Covenant Reformed News – January 2004, Volume IX, Issue 21
This article addresses the hermeneutical error of Scripture twisting, using 2 Peter 3:16 as a foundation to explain how false teachers distort God's Word to support preconceived false views, particularly regarding eschatological doctrines like Christ's second coming and final judgment. The author employs vivid language comparing Scripture twisting to torture, illustrating how heretics misuse Scripture by misquoting, ignoring context, and disregarding the analogy of faith to deny the Christian hope and justify ungodly living. This practical defense of proper biblical interpretation will benefit Reformed readers seeking to identify and refute the interpretive tactics of false doctrine.
Scripture Twisting (2) II Peter 3:16 speaks of “unlearned and unstable” people who “wrest” the Scriptures “unto their own destruction.” The man who wrests Scripture is not neutral; he comes with a preconceived false view. He does not want God’s Word to condemn him and/or others, so he twists it. He wants Scripture to support his views, so he twists it. The Greek word used here means to torture. Scripture is tortured, like a man put on the rack, in order to force it to say what the torturers...