Remember that line in Matthew 18 where Jesus says if two or three come together in his name…? You know that is a promise from Jesus about church discipline and not small-group prayer, right? (Insert lame joke about Wonder Twins here.)

Proof-texting is the stuff cults are made of. There are two basic approaches to reading Scripture: eisegesis, which is reading into the text what is not there (like opinions, traditions, agendas) and exegesis, which is reading out of the text what was intended by the author. (Perhaps this should go without saying, but I am an exegetical teacher.)

Gregory Kouki writes an excellent post on why you should never, ever read a Bible verse.

The article goes on to give several illustrations of how scriptures have been twisted to say things they don’t mean. Here are some examples of commonly misappropriated statements:

I have a “peace” about it…
“If I be lifted up…”
“My sheep hear my voice…”

Read the article to get at the biblical meaning of these statements, and learn how to read the Bible for yourself and understand the Holy Spirit’s intended meaning in each passage.

According to Psalm 138, God has exalted above all things his name and his word. Shouldn’t we do the same?

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Clint Wagnon is a family man, church planter, pastor, teacher and founder of the Underground Awakening. Clint lives in central Florida with his wife and four children.