Things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, unto their own destruction.” 2 Peter 3:16.
This practice of wresting the Scriptures was becoming prevalent in Peter’s day, but it has become so common today that we are confronted with it on every hand, and one feels constrained to speak a word about it to our young readers. To put it very simply it means that when we do not want to act upon some Scripture we find a way of “getting around it.” We “wrestle” with it, we try to change its meaning to suit ourselves, and we thus argue our way out of the path of simple obedience, all because we do not want to obey the Word of God. When our wills get to work we always resist the truth.
All this is deeply solemn, and yet so prevalent on every hand. There is hardly a truth in the Bible that has not been argued away by some group of Christians or professing Christians. The most “feasible” arguments are brought forward—all “good reasons” why we should not accept the plain statements of Scripture, or at least why we should not act upon them in our “modern” age. We are told that conditions have changed today and we have to follow the trend of the times, but all this is strange and foreign to the ear of the child of God who trembles at God’s Word. (Isaiah 66:2.) Mordecai unflinchingly refused to bow to Haman the Amalekite, because the Lord had said that He would have war with Amalek from generation to generation. (Exodus 17:16.) How could he bow to one upon whom the Lord had declared war? Daniel would not eat of the king’s meat, because God had said in the law that he must not do so. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would not bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s image, because centuries before God had commanded His people not to bow to a graven image. All these dear faithful men of God, whose names most of us remember from childhood, were men who trembled at God’s Word. They could have argued—they could have “wrested” the Scriptures as undoubtedly many of the people did, perhaps even their best friends—but God had spoken and that settled it. Regardless of the consequences they must obey God, whether it meant the gallows or the fiery furnace—they would leave that with God—their path was plain and simple through it all, because GOD HAD SPOKEN.
Now there are some things in the Bible, as our verse says, which are hard to be understood. They are hard because they are contrary to our natural thoughts. The truth of God requires the submission of our minds to His Word; but let us never wrest the Scriptures. There are two classes of people who do this; the “unlearned,” and the “unstable.” Some people have had bad teaching and are “unlearned” in the truth of God. They have listened to certain lines of argument and have never carefully and prayerfully searched the Scriptures for themselves. Others are “unstable.” They listen to every wind of doctrine that conies along and follow that which suits them the best. Both of these groups wrest the Scriptures to their own loss. May the Lord give to us, dear young people, the opened ear of Samuel to say, “Speak, Lord; for Thy servant heareth.” 1 Sam. 3:9. This path brings eternal gain—instead of loss.
ML 05/28/1950