Did God Actually Say That? - most errors regarding Scripture come in the form applied by Satan. They're mental gymnastics and excuses meant to reject clear commands. But another common mistake is Eve's: sincerely misquoting or misapplying God's Word. Believers need to be accurate and careful with the Bible, so we don't put words in God's mouth. Many common misconceptions about Christianity come from errors just like that. When the Bible is wrongly cited, it happens in four major ways. These are when Scripture is 1) mistakenly quoted, 2) mistakenly compiled, 3) misquoted and 4) misapplied. Misquoted Scriptures get the wording wrong, so they're easily misunderstood. These are the closest to what Eve seems to have done

Misquoting or misinterpreting God's word leads to all sorts of problems. 

Among Satan's most infamous statements is his question to Eve: "did God actually say

…?" 

In that context (Genesis 3:1–2), the Devil tried to make Eve doubt the truth. 

Her response is this
month's spotlight verse (Genesis 3:3). 

There, Eve seems to misquote God's earlier command (Genesis 2:17). 

Ironically, this incident demonstrates that asking "did God really say that?" is not always a bad thing.

Repeating Genesis 3:3 all by itself, for instance, might lead one to believe it was a quote from God. 

But it's not — it's a quote from Eve, giving her version of the command. 

When Satan asked, "did God really say …" he was sowing doubt about something true. 

But it's also possible to ask "did God really say …" in a positive way. 

That's exactly what the Bereans did (Acts 17:11) and they were praised for it.

Unfortunately, most errors regarding Scripture come in the form applied by Satan. 

They're mental gymnastics and excuses meant to reject clear commands. 

But another common mistake is Eve's: sincerely misquoting or misapplying God's Word. 

Believers need to be accurate and careful with the Bible, so we don't put words in God's mouth. 

Many common misconceptions about Christianity come from errors just like that.

When the Bible is wrongly cited, it happens in four major ways. 

These are when Scripture is 

- 1) mistakenly quoted, 

- 2) mistakenly compiled, 

- 3) misquoted and 

- 4) misapplied.

Mistakenly quoted statements aren't in the Bible, at all:

"To thine own self be true." (Shakespeare, Hamlet)

"This too shall pass."

"God helps those who help themselves."

"Cleanliness is next to godliness."

"Let go and let God."

"If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."

Mistakenly compiled statements are only rough summaries of something the Bible teaches.

"Hate the sin, love the sinner." - (Jude 1:22–23)

"Idle hands are the Devil's workshop." - (2 Thessalonians 3:11, 1 Timothy 5:13, Proverbs 18:9)

Misquoted Scriptures get the wording wrong, so they're easily misunderstood. 

These are the closest to what Eve seems to have done:

Isaiah 11:6 speaks of the wolf laying down with the lamb, not the lion laying with the lamb.

1 Timothy 6:10 says the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, not that money is the root of all evil.

1 Corinthians 10:13 says God always provides an escape from temptation without resorting to sin, not that God will never give you more than you can handle.

Misapplied Scripture is quoted correctly but interpreted out of context.

Jeremiah 29:11 does not promise that God will provide a safe, happy life for absolutely all people.

It's God telling the soon-to-be-exiled people of Israel that there will be a redemption for their people.

Psalm 46:5 is not a statement of female empowerment; "she shall not be moved" is only a portion of the whole text. It's a reference to Israel being preserved by God.

Matthew 17:20 does not mean we can accomplish any miracle simply by having a little faith. It's a visual picture Christ was using to explain to His disciples why they couldn't cast out a demon.

BibleRef.com is an ongoing project creating a comprehensive, free, original, online commentary of the entire Bible. Many people avoid deeper Bible study because they are intimidated. They see the Bible itself as too big, too complex, or too obscure to understand. Many Bible commentaries are filled with slogans, religious jargon, and ten-dollar words. It’s difficult for the common person to find a relatable commentary.

You don’t need a PhD in order to make sense of the Bible. At the same time, the Scriptures cannot be understood simply by skimming them. BibleRef.com is grounded in a conviction that understanding the Bible is possible for absolutely every person. Content published here is meant to show every reader that they can have a deeper understanding of the Word tomorrow than they do today.

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