Is the Bible reliable, and how do you use it without accidentally twisting it? Almost every Christian has either been hurt by a misused Bible verse or, if we are honest, misused one ourselves. Dr. Dennis Episcopo walks through both sides of that conversation, the honest defense of the Bible and the honest warning about what happens when believers weaponize it.

This sermon continues an August teaching series at Alliance Church on how to read the Bible well. Dr. Episcopo begins by naming the two categories of people who mishandle Scripture. The first is the Bible critic, the person who says the Bible is full of errors but has usually never read it. He walks through the mountain of manuscript evidence. 20,000 New Testament manuscripts compared to 643 for Homer's Odyssey and 7 for Plato. The earliest New Testament copy is 20 years from the original, and the Dead Sea Scrolls confirmed a 95% match to the book of Isaiah we still read today. F.F. Bruce called the Bible's textual reliability so overwhelming that no serious historian dreams of questioning it.

The second category is the Scripture twister, and this one is closer to home. Dr. Episcopo introduces two words every Christian should know. Exegesis, drawing out what the author actually intended. Eisegesis, reading into the text what you want it to say. Cults live in eisegesis. And so, sometimes, do the rest of us.

Then Dr. Episcopo lays out three warnings believers really need to hear.

Do not force the Bible to say what you want. He uses divorce as an example, walking through Matthew 19 and 1 Corinthians 7 with pastoral honesty. Yes, Jesus allows for divorce in the narrow case of habitual sexual unfaithfulness, and Paul adds abandonment by an unbelieving spouse. But over 50 years of ministry, he has counseled countless people who tried to weave a proof text because their heart had already decided.

Do not spiritualize the Bible away. He tells the story of a well known pastor who claimed Nehemiah's rebuilding of the wall was really about speaking in tongues, and calls it what it is. Baloney salami. Take the literal as literal. Take the symbolic as symbolic. And when Revelation names a real place like Armageddon, do not turn it into a metaphor because a physical valley in Israel makes you uncomfortable.

Do not use the Bible as a club. 1 Peter 3:15 says always be prepared to give an answer for the hope you have, but do it with gentleness and respect. He closes with a beautiful story about Dr. Smith, a University of Minnesota scientist who spent a lecture tearing the Bible apart, until a nervous young student stopped by his desk after class and gently asked, have you read the evidence? He came to Christ not long after.

If you have ever been hurt by a Bible verse used against you, or wondered if the Bible can even be trusted, this teaching is the honest, warmhearted conversation you have been waiting for.