One must not conceal any part of what one has recognized to be true. Albert Einstein
The Bible clearly says, “There is no God.” Really? It’s true. This statement comes from Psalm 14:1. How could the Bible, which is all about God, say that there is no God? Does that rattle your faith? What’s the solution to this?
Hang on. Before you think heresy, look at this text in context. Here’s what Psalm 14:1says, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” And this is just half of the verse. Here’s the rest: “They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.” A fool does not believe there is a God. If you’re an atheist, there’s nothing to keep you from doing awful stuff. If there’s no God, then why be concerned about doing good things? Reading this phrase in context changes everything, doesn’t it?
The Bible is amazing but used in the wrong way, it can be dangerous. Eric Bargerhuff, the author of “The Most Misused Verses in the Bible,” describes how subtle Satan is when it comes to attacking the Bible. The Scriptures are often misinterpreted and misquoted.
Maybe you’re familiar with God giving specific commands to Adam in Genesis 2:16-17 regarding the garden of Eden. He could enjoy all of the trees, except he was not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If he did, he would die.
Genesis 3:1: “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?’” Notice next the intentional misquote: “You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?”
“The serpent wanted Eve to see God’s commands in a new light, to perhaps understand them differently from what was originally intended, and to give them a new context.” Bargerhuff continues, “At the heart of all human sinfulness is lawlessness and the prideful appeal to be our own god…to doubt the trustworthiness of His Word. And all we need to do in order to start down that path is to give Scripture a new context, twist its meaning, or interpret it in a way that appeals to the supremacy and glory of man.” To put it simply, loving like Jesus means loving His Word just like Jesus did…honoring it, respecting it, quoting it, and using it.