The Bible on Trial - Twisting the Truth: When Power Corrupts the Word

Throughout history, the Bible's powerful teachings have been both properly used for transformation and misused for harm. False teachers often twist scripture out of context for personal gain, as seen in historical events like the Crusades, Salem witch trials, and the justification of slavery. Jesus warned about those who appear righteous but inwardly seek power and control. Protection against deception comes through regular Bible study, examining teachings in context, evaluating the fruits of ministry, and staying focused on Jesus' core messages of love, mercy, and justice.

Are you able to know the difference between God's word and the words of those who twist the truth?

Transcript

Friends. So we're going to start this morning with a game I'm calling Prophet, Proverb, Personality or politicians. Get ready. This is a game of who said it. All right, so here's the instructions for you.

I'm going to read to you a quote, and I want you to tell me if that quote is either a prophet, a proverb, a personality, or politician. Now, a personality in this particular case means somebody who might be considered a cult leader. I think they're important for us to be able to distinguish the difference between scripture and cult leaders. So today, I bet you guys are going to be able to play this pretty easily. Any questions before we get started?

You're going to have to keep track of your own score. Okay? Yes. I want you to shout it out, what you think it is, and then I want you guys to feel fiercely shout against each other if you disagree. All right?

Let's make it as loud as we can, all right? Yes. Just like the Gaga ball pit. Fight to the death. All right, so I'm going to start with our very first quote, and at the end, I will tell you who said the quote.

Okay, here's the first one. It is not power that corrupts, but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it. Is it a politician? A proverb.

What? Personality? Politician. Profit. What politician?

All right, if you're a politician, raise your hand. Proverb. Prophet. Only one. Only one.

Well, friends, that actually is a politician. That is Nobel Laureate Aung San SUU Kyi. You've probably heard that name. All right, here's the next one. It is not good to be partial to the wicked and so deprive the innocent of justice.

What do you think it is? Proverb. Prophet. Prophet. Nobody wants you.

Don't think that's a politician, huh? That is. It's actually a proverb. 18:5. Okay, so if you guess proverbs, you're great.

All right, get ready. What do you think this one is? Woe to those who build their palaces by unrighteousness, their upper rooms by injustice, making their own people work for nothing. Profit. The woe gives it away.

Right? For sure. Whoa.

Yeah. So, yeah. Joey. Yeah. From Blossom.

Yeah. So that is actually from the prophet Jeremiah. Here's the next one. Blessed are those who see with their hearts, for they shall find the kingdom within. Who do you think that was?

Personality. I heard Proverbs. Personality. You think it was a cult leader that said that? You're right, it was.

That was. Who was that? That was Jim Jones. The quote. Blessed are those who See with their hearts, for they shall find the kingdom within.

Jim Jones. Alright, next one. If we desire peace, it must begin with the way we treat one.

Personality. Politicians. You guys, you don't think it comes from the Bible anywhere? Okay. All right, you're right.

It was Barack Obama in 2015. Next up. A ruler who listens to lies, all his officials become wicked.

A ruler who listens to lies, all his officials become wicked. Personalities. Proverb. Proverb. Prophet.

I'm hearing a bit mix of everything. All right, I'll give it to you. It was Proverbs 29:12. Okay. I am the light that leads you out of darkness.

Personality. Wait, that sounds like a cult leader to you? Well, I'm shocked. That actually was Charles Manson. Good job.

Poverty is the worst form of violence.

You guys are really good at this game. That was Mahatma Gandhi in 1940s. Do what is just and right. Rescue the oppressed from the hand of the oppressor. Do no wrong to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow.

Politician. It was a prophet. That was Jeremiah from 23:3. Speak up and judge fairly. Defend the rights of the poor and the needy.

Politician. Proverb. Politician. I heard a prophet. Somebody said a prophet.

That was Proverbs 31:9. If you follow me, I will give you rest. For the world has no peace to offer you guys this. Be confident. Come on, guys.

Personality. Profit. Personality.

Some of you guys are getting it. That was another Jim Jones classic. So. So.

Right. Well, leadership is not about power. It is about service.

Politician. That was JFK, 1961. If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.

Edward nailed it. Because. Yeah, that is an Adolf Hitler quote. So. Yes.

Say it again. If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed. Yep. Yep. So listen, we're not talking about America right now.

