In Psalm 56:5, it is written, " 5 1Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil. " One seeks to wrest or twist the words of another for malicious reasons. In Matthew 22:15-22, it is written, " 15 aThen went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. 16 And they sent out unto him their disciples with the aHe-ro´-di-ans, saying, 1Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou 2regardest not the person of men. 17 Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it 1lawful to 2give tribute unto Caesar, or not? 18 But Jesus 1perceived their wickedness, and said, Why 2tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? 19 Shew me the 1tribute money. And they brought unto him a 2penny. 20 And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and 1supersription? 21 They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, aRender1 therefore unto Caesar the things which are bCaesar's; and unto God the things that are cGod's. 22 When they had heard these words, they 1marvelled, and left him, and went their way. " Jesus said that people who do this are hypocrites. David, who wrote Psalm fifty-six, said that twisting one's words involves evil intent. Moreover, we learn from Matthew 22:15-22, that the disciples of men are hypocrites. In Matthew 23:1-3, it is written, " 23 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, 2 saying, aThe scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: 3 all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye 1after their works: for athey say, and do not. " Jesus said that the scribes and the Pharisees said and did not. Jesus repeatedly condemned the scribes and the Pharisees as hypocrites in Matthew, chapter twenty-three, for example. The word " preach, " in the general sense, means to say. Jesus says that we are hypocrites if we preach and do not practice.
Those of us men who are full-time evangelists
( see 1 Timothy 2:11, 12 and 2 Timothy 4:1-5, for example ) must make
sure that we practice what we preach from God's word, the Holy Bible. Furthermore,
God commands us to preach and teach His word accurately ( see also Acts 18:24-28,
for example ). In Job 42:7, it is written ( please read this entire chapter
to get the immediate context ), " 7 And it was so, that
after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD
said to El´-i-phaz the Te´-man-ite, My wrath is kindled against thee,
and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is
right, as my servant Job hath. " God's wrath is kindled
when we speak wrongly of Him. This means that God's wrath is kindled
against all those who are members of religious denominations, parties, or sects
( see also John 3:16, 17, and 36; chapter 9 ( especially verse 28, for example
); Acts 2:38, 41, and 47; and 2 Corinthians 13:3, for example ). When
we speak wrongly of God, we have twisted or wrested His words, and all
our thoughts are against Him for evil. As Christians, we are ambassadors
for Christ. In 2 Corinthians 5:20, it is written, " 20 Now
then we are aambassadors for Christ, as though
God did beseech you by us: we 1pray you in Christ's 2stead,
be ye reconciled to God " ( Emphasis mine, R.E.W. ). The doctrine
we bring is to be the doctrine of Christ ( see 2 John, 9-11, for example ). Jesus
Christ ( see Matthew 1:16, for example ) is NOT represented by false doctrine. Jesus'
words are God's words ( see John 8:26, 29, for example ), and God's word is truth. Jesus
( see John 8:25 ) spoke to the world what He heard from the Father ( see John
8:27, for example ) — He did not twist or wrest the
Father's words. Jesus never does or says anything with malicious intent
( see Hebrews 4:14, 15, for example ), for example. As children of God,
we are to imitate Christ ( see 1 Corinthians 11:1, for example ). This
means that all that we do and say are to be with sincere motives ( see
2 Corinthians 1:12, for example ). This, in turn, means that we are not
to have malicious intent with respect to God's word. One purpose for speaking
or writing God's word is to win souls. In Proverbs 11:30, it is written,
" 30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and ahe
that winneth souls is wise " ( Emphasis mine, R.E.W. ). We
do not win souls by twisting God's word. In Romans 1:16, it is
written, " 16 For aI am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ: for bit is the power of God unto salvation to every
one that believeth; cto the Jew first, and also to the Greek. " We
are to delight in God's law. In Psalm 1:1, 2, it is written,
The Bible teaches that whenever we do or say something to hurt others, we hurt ourselves. In Proverbs 26:27, it is written, " 27 aWhoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will 1return upon him. " Twisting or wresting the words of another is bearing false witness. In Exodus 20:16, it is written, " 16 aThou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. " Again, in Colossians 3:9, it is written, " 9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds. " Please seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read ( see Isaiah 34:16, for example ). Please search the scriptures daily, as the Jews of Be-re´-a did ( see Acts 17:10, 11, for example ). 🕮
Click here to send me an e-mail message.
Web page design by: Russell E. Willis.
