A 3-Part Study Series

By Arthur J Licursi

Part 1 - The Genuine Way of Faith.

Have you ever felt that some aspects of the faith you were taught weighs you down more than it sets you free?

Often believers are mistaught Bible verses in a way that they can paralyze you, blaming you, or demanding money from you… in order to make God’s promises work for you, … all in the name of God.

In this study, you will discover what Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul taught about the most dangerous distortions of Bible truth. You will gain understanding of what “the word of God” actually says, when read it with honesty, in the context of who is speaking to who in what circumstance. Sadly, mistaught, and misapplied Bible verses turn the truth up upside down and is dangerous to the faith of believers.

Let’s now consider how a misquoted phrase here in Jeremiah 29:11 has the power to paralyze believers. Jeremiah 29:11 does not say what the preachers often say it says.

Citing this verse below from one of the corrupted modern bible translations [i.e., NIV, NASB, ESV, etc.], the preacher might say; “God has a plan for your life.” You likely have heard this. He gets it here in the NIV.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

But these preachers have conjured up their comments by quoting their distorted Bible versions [NIV.NASB, ESV, etc.], They say “God has a plan for your life,” just that loosely, accompanied by a reassuring smile. There words might at first sound like a healing balm for troubled souls amid serious decision making, but it hides a subtle and dangerous trap.

By contrast, the reliable King James Bible version says;

¹¹ For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jeremiah 29:11 (KJV)

In the KJV this is beautiful, powerful, and true in the context in which it was written to and for the people of Israel. And that is exactly where the problem lies. This verse was written by Jeremiah, ‘the weeping prophet,’ only to and concerning the exiled Jews who were carried off to Babylon. When read entirely in context the reader will realize this was a prophetic letter addressed specifically to the people of Israel who had been carried off into Bondage In Babylon. This prophesy concerned a specific historical crisis … promising that Israel’s Bondage in Babylon Would END After 70 years.

So, Jeremiah 29:11 is not a generic motivational card to be stuck on the refrigerator of any 21st century believer who might undecided between two jobs, or stuck in a relational dilemma that isn’t working out.

The KJV Bible, when read with honesty and in depth, presents a very different view on the role of human beings in their life’s decisions. Just consider how Proverbs 16:9 directly plainly confirms Jeremiah 29:11 as seen in the KJV;

“The heart of Man Plans His Way, but the Lord Establishes [of orders] His Steps.”

Notice the structure of Proverbs 16:9. First man decides and plans, … Then God directs. It is not God planning everything while man sits waiting for divine instructions in a dream or vision. It is a real partnership where faith is expressed in man’s movement, not immobility. That is why I say Jeremiah 29:11 KJV being misquoted can needlessly paralyzes a believer’s life. Lucifer is only too happy to reinforce such distortion of Scripture through the words of deceived religious leaders, often using corrupted Bibles.

Now here below is an example seen in the life of Paul, “The Apostle to the Gentiles.” Paul is a living example of man acting and God guiding. In Acts 16:6-7, we read that Paul and his companions planned to go to Asia, but the Holy Spirit prevented them. Then also they tried to enter Bithynia and again they were redirected another way by the Holy Spirit. And so Paul was not standing still praying and waiting for a detailed map to fall from the sky.

Knowing God’s eternal plan and purpose, Paul moved ahead, made decisions, plans, and God along the way adjusted the route.

⁶ Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, ⁷After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. Acts 16:6-7 (KJV)

Paul, as the “protos,” the prototype Christian, is our “pattern” as seen in 1Timothy 1:16.

¹⁶ Howbeit for this cause I [Paul] obtained mercy, that in me first [Grk. protos, as the prototype] Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. 1 Timothy 1:16 (KJV)

Paul is the Biblical model of the Christian’s human action … with spiritual sensitivity. This is not the way of paralysis that preachers may disguise as pseudo spirituality. Jesus Christ never taught his disciples to stand still and wait. He said, “Follow me.” This was his invitation for His believers to walk, act, and move. The faith that Jesus Christ proclaimed is dynamic and courageous, demanding that the believer take the reins of their own life with wisdom and trust in their living spontaneous relationship with the indwelling “Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:2b).

Sadly, many misled Christians today often practice superstition baptized with spiritual language. This type of teaching, even when it comes from good intentions, forms Christians who seek and are Dependent On External Validation For Any Decision. It creates a generation that outsources to God what He has already given back to human beings; with the ability to think, discern, and choose. The Bible does not present a God who wants obedient robots without a will. We are of a God who created beings with intelligence, free will, and responsibility.

