By Ken Blue
There’s no doubt that the Bible can be a dangerous and destructive book when it is not properly interpreted or applied. It is possible to make the Bible teach anything you want. That is not the fault of the Bible, but of dishonest and selfish men who use it for advantage. Others simply may not know how to rightly divide it or make proper application.
You may have heard of the man who decided to read a verse every day, and see how he could apply it to himself. He opened the Book at random and placed his finger on a verse; it said, “Judas went out and hanged himself.” Well, there was no way he was going to apply that verse to himself. So, he tried again. This time his finger fell on a verse that said, “Go thou and do likewise.” Things were not going his way on this first day of study. He decided to give it one more try. This time his finger landed on a verse that said, “what thou doest, do quickly.” When it came to Bible application, he hanged himself.
This kind of sermon selection goes on all the time. Many feel if they have acknowledged that a passage belonged to another dispensation, they are at liberty to apply it any way they like.
This is where these silly little arguments about sound tracks, Power Point, musical instruments, song leaders’ vs. group leaders, come from. Spurgeon, Wesley, Luther, and Adam Clark all taught that any musical instruments were anti Scriptural. Are you going to go against these pillars of the faith?
The greatest danger I see is when a preacher or teacher plows through the Bible, commenting on every verse by making an application that fits his own belief. That is fine if our belief is in line with scripture for this dispensation, but many of those applications are nothing more than our preferences. If they have an ax to grind, a hobby horse to ride, or a hair to split, they can’t resist using the verse for the occasion. So, remember, the Bible is not always teaching what you’re hearing. You can make it say anything.
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Pastor Ken Blue was born in Boswell, Ark. In 1955 he accepted Christ as his Savior. He and his wife Joyce were married in 1955. They have 5 children. He graduated from Midwestern Baptist Bible College in 1969 and started the Open Door Baptist Church in Lynnwood, Wa. where he pastored for 39 years. Because of health issues (ALS) he was forced to resign as pastor. It is his desire to continue to be used of God to help pastors and believers through this ministry.