“…as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.”
which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction
The Greek word for “untaught” occurs only here in the New Testament. These “untaught” types were neophytes in New Testament truth. Many Christians are biblically illiterate. But we cannot afford to be ignorant of Scripture if we are going to grow spiritually.
“Unstable” people also have a problem with the Bible. This word occurs twice in the New Testament, both in 2 Peter (2 Pe 2:14, “unstable souls”). These people believe one thing one day and another thing the next. They have no sure foundation upon which they can rest. Unstable people have difficulty with the Word of God. They constantly waver in their views and attitudes.
The “untaught” and the “unstable” distort Scripture. The word “twist” means to wrench or distort. The Greeks used this term for the ratchet wrench, whereby they placed a person on a torture rack. This instrument tore muscles and broke bones. A body that underwent this process emerged deformed, twisted, and gnarled. In this verse, “twist” means to torture Scripture. Often, those who know the Bible the least distort it the most.
“But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God” (2 Corinthians 4:2).
Some “distort” the Word of God by handling it deceitfully. They are not fair to biblical statements. They make it say what it does not say. They take the Bible out of context and read their theology into the passage (eisegesis).
Christians place the entire significance of their souls upon supporting the naked, infallible Word of the living God. The Bible is the only book that tells us we have eternal life by grace, by the finished work of Christ on the cross for our sins. In it, we learn that man has no character or good works that can impress God in any way.
“…having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever…” (1 Peter 1:23).
Principle:
People twist Scripture according to their biases.
Application:
Do you distort Scriptures for your purposes? Some people learn a thing or two about Scripture, and suddenly, they become world experts about the Bible.
More people attack the Scriptures than any other book on earth. More Bibles are burned than any other religious book. So-called “religious scholars” twist Scripture to make it teach what they want it to teach. However, the infallibility of the Scriptures makes it withstand all these attacks. What other reason could we give for the Bible living today in the hearts and lives of people? The Bible is still the bestselling book in the world.