An unjust law is no law at all. This one's a tricky one.

Chuck. Nailed it. It actually is a Martin Luther King Jr. Quote. Who?

He's quoting St. Augustine. So it's a church. Father. That.

It's good. Good work. In the stillness of your heart, you will find the voice of truth.

Personality.

It is not Jim Jones. I've quoted him more today than I've ever quoted Jim Jones. Yeah, I did Kool Aid in my coffee. All right, again. It is in the stillness of your heart you will find the voice of truth.

Proverb. Personality. You young people, I think you're getting it. This is actually personality. David Berg.

You know that name? Not as famous as the Others. But he is the founder of the Children of God cult that later on became the Family of God, and then it became the Family of God International. Does any of that sound familiar?

I don't know about that, but should have because there were some sketchy things. All right. Woe to those who make unjust laws. To those who issue oppressive decrees.

Wrong. That is Isaiah. It's a prophet. Last one. Here we go.

It's the woe. The woe. Gets you every time. Here's the last one. He who sows in darkness reaps only shadows.

Personality proverb. Politician all over the. It could be any of them, right? That is any and all Charles Manson friends. That is a Charles Manson quote.

All right.

Do you see, friends, how easy it can be to convince people that what you say is something that isn't scriptural at all? I hope that you understand that, and it's happening every single day.

If you have your Bibles this morning, I'm going to invite you to open them up to the Book of Matthew. It's in the New Testament, the first book of the New Testament. We're starting in Matthew, chapter 7, verses 13 through 29. We're going to start with some scripture and we're going to dive right in. Here is the word of the Lord for you today.

Verse 13 says this. Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad the road that leads to destruction. And many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life.

And only a few find it. Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?

Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit, you will recognize them. Hear this.

Okay? Not everyone who says to me, lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons, and in your name perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers.

Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose and the winds blew and beat against that house. Yet it did not fall because it had its foundations on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.

When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching because he taught as one who had authority and not as their teachers of the law.

As many of you guys know, in the mid 20th century, there was a charismatic preacher named Jim Jones who founded a religious group called the People's Temple. Jones was a master of persuasion, using a mix of social activism, promises of equality and equity, and his own magnetic personality to begin to bring followers in from all over the area. He preached about a utopian society free from racism and injustice, which resonated deeply with many people because he came to prominence in the late 1970s, a time when racism was just overpowering in America. While Jim Jones was a white man, his message ushered in hope for people of color. Most of his followers were in fact people of color who deeply wanted that promised freedom from oppression and equality that he promised.

Eventually, the church, the People's Temple, began to grow and Jones influence over his followers intensified. He used a variety of psychological techniques to control them, including isolation from the outside world, constant surveillance, and public humiliation for those who ever questioned his authority. He also claimed to have divine powers, performing fake healings and miracles to reinforce the authority that he had given himself, and as a way to escape the examination of the US Government into some of his questionable practices as a cult leader. In 1977, Jones moved his whole congregation to a remote settlement in Guyana, South America, which he named Jonestown. Obviously there he created a tightly controlled environment where his followers were cut off from their families and the rest of society.

His grip on his followers tightened and he began to demand absolute loyalty. Positioning himself as a messianic figure who could be the only one to lead them into salvation. Tragically, the story took a dark turn on November 18, 1978. Faced with mounting pressure from external investigations, fearing the collapse of his dream of a utopian society, Jones orchestrated a mass suicide. He convinced his followers that death was preferable to living in a world without him.

That day, over 900 people drank cyanide laced punch, resulting in one of the largest mass self inflicted end of life episodes in history. Jones ability to manipulate and control his followers was a chilling testament to the power of Charismatic leadership and the manipulation of Scripture. His followers believed in him more than anything else, even more than the value of their own lives.

Friends, I fully believe that the Christian Bible contains some of the most important stories, miracles, histories and encounters with God that all of human history has combined together. And the Bible tells the story of the Hebrew people and their journey to understand the God of the universe and their place in that world. The Bible contains the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. But it also tells the story of the incarnation of Jesus, God made flesh, the Savior, Redeemer of our world. The Bible is important.

It contains some of the wisest sayings, most thoughtful words that bring help to God's people to help follow more closely. There are even, as we discussed earlier, prophetic books that point out the injustices that are being done, some by God's own people. And they're books that tell about the future coming of Christ again. When we as believers in Jesus, followers of God's Word, when we hear His Word and we follow God's directives for our lives that are found in the Bible, life doesn't only get better for us, but it gets better for other people as well. We get to help bring God's kingdom here.

