10 MISUNDERSTOOD BIBLE VERSES
Today, I’m covering 10 Misunderstood Bible passages.
Now, this isn’t an exhaustive list, nor is it in any particular order …
… but just some of the passages that I’ve commonly seen misinterpreted in our time.
This is going to be a 2-PART SERMON; 5 passages per sermon.
Let’s begin w/ Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
This is a popular verse that appeals to the mainstream Christian body.
It’s also a passage that’s popular among so-called “PROSPERITY PREACHERS” …
… & the WORD OF FAITH MOVEMENT.
You hear false teachers use it to promote the NAME IT & CLAIM IT Gospel …
… a LUCIFERIAN self-willed Gospel promoted by false teachers like JOEL OSTEEN …
The idea is that if you have enough faith, you can accomplish anything in this world.
That nothing SPIRITUAL or MATERIAL is out of reach to those who have a great measure of faith.
& the reason I ultimately call this type of theology Luciferian …
… is because they use passages like Philippians 4:13 to teach the NEW AGE concept that you can SPEAK or THINK …
… YOUR OWN REALITY into existence.
It’s the idea of the POSITIVE THINKING …
And this type of thinking has a worldly appeal to it …
Because on the surface, it seems like you can achieve a measure of worldly success …
… by believing in what you’re doing & being confident about your objectives.
But there’s only so far that you can go by “thinking positively”.
AND “POSITIVE THINKING” doesn’t line up w/ BIBLICAL THINKING.
Osteen says things like: “YOU CAN HAVE YOUR BEST LIFE NOW”.
& then he’ll tell you to repeat verses out loud, like: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
He says, & I quote: “You gotta send your words out in the direction you want your life to go. If you continue to say them and believe them they can become the seed of reality in your life … Like a magnet you draw in what you are thinking about, believe, visualize, speak out loud.”
This is called the WORD OF FAITH movement … the NAME IT & CLAIM IT theology.
But where does this type of thinking come from?
The ROOT of this false teaching is the OCCULT concept of the LAW OF ATTRACTION.
It comes from the NEW THOUGHT MOVEMENT of the 1800s OCCULT.
… NEW AGE occultists of the time believed that you can SPEAK NEW REALITIES into existence.
& it’s nothing but occult, NEW AGE Luciferian theology disguised as modern Christianity.
LUCIFERIAN THEOLOGY is a theology that exalts the SELF ABOVE GOD.
& that’s exactly what Joel Osteen & the WORD OF MOUTH PROSPERITY MOVEMENT is about.
It’s the LAW OF ATTRACTION promoted by Satanists in the 19th century.
But let’s look at the context of Philippians 4:13.
You see, All FALSE TEACHINGS that claim to be Biblical depend on taking a verse out of context …
… & re-purposing it to support that false view.
The first thing to notice here is that PAUL was in PRISON @ Rome when he wrote the Book of Philippians.
Now, if Paul was preaching a PROSPERITY MESSAGE, he wouldn’t have been in prison in Rome …
… but living in a $10.5 million dollar compound in HOUSTON next to Joel Osteen.
In Philippians 1:3-7, writing to the Philippians, Paul says:
3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,
5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;
6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
7 Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.
Paul was in bonds, under house arrest, as he wrote his epistle.
& in v. 12-14, Paul says:
12 But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;
13 So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;
14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
So Paul praises God for his bonds & acknowledges that it was for the greater purpose of spreading the Gospel.
He says in v. 21: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
& then we get to Chapter 4 to the now famous passage, & we read, starting in v. 11:
11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
So PHIL 4:13 is actually about being CONTENT in EVERY SITUATION …
Paul knows what it’s like to be both hungry & to be full.
2 Timothy 4:3 says: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;”
This verse sums up the PROSPERITY MOVEMENT.
Now there’s a balance to the prosperity message, and that’s the Biblical message.
Which leads us to the next misunderstood Bible passage.
ANOTHER COMMONLY MISUNDERSTOOD PASSAGE, is 1 Timothy 6:10: “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
People often truncate the first part of this verse & misquote it as: “Money is the root of all evil”.
