Do We ‘Cherry Pick’ the Scriptures?

The other day I was talking to a young lady who seemed to me one of the “beautiful people”—just starting a family and wanting just the truth for them.

During the conversation she said. “A lot of preachers are ‘cherry pickers’.”—meaning they pick out a scripture, take it out of context, and try to make that one verse mean more than God intended.

We know that is a common practice. Let’s look at a few examples.

Salvation:

1. By faith—John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Acts 10:43 “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” Acts 13:39 “And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.” Acts 16:31 “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” But not by faith only: James 2:24 “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.” James 2:19 “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” John 12:42 “Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:”
2. By repentance—Luke 13:3 “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Acts 2:38 “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Acts 11:18 “When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” Acts 17:30 “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:” But not by repentance alone!
3. By confession—Matthew 10:32 “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.” Acts 2:21 “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” But not by confession only! Matthew 7:21 “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” Mark 3:11 “And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.” John 12:42 “Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:”
4. By baptism—Mark 16:16 “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” Acts 2:38 “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Acts 22:16 “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” But not by baptism alone! John 8:24 “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” Luke 13:3 “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” 1 John 4:14-15 “¹⁴ And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. ¹⁵ Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.”

Synecdoche is the word that means using a part of something to explain the whole.

I remember very well the “Great Depression”. I also remember people thinking about their parents being good providers. Many times they would say. “Dad always kept a roof over our heads or mother always put food on the table.” We know that being a good provider involves much more than a “roof” or “food”—using a part to represent the whole.

We know that sometimes the Bible will use one part to refer to the whole—faith, repentance, confession, and baptism. That is why Paul could say in Acts 20:26-27 “²⁶ Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. ²⁷ For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.”

That is the reason for declaring the “whole counsel of God” and exposing any false teaching along the way.

Thanks for reading and God bless!