Tuesday, May 12, 2009

"And Hezekiah was pleased with them, and showed them the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. . . . And [Isaiah] said, 'What have they seen in your house?' So Hezekiah answered, 'They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them'" (Isaiah 39:2-4).

IDEA: Misinterpreted or misapplied passages of Scripture have different degrees of consequences.

PURPOSE: To help listeners realize that there are consequences to the ways they interpret the Scriptures.

In the preface to the King James Version (translation) of the Bible, there is a prayer by Augustine: "O Let Thy Scriptures be my pure delight, let me not be deceived in them, neither let me deceive by them."

I. What do you think Augustine meant by that prayer?

How can we be deceived in them?

How can we deceive by them?

II. We often use the Bible to support what we want to say.

A sermon on the Christian home was based on Isaiah 39:4, "What have they seen in your house?" The sermon was developed something like this:

A Christian home is one in which we would see parents discipling and praying for their children.

A Christian home is one where children see the godly example of parents.

A Christian home is one where others would see children respond to their parents with love and respect.
           
What is wrong with that sermon?

It completely ignores the context of the question. What is the context?

This passage has nothing to do with the family. It is about what King Hezekiah had in his storehouses. This is clear if we look at the context of the question.

III. Is there any harm in taking a passage like this one out of its context?

We are saying in the name of God what God did not say. Why do we do this?

When we misuse the Bible this way, we miss what God is saying. This passage in Isaiah sets forth why we should trust the purpose of God rather than trust in clever diplomacy.