Preachers misusing God’s promise of freedom from the Babylonian exile as seen in Jeremiah 29:11 as a justification for not deciding anything is at the very least a dishonest reading of the scriptures.

The genuine faith in the TRUTH of Scripture does not paralyze, it impels. Understanding this completely changes one’s relationship with God, with choices, and with life itself.

But before acting with this renewed faith, it is necessary to understand how it works in practice. The next step of this journey reveals something even more surprising about how man’s religion distorts behavior without anyone noticing. As we will see in the next installment, the distortion of 1 Corinthians 10:13 causes more harm than comfort. Again, this does not mean what you might think.

¹³ There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 (KJV)

We will then see what the truth of this verse is.

 

Common Misuse and Distortion of Scripture

Part 2 - 1 Corinthians 10:13 Causes More Harm Than Comfort.

¹³ There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 (KJV)

There is a huge difference between acknowledging someone’s pain and unintentionally turning that pain into an accusation. That is exactly where 1 Corinthians 10:13 can become a double-edged sword… when taken out of its real context and misunderstood. Anyone who truly knows the Bible knows that every word of God has an address… revealing to whom it is spoken or intended. This is critical in proper Bible hermeneutics (Bible study).

1 Corinthians 10:13 was written for a specific situation within a specific context with a specific intention. Ignoring the context of Paul’s words is not faith; it is carelessness. Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 10:13 to talk about temptation to sin, not some heartbreaking situation. The text says that God is faithful and will not let the believer be tempted beyond what they can bear, and that along with the temptation, he will also provide the way out. This is a promise about resisting sin. It is a promise about God’s faithful character in the face of life’s moral traps. It is beautiful. It is true.

1 Corinthians 10:13 is not saying that you will endure any trouble life throws at you without breaking. The Bible itself destroys that distorted interpretation just a few pages later.

And in 2 Corinthians 1:18, Paul writes with disconcerting honesty about his trials saying; “We were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.” Paul himself, the apostle, the man who wrote about faith like few others said he went beyond his limit in suffering. The point he himself draws from this experience is in verse 9, so “that he would Learn Not To Trust In Himself, But In God.” The breaking point was the point.

The crushing was the path to something greater. So when someone who is at rock bottom in depression, in grief, in total crisis hears from today’s religious leaders, misinterprets 1Corinthians 10:13 saying; ‘God doesn’t give you a burden heavier than you can carry.’ What the hearer receives is not comfort. They receive guilt wrapped in a verse. The implicit message is devastating… ‘If you can’t handle it, if you are breaking, then the problem is with you, in your faith, in your weakness.’

Then the person who is already suffering begins to suffer with shame on top of it. Jesus Christ never operated like that. No conditional requirements. There was no “if your faith is strong enough.” Jesus plainly said “In the world you shall have tribulation” (Jn. 16:33). Yes, tribulation will come, but right after that comes the part that changes everything; “But take heart. I have overcome the world.” Jesus did not promise the absence of pain. Jesus Christ promised His literal presence in the midst of our pain. There is a huge difference between the false religious idea of God preventing suffering and that of our God who descends into suffering with those who suffer. He is full of grace, and grace means “to stoop.” Grace is a God who stoops… to meet us with His presence and love while we are in our lowest state.

This is what transforms faith from a religion of magic formulas into a living relationship with the Lord Himself. As a grace-believer you have Christ ever-present “in you” and you have access to God by Christ in you (Rom. 5:1). So, it is not the absence of crisis that proves God is with someone. It is the presence of the Lord in the midst of crisis that sustains the one who otherwise is breaking.

When the Bible is read with care, it ceases to be a collection of ready-made phrases for difficult times and it becomes a mirror of human reality, complex, painful, and at the same time pierced by God’s grace. And if the distortion of 1 Corinthians 10:13 already causes so much damage in moments of suffering, it is worth asking how many other religious phrases and platitudes are being used in the same way with ‘good intention’ … but with wrong interpretation distorting the way people understand Jesus Christ’s life and words, and thereby their own daily walk of faith.

 

Common Misuse and Distortion of Scripture

Part 3 – Two Common Religious Sayings that are a Lie

These false religious sayings are most heard in so-called ‘word of faith’ circles, but variations of them are heard among Christians in general. As you will see such false sayings can be destructive to the faith of those who are unintelligized in Bible truth for today.

