- Distorting God’s Word -

[Shadrach]

Mark 12:24, “And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?”

2 Peter 3:16, “As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction”
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The apostle Peter believed that Scriptures play a vital role in the life of a believer in Christ (1 Peter 1:22–2:3; 2:8; 3:1; 2 Peter 1:3-4, 12-21; 2:21; 3:1-7, 14-18). And he does not cease in challenging us to turn our attention to the Scriptures. Even while Peter points us to the Word, he warns that some will seek to turn us from the truths of the Scripture by perverting the teaching of Scripture. He does not look for false prophets to arise, apparently because prophets are no longer necessary. After all, God has spoken fully and finally in Christ (Hebrews 1:1-3; 2:1-4).

However, he does warn his readers and us that false teachers will arise who do not approach God’s Word with honest motives and respect for its authority. They may not claim to reveal new truth from God on the level of Scripture, but they will seek to distort the Scriptures, twisting them to teach something vastly different from the intended meaning of the Bible.

By way of illustration the story has been told about an art enthusiast who had displayed on the walls of his office a collection of etchings, including one of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Each morning he noticed it was crooked, so he straightened it. Finally one evening he asked the cleaning woman if she was responsible for moving the picture each night. “Why, yes,” she said, “I have to hang it crooked to make the tower straight!” My brethren, in a similar way, many individuals have the habit of twisting the Scriptures to make their imperfect lives look better or to justify their own opinions and actions. Thus, unless we review the Bible prayerfully and humbly, we may get a wrong message and be drawn away from our steadfastness in Jesus Christ.

God gave us His precious Word as a light to guide our steps. If we obey it each day, we will find it to be an unfailing source of strength and truth. Distorting the meaning of the Word of God to fit our preconceived ideas is a dangerous practice and a terrible sin. So, let’s be careful how we read and interpret the Bible.
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Further thoughts:

Sometime ago I came across a poem that someone had written that talks about the problem of using a spell-checking program on a personal computer. The first stanza of the poem says:

I have a spelling checker
I disk covered four my PC.
It plane lee marks four my revue
Miss steaks aye can knot see.

The words are spelled correctly, but they aren’t the right words to convey the message of the writer. Its proof positive that if you’re looking to the wrong source for correctness, then you aren’t right. Furthermore, it’s like that with matters of God’s Word. It’s possible to trust the wrong source of information about spiritual things.

For instance, there are people who teach that salvation depends on keeping rituals, performing good works, joining a church, or being baptized. However, they are dead wrong. So where can we go for the truth? We need a perfect, fool-proof source. That source my beloved is the Bible. God’s precious and Eternal Word says that salvation is by grace through faith. “It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). There are so many sources of information today and it’s easy to pick the wrong one. So be sure you carefully check out what you hear and read about God and eternal life. The Bible is the only source of what is true and right.

The Bible is a gift from God,
A lamp of truth and light;
It searches heart and soul and mind,
And tells us what is right – Bosch
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We must align ourselves with the Bible, never the Bible with ourselves.

 

[B-A-C]

For instance, there are people who teach that salvation depends on keeping rituals, performing good works, joining a church, or being baptized. However, they are dead wrong. So where can we go for the truth? We need a perfect, fool-proof source. That source my beloved is the Bible. God’s precious and Eternal Word says that salvation is by grace through faith. “It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

One of the other ways the Bible is distorted in by cherry picking and leaving verses out of a passage.

Eph 2:8; For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9; Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

So while we can't do anything "good" to get saved. We are expected to good things "after" we are saved.
People push this "no works" thing to the point of saying "God doesn't want you to do anything". It's almost like they believe..
Ooops, you did a good work - Oops you didn't sin today - God's gonna get you for that. That's nonsense, God isn't going to punish anyone for doing good works,
on the contrary, He is going to reward them.

1 Cor 3:12; Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
1 Cor 3:13; each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work.
1 Cor 3:14; If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.

