7 Misused Bible Verses
Today we are going to be looking at 7 of the most misused Bible verses and what they really mean.
This Bible is not merely a collection of quotes or one-liners that we can use to make us feel better about ourselves. It is literally the Word of God. That is why we must approach the Bible with extreme care and intentionality. How we read, memorize and quote the Bible is extremely important.
However, some Bible verses are often:
misunderstood.
misquoted.
misused.
We may hear others, especially celebrities misusing Scripture. They sound right in the moment, so we also begin spreading the misuse of that verse without taking the time to study the verse in its original context.
For example, we might type in Google ‘Bible verses about hope”’, find one that makes us feel good and start quoting it.
7 of the Most Misused and Abused Bible Verses
1 Corinthians 10:13
“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13 | NKJV)
Many Christians claim this verse is a “promise” that God will never allow them to experience more difficulties than “they can handle.” In fact , I have personally heard people say, “God won’t give you more than you can handle.”
While that sounds nice, the larger context (1 Corinthians 10:1-13) deals with temptation and our ability to withstand it. God promises He will always provide a way for us to say “no” to temptation. In other words, God provides a way to escape sinning.
That doesn't mean there won’t be consequences to remaining faithful.
Examples:
Biblical: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego
They refused to worship the golden statue in Daniel 3.
Nebuchadnezzar had commanded them on the pain of death to fall down and worship the image when they heard the sound of the musical instruments.
They refused saying, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16–18 | NKJV)
They took the way of escape and were thrown into the fiery furnace. In this instance God did physically save them from death. But there is no promise that He will save everyone from physical or financial harm if they remain faithful to Him.
Modern: HR tells you that you must call a biological male “her” and you refuse to lie, you have escaped the sin of lying but may lose your job because of your faithfulness.
God always provides a way of escape. We are never forced to sin. The problem most people have is that they are unwilling to take it. They are unwilling to suffer the consequences of remaining faithful.
2. Matthew 7:1
“Judge not, that you be not judged.” (Matthew 7:1 | NKJV)
We live in a world that is all about tolerance. We are to accept everything as equally morally good.
Women want to be men. Wonderful!
Men want to be women. Even better!
Men want to marry men and women want to marry women. How lovely!
People want to murder babies. Your body, your choice.
If we speak out against these and many other sins you will quickly hear someone say, “The Bible says, ‘Judge not, that you be not judged.’”
Yes, Jesus did say that. But to use it the way so many people do is to twist the words of Jesus right out of their context and basically make them say the opposite of what He was actually saying.
Did Jesus condemn judging? Yes.
Jesus condemned self-righteous, hypocritical judging. But he also said,
“First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:5 | NKJV)
We are not to leave the speck in our brother's eye.
Throughout Scripture, God clearly commands Christians to lovingly point out sin and call people to repentance.
It is not our place to determine their motives, but it is our responsibility to gently identify behavior that God has already judged to be “sin.”
The goal is to reconcile the sinner with God and others and to keep the sin from spreading. Check out these verses to learn more. (Matthew 18:15-17, 1 Corinthians 5:5-7, Hebrews 12:15, James 5:19-20).
3. Matthew 18:20
“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:20)
How many times have we heard this verse used to justify missing services to go on a fishing trip or to a football game?
The family says a prayer and maybe takes the Lord’s Supper together before the big game. One of them quotes this verse and they feel good knowing that Jesus approves and is there with them.
That is not even close to what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 18.
The context of this passage is about church discipline. When another believer sins and refuses to repent the church is called to make the difficult decision to have nothing to do with them until they repent. Jesus is assuring the church that He is with them in that decision.
This verse is not talking about two Christians in a boat fishing on Sunday morning.
4. Romans 8:28
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28 | NKJV)
Does God control all the circumstances of our lives to make things just turn out great for us?
Well, let’s take a step back and look at this verse.
First, this promise is not for all people, it’s for Christians who love God.
Second, in the larger context, (Romans 8:18-39), Paul reminds us that although we must temporarily endure earthly suffering, God works through it to continuously work out His greater, eternal plan for us (Romans 8:28-30).
The “good” God is working towards us is not temporary, earthly “success,” but the eternal purpose of us being “conformed to the likeness” of Jesus (Romans 8:29).
As Christians who love God we know all things work together for good but is it not the good worldly minded people might expect.
5. Habakkuk 1:5
“Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.” (Habakkuk 1:5)
If we read this verse by itself, we might believe God is going to do something astonishing and wonderful before our very eyes.
Well, He definitely did something astonishing and wonderful, but probably not what you’d expect.
God sent the prophet Habakkuk to pronounce judgment on Judah for turning away from God. The astonishing and wonderful thing God was about to do was to send the brutal nation of Babylon to conquer His people and carry them into captivity.
This verse should stand as a strong reminder that God disciplines His children when they turn away from Him, sometimes in ways that we can hardly believe.
6. Jeremiah 29:11
“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” (Jeremiah 29:11)
We often see this verse on high school graduation cards as an encouragement for a prosperous future as if this was a promise of God to all Christians.
This verse is definitely a promise. But it’s a promise for a particular people at a particular time.
Through the prophet Jeremiah, God promised that after Judah’s pre-determined exile in Babylon, He would bring them back to the Promised Land.
You know, we often misappropriate promises found in the Bible. And while God does make a lot of promises to all believers, this particular promise isn’t one of them.
7. Philippians 4:13
“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13)
Philippians 4:13 is probably the most misused verse in the Bible. People pull it out of the surrounding passage and hold it out as if God is obligated to empower their plans and dreams.
Context
Paul was writing about being content no matter his earthly circumstances. He could endure any difficulty or physical need through the strengthening power of Christ.
There is no doubt that Philippians 4:13 is a great promise! Jesus will give us the strength we need to endure difficult times in His service. But this is not a promise that you will win a football game as some might suggest. For example, this Sports Illustrated’s cover of Tim Tebow’s face with Philippians 4:13.
Context, context, context. I’ll bet that you don't like it when people take your words out of context and make you say something that you didn’t mean. You think God feels any differently?
Conclusion
This Bible is not merely a collection of quotes or one-liners that we can use willie-nillie to make us feel better about ourselves. It is literally the Word of God. That is why we must approach the Bible with extreme care and intentionality. How we read, memorize and quote the Bible is extremely important.
What other verses do you hear being misused? Let me know in the comments below.
If you would like to know more about the wonderful eternal plan God has for your life and how to access it read more of my articles below.
