by Rev. Joda Collins
"Judge not lest ye be judged" (Matthew 7:1) does not mean it is a sin to use good judgment or that if you never judge you will never be judged. First Corinthians 10:15 and 14:29 orders Christians to judge. Many godly people who are not unnecessarily and/or over critical of others, are often judged harshly by others; think of Jesus on Calvary!
"Ask and you shall...receive" (Matthew 7:7-8) does not mean everyone who asks gets what they ask for. If it was true that anything we ask for is given to us then I suspect no Christians would ever get cancer, loved ones would not die and every Christian would have a lot of money!
If you drink poison and get bit by a snake you shall not die (Mark 16:18) does not mean that no believer has ever died after drinking poison or getting bit by a rattle snake. Plenty of Christians die by snake bite or drinking poison.
"Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved and your house" (Acts 16:31) does not mean that if you believe in Jesus everyone in your house will be saved. There are many homes, sadly, where only one in the home is saved.
"Honor your father and mother so your days shall be long on the earth" (Exodus 20:12) does not mean if you honor your father and mother you will live a long life. Jesus honored his parents and he died young.
"Let every man seek another man's wealth" (1 Corinthians 10:24) is not an endorsement for socialism. Caring about others is not a political statement, but a godly condition of the heart.
"Hate your mother and father" (Luke 14:26) does not mean we are supposed to hate or be hateful to our mother and father. One of the 10 Commandments is to honor your parents!
"Let the strong bear the infirmities of the weak" (Romans 15:1) is not an endorsement for socialism. Helping others who need help is a Christian duty not an endorsement for the government to take your money and possessions, keep the bulk of them and redistribute a small portion to others at the will of the government.
"My sheep hear my voice and they follow me" (John 10:27-8) does not mean that every sheep hears the voice of Jesus all of the time. We have all made mistakes that revealed we moved outside of the will of God and did not hear the voice of Jesus.
"My sheep hear my voice and they follow me" (John 10:27-8) does not mean that every sheep that hears the voice of Jesus obeys the voice of Jesus 100% of the time. Otherwise, no child of God would ever be disciplined by God for disobedience.
The Bible does not always mean what it states but it always means what it means.
For example, if I state "I love ice cream" it does not mean I love all flavors of ice cream. If I state, "Democrats are evil" I do not mean that every Democrat does only evil. If I state "I am afraid of heights" that does not mean that I cannot stand on the third rung of a latter with full calmness. Every one of these statements assumes two things. I am assuming the person I am talking with is not an idiot. Second, I am assuming the person I am talking with will not take my comments out of context but understand them in the larger context of the topic of discussion.
The super simple-minded (idiots), those who take verses out of context and those with a vested interest to misrepresent the Bible (and begin to believe their own lies) are destine to be confused about and strangers to biblical truth. Much of the content of the Bible is designed for those who can think and reason at a mature level. It is true that some things are so easy to grasp that a child can do so, but not everything. That is why the Bible instructs us to "study" and "rightly divide" (understand) it. (2 Timothy 2:15.)
Rev. Joda Collins
I make no claim that others agree with me.
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