But it’s the LOVE OF MONEY which is the root of all evil.
Money, in & of itself, is not evil.
In fact, money can be a great asset in this world, especially for Christian families, who strive to live Biblically.
1 Timothy 5:8 says: “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.”
& so Christians especially need to work hard, be wise with their time & talents …
… because the system of this world is rigged against large families & 1-income households.
It’s a challenge for Christians to live the way that God wants us to live.
Satan has designed the system of this world to work against Christian families.
He has designed the system in a way that often forces both parents to work & to have small families.
And so Christians need to strive to become as independent of the world’s system as we can.
But a DISTURBING trend that I’m witnessing among some of today’s ENTITLED MILLENNIAL BABIES is a SOCIALIST / COMMUNIST mentality on the rise …
… that attacks the HARD-WORKING & the SUCCESSFUL …
… even among Christians.
The America that I grew up in respected men who worked hard & earned wealth independently …
… if they earned it honestly.
But today, a socialist class-warfare mentality is on the rise …
There’s a sense of entitlement among the upcoming generation …
But the Bible lists many men of God who were both spiritual righteous & materially successfully …
& In fact, God used many of them to do great things.
The idea that Christians have to be materially destitute in order to be spiritual …
… comes from a system of thought called ASCETICISM …
This is the idea that you have to live in a state of material self-denial in order to achieve spirituality …
… where you’re whipping yourself and beating yourself and living like a destitute monk.
This is NOT a Christian concept.
Satan likes to get Christians on both sides of the EXTREME …
… the PROSPERITY GOSPEL on the one END …
… and being a SOCIALIST or an ASCETIC on the other.
But the Bible lists men of God who were materially successful.
The Bible says of Abraham in Genesis 13:2: “And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.”
Job was another man who was materially wealthy …
… & the Bible calls Job in Job 1:1: “… perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.”
Job 1:2-3 continues:
2 And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.
3 His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.
After God finished testing Job, He even increased his wealth two-fold or by 100%!
Job 42:10, 12:
10 And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.
…
12 So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.
We have examples of both poor and rich alike, with Jesus being our prime of example of owning virtually no possessions.
But we also have examples of King David (who himself was a TYPE or SYMBOL of Christ).
God is a NOT a respecter of persons on either side.
1 Chronicles 29:28 says of David: “And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honour: and Solomon his son reigned in his stead.”
& of King Solomon the Bible says: “And king Solomon passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.”
So riches, when coupled with righteous living, is seen as a blessing in the Bible.
& let’s not forget Joseph of Arimathaea, who secured Jesus’ body & laid him in his tomb.
Matthew 27:57-60:
57 When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple:
58 He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.
59 And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
60 And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.
The patriarch ISAAC also gained great riches in this world.
Genesis 26:12-14:
12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.
Wouldn’t you like to receive a hundred times your investment?
Notice that it says, the LORD blessed him.
13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:
When the Bible talks about GREATNESS, it’s talking about power and wealth in the here & now.
14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.
Notice, it was the ungodly who were envious.
Speaking of Jacob & Esau, Genesis 36:7 says: “For their riches were more than that they might dwell together; and the land wherein they were strangers could not bear them because of their cattle.”
Wealth was measured in livestock in those days.
& they had so much that the land where they lived was not enough space for them!
But with that said, we are not to be a RESPECTER OF PERSON …
… we are not supposed to have less respect for someone poorer than ourselves …
… & we are supposed to be generous w/ our gain.
Proverbs 11:24-25 says:
24 There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and [there is] that withholdeth more than is meet, but [it tendeth] to poverty.
25 The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.
So money is not the ROOT OF ALL EVIL …
… but here’s the CAVEAT – as long as you are not putting your trust in your riches …
… as long as you don’t idolize material gain …
… & as long as it doesn’t take your focus off of God & the preaching of the Gospel.
Proverbs 11:28: “He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.”
So the Bible itself doesn’t put emphasis on creating wealth.
Whereas he WORLD measures success by WEALTH …
The BIBLE measures success by WORKING FOR THE KINGDOM by doing GOOD WORKS.
