How Dare We Disort the Word of God?

Are you guilty of distorting the Word of God?  Have you ever taken a verse of Scripture and put your meaning into it rather than honestly seek to know what God is actually saying?

I've been guilty of that. I've ignored the verses that came before and after a verse and used that single verse to justify what was in fact merely my own opinion. But I say now to myself and every other Christian, how dare we distort the Word of God!

I'm upset and deeply grieved that distorting Scripture is becoming commonplace and acceptable to all too many who profess to be Christians.

There are some who use select verses of the Bible to condone their own sin. There are others who misuse Scripture verses to embrace spiritual practices that are rooted in religions that deny that Jesus is the only way to God.

One example of this kind of distortion is what many have done with their teaching about prayer. Rather than see that prayers throughout Scripture are both understandable and about specific needs and expressions of praise and worship, people are introducing non-Biblical forms of prayer based on Eastern religions or new age teachings. They want prayer to be not just us talking to God but also God talking to us. They want to teach us yoga or other non-Biblical methods to enhance our ability to "hear" God when we pray.

There are those who cite the experience Elijah had in the cave when he heard the "still small voice" (KJV) or "gentle whisper" (NIV) (1 Kings 19:12). They say we should seek that sort of thing when we pray.

But wait a minute. Was hearing that "still small voice" something that God wants all Christians to learn how to experience? Let's take a closer look at the actual context of that verse:

1Ki 19:9  There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
1Ki 19:10  He said, "I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away."
1Ki 19:11  And he said, "Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
1Ki 19:12  And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.
1Ki 19:13  And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
1Ki 19:14  He said, "I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away."
1Ki 19:15  And the LORD said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.
1Ki 19:16  And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place.
1Ki 19:17  And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death.
1Ki 19:18  Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him."

Did you notice how God spoke quite clearly and plainly to Elijah again and again in that passage? Of course when God speaks He expects us to pay attention and obey what He says. In verse 18 God told Elijah to "Go out on the mount and stand before the Lord."  Then, in verse 19, which is after the "gentle whisper,"  When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
And behold, there came a voice to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

When Elijah was in the cave, God spoke to him clearly, and told him to go out. Apparently Elijah did not go out to directly witness the demonstration of wind, earthquake and fire that God caused but was not in. So the next thing Elijah heard was only a gentle whisper. No clear, understandable voice. So Elijah then complied with the Lord's command, and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

What was said in that whisper? There's no we can know that. But is it all likely that it was words of spiritual closesness involving a deepening relationship? Both before and after the whisper God essentially had clearly asked Elijah why he was hiding out in that cave. Both times Elijah gave the same  excuse. After the second time of giving that excuse, God filled in what was really going on and what was about to happen.

Perhaps that whisper was simply God giving the same command to come out and stand on the mountain in a softer voice. Both parents and employers will sometimes use a softer, not louder, voice to convey they are quite serious in what they are saying and the child or employee had better listen. Or maybe the softness of the whisper made Elijah think that if he didn't respond to God's command to come out of the cave that if God spoke again it would be so soft that he wouldn't be able to hear it at all. Whatever it was, the Holy Spirit knew it was not meant to be included in Scripture for us to read.

In any case, Elijah then decided to obey the command to come out, and did so after wrapping his face in his cloak. He must have known that actually seeing God could very well be blinding or even fatal.

When Elijah did what God had commanded him, God once again spoke plainly to him rather than in a low whisper. Got repeated what He’d already said, and then went on to speak more things that He wanted him to hear and for us to read in Scripture for many generations.

Another popular verse that is applied in a distorted out of context fashion is from Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God.” But is that from a section of Scripture teaching about how we should pray? Look for yourself at the entire verse along with comes before and after it.

Psa 46:6  Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
Psa 46:7  The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Psa 46:8  Come and see what the LORD has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth.
Psa 46:9  He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.
Psa 46:10  He says, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
Psa 46:11  The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Look at the “Be still, and know that I am God” as part of this section of the Word of God as it talks about nations in an uproar and then God intervening. He lifts His voice, the earth melts. Desolations He has brought on the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear. He burns the shields with fire. Having done all that, “He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth’”

Psalm 46 is not a teaching about prayer! Psalm 46 is a description of God judging and putting an end to nations doing what they want to do in fighting with one another. God is going to have the final say, and put an end to petty warfare with a blazing judgment that will leave nations with no choice but to be still and know that He is God, and He will be exalted no matter what any nation or any person might want to do otherwise.

All who distort the word of God either through intentional twisting of Scripture, or wanton disregard of proper study of the Bible, should be ashamed of themselves. I regret ever having unintentionally misrepresented God by misusing a verse or passage of Scripture. Let us all take great care in what we say or write when we teach what God has put in His Bible.

Let’s be like Paul in what he wrote to the Corinthians in 2 Cor. 4:2 “Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God.”  NIV

Let us heed Paul’s instructions to Timothy in 2 Tim 2:15: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” NIV

I don’t want to distort the word of God. I don’t want to be a worker who is ashamed. I desperately and diligently want to correctly handle the word of truth.

Let’s pray for one another. Let us pray for all who seek to teach what the Bible says. May what we teach only be what God has truly proclaimed in His written Word.