But the reality is, as we've seen, that the Bible can be used to justify some pretty awful things throughout human history as well. The Bible, when it's correctly interpreted, highly respected and read in light of its context, has the power not to just save us, but also has the power to change the world that we live in right now. And if we're not careful, the opposite is also true. The Bible, taken out of context, read with an agenda and misinterpreted to fit a preconceived narrative, have the power to enslave and to oppress. We've seen it.

Just as I hope you saw in the example of Jim Jones. The Bible has authority and power. And when the Bible is misused, that power can be used to make religious slaves out of people who simply want salvation and a relationship with God. And if Christians, if we in this room are not careful, we could be the people who use God's Word to do more harm than good.

I believe that a well placed scripture can inspire faith or it can manipulate the faithful. Think of all the good that the Bible's done right because we have the word of God. Think about how many people in the world have had their lives drastically changed by people who believe in that Scripture. Scriptures have encouraged people to go all over the globe to provide food, clothing, medicine, hospitals, housing, Clean water, universities for underprivileged, and so much more. The Bible encourages us to make a difference in the world that we live in.

It's inspired songs of worship and countless numbers of books on theology, books of hope, books of self improvement. All of those things have been encouraged and inspired by the Bible, and it's been so since the beginning of time. But that same Bible was used to justify crusades, right? The religious wars between Christians and Muslims that happened in the early thousands. The Bible was used to justify the inquisitions that executed people who believed just a little bit differently.

Heretics are the words that we use to describe people who believe something that we don't believe in. The Bible is used to justify the Salem witch trials that took place in our country. Here in America, we only executed 20 witches. But in Europe, over 16,000 people were murdered because they were believed to be witches.

Improper use of the Bible resulted in the institution of slavery around the world. And here in America, the Bible was used to try to convert and civilize Native Americans and Native American boarding schools. Misunderstanding of the Bible also led to antisemitism in all eras of our history. But it culminated with the Nazi extermination of over 6 million Jews in the mid 20th century. It led to segregation and Jim Crow laws.

Misuse of the Bible keeps blacks and whites unequal and separate even to this day. In some areas in our world, the Bible has been used to justify the actions of the Ku Klux Klan and this movement of white supremacy that we're seeing rise again here, even in our own country. And so many other problems have arisen when we've taken the Bible out of its context and made it say things that it should never have said. While doing some research this week, I have just an incredible list of all the events that I think the Bible has inspired incorrectly. If you want to talk more about those, I'd be glad to talk to you after worship for some other time.

So I don't think the question today is if the Bible is powerful or not. I think that we all know that the Bible is powerful. I think the question today is if we as believers in the Bible can know for sure when the Bible is being used for truth or when it's used for purposes of power and control. I'll be honest with you. I think you guys did really, really good in that game.

So I think you guys got it, but not everybody does in the Bible itself. Peter, one of the disciples of Jesus and the leader of the church in Jerusalem after Jesus had been crucified resurrected, and then ascended into heaven. He begins to warn early Christians about those who would preach in Jesus name, a message that was not a message of Christ. In this warning from Peter, I think we can still see that the words are true even today. I'm going to invite you to open up to the book of Second Peter, chapter two, and we're going to read verses one through three.

If you don't have your Bibles, you can follow along. On the screen says this, but there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who brought them, bringing swift who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed, these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories.

Their condemnation has long been hanging over them and their destruction has not been sleeping. Does it sound to you like a pastor and a pulpit could say those words today and they're true?

I think it does. There are always going to be people who preach a gospel of Jesus that doesn't look anything like Jesus.

We have put our trust and faith in some leaders who have shaped American faith into something that I don't think that Jesus would even recognize as being a Christian faith today. Jesus might actually consider some of the churches here in America to look almost Pharisaical, right? Like to look like some of the things that the Pharisees taught when Jesus was still around.

Many preachers, pastors, priests, religious heroes. If you've noticed the news, you can see that many of them have been brought low due to scandals. And many more ministers of the Gospel preach something that is not the Gospel of Jesus. Why do you think that happens? I think it happens because human ego, our quest for power, abuse of the Scriptures often arises from the depths of human ego.

