It Is Written Again (A Consideration of Some Sound Principles of Bible Study)
-Introduction
-1 Pet 5:8
-We must remember that we are in a spiritual battle against an enemy that is evil, deceitful,
cunning and clever in his tactics.
-Eph 6:12
-Secular history records times in which enemies were clearly distinguished.
-banners, distinct uniforms, clearly drawn battle lines, face to face battles
-In recent years, we’ve seen a very different type of warfare regarding terrorism.
-difficult to identify the enemy and distinguish him from the crowd, different motivations,
unconventional tactics, different purposes, very few distinct battle lines
-Yet, this enemy is determined to intimidate and cause fear, devastation, suffering, etc., even
amongst their own countrymen.
-The devil doesn’t wave a banner or sound a trumpet. He doesn’t identify himself with a brightly-
colored uniform. Satan is a terrorist – the terrorist of terrorists
-So, we must be alert and watchful.
-Yet, with all of these things being said, there was a time when Satan came out of the shadows to
make a bold, direct attack.
-The Tempting of Jesus
-Matt 4:1-11
-“led up of the Spirit” – This was not a chance meeting. Satan was looking for an opportunity and
God provided it.
-“into the wilderness” – a time of isolation for Jesus – not amongst the multitudes
-Jesus had fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. He was physically weak.
-Satan was looking for an opportunity and he thought he had found it.
-Eph 4:27 – “…do not give the devil an opportunity” (NAS)
-By focusing on Jesus’ response to Satan’s temptations, we can learn many lessons. Let’s quickly
look at three.
1. We can overcome challenges and temptations with the scriptures.
-Notice how Jesus responded to Satan’s temptations – “It is written…”
-Jesus relied upon the scriptures to overcome Satan. Oh, what a valuable lesson!
-1 Cor 10:13 - To find the avenue of escape, we must rely upon God’s word.
-Matt 4:4
-We must strive to be able to attach an “It is written” statement to the things we believe,
practice and teach.
-Col 3:17 – “in the name of” = “by the authority of”
-God’s word is a tool that Satan can do nothing about. If we hold on to it properly,
Satan cannot get a hold on us.
-Jas 4:7
2. A person can accurately quote scripture while misusing/misapplying it.
-Have you noticed that Jesus was not the only one to quote scripture in this passage?
-Matt 4:6 – Satan quoted scripture as well. And, he quoted it accurately.
-Ps 91:11-12
-The problem was that he misused it.
-Unfortunately, many people are led away from the truth by this very thing.
-Many people, upon hearing the scriptures referred to, assume that those scriptures are being
applied properly.
-However, not only do we need to know what a passage says we need to know what it means.
-Many things can contribute to the misusing or misapplying of a verse/passage of scripture.
-One common mistake: taking things out of their proper context.
-Example:
-We know that today there seems to be an increased push in our society to accept and support
homosexuality.
-There are those who say that religious groups should accept homosexual individuals.
-A verse that is sometimes referred to is 1 Cor 7:20.
-Those who want to support homosexuality (or other unauthorized unions) will teach that
this verse says that if a person was a homosexual before becoming a Christian, he/she
can remain a homosexual as a Christian.
-consider the context: vs 26 -“present distress”, vs 1 – Paul was answering some of the
Corinthians questions regarding marriage, vs 1-11 – Paul advises the Corinthians to remain
single rather than get married yet he tells the married that they are doing nothing wrong, vs
12-16 – Paul addresses marriages that existed between Christians and non-Christians,
vs 17-24 – He explains that the people were to stay in the condition in which they were called.
-In 1 Cor 7:20, the context has nothing to do with unauthorized unions – such as homosexuality or
adulterous relationships. It is within the context of being scripturally married or being single.
-So, there are those who accurately quote this verse while misapplying it.
3. The use/application of one passage of scripture cannot contradice what another \
passage of scripture clearly teaches.
-If more people would understand & apply this principal there would be much less spiritual confusion!
-Notice how Jesus responded to Satan’s misuse of the scriptures – “It is written again…”
-Jesus revealed Satan’s misuse of the scriptures by showing that it violated/contradicted another
verse within the scriptures.
-We must not base our understanding of the scriptures on bits and pieces but on God’s word as a whole.
-Examples: (There are many, many examples. Let’s consider just a few.)
1. Rom 3:28, 5:1 – Martin Luther, and many others, used verses such as these to teach salvation by
“faith only.” Yet, such a teaching clearly contradicts Jas 2:24 and many other verses.
2. There are those who teach that Jesus will one day return to this earth for a 1,000-year reign.
This is in clear contradiction to several passages including John 18:36, 2 Pet 3:10, 1 Thess 4:13-18.
3. Some refer to Acts 16:29-31 in an attempt to negate the necessity of baptism for salvation. Yet,
this clearly contradicts passages such as Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, Gal 3:26-29, 1 Pet 3:21.
-Summary and Invitation
-We must rely upon God’s word. We must utilize it to overcome temptations and challenges.
-We must work toward being able to attach an “It is written” to all we believe, practice and teach.
-Remember, a person can accurately quote scripture while, at the same time, misapplying it.
-Not only should we know what a passage says, we need to understand what it means.
-We need to formulate our conclusions based upon God’s word as a whole – not just on bits and pieces.
-The conclusions we draw from one passage of scripture cannot contradict what another
passage clearly teaches.
-We need to continue to study God's word, grow in knowledge of it and apply it to our lives.
-What about you? Are you living according to God's word?
-If you’ve never obeyed God, obey the Gospel: Believe (John 3:16, 8:24), Confess (Matt 10:32,
Rom 10:9-10), Repent (Luke 13:3,5; Acts 17:30), Be Baptized (Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38)
-If you’ve obeyed the Gospel but haven’t remained faithful, return to God: Confess your faults,
repent of them and pray for God’s forgiveness (1 John 1:7-9, Acts 8:22-24)
Date: November 13, 2005