FEB 19

2 Peter 3:16
Memorise 2 Peter 3:16
“But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ”

The Bible is God’s wonderful gift to man. Sadly, like many other things which God gives us, this can be misused and cause harm to ourselves and even others. 2 Peter 3:16 tells us that this is just what will happen if we do not correctly study God’s Word and apply the rules of correct interpretation of the Bible. One who is “unlearned” has not been taught the truth of God and His Word, whereas one who is “unstable” is not steadfast in the truth, but easily tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine. Together, they refer to the person who is thoroughly unprepared and unqualified to interpret God’s Word, for he cares not to properly learn the right methods of interpretation, and is always curious to seek out new and heretical teachings. The result of this is that he ‘wrests’ (literally to torture or pervert) Scriptures, such that he twists God’s Word to say something which it in fact does not, especially those parts of the Bible which are more difficult to understand. Such a person would be a teacher of false doctrine, which is why Peter tells us to beware of such teachers and not be led astray by the wicked into destruction (v17).

Dear Teen, this stern warning serves to alert us to the growing problem which we are already witnessing, where present-day false teachers use God’s Word to promote their own selfish interests. We hear of many “TV evangelists” who live in multi-million dollar mansions, own expensive cars and enjoy lavish lifestyles. These are the people who have “profited” from God’s Word by using parts of Scripture to coerce people into giving to God but keep the money for themselves instead. It is unscriptural for a pastor to apply Psalm 133 to vindicate his call to his flock to enrich him so that God can enrich them in turn, when the literal sense of the psalm is to extol the blessings of unity in the church. We may be fooled by such people if we too are unfamiliar with God’s Word and do not take care to check everything with the Bible and apply the rules of proper Bible interpretation. Peter says that these false teachers do this to their own destruction as they will ultimately be held accountable for their deeds to God Himself.

Thought: The abuse of God’s Word can result in promoting Satan’s objectives rather than God’s.
Prayer: Help me, O Lord, to hide Thy Word in my heart that I may never be led astray.