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The Most Misused Bible Verse
Just today on my Facebook page, a friend complained about how her church is “homophobic.”I asked what they said that was homophobic. If they’re liberally using homosexual slurs or saying God hates gays or announcing that we should persecute homosexuals, then I’ll agree her church is homophobic. If they’re just preaching that homosexuality is a sin, she needs to come to terms with the fact that what they’re preaching is exactly what the Bible says. If you think that saying homosexuality is wrong is homophobic, then the Bible is a homophobic document.
But that’s not really what inspired this post — that would be all the commenters chiming in about how Christians are “not supposed to judge.” The verse that they are alluding to is Matthew Chapter 7, Verse 1, where Jesus says to his follower “Judge not, lest ye be judged.”
In my opinion, this the most abused and least understood scripture used in modern popular culture. It upsets me every time I hear someone misuse that verse.
Saying a certain behavior is sin is “judging” and unchristian? So what if somebody murders somebody and I say, “That’s wrong”? What if a guy is molesting children and I say, “That’s wrong”? What if I say homophobia is wrong? Aren’t all these instances of me judging behaviors? And that means I’m no longer following the teachings of Christ!?
That’s funny, because, if I recall correctly, Christ spent quite a lot of time judging certain behaviors. He didn’t mince words condemning the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, the money-changing in the temple, the pride of the wealthy, or even the pride of his own apostles. He even condemned thinking bad things. And his disciples followed suit in judging behaviors and condemning all sorts of things, including people’s private sexual behavior.
What Christ meant in saying “Judge not” was that we should not be self-righteous; that we shouldn’t immediately think the worst of everybody; that we shouldn’t obsess over others’ flaws while ignoring our own; and that we should be charitable to others in the way we hope God will be charitable to us on judgment day. He did not mean that we can’t call a sin a sin, or that we shouldn’t warn individuals about behaviors we believe will lead to spiritual destruction (again, something we see Jesus and his disciples do again and again in the New Testament).
When most people reference that verse nowadays they are latching on to it without context and using it as a cop-out to avoid having to seriously deal with politically incorrect Bible verses and teachings (and ignoring mounds of other Bible verses that contradict their interpretation of that verse)
Are there any other Bible verses you can think of whose meaning has become mangled by modern society?
Published in General
Very well said.
One of the last progressive things I did before becoming conservative was get involved in a student group protesting Nike’s low wage third world factories (i.e. “sweatshops”). I recall at one point one leader commenting on how we shouldn’t impose morality on people. I remember thinking, “What the heck is he talking about? That’s what we do! That’s all we do!”
What he meant was, “We shouldn’t impose Biblical or cultural morality on people, but Progressivist/Socialist pseudo-morality is just fine.”
I agree with PsychLynn about Romans 8:28. I cling to the promise of that verse – a funeral is not the time to chirpily recite it to a grieving person.
I Cor. 10:13 – No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength….. Does NOT mean God will never give you anything in life you can’t handle.
Jer. 29:11 – For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope…..Does NOT mean everything will come out hunky-dory.
I could go on and on.
This reminds me of my favorite response to misused Bible verses: “Even the devil [and Barack Obama] quotes scripture.”
It’s in the Bible.
“Easier for a camel to enter the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter heaven.” Aside from the sentiment, I always wondered why anyone would even consider attempting to a camel through the eye of a needle. Then I heard alternate explanations – one, a mistranslation; the word camel was close to “rope,” which makes a lot of sense, and two, there was a narrow wall in the city gate called the Eye of the Needle, which also makes a lot of sense.
Go forth and google.
Ah. Here I thought they were talking about a Camel cigarette.
1 John 4:8 – “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
Very much like the misused verse about judging, this verse is often wielded like a club to mistakenly protest that any word or action which is unpleasant to the hearer is unloving.
In the same vein – Genesis 31:49 – The LORD watch between you and me, when we are absent one from the other.
Usually recited at a touching parting. In context it’s almost a threat uttered by Laban to Jacob – “beware when you are out of my sight, buddy; God still has his eye on you if you try anything funny with my daughters.”
Psalm 116:15 – Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
I shuddered when our pastor recited this at a funeral; the deceased was a believer but the surviving family members were not.
Good verse – very bad timing. Sounds like God is high-fiving the angels now that the person is dead.
What is the extent of the sin of a homosexual act? Mortal or venial?
I think it is one of the Ten Commandments.
“Thou shalt not kill” is really “Thou shalt not commit murder.”
Killing is always justified under certain circumstances . . .
“God helps those who help themselves” 2nd Hesitations
[Yes, I know it’s not in the Bible, but a lot of people think it is]
Those are wonderful examples. Too often, tho, this is interpreted to mean any instance, including disagreements between large entities, say countries. Pacifists tell us we should apply this to acts of aggression as any action taken in response is wrong. This is not what the Bible tells us. Dennis Prager talked about this very thing on his radio program. He said that turning the other cheek applies to circumstances between individuals, not countries. In fact, he reminded us that in both the Old and New Testaments we are even commanded to hate – Proverbs, Psalms, Romans: If you love God, you must hate evil. So turning the other cheek in the face of evil aggression against a people or an entire country is wrong.
In John 8, Jesus suggests that “he who is without sin cast the first stone”. So many people take that to mean that if a person is a sinner, he has no right to point out sin in another person. Well, we’re all sinners, but we’re also all called to build each other up and to lovingly encourage the best from our brothers and sisters, not just to turn a blind eye to their missteps because we, too, have misstepped.
