Taking scripture out of context and offering it up as encouragement might seems harmless, but it isn’t.
People quote the first part of Psalm 112:7 to one another often it reads,
“He is not afraid of bad news;”
Giving this scripture on its own to an unbeliever or a shaky believer makes them think, God will not allow them to receive bad news if they trust in Him. And when they do receive bad news, they will call the Lord a liar and be angry and think He hates them.
Put the verse back in context and you find out that per verse 1 of the Psalm it is describing a man who fears the Lord and delights in His commands. Verse 1 reads,
“Praise the Lord!
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
who greatly delights in his commandments!”
Keep reading and you find out the reason he is not afraid of bad news is because,
“He is not afraid of bad news;
his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.
His heart is steady; he will not be afraid,
until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.” (Psalm 112:7-8).
Stop taking scripture out of context. Stop giving just half the truth. Stop taking the salt out of the Gospel and twisting scripture into tasty little bites of feel good sayings. You may make a person feel good now, but maybe they needed to deal with a broken heart in order to turn to God. Rather than being rescued from weakness, pain, and persecution, maybe they needed to hear that going through those things bring about spiritual growth.
Twisting the Word of God, is what Satan does. He did it in the garden of Eden, he did it when he tempted Jesus, he does it when he tempts us. Do not join in the work of Satan by doing the same thing. When you share a verse, or a good work, make sure it is the whole truth. Because half a truth is called a lie.
People quote the first part of Psalm 112:7 to one another often it reads,
“He is not afraid of bad news;”
Giving this scripture on its own to an unbeliever or a shaky believer makes them think, God will not allow them to receive bad news if they trust in Him. And when they do receive bad news, they will call the Lord a liar and be angry and think He hates them.
Put the verse back in context and you find out that per verse 1 of the Psalm it is describing a man who fears the Lord and delights in His commands. Verse 1 reads,
“Praise the Lord!
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
who greatly delights in his commandments!”
Keep reading and you find out the reason he is not afraid of bad news is because,
“He is not afraid of bad news;
his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.
His heart is steady; he will not be afraid,
until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.” (Psalm 112:7-8).
Stop taking scripture out of context. Stop giving just half the truth. Stop taking the salt out of the Gospel and twisting scripture into tasty little bites of feel good sayings. You may make a person feel good now, but maybe they needed to deal with a broken heart in order to turn to God. Rather than being rescued from weakness, pain, and persecution, maybe they needed to hear that going through those things bring about spiritual growth.
Twisting the Word of God, is what Satan does. He did it in the garden of Eden, he did it when he tempted Jesus, he does it when he tempts us. Do not join in the work of Satan by doing the same thing. When you share a verse, or a good work, make sure it is the whole truth. Because half a truth is called a lie.
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