“In the Lord I put my trust. How can you say to my soul, ‘Flee as a bird to your mountain? For look! The wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow on the string, that they may shoot secretly at the upright in heart. If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?’ The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven; his eyes behold, his eyelids test the sons of men. The Lord tests the righteous. But the wicked and the one who loves violence his soul hates. Upon the wicked he will rain coals, fire, and brimstone and a burning wind; this shall be the portion of their cup. For the Lord is righteous, he loves righteousness; his countenance beholds the upright” (Psalm 11).

IDEA: We can misrepresent God when we use a sentence in the Bible out of its context.

PURPOSE: To help listeners to look at who is speaking as well as at what is said.

Is everything in the Bible true?

Is every use of the Bible accurate?

When can the Bible be misused?

I. Sometimes a sentence in the Bible seems to say one thing, but it really says another.

There is a danger in taking the words of a text without studying the meaning of the text.

If I say, “Go shoot yourself,” would you assume that I was urging you to commit suicide? Before you took my advice, what would you want to know?

II. Sometimes well-meaning people quote Psalm 11:3 to say something that the psalm itself may not be saying.

The question in Psalm 11:3 is, “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

This is sometimes quoted in political settings or in settings in which we want people to be aware that our nation’s values may be crumbling.

What is the implication of that question: “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

If the answer is, “They will not be able to do anything, so they must secure the foundations,” then that application may say things that the Bible doesn’t say.

III. It’s important to notice who says what in the Bible.

In Psalm 11:3, these are the words of an enemy. Look at the context:

Someone is counseling David to flee because the wicked are conquering the righteous and the foundations are destroyed.

They are asking, “Flee as a bird to your mountain . . . what can the righteous do?” They are counseling despair.

But David says, “In the Lord I have put my trust.”

When everything seems to be crumbling, the righteous can still trust in the Lord.

IDEA: Because we have a reverence for the Bible, we may be led to misinterpret it.

PURPOSE: To help listeners understand that while the Bible is a unique text, it can be looked at as we would any other piece of literature.

Do you think that people treat the Bible differently from the way they would other books?

How is the Bible different from any other book?

How is the Bible similar to any other book?

I. We should treat the Bible as different from other books.

It is a sacred text whose writing was superintended by God.

It’s a book that can lead us to God and to trust in Jesus Christ.

It shows us how to live our lives so that we will please God and live life with skill.

II. We sometimes mistreat the Bible because we do think of it as a sacred text.

We believe every sentence in the Bible is a self-contained unit. Why?

It’s divided up into chapters and verses, and in many translations each verse looks like a separate thought. As a result, we take a verse out of its immediate context.

We often think of the Bible as coming from God but we don’t think of it as literature in which a human author was writing to human readers. As a result, we take a verse out of its cultural context.

III. What are the dangers of treating the Bible as “different”?

We may be saying what God Himself never intended to say.

Example: Job—many of his friends said things that were partially true but were really not true of Job’s situation.

In the name of God we may be opening ourselves to ideas that are even contrary to the Bible and to what God is really saying.

Conclusion:

In the programs to come, we’ll look at some passages that have sometimes been taken out of their setting. They seem to be saying one thing, but they’re really saying another.

IDEA: Because we have a reverence for the Bible, we may be led to misinterpret it.

PURPOSE: To help listeners understand that while the Bible is a unique text, it can be looked at as we would any other piece of literature.

Do you think that people treat the Bible differently from the way they would other books?

How is the Bible different from any other book?

How is the Bible similar to any other book?

I. We should treat the Bible as different from other books.

It is a sacred text whose writing was superintended by God.

It’s a book that can lead us to God and to trust in Jesus Christ.

It shows us how to live our lives so that we will please God and live life with skill.

II. We sometimes mistreat the Bible because we do think of it as a sacred text.

We believe every sentence in the Bible is a self-contained unit. Why?

It’s divided up into chapters and verses, and in many translations each verse looks like a separate thought. As a result, we take a verse out of its immediate context.

We often think of the Bible as coming from God but we don’t think of it as literature in which a human author was writing to human readers. As a result, we take a verse out of its cultural context.

III. What are the dangers of treating the Bible as “different”?

We may be saying what God Himself never intended to say.

Example: Job—many of his friends said things that were partially true but were really not true of Job’s situation.

In the name of God we may be opening ourselves to ideas that are even contrary to the Bible and to what God is really saying.

Conclusion:

In the programs to come, we’ll look at some passages that have sometimes been taken out of their setting. They seem to be saying one thing, but they’re really saying another.

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

IDEA: A passage taken out of its context is a pretext.

PURPOSE: To help listeners realize the consequences of misusing texts in the Scripture.

In Robert Frost’s famous poem “The Mending Wall” we find the famous quote, “good fences make good neighbors.”
When that is quoted, what do you think is implied by the person who quotes it?

I. Why do people often take that line out of the context of the poem?

Frost himself does not make that comment. He is walking with a next-door neighbor who is something of a dolt. The two of them are building up the walls between their properties at the beginning of Spring. The neighbor says, “good fences make good neighbors.”

The poem itself, however, reflects Frost’s opening line, “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall.” Frost observes that the walls that we build up are torn down by nature or the weather or perhaps even God Himself.

