Eric J. Bargerhuff - The Most Misused Verses in the Bible: Surprising Ways Gods Word Is Misunderstood

I grew up on a steady diet of topical feel good sermons, until one day when I entered college, someone handed me a cassette tape of John MacArthur Jr. preaching the Word of God in expository fashion. I remember saying to myself, What is that ?... I want that, and not only do I want that, I want to do that. My then eighty-five-year-old college Bible professor, Dr. J. Ray Klingensmith, once said that people are starving for the Word of God and they dont even know it, but when they hear it, believe it, and get a taste of it, it feeds their soul like nothing else can.

This I believe to be true. And this is why I love the ministry. There is no greater privilege than to proclaim, teach, and unpack the Word of God before Gods people and all others who have ears to hear. But one thing my doctoral mentor and teacher, Dr. Wayne Grudem, said, was this: You better get it right, because people will believe you, and as teachers we will all have to give an account one day. He was spot-on, and it inspired me to strive for faithfulness in rightly dividing the Word of truth.

This essentially is what this book is all aboutlearning to properly interpret and apply the truths of the Bible in a faithful, God-glorifying way so that we dont distort the Word and will of God. So many throughout my life have served as exceptional examples of how to handle Scripture, and there is not enough room to acknowledge them all.

But in a small way, I wish to acknowledge those who have aided me in this project. There are portions of this book that landed in a sermon series at Clearwater Community Church, where I served as senior pastor for over six years. The feedback, response, and support that I received from the body of Christ there encouraged me beyond measure, and I am thankful for the privilege of serving the Lord with them.

I am deeply indebted to my initial proofreader, Karen Ancrile, who gave much time and effort to reading and critiquing the initial drafts of this manuscript. Her feedback and suggestions were remarkable, and I cant thank her enough for her service.

I further wish to thank my editor Jeff Braun for his excellent leadership, direction, and skill in working with this manuscript. It is a privilege to partner with the fantastic people at Bethany House Publishers, whose flexibility and professionalism are second to none.

All thanks and glory go to our Lord Jesus Christ, whose words will never pass away. I look forward to the skies parting soon.