“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. (Luke 21:33)”

As a pastor, I deal with misconceptions and misunderstanding about the Bible nearly every day. One of the most common misunderstandings are some simple statements that are said to be from the Bible but in fact are only partially the words of the Bible.

Let me give you a few examples of what I am talking about. How many times have you heard or perhaps said, “Money is the root of all evil.” This is partially true, but it is not what the scripture says.

It comes from 1 Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it, have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

In the first statement, we move the blame from our longing for money to the money itself. Subtle but very significant.

How about this one: “God helps those who help themselves.” Once again, it sounds good but in fact it flies in the face of what Scripture teaches.  In 1 Peter, we learned to cast our cares upon God because he cares for us. Jesus taught us to not worry about food or clothes because our father in heaven knows we need these things and He will provide for us. Instead, we are to seek the Kingdom of God first. In his parable of the true vine, Jesus says we can do nothing without him. All of this points to being fully dependent upon the One who called us into fellowship with his son and has sent his son for our salvation.

Here is another one: “God never gives you more than you can handle.” Once again it sounds like scripture but isn’t.

This one comes from 1 Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”

Most people quote this when facing some kind of trouble. In its context, the scriptures refer to temptation and the way of escape provided by God. We stop at the “but with” leaving out the provision of God. The Bible is many things to many people. It provides words of encouragement, comfort, wisdom and truth. By allowing these very familiar statements to go uncorrected we remove the power behind these words…God the father.

God has provided us with His everlasting word. There is life changing truth found in these words and when you know the truth, the truth will make you free. In these uncertain times, we need the power of truth more than ever. This Sunday, find a church where the truth of God’s word is upheld and experience this truth for yourself.

Guy Biddle is the pastor at First Christian Church in Dowagiac. He can be reached at fccpastorguy@gmail.com.