The Bible Doesn't Teach That Round 2

[00:00:00]Hello and welcome back to our game show, The Bible Never Says That, and we are at round two. Thank you so much for those of you who participated yesterday in our little game show. It was fun. Loved all your comments. Let's jump into round two. The Bible says things like cleanliness is next to godliness, and God helps those who help themselves, and money is the root of all evil.

[00:00:45]You guessed it, the answer is false. The Bible actually never says these things.

[00:00:51]And isn't that strange because we all grew up hearing these things from our parents, our friends, the church. These are things that we were certain were probably coming straight from scripture, when in reality they really don't have any basis in truth. Minus one, the last phrase there, money is the root of all evil, actually comes from 1 Timothy 6, where Paul says the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. So, money is not the root of all evil. Our love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.

[00:01:39]So, the truth takes money out of the picture as being the source of evil and puts our desires as the source of all kinds of evil. Question number two. God will never give you more than you can handle. True or false?

[00:02:04]>> [music] >> That answer is also false. How many of us have heard this over the course of our lives that the Father will not give us more than we can handle? How many times have we comforted one another with these words when going through difficult times? I have and I'm certain that you have as well, but what does the scripture actually teach us? Although this is another statement that's not found in scripture. The Bible actually tells us in many cases that the opposite is actually true. In 1 Corinthians 10:13, Paul says again, "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man. But Yah is faithful who" and here's the phrase, "will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape that you may be able to bear it." So again, a twisting of words I think over time. You've all seen the exercise where people sit [snorts] in a circle of about 10 or 12 people person leans over and whispers a secret in the ear of the first person and that person goes around the circle and passes it on to the next person and by the time it gets back to the first person, that little secret is completely changed. Well, it's a lot like that.

[00:03:24]People read verses like 1 Corinthians 10 where it says, "Will not be tempted beyond what we can handle or beyond what we are able to handle." But it doesn't say anything about not being put in situations where the Father is trying to force us to depend on him. I mean, think about Job. Think about the number of people in scripture who were up to their neck in all kinds of serious issues. To what end? Well, the goal was to get the person to completely depend on the Father. So, yes, he will put you in situations that you are just not able to handle without him, but he will not allow you to be tempted beyond your ability to refrain, and he will always give a way out. Question number three.

[00:04:10]Here's my favorite, the devil made me do it, or I'm really being attacked by Satan right now. True or false?

[00:04:26]>> [music] >> Well, that answer is actually true and false. The Bible certainly teaches that Satan is active, 1 Peter 5 and Ephesians 6, but it does not teach that every temptation or sinful thought originates with Satan. So, I want to stop for a moment here and have you consider some things. 1 Peter 5, we know that verse, it tells us that Satan is always walking around like a roaring lion looking for someone to, quote, devour. Not looking for someone to tempt. No, no, he's looking for someone to devour. Now, think about all the people in scripture where Satan was directly involved in their life. He is one of the most powerful beings in all of the universe, one of the most powerful beings that Yah ever created. If Satan was to get personally involved in your life, like he got personally involved with Job or Judas or Peter, it's going to be a life-altering event. So, we have to have perspective here. The scripture tells us that he is looking for someone to devour, not looking for someone to tempt, although we can be tempted by demonic forces, what do the scriptures actually say in James chapter 1? But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.

[00:05:58]Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it's full grown, brings forth death. So, I think too often we like to blame things on Satan when we are actually personally struggling with our own desires and sometimes giving in to our own desires and then blaming it on the devil. Well, that's not entirely true, is it? Can we be tempted by demonic forces? Certainly we can. But again, if Satan was to direct his attention solely on you, it would be something that you would never ever forget. So, thanks for stopping by today. We're going to keep going. The questions are going to keep getting a little bit more difficult. Thanks so much for playing The Bible Never Says That. I hope you have a fantastic and I'm looking forward to seeing you tomorrow, and as always, [music] may the Father bless you.