Chapter 4 - You Are Mishandling the Scriptures
This series imagines what Paul might say to the American church today—written in the tone of a pastoral letter, shaped by the finished work of Christ. It is not Scripture, but a grace-filled reflection using Paul’s voice to address modern challenges.
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus and a steward of the mystery now revealed, to the beloved throughout the American church: grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
My brothers and sisters, it has been reported to me that many among you handle the Scriptures in a manner that brings confusion rather than clarity, fear rather than rest. You read the sacred writings as though the veil were still in place, forgetting that Christ has removed the veil for all who believe.
Some of you search the Scriptures to justify your anger.
Others search them to prove your superiority.
Still others use them to bind the conscience of your fellow believers, imposing burdens that neither you nor your fathers could bear.
But the Scriptures were not given to enslave you—they were given to reveal Christ.
Do you not recall what I wrote before?
“The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
Yet many of you cling to the letter without seeing the life to which it points.
You quote the old covenant as though it still governs your standing with God, unaware that its purpose was to lead you to Christ, who fulfilled its every requirement. You apply commands meant for Israel under the Law as though they belonged to the church under grace. And in doing so, you mix what God separated and separate what God fulfilled.
Hear me well: not every word in the Scripture is a command for the believer; some words reveal your need for Christ, others reveal what Christ has done.
If you read them without this distinction, you will burden yourselves with laws Christ has already carried to the Cross.
Some of you read the prophets and tremble, fearing judgment that has already been poured out upon Jesus. Others read the words of Jesus before His death and apply them as though He had not yet risen. But you must understand the times and covenants. For the Scriptures testify of Him, and the Cross stands at the center dividing shadow from substance.
I do not write these things to shame you, but to awaken you.
When you mishandle the Scriptures, you misrepresent the heart of God.
You teach fear where He has spoken peace.
You proclaim distance where He has declared nearness.
You present conditions where He has established completeness.
Beloved, all Scripture is God-breathed, but not all Scripture is addressed to those who stand in the finished work of Christ in the same way. The Law reveals the impossibility of righteousness by effort. The Prophets reveal the longing for a Redeemer. The Gospels reveal Christ in the flesh, fulfilling all righteousness. And the New Covenant writings reveal who you now are because of Him.
Therefore, read the Scriptures with unveiled faces.
Interpret them through the Cross.
Let every command drive you to Christ, not to self-effort.
Let every warning reveal the safety of His finished work.
Let every promise reflect what He has already secured for you.
For when you rightly divide the Word, you see the grace that has always been unfolding. But when you mix what God has distinguished, you confuse yourselves and those who hear you.
So then, beloved:
Handle the Scriptures not as weapons to wound, but as windows that reveal Christ.
Do not use them to bind the free, for Christ has set you free indeed.
Walk in the assurance of the One who has already made you complete in Himself.
