Doctrine of Suicide Posted on September 9, 2013 “I can prove to you by quoting only five scriptures that God wants you to kill yourself before this class is over.” Now I had their attention. Every eye in my Bible Interpretation class focused on me. Students who knew me chuckled while new students were probably wondering if they should drop this class. I reemphasized, “I am merely going to quote scriptures and will not add any personal comments. Here are the scriptures.” Every pen was instantly positioned on note pads ready to write what this crazy Bible professor claimed he could prove. “The Bible says, 1) he [Judas] went away and hanged himself; 2) Then Jesus said to him, Go and do the same; 3) Jesus said, What you do, do quickly; 4) Paul told us, Do all things without grumbling or disputing; 5) Jesus said, If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” Sounds logical, but the students immediately recognized the problem. Yes, I was quoting scriptures; however, I was quoting them out of context. When Jesus said, Go and do the same, he was telling the disciples to show mercy as the Good Samaritan did in the parable He just taught. When he said, what you do, do quickly, He was actually speaking to Judas at the last supper telling him to go and quickly carry out his betrayal. The same error is also true for the other scriptures I used. Of course, this is a deliberate and extreme exaggeration I have used multiple times to illustrate how false teachers can proclaim unscriptural doctrines utilizing the Bible. They use the identical method yet in a less noticeably form. I also gave my class three essential rules for Bible interpretation. Rule #1 is context; Rule #2 is context; and Rule #3 is context. Obviously, I was emphasizing that context is the number one principle all readers of the Bible must follow. It does not apply just to Bible College students. It applies to everyone. Not following this simple process can lead people into false beliefs; even lead one into sin; bring false hopes; and cause people to live a life unpleasing to Christ. So what is context? It is the words and verses coming before and after a scripture. Often people will latch onto a single word or phrase without reading the entire sentence or the verses around it. We must always ask how a word or phrase fits into the whole sentence and chapter. How does it fit into the context of the book and how does it fit into the whole of the Bible. Some of the worst out-of-context scriptures today come from the so called ‘prosperity gospel.’ Various forms and degrees of this teaching are being propagated. Yet, simply stated, it asserts that God wants every believer to be wealthy. This sounds wonderful and certainly appeals to our flesh. Problem is that it is not true. Wealth is not the problem. Numerous people in the Bible who faithfully served God were wealthy. However, scripture taken as a whole does not teach that God promises everyone will be rich. The Bible also commends believers who were poor. So, you ask, “why do these teachers have such convincing arguments from scripture?” They use the method I used in outlining the ‘doctrine of suicide’. Draw a circle and write some absurd doctrine inside. Then surround it with verses, words, or phrases that support your premise not worrying about context. You will quickly see that you can prove about anything you write within that circle. What about those scriptures that do not support your ridiculous doctrine?—you simply ignore them. You can excuse these verses by saying “this was for that time period and does not apply to us.” I have yet to hear a ‘prosperity’ preacher teach on the book of Job. False teachers explain Job’s dilemma or the life of the poor by charging they lacked enough faith.’ I wrote last year about Jennifer who was deeply involved in what I label as the hyper-faith movement. One Sunday she came to church with a runny red nose and a pack of tissues. “I’m sorry you’re sick,” I said. Without hesitation came her reprimand, “Don’t say that. I’m not sick—by faith I am not sick. I’m already healed. God has promised divine health.” She based her belief in divine health on John’s greeting to Gaius the elder, Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health (3 John 1:2). It turned out she had the flu and spent the next two weeks in bed. Friends, also into the hyper-faith teaching, simply told her, it was her fault because she did not have faith. John was not proclaiming a doctrine of divine health. This verse was simply a greeting wishing that his friend would have good health—not guaranteeing health even for Gaius and certainly not all believers. The context of the New Testament shows that Jennifer’s belief was not true. This false teaching led to disappointment, causes her to doubt all her beliefs, and eventually she left the church. It is said there are 33,000 promises in the Bible. Why try producing a false doctrine by taking scriptures out of context and bringing about false hopes or a life unpleasing to Christ. If you are clinging to one word or a phrase from a verse and are not seeing change in our life or situation, then you should go back and read the entire context. It is possible you are hoping for something scripture does not teach. Yet, do not be discouraged, out of the 33,000 promises, there are probably countless verses addressing your life and your particular situation. Sustaining Word for the Week: NO! Scriptures do not teach we should commit suicide. In fact, it teaches just the opposite. God wants us to live life and be blessed by all the promises He has given. Do not fear forsaking false teaching and taking hold of what He has clearly promised in context of a chapter, a book, and the whole Bible. You will not be disappointed.
Posted on: Sat, 28 Sep 2013 01:16:17 +0000
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