Top 6 Most Misunderstood Verses In The Bible Explained

Many commonly used biblical verses are often taught outside their original context, leading to misunderstanding and unnecessary fear among believers. A proper understanding of Scripture requires interpreting obscure passages using clear passages and relying on the Holy Spirit’s guidance. The sources clarify several frequently misinterpreted verses, emphasizing the security, finality, and abundant grace established through Christ’s finished work.

1. The Righteousness You Cannot Lose: Reinterpreting 1 John 1:9

The verse 1 John 1:9 (“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”) is frequently the first verse taught to new believers and is often understood to mean that forgiveness is conditional.

Why the Interpretation is Flawed:

• Conditional Forgiveness Contradicts Grace: If forgiveness and cleansing depended solely on constantly confessing every sin (“if” we confess), the opposite consequence would be that if one failed to confess, God would not forgive their sins or cleanse them from unrighteousness. This implies that when a believer sins, they become unrighteous and must confess to become righteous again.
• Righteousness is a Gift: The sources stress that righteousness is a gift received through Jesus Christ, and this gift is permanent; a believer cannot lose their righteousness. Suggesting that a sin can render Christ’s work less powerful than Adam’s sin—where all men became sinners through one act—is incorrect.

The True Context: Written to Unbelievers (Gnostics)

The context of 1 John chapter 1 shows that it was written to unbelievers, specifically those afflicted by the heresy of Gnosticism.

• Combating Gnosticism: The Apostle John wrote to combat Gnosticism, a heresy that believed everything material (flesh, body) was evil. This belief caused Gnostics to deny that Jesus Christ truly “came in the flesh”.
• John’s Emphasis on Physicality: John repeatedly emphasizes that he and the other apostles heard, saw, looked upon, and handled the Word of Life (Jesus in the flesh), directly refuting the Gnostic denial of Christ’s humanity.
• Invitation to Fellowship: In 1 John 1:3, John states he is declaring what they saw so that the recipients (“you”) may have fellowship with the apostles, and thereby fellowship with the Father and Son Jesus Christ. This indicates he was addressing unbelievers—likely unbelieving Jews influenced by Gnosticism—so they could be born again and enter fellowship.

2. Working Out, Not Working For: Understanding Philippians 2:12

The instruction in Philippians 2:12 to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” is often mistakenly taken to mean that believers must perform works to secure or maintain their salvation.

• Salvation is by Grace: Salvation is received by grace through faith and is not obtained by works. The sources affirm that once a person believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, they are saved.
• Work Out What God Works In: Paul was writing to believers (“my beloved”). The correct context is found in the following verse: “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure”. Therefore, the instruction means to “Work out what God has worked in”.
• Flowing Out of Desire: God provides both the willingness (the desire) and the performance (the power) to accomplish good pleasure. “Working out” means allowing the desire, gifts, charismata, and callings that God has placed within to flow out, rather than letting them “go to waste”. Furthermore, “salvation” here encompasses wholeness, healing, and all the blessings of God, not just deliverance from hell.

3. The Unshakeable Finished Work: Interpreting Hebrews 10:26

The verse Hebrews 10:26 warns, “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment”. This is a passage that causes great fear, leading some to believe that committing a “willful sin” negates the sacrifice of Christ.

The Context is Key: Rejecting Christ’s Single Sacrifice

• Focus on the Law’s Imperfection: The context of Hebrews 10 emphasizes that the sacrifices under the Law (the first covenant) were continually offered year after year, yet could never make the worshippers perfect in their conscience, proving they were ineffective. If the sacrifices had worked, they would have ceased.
• Consciousness of Sins: The New Covenant establishes that believers, purified “once and for all” by Christ’s offering, should have no more consciousness of sins when coming into God’s presence. Coming to God with deep consciousness of sin is deemed a posture of unbelief and fails to honor Jesus’ finished work.
• Christ’s Permanent Sacrifice: Jesus offered “one sacrifice for sins forever,” and then He sat down. This is the Work of the Son. The Will of the Father was for Jesus to take away the first (the Ten Commandments/Law) to establish the second (grace and mercy). The Witness of the Holy Spirit confirms this truth: “Their sins and their lawless deeds I remember no more”.
• The Willful Sin: The “sinning willfully” discussed in verse 26 is not referring to every everyday sin (which are often willful). It is referring to the single sin of turning your back on Jesus—rejecting the finished work of Christ after receiving the knowledge of the truth. For those who trust in Christ, one sacrifice for sins is forever.