Matthew 6:19-21:
19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
In the end, the Bible teaches that MATERIAL GAIN, while not evil in & of itself …
… is but for a moment …
… it’s temporary & will perish.
Job said it best, in Job 1:21: “… Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
Ultimately, it goes back to Philippians 4:11-13 again, which we started with:
11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, [therewith] to be content.
12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
THE THIRD MOST MISUNDERSTOOD BIBLE PASSAGE I’d like to cover is:
Matthew 7:1: “Judge not, that ye be not judged.”
This is a favorite among both MODERN CHRISTIANS in lukewarm worldly churches …
… & also among the ungodly & non-believers.
In our POLITICALLY-CORRECT climate, it’s socially unacceptable to judge any one.
Don’t judge the GAYS, don’t judge the PROMISCUOUS, don’t judge people w/ different belief systems.
When the unGODLY rule, they don’t want their SINS EXPOSED …
So of course, the DON’T JUDGE MANTRA is the MOST Famous Bible verse for today’s ATHEIST.
Almost every doctrinal error occurs when people read only 1 VERSE & become Bible experts.
“Judge not, that ye be not judged.”
If you read Mathew 7:1 by itself, it sounds like we’re never supposed to JUDGE ANBODY.
But in fact Jesus tells us TO judge.
To judge between false teaching & correct doctrine …
… to judge between righteousness & wickedness …
… & to even judge our BROTHERS in order to help them, when they are in error or in sin.
When you read the rest of the passage …
… it becomes clear that what Jesus is teaching against is HYPOCRITICAL JUDGMENT.
Matthew 7:1-5:
1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
Jesus is telling us to judge ourselves first.
To be self-examining & introspective first.
To judge our own character & and our walk with God …
… before we ever consider judging one another.
Jesus actually paints a funny picture …
It’s a picture of a man walking around with a BIG WOODEN BEAM …
Like a 6 X 8 plank in his eye …
And as he’s stumbling around trying to see …
… he’s also going around trying to help his brother who’s got this tiny, LITTLE SPECK in his eye …
It’s a ridiculous picture that describes the hypocrisy and blindness of people …
… who are themselves not in a position to judge others.
But then Jesus does say in v. 5: “First cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.”
So the expectation is that you first remove the PLANK out of your own eye …
… and then once you’ve done so, you’ll
be in a position …
… to HELP your brother remove that little speck in his own eye.
So it’s not unChristlike to JUDGE.
And this modern, SNOWFLAKE attitude about judging others is not Biblical.
But it’s important to understand that the FOCUS of JUDGING isn’t to CONDEMN …
… but to HELP others.
Some of the nastiest, self-righteous Pharisees you run into are those who go around condemning everyone else’s sins.
& that’s what happens on the other side of this extreme …
… you get overly-zealous, self-righteous Pharisees …
… who feel they have a Biblical mandate to CONDEMN others & exalt themselves above their neighbors.
… but that’s not the PURPOSE of righteous judgment.
The fact is that EVERYBODY JUDGES people every day.
We make judgments about whether we want to be friends with someone …
… or whether a person is trustworthy or reliable.
But are we ourselves guilty of what we judge others for?
Are we’re judging accurately & with clarity & w/ the purpose of helping our neighbors?
… or do we have selfish, self-righteous motives & are we ourselves in a position to judge righteously?
John the Apostle said in John 7:24: “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”
Biblically speaking, to JUDGE something was to establish JUSTICE.
Judgment & Justice go hand in hand in the Bible.
It’s not about being filled with self-righteous pride …
… & railing on & condemning others, but about establishing justice.
Proverbs 31:9 says: “Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.”
THE NEXT MISUNDERSTOOD Bible Passage has to do with SALVATION.
& This is a widely misunderstood Bible verse.
Matthew 24:13 says: “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”
Taken by itself, it sounds like Matthew is teaching that you have to keep believing in order to be saved.
Whereas the Bible teaches that once your’e saved … & born again …
… that you are forever security in Christ, NO MATTER WHAT.
