A Distorted View Matt. 13: 13-16 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
It is common for people to have a distorted view of reality. Their perception results in a:
Distorted view of God – Matt 13:13-16 -Jesus said he that hath seen me hath seen the Father. They were looking at God manifest in the flesh and couldn’t see him. Many people have a distorted view of God. Religion, education, bitterness, and similar things can really distort your view of God. You see him as you see him and not as he is. They saw him as a devil.
Distorted view of the scripture – 1 Cor 10:13 – people say, “God will never put on you more than you can bear.” Not so. God is faithful… and he provides a way to escape. If you miss these two elements in 1 Cor 10:13 you are going down. This verse has been corrupted to say something it doesn’t say or the viewer has been corrupted to see something that the verse doesn’t say [this is Gen 3]. Look at Ps 91:11-12 with Lk 4:10-11. The devil removed “in all thy ways” and added “at any time.” This is significant because “all thy ways” is in the context of Ps 91:9-10. If Jesus was not in those “ways” of God, God would not have protected him and certainly not at that “time.” This is the danger of modern bibles. The changes can be subtle and yet very harmful.
Distorted view of the truth – Jn 18:38 – My college professor said about the Bible, “Either the viewer or the mirror might be distorted.” Distortion comes from applying a scripture incorrectly. You are looking for confirmation from the Lord so you see a scripture that says what you want it to say so that you can do what you really want to do. This is a distorted mirror. OR distortion comes from failing to see all the truth. You only see those facts that you want to see and overlook those facts that tell you the truth about the situation. Or you add “facts” to what’s really going on to paint a picture that’s not there. This is a distorted viewer. Emotions will really distort the viewer.
Distorted view of sin – 1 Pet 2:24 – people with a distorted view of sin think like this: Jesus bore all of my sins. Therefore, I don’t need to confess them [1 Jn 1:9]. And what I am doing now is the way God made me. God loves me as his child, so these affections are not vile [Rom 1:26]. I am under grace [Rom 6:14]. I have liberty [2 Cor 3:17]. When you see someone thinking like this who is vile you know they are wrong. But when the “little” sins of your life manifest themselves, you say, like they do, “Well, that’s just the way I am.” No, it’s sin.
Distorted view of children – Jud 17:1-6 Micah’s mother had a very distorted view of her son. He was a thief… but she said to him, “Blessed be thou of the Lord.” He made graven images which he set up in his house contrary to the 2nd commandment. This started an idolatry that was picked up by Dan when they went to Laish. And that idolatry continued through Jeroboam’s golden calves. And it will continue right through the reign of the antichrist, when Daniel is excluded from those who are protected by the angel in Rev 7. Another example of this distortion is described in Mk 7:10-13, where Corban is substituted for obedience to the 5th commandment by people who didn’t want their precious little darlings to be “hurt” by enforcement of the law. You can’t excuse bad behavior and sin just because your children are the ones doing it.
Conclusion: you must know when you have a distorted view. Is it what the Bible says or what you are making it say? Is it the way it is or the way you see it?