Biblical Misunderstanding

Have you ever read a passage of Scripture and totally misunderstood it, then later read it again or listened to a message and realized how wrong you were?

A couple of weeks ago we were studying the book of Ephesians at one of our neighborhood BYOB (Bring Your Own Bible) studies.  We were taking turns sharing thoughts and questions and passages that stood out to us during the week when one of our neighbors turned our attention to Ephesians 4:29.  We read the verse and a few of us commented and then another of our neighbors shared that she had always understood that verse to mean that cussing wasn't right unless it was really necessary to make your point or to let the person you were speaking with know that you were serious.  We all thought she was joking, but she wasn't.  In fact she read to us her translation of that verse.


"No foul language should come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for needed edification, that it may impart grace to those who hear." (New American Bible)  She had read that verse and her understanding was that foul language shouldn't be used except for edification, which for her meant something very similar to clarification or exclamation.  For example, if your kids aren't listening to you and you were tired of telling them the same thing over and over again then this verse says that it is okay to cuss for emphasis.

After reading her translation I can totally understand how she came to that conclusion, but we read a few other translations and discussed them and came to a mutual decision that this verse probably isn't giving us an excuse for cussing.  But that isn't at all the point that I want to make.

How many verses of Scripture are you misunderstanding?  If you are like the rest of us, I bet there are plenty. That's why Bible study is so important.  Read for ourselves.  Examine the Scriptures.  Read multiple translations.  Chew on the words and meditate on the meaning.  Discuss the passages with others and learn from their experience.  As it says in Acts 17:11, "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."

Don't feel bad if you find out you've been dead wrong about a verse or passage of Scripture.  Keep learning. Keep growing in your faith.  Keep exploring and studying with others. Don't be a !@#$%.  Just kidding.  Blessings to you as you study God's Word.
Shiloh