When we elevate our own importance and our own desires above the desires of Christ. We distort holy words to fit our own ambitions and perpetuate systems of power.

Christian humility calls us to serve and uplift others, not to bend sacred truths for our own needs.

A pulpit used for power creates something that's not a pulpit at all.

As we talked about a little last week in the Book of Matthew, in chapter 23, we saw Jesus speak out specifically against the religious leaders of his day for taking advantage of the poor and using the Scriptures to serve themselves rather than to lift people up. In Matthew 23, Jesus condemns the religious leaders for shutting the door of the kingdom of heaven in their faces and not allowing anyone to go in. As a result of the Pharisees misuse of God's word, Jesus pronounces a series of seven woes on them. Right? So Jesus in that moment was speaking like a prophet, right?

Jesus calls them out by labeling them as a few wonderful phrases. He calls them hypocrites, blind guides, whitewashed tombs, blind fools, children of hell, snakes, and a brood of vipers. Could you imagine the Son of God coming in here and calling us any of those names? That would be awful. And this is what led to Jesus getting crucified for sure.

How dare he call me a brood of vipers.

Jesus reserved his harshest criticisms for those who had religious authority and kept God's word controlled. And I think history has shown us and proved Jesus right that when people control God's word and keep others from access, there's a reason to call people out like Jesus did.

Do you guys remember the selling of indulgences? You ever heard that phrase before? When the Catholic Church at this point was like the church, it got to be so corrupted. They believe that you could just pay a fee and you could pay God off so that he doesn't judge you as harshly for some of the sins that you committed. It actually decreases your time in eternal punishment or decreases your time in purgatory so that you can go to heaven quicker, all for a fee.

People misunderstood the message of Jesus so tragically that people who dared to think outside of the religious box were tried, convicted and killed for heresy or a practice of faith outside the accepted norms of belief. There was a time where the church fought against itself. Protestant Reformation. You've heard that for sure. The Protestant Reformation came about because religious leaders were so bent on their faith being the one true faith that they completely tried to exterminate people of a different faith.

This war between Catholics and Protestants ended up costing the lives of somewhere between 6, 20 million Christians. There is no set figure, we don't really know for sure. We just know that between 6 million and 20 million people killed one another because of their religious belief.

Does any of that sound like Jesus to you?

Does any of that sound like that came from the Prince of Peace himself? They murdered people who disagreed with them about how communion was performed and whether or not baptism needed to be like pouring, sprinkling or full immersion. Luckily, if you're Methodist, we do all three, so you're good. But the differences caused murder. Our human history should remind us that we as believers in Jesus Christ have A responsibility to hold people accountable when they use faith to serve their own interests rather than the interest of God.

This is shown in the biblical principle of the prophet Ezekiel. In Ezekiel 34:1 10, it says this. The word of the Lord came to me, son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Now he's not talking about shepherds. Okay, just so we're clear.

Prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to them, this is what the Sovereign Lord says. Woe to you, shepherds of Israel, who only take care of yourselves. Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals.

But you do not take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally so. They were scattered because there was no shepherd.

And when they were scattered, they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth and no searched or looked for them. Therefore you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord. Because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals.

And because my shepherds did not search for my flock, but cared for themselves rather than for my flock. Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says. I am against the shepherds, and I will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove from.

Remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths and it will no longer be food for them. So we're seeing Jesus, a prophet and the most high Son of God made flesh. Calls out religious leaders. And here Ezekiel's doing the same thing.

The religious leaders of his time were not taking care of the people. They took care of themselves, but they didn't take care of others. That is not how our faith is supposed to work. Scripture repeatedly reminds us that those who lift themselves up at the expense of others are going to be made low. It's just a matter of time.

Especially when people of power and prominence use the name of God to rubber stamp their own agendas. This has been shown true over and over and over again throughout Scripture. Even in the Book of Jeremiah, we can see a moment when a false prophet is called out for putting words In God's own mouth. This is a Good story. Jeremiah 28:1 17 says this.

In the fifth year. Sorry. In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, early in the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, the prophet Hananiah, son of Azer, who was from Gibeon, said to me, in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and all the people, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says. I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years.

I will bring back to this place all the articles of the Lord's house that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, removed from here and took to Babylon. I will also bring back to this place Jehoiakin, son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the other exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, declares the Lord, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Then the prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah before the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord, he said, amen. May the Lord do so. May the Lord fulfill the words you have prophesied by bringing the articles of the Lord's house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon.