The quote takes exactly the opposite sentiment of the author.

Do good fences really make good neighbors?

Is it better to build bridges or to build walls?

II. Why do we tend to jump on familiar lines in poetry or in Scripture without asking, “Is that what the author really wants to say?

When people quote Robert Frost, they want the authority of a well-known writer to support their view.

Why do you think that people sometimes quote the Bible to say something the Bible doesn’t really say?

III. What are the dangers of taking a sentence of Scripture out of its setting?

We may be saying something that God Himself is not saying.

In the name of God we may be opening ourselves to ideas that are even contrary to the Bible.

Conclusion:

We’d like to take some programs to look at some passages of the Bible that have been taken out of their setting. Like the poem by Robert Frost, they seem to be saying one thing, but in reality they are saying another.

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“But when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:7-8).

IDEA: Prayer enables us to live in communion with our Father in heaven.

PURPOSE: To help listeners think about what happens when they pray.

Have you ever wondered whether our prayers are really unnecessary?

Do you find it comforting to know that God knows our needs better than we do?

Doesn’t that lead to the question, “Is there any real need for us to pray at all?” – It’s nice but unnecessary?

I. Can you think of other reasons for prayer besides getting things from God?

Through prayer we enter into communion, into a personal relationship with God the Father.

In human relationships speech is a necessary element in fellowship.

What happens in marriages in which couples no longer to speak each other? Why?

Does the importance of speech in a friendship mean that friends need to be talking with each other all the time? What is the difference in a friendship where friends walk together in silence and one in which they refuse to talk with each other?

What is the significance to the assertion by the apostle John, “In the beginning was the Word . . .”?

II. Although God has spoken to us, we must cultivate fellowship with Him by speaking with Him.

Only when we come before Him and express in our words everything that distresses us can we really experience His peace.

Have you ever thought about making a list of what you want to talk to the Father about?

Have you ever discovered after you have prayed that you have been changed by the experience?

When we stop talking with God and cease living in communication with Him, then all we do is end up talking about God. After a time we might talk neither with God nor even about Him.

“But when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:7-8).

IDEA: Prayer enables us to live in communion with our Father in heaven.

PURPOSE: To help listeners think about what happens when they pray.

Have you ever wondered whether our prayers are really unnecessary?

Do you find it comforting to know that God knows our needs better than we do?

Doesn’t that lead to the question, “Is there any real need for us to pray at all?” – It’s nice but unnecessary?

I. Can you think of other reasons for prayer besides getting things from God?

Through prayer we enter into communion, into a personal relationship with God the Father.

In human relationships speech is a necessary element in fellowship.

What happens in marriages in which couples no longer to speak each other? Why?

Does the importance of speech in a friendship mean that friends need to be talking with each other all the time? What is the difference in a friendship where friends walk together in silence and one in which they refuse to talk with each other?

What is the significance to the assertion by the apostle John, “In the beginning was the Word . . .”?

II. Although God has spoken to us, we must cultivate fellowship with Him by speaking with Him.

Only when we come before Him and express in our words everything that distresses us can we really experience His peace.

Have you ever thought about making a list of what you want to talk to the Father about?

Have you ever discovered after you have prayed that you have been changed by the experience?

When we stop talking with God and cease living in communication with Him, then all we do is end up talking about God. After a time we might talk neither with God nor even about Him.

“But when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:7-8).

IDEA: We do not tell God our needs because He already knows them.

PURPOSE: To help listeners wrestle with why we pray.

Have you ever wrestled with the subject of prayer?

Why?

I. Have you ever thought that God needed to know our needs and He depended on us to tell Him?

At Christmastime, do you make known what you’d like as a gift?

Do you think God does not know what we need unless we tell Him? Isaiah 65:24; Matthew 6:8 above.

II. If God already knows our needs, why does He want us to call upon Him at all?

If He knows everything, why should we tell Him what we need?

If He doesn’t need information, what is the purpose of making our requests known to God? Philippians 4:4-6.

Is it that God needs our advice in running the universe? Wouldn’t you be scared if you thought that God was waiting for your advice on how to run the world, or even how to run your life?

III. Could it be that prayer reflects an attitude or trust in knowing God as “Father”?

If we did not pray, would we be aware of His provisions in our lives?

If we did not pray, would we ever have peace in the turmoil of life?

“But when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:7-8).

IDEA: We do not tell God our needs because He already knows them.

PURPOSE: To help listeners wrestle with why we pray.

Have you ever wrestled with the subject of prayer?

Why?

I. Have you ever thought that God needed to know our needs and He depended on us to tell Him?

At Christmastime, do you make known what you’d like as a gift?

Do you think God does not know what we need unless we tell Him? Isaiah 65:24; Matthew 6:8 above.

II. If God already knows our needs, why does He want us to call upon Him at all?

If He knows everything, why should we tell Him what we need?

If He doesn’t need information, what is the purpose of making our requests known to God? Philippians 4:4-6.

Is it that God needs our advice in running the universe? Wouldn’t you be scared if you thought that God was waiting for your advice on how to run the world, or even how to run your life?

III. Could it be that prayer reflects an attitude or trust in knowing God as “Father”?

If we did not pray, would we be aware of His provisions in our lives?

If we did not pray, would we ever have peace in the turmoil of life?