0981. 960. What Men Have Done, and Will Do with the Scriptures

960. What Men Have Done, and Will Do with the Scriptures

We are told what men have done in the past with the Scriptures, and what they will do in the last days.

1. “Depart from the Faith” (1Ti_4:1; R.V., “fall away”). The word for “depart” is rendered “fall away” (Luk_8:13), “refrain” (Act_5:38), “withdraw” (1Ti_6:5). It means a deliberate act, a falling away from a previous position, hence, a departure from the truth of God.

2. Erring is a Straying away from the Scriptures. Christ charged some with being ignorant of the Scriptures; hence, He said, “Ye do err.” To “err” signifies to roam from safety, to go astray; hence, to be under a delusion. The word “err” is rendered “be deceived” (Luk_21:8), “out of the way” (Heb_5:2), “wandered” (Heb_11:38), “gone astray” (2Pe_2:15), and “seduce” (1Jn_2:26).

3. “Missed the mark, concerning the faith” (1Ti_6:21, R.V., margin). The word “err” is given “missed the mark,” and means to deviate from the truth, by swerving on one side, and thus to miss it. The word is given “swerved” in 1Ti_1:6, in calling attention to those who have “missed the mark” (margin R.V.) of holiness of heart and life, as products of the doctrine of grace.

4. Corrupting the Word of God. The Apostle speaks of those who “corrupt the Word of God” (2Co_2:17). To “corrupt” as the margin gives, means, “To deal deceitfully with,” or, as the margin of the Revised Version, “To make merchandise of the Word of God.” The reference is to retailers of goods, who were notorious for adultering their merchandise, and thus handling their commodities in such a way as to deceive the purchaser.

5. “Handling the Word of God Deceitfully.” To handle the Word after such a fashion is to falsify it, and make it to be what it is not, as a conjurer, by sleight, deceives an audience, or, as an angler baits the hook by a bait, and thus ensnares—2Co_4:2.

6. Wresting the Scriptures. Peter speaks of those who “wrest the Scriptures” (2Pe_3:16). “Wrest” comes from a word which means to twist, that is, to reverse and turn right round; hence, to torture, to wrench, and by this means to pervert and make the word to mean the opposite to what was intended.

7. Some “make shipwreck of the faith” (1Ti_1:19, R.V.), that is, allow themselves to run aground on the rocks with “the faith” of God’s truth, for the word means, “to suffer shipwreck,” and implies it might have been prevented.

By: DR. F. E. MARSH