Nevertheless, listen to what I have to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. From early times, the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster, and plague against many countries and great kingdoms. But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the Lord only if his prediction becomes true. Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, and he broke it. And he said before all the people, this is what the Lord says.

In the same way, I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, off the neck of all the nations within two years. At this point, the prophet Jeremiah went on his way. After the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, go and tell Hananiah. This is what the Lord says, you have broken a wooden yoke, but in its place you will get a yoke of iron. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says, I will put an iron yoke on the necks of all these nations to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.

And they will serve him. I will even give him control over the wild animals. Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the Prophet. Listen, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you yet. You have persuaded this nation to trust in lies.

Therefore, this is what the Lord says. I'm about to remove you from the face of the earth. This very year you are going to die because you have preached rebellion against the Lord. In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the Prophet died.

Could you imagine confronting another prophet like that would be like me on Sunday morning going to somebody else's church. Hey, I'm just coming to visit to see how things are. They start preaching something that is clearly not scriptural and I stand up and say, oh yeah? Well, the Lord is telling me you're going to hell, pal. Right?

Like, could you imagine that? And this is what's happening. We have a prophet speaking directly against another prophet because God didn't give him that word. He's wanting the people to feel good about themselves. Hey, everything is going to be fine.

Everything is going to be great. Just two more years, you guys. You got this. We can handle it. And Jeremiah says, no, no, no, that's not from the Lord.

The Lord's timing is coming, but your word is not true. And come to find out, Jeremiah is absolutely right. They were in Babylonian exile for like 70 years.

We have got to be the same kind of prophetic people that are willing to stand up when we hear the words spoken incorrectly, when we hear things misquoted, when we hear the Bible preached with an agenda. And we have to be the ones that say, enough, you are wrong. That is not God's word and I'm not going to stand here and let you abuse it.

I'm glad that's so easy, right?

That is one of the hardest things that we're going to have to do as Christians. But guys, if you've seen any news in the last, I don't know, 20 years, people are using God to justify awful things again. People are using God's own word to twist it and distort it and make it say things that God's word never said. Have you ever heard of the Positive Christianity movement? That sound familiar to you?

So here's what's crazy. In the 1920s and 30s, the Nazi party in Germany promoted what was called Positive Christianity. It was a state controlled version of Christian faith that presented the myth that the Nazi Party aligned with the Christian church. Somehow they were able to convince hundreds of thousands of people that the movement of the Nazis aligned with God's desire for his church. And part of their platform was that they were defending Europe.

They were Defending Christianity in Europe, the positive Christian movement was claimed to be a Christian movement, but had nothing to do with Jesus at all. As a matter of fact, Hans Curl, the Reich Minister for Church affairs, explained that positive Christianity was not dependent on traditional Christian creeds or faith in Christ as the Son of God at all. Instead, it was represented by the Nazi party with Hitler as the herald of a new revelation of God.

While many Christian leaders resisted, some churches supported Hitler and the regime then used Christian imagery to justify anti Semitic laws and later on the Holocaust. This has to be a warning for us that when faith is fused with nationalism, it can lead to horrifying consequences. When political leaders of the day use language of faith to speak as if they had not just political authority, but also had religious authority, they were able to lead unquestioningly. When leaders use religious rhetoric to gain votes, but govern in ways that contradict Jesus teachings, we have to begin to start asking the hard questions, friends. God's name on a policy doesn't mean it's God's will.

We have to recognize when Scripture is being manipulated and used for something that is outside of the gospel. Because a distorted gospel serves only the one holding the megaphone. It serves only the one standing at the podium. It serves only the one with the microphone in his hand. Scripture has been regarded as so powerful throughout history that many people quote from it to justify their actions.

Sometimes even people who aren't Christian do a great job of quoting our own Christian scriptures back to us. Right? Remember how hard it was to figure out, was it a prophet, was it a personality? Those people who were personalities were not Christians. If you don't believe that Jesus is the son of God and you claim that you're the son of God, you by default are not a Christian.

And they did a great job of twisting scriptures just well enough to make people think that they were following God. Thomas Jefferson, you know that name. Did you know that he was not a Christian? He was a deist. He focused on rationalistic theology and actually wrote his own version of the Bible.