But it sounds like Matthew 24:13 is saying that you can lose your salvation …
… that if you don’t endure to the end as a Christian, that you won’t be saved …
It even sounds like it’s saying that salvation doesn’t happen in an instance …
… or in a moment …
… that Christians won’t find out if they’re saved until the end of their lives, if they “endure to the end.”
BUT MATTHEW 24:12 isn’t saying ANY of these things.
Look to the CONTEXT.
WHAT is Jesus talking about in Matthew 24?
WHO is Jesus talking to in Matthew 24?
What is this chapter about?
For Bible prophecy students & Christians who study eschatology …
… they know that MATTHEW 24 is a passage about the END-TIMES …
… & particularly about the TRIBULATION PERIOD.
Let’s go all the way back to VERSE 1 of Matthew 24 & it becomes abundantly clear.
READ MATTHEW 24:1-16
So the CONTEXT & the BACKDROP of Jesus statement about ENDURING TO END …
… isn’t about SALVATION.
It’s about Christians who endure through the TRIBULATION PERIOD.
Remember, Matthew 24:29-30 says:
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven:
Jesus comes back AFTER THE TRIBULATION.
It says it VERY CLEARLY …
Immediately AFTER THE TRIBULATION …
The SUN & the MOON shall be darkened …
& THEN SHALL APPEAR THE SIGN OF THE SON OF MAN IN HEAVEN …
So this is in CONTEXT of SAVED BELIEVERS …
… who ENDURE THROUGH THE TRIBULATION …
… & who will be SAVED out of it …
… it’s not talking about SPIRITUAL SALVATION here …
… but about Christians being PHYSICALLY REMOVED out of the world when Jesus visibly returns to RAPTURE the CHURCH.
Those who ENDURE to the END OF THE TRIBULATION …
… will be saved from the the PERSECUTION …
MATTHEW 24:12 is not about SALVATION …
It’s not about keeping the faith until the end to be spiritually saved ….
… it’s not about not getting saved until the end of your life …
… it’s not about losing your salvation if you don’t endure …
… these are all false WORKS-BASED heresies that people promote by not understanding the context or the meaning of Matthew 24:12.
The LAST PASSAGE that I’d like to cover is from PROVERBS 23 …
… it’s a passage that is widely misunderstood …
… & is used to twist & to justify a legalistic position on wine in the Bible.
There are 273 references to “WINE” in the Bible …
… some good, and many bad, depending on the context & the admonition being given.
Mostly, the Bible warns us against the excessive use of alcohol.
BUT THE TRUTH IS that wine is also mentioned POSITIVELY in the Bible.
There’s a lot of controversy among Christians – especially among the legalists – as to whether Jesus drank wine …
… & whether it’s a sin for Christians to drink alcohol in moderation.
What does the Bible say? Is it a blessing or a curse?
One passage that is frequently misused to promote the idea that ANY consumption of ALCOHOL in any amount is a sin is …
PROVERBS 23:31-33:
31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
33 Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.
Now, I’ve gotten A LOT OF CRITICISM – and outright RAILING and SLANDER leveled against me …
… because I’ve chosen to defend the PURE WORDS of the KJV, instead of defending the traditions of men …
… & subjects that most churches consider OFF THE TABLE.
CHRISTIAN TEETOTALERS only option when confronted with the abundance of Bible verses on wine …
… have no choice but to make the false claim that WINE = GRAPE JUICE in the Bible.
And one of the GO TO PASSAGES for those who do so is PROVERBS 21.
They claim that PROVERBS 21 teaches that we are not even supposed to LOOK at WINE!
THAT Looking at WINE is a SIN.
I’ve literally had numerous people tell me that they will avoid the alcohol isle at the grocery store …
… because setting their eyes on alcohol is a sin.
CHRISTIAN TEETOTALERS even believe that a SIP of WINE is enough to get you drunk …
But is that what PROVERBS 21 is about?
Again, we HAVE TO LOOK TO THE CONTEXT.
BACK UP JUST 2 VERSES.
Proverbs 21:29-33:
29 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
30 They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.
31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
33 Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.