We didn't "get saved" because we did these things. But God expects us to do them once we are saved.

Matt 25:24; "And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed.
Matt 25:25; 'And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.'
Matt 25:26; "But his master answered and said to him, 'You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed.
Matt 25:27; 'Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.
Matt 25:28; 'Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.'
Matt 25:29; "For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.
Matt 25:30; "Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

God expects us to do something with what He has given us .

Matt 5:16; "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
John 9:4; "We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.

1 Tim 2:10; but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness.
1 Tim 5:10; having a reputation for good works; and if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the saints' feet, if she has assisted those in distress, and if she has devoted herself to every good work.
1 Tim 6:18; Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share,

Jas 2:17; Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
Jas 2:18; But someone may well say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works."
Jas 2:20; But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?
Jas 2:21; Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?
Jas 2:22; You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected;
Jas 2:24; You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.

Another way the Bible is distorted, is by people who add seemingly innocent word to scripture. You often hear we are saved by grace "alone".
But the word "alone" isn't in that verse anywhere. I have 16 Bible versions, and the words "grace" and "alone" don't appear together in the same verse anywhere, not once.

However there is a verse that says we are NOT saved by faith alone. ( James 2:24; )

This isn't a new argument, this has been the split of the church between Armenianism and Calvinism for hundreds of years now.

Matt 7:24; "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Matt 7:25; "And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.
Matt 7:26; "Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
Matt 7:27; "The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall."

Jesus also warned about people who don't want to "DO" (act) on His teachings and what He said.

Tit 2:7; in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified,
Tit 3:8; This is a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good and profitable for men.
Tit 3:14; Our people must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful.
Heb 10:24; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,
1 Pet 2:12; Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.

John 3:21; "But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God."
Rom 8:13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

In fact, people aren't going to be judged by what they "say" they believe, they are going to be judged by what they actually did.

John 5:28; "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice,
John 5:29; and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.

Rom 2:6; who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS:

Matt 16:27; "For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.

2 Cor 5:10; For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

Rev 2:5; 'Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.

 

[saginon]

This "saved by grace and grace alone" is misleading and in my view NOT true. The planet is saved by grace, but action must be taken by a believer to go from death to life. Salvation is not just a simple mental declaration that one accepts Christ. It's much more than that.

 

[Brother-Paul]

This "saved by grace and grace alone" is misleading and in my view NOT true. The planet is saved by grace, but action must be taken by a believer to go from death to life. Salvation is not just a simple mental declaration that one accepts Christ. It's much more than that.

Greetings

We are saved by Grace through Faith that we all know, but it does take action and that action is a two way process.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV)
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

It is a Gift from God, He makes the first move, God calls us we do not call him.

To receive the Gift, we have to accept Jesus died on the Cross for our sins, we have to realise our sinful condition and want forgiving. So we have to repent and mean it from our heart. We have to have Faith in God, Faith in The Word, we have to be willing to take up our cross daily and follow Jesus.

So you are right in that there has to be actions, but God acted first, we then responded to The Word.

Romans 10:9-10
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."

To conclude: We are Saved by Grace through Faith.

 

[saginon]

Greetings

We are saved by Grace through Faith that we all know, but it does take action and that action is a two way process.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV)
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

It is a Gift from God, He makes the first move, God calls us we do not call him.

To receive the Gift, we have to accept Jesus died on the Cross for our sins, we have to realise our sinful condition and want forgiving. So we have to repent and mean it from our heart. We have to have Faith in God, Faith in The Word, we have to be willing to take up our cross daily and follow Jesus.

So you are right in that there has to be actions, but God acted first, we then responded to The Word.

Romans 10:9-10
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."

To conclude: We are Saved by Grace through Faith.

Grace is what God did for mankind through Jesus Christ. Faith is a believers conviction in God's grace and truth we have in Jesus Christ. Works is the evidence of faith and grace we have in Christ - that something significant has transpired in the heart and mind a believers life.