Additionally, further along in John 8, Jesus speaks to the woman who was being charged with adultery in the first place and tells her, “Go, and sin no more”. That part of the passage is very often left out by humanists who only like to quote the parts of Scripture that support their talking points.
You’re Catholic, no? Have you asked your own priest?
When do we get to stop navel gazing about unnatural and destructive behavior? Like Rick Perry said, there are choices to be made, in spite of our animal instincts. Call it what it is.
I’m not Catholic, so I had to look up the definition. At least according to wikipedia (and correct me if wikipedia’s got it wrong) venial means a sin that if left unrepented leads to partial loss of grace but not complete separation of God and eternal damnation, unlike mortal sin.
As a Mormon I don’t believe we have that framework for sin, so I don’t know exactly how to answer that. I will say I believe that the only unforgivable sin is denying that Holy Ghost. I do believe that sexual sin (which doesn’t just include same-sex acts, but also fornication and adultery along with other things) is very serious in the eyes of God, and that if any member of my church were known to be engaging in such activity, and was unrepentant in attitude, they would be excommunicated.
If what you mean is do I believe that all gay people are automatically condemned to hell- no, I don’t believe that.
I call it the Principle of Charity… probably a conflating of two terms, though.
I absolutely agree. Nothing has made me more angry than someone ending a theological dispute with “let’s just pray for Ryan, that his heart will be softened and he will see the truth.” On Ricochet, that has led to one of the few times that I’ve had an editor remove my subsequent comment. In real life, it might earn you a punch in the nose.
… that’s because it does make things worse. There is never a good reason to tell someone (in a dispute) that you’re praying for them. It is condescending and logically, it is the same as saying “God agrees with me, I’ll just go talk to him about it,” which is amazingly arrogant. Now, if you say that you pray for both of you, that the argument will find a consensus and that you will understand each other and reach a common ground; that shows some humility, and may be taken somewhat better. But if all you’re doing is telling someone that you’ll pray for him, what’s the point? Just go pray for him. You’ve already acknowledged that only God can get through, so why add that into the argument? It is 100% uncalled for, and as I stated above, I could agree with you all day long on the merits, and if you got punched in the face, I’d say you deserved it.
You’re right that is misused. We are not supposed to judge the person (that’s for God) but we are supposed to judge the sin. There are a number of verses which support judging the sin: Matthew 18:15-17, Galatians 6:1, and this from James 5:19-20:
” My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins. ” Obviously we are not supposed to ignore sins.
From my understanding, all sexual sins committed with full free will are mortal sins. That includes any sex outside of marriage, and even masterbation, which I found a little ridiculous. But I don’t make the rules.
Can we put the whole word/faith and prosperity gospel movements in this?
Specifically on the topic we must include the parallel passage in Luke 6:37-38. If you really want to see this concept get abused use that one.
I wasn’t going to respond to Tommy’s comment since it disregarded the general topic and seems only an attempt to poke his fellow Christians with his own pet peeve, but here are my two cents.
First, any sin may be forgiven, mortal or venial. James mentions the passage about it being “easier to pass a camel through a needle’s eye than to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” What is impossible for Man is possible by God’s mercy and Christ’s sacrifice. None of us deserves Heaven. None of us earns it (not even saints). It is only be God’s mercy and grace that we are saved.
But our actions reflect our souls, our general acceptance of God’s love. A good tree produces good fruits, as Jesus says. We talk of charity and of sin so that we may identify God’s light in the world and not be led astray by corruption.
The difference between mortal and venial sin is similar to the difference between felonies and misdemeanors in law. Minor offenses disrupt relationships but do not break them. Major offenses break relationships, either immediately or with repetition. The extent to which an offense is impulsive or deliberate, the extent to which it is known to be harmful, and other considerations of will come into account.
As regards sin, the push for “gay marriage” is like trying to stamp adultery with public approval. The carefully deliberated sin of willfully rejecting ancient Christian teaching is much more serious than a temporary lapse in the heat of passion. To teach that sin is not sin is a grave offense.
Just out of curiosity, what do you think it means?
-E
Well, the rest of the verse is “…but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” The surrounding context would seem to indicate that one shouldn’t use “the Devil made me do it” or “I can’t help it” as a sin excuse.
I mentioned the verse originally because I’ve heard people use it to boost their own self-confidence, as in “well I can handle anything that comes my way because God wouldn’t send me something I can’t handle.” It’s been my life experience that God frequently sends things I can’t handle, and therefore I am constantly reminded of my need for Him. Or as verse 12 states “Let any one who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.”
Perhaps, in the interest of preserving a pithy summary, one could say “God will never give you anything in life He can’t handle.
-E
My favorite example of the way people who in any other context would scream “Separation of Church and State” try make ad hominem hay by quoting Rom 12:19 in discussions of capital punishment:
They present it as if they were experts at Biblical exegesis, when they haven’t a clue that Romans 12 deals with getting along with your neighbors, and that Paul gets to actions by civil authority just a few verses later, in Rom 13:4:
I’m waiting for La Pelosi or BHO to declare that the state is “the servant of God”.
Mortal and venial aren’t quite that simple. All uses of the sexual faculties outside of their proper purpose are grave acts. To be mortal sins, there also has to be 2) sufficient reflection and consciousness of the gravity and 3) full consent of the will.
As to the gravity: Sex is the way God creates human beings, obviously a serious matter. Every conception involves 3 agents: husband, wife, and the Creator. Using sex in a way that blocks the procreative possibilities is to set one’s will over God’s will, a basic definition of sin.
See also Aaron Miller’s very good comment, #55 above.