1. “Where God Guides, God Provides”

Who hasn’t heard this phrase quoted in a church service, in a prayer group, or conversation among believers. This is yet another dangerous lie of Satan that suggest… if you are in God’s will, everything will flow smoothly financially, materially, emotionally.

This is a saying that became false doctrine - it is not a Bible verse. So not every nice sounding phrase is of God’s “word of truth.” To the unintelligized Christian it may even sound like truth. And that is exactly where the problem lies. When something sounds like truth, the human tendency is to stop questioning.

If asked, most Christians today will swear up and down that the expression “Where God Guides, God Provides” is somewhere in the Bible, but it is not. There is no verse in any translation that even alludes to this. It is a popular saying that has gained a spiritual disguise and became doctrine in certain circles only due being repeated so often. Trusting such lies can destroy someone who tries to take their faith seriously.

The Apostle Paul encourages grace-age believers today to ‘test the things that differ,’ ‘comparing Scripture with Scripture,’ while “Rightly dividing the word of truth”

2. “If It Is Not Flowing, Then Maybe You Are Not Really In God’s Will.”

This is another common religious lie heard in so-called ‘word of faith’ circles, especially from the corrupt money-grubbing TV preachers. Some pitifully deceived lazy preachers may suggest this kind of lie. Besides having no Biblical basis, this can do enormous damage to the faith of someone who is suffering scarcity. Hearing this lie, they may begin to doubt God, their faith, and their salvation.

When we know the genuine Bible truth that is for us today, they we can stand on what God does promise us today and how He meets the cry of our hearts.

First, we must understand how God looks at life’s difficulties in the lives of believers. The life of the Apostle Paul, as “the Apostle to the Gentiles” (Rom. 11:13) today, is perhaps a most powerful example to dispel the illusion of these lies. Paul traveled the ancient world proclaiming Jesus Christ, while planting local churches, and yet Paul suffered persecutions for His love of the gospel. Here in 2 Corinthians 11:27, Paul describes his experience. While in the will of God, Paul suffered…

²⁷ In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 2 Corinthians 11:27 (KJV)

There is no way to question Paul’s dedication. God guided Paul and yet he went hungry. God’s provision in Paul’s life was real … Paul had God’s Grace, Purpose, and The Presence of Christ Within, just as all of us believers do. When Paul prayed for healing of his eye problem, The Lord told Paul, “My grace is sufficient.” Note also Paul’s reply.

⁹ And he [The Lord] said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 (KJV)

Then there is the example that cannot be ignored, Jesus Christ, the Son of God Himself walking on earth. In Luke 9:58 Jesus said something that shocks anyone who takes theology seriously. Jesus said; “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

Jesus had no home in the time of His 3-year ministry. If the popular saying that we are questioning were a real promise of material provision, then Jesus would have been the most prosperous man on the planet. But he was not because God did not promise Him material comfort. He had been prescribed the suffering of rejection and the Cross.

Most precious of all, God Does Promise Us His Presence. ²⁷ To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Colossians 1:27 (KJV)

Paul’s words do promise us some provision in Philippians 4:19 saying, “¹⁹ But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 (KJV), not your wants. There is a monumental difference between these wants and needs.  So, ‘Where God Guides, God Provides,’ is an illusion packaged as a made-up verse. God knows what each of us truly needs and that is what He takes care of.

True faith does not rely upon cute sayings. Standing on truth needs roots and the roots of our faith are founded upon the written “word of truth,” the Bible. Thus Paul admonishes us to “STUDY…. rightly dividing the word of TRUTH.”

¹⁵ Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of TRUTH. 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)

Since the Bible is all truth, Paul is not here above telling us divide truth from error, but rather to be careful to divide the truth of time past concerning Israel from the truth that is for us during today’s Gentile dispensational age.

Sadly most Christians never really study the Bible, and have never learned how to “rightly divide the word of truth.” We must learn to decipher the things in the Bible that applied in “time past” … but do Not apply today during what Paul calls the “But Now.” Israel’s program of the Law is not for us during today “dispensation of the grace of God” (Eph. 3:2) for us as today members of the invisible, spiritual, “church, which is His body” (Eph. 1:22b-23a). Paul clearly said;

¹⁴ For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are NOT under the law, but under grace. Romans 6:14 (KJV)

²¹ BUT NOW the righteousness of God WITHOUT THE LAW is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Romans 3:21 (KJV)