So clearly, it’s TARRYING LONG AT THE WINE that is being condemned here.
You’re not TARRYING LONG when you have a sip or a glass of wine.
You’re TARRYING LONG when you are getting DRUNK …
You don’t get REDNESS OF EYES from having a glass of wine, but from having excess …
Your eyes don’t behold STRANGE WOMEN when you have a glass of wine …
… but when you GET DRUNK.
Proverbs 21 is clearly a reference to GETTING DRUNK, tarrying long at the wine.
That’s the PROVERBIAL LITERARY way of explaining this.
You can’t imagine how many times I’ve had Pharisees, especially from the stiff-necked ANDERSONITE crowd quote PROVERBS 21 at me …
… like a bunch of unlearned fools.
THE FACT IS, THE BOOK OF PROVERBS is a BOOK OF WISDOM …
… & you have to have WISDOM to understand it.
If you’re an unlearned fool who thinks that WINE = GRAPE JUICE in the Bible …
… well, you’re gonna think that it’s a sin to walk down the ALCOHOL ISLE at the grocery store …
Our culture is so under-educated today that they don’t understand things like METAPHOR, SIMILE, & POETIC LITERARY FORMS to convey greater truths.
We’re conditioned in a very matter-of-fact, empirical, scientific, computerized method of dialogue …
… that has stripped the Bible of all its majesty, beauty, and poetry.
& If you’re an unlearned Andersonite, you’re not gonna get this.
You’re gonna think that I’m promoting the use of alcohol, when I’m promoting intelligent, accurate, unbiased interpretation of the Bible.
Another WINE passage that they defile is from Proverbs 31.
Proverbs 31:4 says: “It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:”
& then they try to correlate this w/ Revelation 1:6 which says: “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father …”
And they say, see!
It’s not for kings to drink wine & we’re kings & priests; therefore, wine is a sin for believers.
OK, but again, try to understand the language & literary nature of the book of Proverbs.
& trying reading just 1 more verse or 2 to get the whole context …
Proverbs 31:4-5:
4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:
[Here’s the key]
5 Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.
Tell me, is a king going to FORGET THE LAW and PERVERT JUSTICE …
… by having a glass of wine at dinner with his wife?
Is he going to PERVERT THE JUDGMENT of the AFFLICTED?
ASK SOME REASONABLE QUESTIONS when you’re reading a WISDOM BOOK like PROVERBS.
Don’t be an idiot.
Again, this is a PROVERB …
… which is speaking about the type of excessive drinking …
… & drunkenness which prevents a KING from JUDGING JUSTLY.
& before anyone says that I’m diminishing the TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD by saying that the BOOK OF PROVERBS is written in a LITERARY, POETIC format …
… let me address that for a minute …
The fact is that the BOOK OF PROVERBS IS A form of HEBREW POETRY.
That’s NOT disputed. That’s a FACT.
Any serious student of the Bible will tell you that.
That’s its FORM & LITERARY style.
This forces you to have to DIG a little DEEPER in a WISDOM BOOK like PROVERBS to truly UNDERSTAND its deep truths.
It’s not a book for dummies.
God’s Word demands that you not be INTELLECTUAL LAZY or DISHONEST.
YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND …
… that saying the BOOK OF PROVERBS is written a POETIC FORMAT …
… does NOT mean that it’s not true.
Every Word of God is true.
But a book like PROVERBS demands that you approach it with wisdom & understanding.
IT’S ALSO VERY IMPORTANT that you understand that I’m not promoting the CONSUMPTION OF ALCHOL.
For many people, maybe the vast majority of people in our culture, ABSTINENCE is the BEST MEDICINE.
Because most people abuse alcohol & many lives are utterly RUINED by DRUNKENNESS.
But does that mean that we can CHANGE the WORDS OF THE BIBLE?
… or condemn others who don’t have this weakness?
The fact is that JESUS is the KING OF KINGS, and it is not blasphemous …
… to say that JESUS DRANK WINE.
In fact, the Bible is clear on this point.
Luke 7:33-34 is clear.
