, he is found at the feet of the Master, clothed, and in his right mind. Does this not suggest that we are more teachable, more ready and able to receive what God has for us, when we are not in a turmoil? John Greenleaf Whittier wrote a hymn about that in 1887. Actually, it was created out of the concluding stanzas of his longer poem, “The Brewing of Soma.”

The poem tells of some heathen priests who made their way into the forest, where they drank a powerful brew called soma. It produced what Whittier called “a frenzy, a sacred madness.” Then, the priests ranted and raved in their drugged state in an attempt to somehow contact and experience their god. But fellowship with the true God is not gained by such devices. As the poet’s hymn puts it:

Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways!
Reclothe us in our rightful mind;
In purer lives Thy service find,
In deeper reverence, praise.

In simple trust like theirs who heard,
Beside the Syrian sea,
The gracious calling of the Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word,
Rise up and follow Thee.

Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace.

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