Greg Laurie: The Bible Verse Nonbelievers Love to Misquote

The Word of God is always relevant. Period.

As we take note of the signs of the times, and as they seem to be converging and escalating day by day right before our eyes, we might find ourselves wondering if the Bible will “keep up” with the swift march of events. Everything seems to be changing so fast—technology, the economy, the world situation, attitudes and morals—can we really expect God’s Word to keep up with the curve?

Yes, we can.

More than that, we can expect it to be ahead of the curve.

God knew about what would be facing us in the 21st century before the first man and first woman drew breath in the Garden of Eden. And the Bible will continue to be a reliable handbook and guidebook for our times, no matter how quickly the world morphs and changes around us.

Every generation has its hot-button issues, and ours is no exception.

Is the Bible up to the task of speaking to world events as well as a culture in turmoil? Absolutely.

Speaking of the Bible and our culture, there used to be a time in our country when the most well-known Bible passages among all people was either John 3:16 or Psalm 23.

Now, the nonbeliever’s favorite verse is Matthew 7:1. Granted, they may not know that the reference is from the gospel of Matthew, or the context in which these words were spoken. They may or may not know that Jesus Himself spoke the words. They just happen to like what it says—or, at least, what they think it says.

“Judge not, lest you be judged.”

This is usually quoted about the time you say something they consider “judgmental.” (Which might be defined as an absolute opinion on any subject they disagree with. Where you would dare to say something as controversial and unkind as, “No, that’s wrong!”)

The response is usually pretty heated. “Who are you to judge me? Doesn’t the Bible say, ‘Judge not lest you be judged’?”

By the way, that verse isn’t saying we shouldn’t judge; it’s saying we shouldn’t condemn. And no true believer in Jesus should do that. The fact is, I think true Christians are among the most loving, the most open and the most accepting people anywhere. I find the most narrow-minded people are the ones who claim to be broad-minded.

Those who claim to be the most accepting are in reality the most unaccepting. A true Christian bases his or her ideas and opinions on a biblical worldview. Nonbelievers will also have their opinions based on a secular worldview. Ironically, they will say that they have no world view, but they really do. They will say they are open to everything, but in reality they are quite closed.

Everyone has a right to their opinion today except the one with the biblical worldview. They would rather we just went away quietly and didn’t express our opinion at all.

For example, a typical statement of a person with a non-biblical worldview might be, “All religions essentially teach the same thing.”

Actually, they don’t. A person who says that reveals his or her complete ignorance of the matter.

There is a living God, and He had revealed Himself in Scripture. As Christians, therefore, we believe we have absolute truth from God, and we develop our worldview from what the Bible teaches. Period.

We do not seek to conform and accommodate the unchanging truths of Scripture to our changing culture, but rather seek to change our culture to conform to what the Bible teaches.

Adapted from Signs of the Times by Greg Laurie, copyright 2018, published by Charisma House. The author opens the Scriptures and addresses hot-button issues that point to what’s coming in these last days. To help you prepare, click on this link to order your copy.

Prayer Power for the Week of May 5, 2019

This week, heed the Lord’s admonition to pray for His soon coming, more laborers for the harvest, worldwide revival and a renewed outpouring of His Spirit in our nation and around the world. Continue to pray for the president and those in leadership with him who are responsible for decisions that affect all of us. Remember Israel, the persecuted church and our allies. Read: John 3:16, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

For more from Greg Laurie, listen to the podcasts included with this article!