33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil.
34 The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!
There’s a clear contrast in the Word of God.
John the Baptist abstained from wine completely;
He was led of the Holy Spirit to do that.
And that’s a good thing!
Earlier in Luke 1:15, the Bible said of John the Baptist: “For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink …”
We see that the Bible says that John the Baptist came neither eating bread “nor drinking wine” …
… but of Jesus it says: “The Son of man is come eating and drinking”.
Using the very words of the Bible & the KJV Bible’s built-in dictionary …
… it is evident that Jesus drank wine, as opposed to John the Baptist who did not.
Jesus drank with sinners.
& the Pharisees called him both a WINEBIBBER, which means a DRUNKARD.
It wouldn’t even make sense in that context to call Jesus a winebibber if Jesus wasn’t drinking wine.
They say it was just a false accusation … that Jesus was drinking grape juice …
… but aside from the obvious ludicrous nature of such a statement …
… the context & comparison to John the Baptist abstaining from alcoholic wine wouldn’t make sense …
… if Jesus was drinking grape juice.
ANOTHER OBVIOUS EXAMPLE is when JESUS HIMSELF used the SYMBOLISM of WINE …
… to describe the OLD & NEW COVENANTS.
Turning again to LUKE, chapter 5, vs. 37-39:
37 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.
38 But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.
Why does Jesus say that putting NEW WINE into OLD BOTTLES would cause the OLD BOTTLES to BURST?
Marshall covered this recently, but it was because NEW WINE EXPANDS during the FERMENTATION PROCESS …
… causing the OLD BOTTLES TO BURST.
THE OLD BOTTLES had already expanded as much as they could from previously being used during the fermentation process.
So if you were to use OLD BOTTLES again, there would be no more room for them to expand …
… and they would, therefore, BURST.
VERSE 39 also says: “No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.”
Why does Jesus say that OLD WINE is BETTER?
If WINE = GRAPE JUICE in the Bible, how could OLD GRAPE JUICE be better than NEW GRAPE JUICE?
Do you prefer OLD MOLDY GRAPE JUICE to NEW, FRESHLY SQUEEZED GRAPE JUICE?
Everyone knows that OLD WINE tastes better …
… & is more sought after than NEW WINE, which hasn’t had enough time to AGE.
A 10 year old bottle of WINE is better than a 2 year old bottle of wine.
& in this same way, Jesus is using the analogy of WINE to explain that the OC was older …
… and at first, people would be resistant to the NC, because …
… “No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.”
Jesus was using this example to explain the reluctance of the Jewish believers …
… to abandon the old system of living under the Law of Moses …
… in order to embrace the NEW COVENANT.
The bible teaches, in fact, that wine – when properly handled – is a blessing to God’s people.
Isaiah 65:8: “Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants’ sakes, that I may not destroy them all.”
Psalm 104:14-15 says:
14 He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;
15 And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man’s heart.
The bible directly says that “wine” makes glad the heart of man.
Finally, Isaiah 25:6-8:
6 And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.
7 And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.
8 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken [it].
This is a picture of the End Times.
It correlates directly to the MARRIAGE SUPPER OF THE LAMB mentioned in Revelation 21:4: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
And we see that Isaiah 25:6, the OT counterpart to this passage mentions: “a feast of wines on the lees … of wines on the lees well refined.”
This passage is irrefutable evidence that the WINE that the Bible speaks of is fermented.
It mentions LEES – what are LEES?
LEES are the dead yeast cells that are left over in wine after the FERMENTATION process has occurred.
The LEES are STRAINED OUT of WINE during the REFINING process.
So when the Bible talks about WINES ON THE LEES … OF WINES ON THE LEES WELL REFINED …
It’s not talking about GRAPE JUICE …
… and to say it is, is DENYING and CHANGING THE WORD OF GOD to suit man-made churchianity.
That covers PART 1 of this sermon.
Next week, I’ll cover the last 5 TOP MISUNDERSTOOD Bible passages …
… and we’ll get into issues like REPENT OF SINS …
FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD …
The reprobate doctrine.
& more.