Did you know that it was called the Jefferson Bible? And he did it to promote the views of his age, right? This age of enlightenment, the Enlightenment philosophies. In his version of the Bible, he actually took every single miraculous thing out. I imagine it was a pretty dry thing to read because one of the most important miracles that we believe is truth, is that Jesus Christ died and was resurrected.

Without that miracle, what is your faith? Right? People think he's a Christian. He used his own version of the Bible. To justify a lot of things that he said.

You guys know the name Karl Marx, the father of communism? He was an atheist. He didn't believe in Jesus at all. But he referenced the Bible constantly to critique capitalism and critique religion. He especially used the parable of the rich young ruler and Lazarus found in Luke, chapter 16, 1931.

And he talked often about the exploitation of the poor by the wealthy. This proves that somebody who doesn't believe in Jesus, who has no connection to a faith at all, can be in charge of a political movement and use the Bible to justify its own existence. As mentioned earlier, we know that Adolf Hitler helped to create the movement called Positive Christianity. To be clear, history is not really for sure whether Adolf Hitler was a Christian or not. But in his speeches he often quoted the Bible to justify his policies, his actions and his anti Semitism.

He used the death of Jesus as one of the foundational reasons for his desire to execute Jewish men and women. Do you see how scripture can be twisted, quoted and misquoted to justify anything?

Did you know that even the devil can quote Scripture?

We all know the story of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness and Jesus standing strong, quoting scripture at Jesus and then Jesus having to quote scripture back.

The Bible in the wrong hands and use with wrong intentions can incite harm, violence. It can be used to rationalize hatred and genocide and can be presented in a way to justify the exact same things that Jesus stood against. As we talked a little about last week, all this can be done by cherry picking. You know the phrase cherry picking? You've heard it, right?

I think it initially was talking about people who chose the right cherries at the right time from the tree. We don't do that anymore. Sometimes we go through the groceries, stores, Walmart or what have you and we see this beautiful bag of cherries and we begin to pick out some of the ones that are a little gross and we begin to pick through some other and we put them in there. You don't do that? Oh, I don't shop, so I don't do that either, but got called out by my wife.

But that's kind of the modern day equivalent, right? Like picking what we want and leaving the rest. I prefer. This is something I do. I prefer to call it the salad bar approach.

Right. We've all been to the Mazio salad bar locally. It's the best ever. And there's so much stuff on that salad you can make. I mean all of it.

You have access to every single thing. You've got the tongs right all you need to do is just reach in and grab it all and it can all be yours. But friends, I promise you there are things that should never go on a salad. Why do they have beets on a salad bar? Nobody knows.

Hey, no, no. This is not up for debate. Why in God's name do they have deviled eggs or boiled? Not deviled, boiled eggs. They're just like rubbery goo.

Like no banana pudding and vanilla wafers on my salad. I think not, friends. Or that broccoli salad. Has anybody ever had broccoli salad from Ma. Okay, all right.

You guys can all stand in your wrongness. That's all right. But you have the full opportunity to take every piece of it to be yours. But when we take the salad bar approach, we only put on our salad what we're in the mood for, right? When we approach the Bible exactly like that, there is a problem.

By taking only the things that we like when it comes to scripture means that often we leave out the broader, harder parts of our faith. Like learning not to judge others. I don't like that today. Not going to make that a part of my faith. Or my favorite.

Loving our enemies and praying for them. Nope, not today. Leaving that one off. That's like the banana pudding of salad bars, right?

Or tithing.

This leads to an incomplete and a non salvific faith that doesn't reflect the lived out gospel as we recognize fulfilled in Jesus. As a reminder he was the son of God. Right? There's this beautiful moment in Matthew that we've talked about many times in here when Jesus asked his disciples, hey, who do people say that I am? And in Luke.

Wait, hang on. Yeah, it's in Luke. I don't know why I wrote Matthew. There's this beautiful moment where, hey, who do people say that I am? And the disciples, like, well, some people think that you're a great prophet.

Some people think that you're a reincarnated Elijah. Like it's, it's. A lot of people are saying weird things about you, Jesus. And then Simon confesses when Jesus says, but yeah, yeah, I know what other people are saying now. That's cool.

What do you think? And Simon says, I believe that Jesus, you are the Messiah, the son of the living God. And in that moment, Jesus changes his name from Simon to Peter.

