Through the mangle

THE MOST MISUSED VERSES IN THE BIBLE
By Eric J. Bargerhuff
Bethany House. 169 pages. £7.99
ISBN 978 0 764 209 369

If you’ve ever wondered about whether you’ll perish without a vision, why money is the root of all evil, how exactly God works together all things for your good or why it is that you don’t seem able to do all things through him who strengthens you, then this is the book for you.

What is more, it’s almost certainly a good book for others you know. At its heart it’s about reading the Bible well, or to use the 2 Timothy language, correctly handling the word of truth.

Ticks useful boxes

There are 19 short chapters focusing on 17 of the most misused verses in the Bible — how they are mistreated and what they actually mean. As such, it ticks two useful boxes: first, it demolishes some shibboleths. I found each of the author’s assessments (perhaps with the exception of James 5.15) to be spot on; second, the book establishes a faithful paradigm for understanding Scripture correctly. In other words, it’s not just assessing 17 common verses; it’s modelling how to interpret Scripture as it does so.

The book is written at a popular level and would be useful for anyone in church with a teaching role — especially small group or children’s leaders. But it’s going to be helpful for everyone. The list of verses includes Matthew 7.1, Jeremiah 29.11-13, Romans 8.28, 2 Chronicles 7.14, Colossians 1.15 (handy for talking to JWs), Proverbs 22.6 and Acts 2.38.

It’s published by Bethany House, which means UK availability is limited at the moment. But persevere. It’s worth the £7.00-£8.00 it will cost you. There’s also an ebook version for around £5.00.

Adrian Reynolds,

Director of Ministry, The Proclamation Trust