“Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you.” 1 Peter 3:15
First Peter 3:15 tells us to have a defense for the hope that we have in Christ. Theologians call this defense apologetics. However, many avid Bible readers lack a defense and can’t accurately explain many portions of Scripture. This lack of understanding is why some people misinterpret certain Bible verses and take them out of context.
Here are six common verses you may already be misinterpreting without knowing it and what they actually mean.
Misinterpreted Verse #1: Revelation 3:20
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”
Preachers often use Revelation 3:20 when they give an altar call. The idea is that if anyone hears Jesus knocking at the door of their heart and opens it, Jesus will come in and live within them. As beautiful as that is, and perhaps correct, that is not what this verse means.
Revelation 3 is Jesus’ letter to the Laodicean church, which the Bible calls the lukewarm church. It had become complacent in its faith. They neither rejected Christ nor developed zeal to spread the gospel. Consequently, they became hypocrites, professing to know Christ but not living it out in everyday life.
Their tepid behavior prompted Jesus to address the issue. They can either return to Him or be spat out like the polluted water running through their city (v16).
Jesus reminds them that He stands at the door of the church (not our hearts), knocking to see if true believers will open it. Only true believers who are willing to repent can open it. If they do, Jesus promises to let them in, and He will restore fellowship with them.
Revelation 3:20 is not about personal salvation but the entire church’s obedience to Christ, though one might say that both lukewarm believers and lukewarm churches share the same fate.
Verse #2: Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
The Lord has thoughts about each of us (Psalm 139:17-18), no question. That fact is a great source of comfort and encouragement. But, just like Revelation 3:20, the Lord is not talking about individual believers; He is speaking to the Israelites who were being held captive in Babylon.
In this passage, through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord encouraged the Israelites to pray and seek peace with the Babylonians (v5-9), especially since their well-being depended on it. In verse ten, God then promises Israel He will bring them back to the land of their fathers in seventy years.
Verse eleven now makes more sense. God assures the Israelites that He has not forgotten them. He pledged He would bring about blessings in their future if they obeyed Him, which is why He says in verse twelve,
“Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek me and find Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity.”
Indeed, God wants us all to have hope and a future with Him, but that is not what Jeremiah is conveying in this verse. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, his message to God’s chosen people in captivity is encouragement: He has not forgotten them. Not then, not now, or ever.
Verse #3: Romans 8:28
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
The original manuscript of the Bible states Romans 8:28, “We know that God causes all things….” Indeed, He does. In His sovereignty, God coordinates every moment and event, good or bad, to bring us the best, both now and eternally. But God reserves His greatest blessing for a special group.
Most of us stop in the middle of Romans 8:28, but it is essential to continue reading. It says He works or causes all things to “work together for those who love God.” A subsequent comma then clarifies the meaning. God works things together “to those who are called according to His purpose.”
Who is called according to His purpose? All of us! But those whom God has elected through the calling of salvation receive a special blessing. In other words, God is working things out for good for those who love Him and have accepted His gift of grace. These are not “super-believers.” The blessing is for all believers.
Does this mean God will not bless nonbelievers or let them experience goodness? No, not at all. But it does mean His greatest blessing, which focuses on the eternal, is reserved for those who put their faith and trust in Him.
God assures us that, no matter what we experience, in both joy and suffering, He will bring something good from it because of His faithfulness and glory in the eternal realm.
Verse #4: Exodus 21:23-24
“But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.”
Too many people, including those of non-Christian faith, take Exodus 21:23-24 as a justification for revenge. Whether the infraction was personal or against God, some people believe they have the right to avenge the wrong. But revenge has nothing to do with what God is saying here.
We must always read Scripture in context, which means we must go back to verse 22.
“If men fight and hurt a woman with child so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband imposes on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine.”
This portion of Exodus concerns the protection of pregnant women. If anyone should harm a pregnant woman, even if unintentionally, the elders will rightfully punish him.
Indeed, it says a life must be given for a life if either the unborn baby or mother dies (note that God is establishing that a fetus is a person here). But this does not automatically mean this is the proper response to every harm done to anyone.
It does not apply if someone has crashed into your car. It does not apply if you catch your spouse cheating on you. And it does not apply if someone insults God. This Old Testament law is simply there to protect pregnant women and their unborn children. It is a worthy law.
However, this law no longer concerns us because Jesus established a covenant of grace with us through His death and resurrection. Nevertheless, we never have the liberty to take revenge when someone offends or hurts us, or someone we love.
God said vengeance is His alone (Deut 32:35; Rom 12:17-19). We are never to take matters into our own hands.
Verse #5: Matthew 7:1
“Judge not, that you be not judged.”
People often use Matthew 7:1 as an admonishment not to judge others because we risk judgment in return. The unfortunate result is that no one is held accountable, and everyone lives their own way instead of God’s way (“you do you”). Clearly, this misapplies God’s word and takes it entirely out of context.
God is not telling us to refrain from judging others. On the contrary, believers should sometimes exercise righteous judgment with careful discernment.
“Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” (John 7:24)
God never condones unfair, self-righteous, and hypocritical judgment. Such judgment tears others down. Righteous judgment, however, is given in love to help build others up. It is better to come alongside others rather than openly condemn them for their sin, which is why Jesus encourages us in Matthew 7:3-5,
“And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’ and, look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First, remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
We should never judge others by pointing out their sin in an accusatory manner. God, who is righteous, supports believers who lovingly exercise righteous judgment to help others and point them to Him.
Verse #6: Exodus 14:14
“The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”
Some believers take this moment during the Red Sea crossing to mean that we should stay silent and let God fight our battles. Perhaps there are times when we should, but today’s Christians should be anything but quiet.
The New Testament repeatedly tells us to speak up when facing opposition, whether personally or circumstantially, and to trust that God is with us.
Matthew 10:27, “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light, and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.”
Ephesians 6:19-20, “And for me, that utterance may be given to me that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”
Colossians 4:3, “Meanwhile, praying also for us that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ.”
Matthew 10:19-20, “But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak, for it is not you who speak but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.”
The Lord is our protector. He is always helping us fight our battles, but we should never stay silent in the middle of them. When we face attacks from the enemy, God reminds us to speak up and speak out the name of Jesus without fear, for He promises He will give us the words to say through the power of His Holy Spirit.
These are just a few of the many misquoted and misunderstood verses in the Bible. Even in these verses, it is clear how important it is to read and study the Bible, not simply assume its meaning based on what we have heard others say.
We must read Scripture in context, as part of whole passages, not just individual verses. Otherwise, we cannot adequately give a reason for the hope we have in Christ.