In that story, in verse 24, it says this. Then Jesus said to his disciples, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it. But whoever loses Their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul?

Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. Let's be clear. You're not saved by the things you do. But as James points out repeatedly, your faith is made known by what you do.

It's both of those things. You can't say you love Jesus and speak hate and venom and meanness and awful out of your mouth. That is not the same thing.

Everything that we have that brings us salvation comes from following Jesus. Jesus doesn't say, whoever wants to be my disciple must be able to quote John 3:16, Hallelujah. Jesus doesn't say in order to be his disciple. You can cherry pick or salad bar approach to the Bible to make it easier on yourself and have whatever you like about the Bible. Jesus doesn't say that any who want salvation have to beat others into submission.

Using a very few verses from the Old Testament, Jesus says, we're going to have to make some commitments. We're going to have to take up our cross and follow him. And that means we do what Jesus did. And that's not easy. We have to take his teachings and his way of life to heart.

We have to live like he did, even if that means we end up with the same persecution and potentially crucifixion that Jesus ended up with.

And even though we know that's the approach, it's still way easier to just cherry pick, right?

But today it's not just our religious leaders that are cherry picking.

Today. Even our political leaders have jumped into using the Bible to justify public policies that sometimes hurt the very people that Jesus identified with over the recent decades. Scriptures like Second Thelonians, sorry, Second Thessalonians 3:10, which says, for even when we were with you, we gave you this rule. The one who was unwilling to work shall not eat. Scriptures like that have been used to justify trying to cut Medicare, Medicaid, welfare programs, things that people need, the CHIP program, the child Health insurance program, SNAP benefits, things like that.

These are programs that are designed to help our society's most vulnerable. Cutting these programs out would be directly against what I think Jesus calls us to do, caring for those who can't care for themselves. Now that doesn't mean we're not just blind to areas where there could be fixes for fraud or abuse, but we can't forget that Jesus told the rich young ruler, hey, in order to be perfect, you have to sell everything you own and give it to the poor. And again, I think Jesus was using prophetic hyperbole in that moment. He didn't want one man to become poor so that others could not be.

Jesus was making a very brash statement that says, we have to make sure that everybody is okay.

There are always ways that we can make these programs more efficient and cut out fraud. But these programs are essential safety nets for those who are disabled, suffer from mental illness, or may in other ways be unable to take care of themselves. Using Scripture to debate whether these programs should exist kind of blows my mind.

But it's done, it's been done, and it will be done.

Another way that we can think about it, really, just quickly, is that we as Christians sometimes use scriptures like Genesis 1:28 that says God blessed them and said to them, be fruitful and increase in number. Fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish and the sea and the birds in the sky, and over every living creature that moves on the ground. People have used scriptures like this for generations to try to roll back environmental regulations because they believe that if we use all the resources, it will somehow instigate the second coming of Christ.

This theology is wrapped up in a line of thinking known by words like dominionism and Kingdom now theology that if we delete and deplete every resource, that Jesus has no opportunity but to show up. And that's not what God is calling us to. The scripture is taken out of context. We can make it say whatever we want.

People want their thoughts, their own agendas, their own prejudices and biases to be justified by the truth of God.

Having a preacher or politician twist scripture in a way to scratch their own itch of what the ears want to hear, to give them upvotes and popularity will not bring salvation.

It's much easier to preach a message that people want to hear than to call people out for incorrect belief. Friends, faithful people don't just accept Scripture. They investigate its use. All of us have to know the word of God so that we can't be confused, we can't be manipulated. We have to know God's word so that we can know when it's being used incorrectly.

So I challenge each one of us in this place today find a way to commit to deepening your biblical literacy so that we can be a voice for justice in both the church and in our own neighborhoods. Micah 6, 8. I'm sorry, 618 says this. Listen to what the Lord says. Stand up, plead my case before the mountains.

Let the hills hear what you have to say. Hear you mountains, to the Lord's accusation. Listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth. For the Lord has a case against his people. He is lodging a charge against Israel.

My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me. I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, and also Aaron and Miriam.

My people, remember what Balak, king of Moab, plotted against that what Balaam, son of Beor, answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord. With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with 10,000 rivers of oil?

Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body, for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

May we each be people who know the Gospel of Jesus so well that we're able to do just that. Let's pray.