The definition of abuse includes the misuse of something. It could be the misuse of a body, or the misuse of emotions, or money, or power, or God’s name and God’s Word. It could be the misuse of a combination of several things. Abuse can occur in varying degrees and inflict varying degrees of harm.
Spiritual abuse occurs when people misuse God’s name and Word along with their own positional, intellectual, financial, or emotional advantage to exploit the vulnerabilities of another to gratify their own desires for things such as sex, money, or power.
The God of the Bible is not an abuser. He is omnibenevolent … all-good, all-loving, all-just, all-merciful … eternally.
The Bible, properly used, is never abusive. It doesn’t tear us down, shame, or belittle us. In fact, it exposes abuse and grounds our worth in the eternal, limitless, unchanging nature of our Creator.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
Abuse inflicts pain, but not all pain is abuse.
Before I share more, I want to clarify a very important point. While the Bible is never abusive, that doesn’t mean it will never cause us pain. We feel pain when our bones are broken, and we feel pain when the same bones are reset and bound for healing.
God’s Word can hurt in that second way. It exposes, cleanses, resets, and binds up our wounds as the Psalmist expresses in Psalm 147:3, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is good news to us only after we understand the bad news. It’s painful to see the filth of our own sin and experience the weight of our guilt before a perfectly righteous God in whom not one single drop of sin can exist. Feeling the gravity of the resultant separation hurts. Understanding what Jesus willingly endured to take the penalty of our sin hurts. Picking up our own cross of surrender to follow Jesus hurts. Denying our flesh hurts.
But these are the pains of healing—pain we feel when the crooked ways are made straight. This is suffering for righteousness, and any who call this abuse do not understand or do not want what the Great Physician came to do.
In 2 Corinthians 4:4, the Apostle Paul says this about them, “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
Note the order of events in that verse. The unbelief happens first. That’s a free choice to turn away from God’s truth. Then comes the blinding that hides the light of the gospel. How very tragic.
God’s Word improperly used can be abusive.
I say can be abusive because sometimes the improper use of Scripture is due to varying degrees of ignorance with no malicious intent (think toddler prayers and refrigerator magnets). When we don’t know how to read, interpret, and apply the Bible for ourselves, we are at risk of having it misused against us.
The Bible is a collection of divinely inspired writings that (while communicating inerrant, timeless truth) were written at specific points in history for specific audiences and specific situations. We are separated from that original context by language, geography, and many years of time.
For us to faithfully apply God’s Word to our lives today, we must honor the original people and context by doing what we can to learn about their unique situation—by doing what we can to put ourselves in their shoes with their cultural lens, not our own. After all, the Bible can never mean for us what it never meant for them first. For example, we should ask, “What did this letter mean for the members of the church in Ephesus when Paul wrote it to them?” What is the timeless truth about God and His will for humanity? How can I apply that timeless truth to my life today?”
Most of us won’t become experts at translating the original languages or analyzing ancient civilizations, but we can become more skilled at selecting the best Bible translations and using quality study aids that have been produced by credible sources with stringent accountability.
Scripture repeatedly instructs us to hone our study skills.
In fact, the Bible tells us that when we hone our Bible study skills we will get better and better at discerning good and evil—which includes discerning between the proper and improper use of the Bible.
The author of Hebrews, writing to a community of believers who were vulnerable and at risk of losing their faith, said, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” (v. 12-14)
And 2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”
If we are instructed to handle the word of truth rightly, that must mean there is a way to handle it wrongly, and we need to learn to spot the difference as faithful followers of a faithful Savior.
The Bible is a weapon that should never be used against you.
Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
The Bible is likened to a sword—a powerful weapon that can cause harm. But when used according to God’s redemptive plan, it cuts us free from all that seeks to enslave and keep us from true human flourishing—from living according to the perfect design of the One who made us.
If the Bible has been used as a weapon against you (to shame, confuse, control, or discard you) you might feel very hesitant—even triggered—by the thought of looking at it once again. And from one survivor to another, I completely understand. I will say this though … I’ve tasted and seen much of what this world has on offer for us, and it never delivers on its promises. Jesus is truly the Way, the Truth, and the Life. (John 14:6)
I encourage you, as you are able, to give Him a chance to love you and to clear His name. It is not the real Word of God—either in written revelation or in the flesh—that has wounded you.
Scripture, rightly interpreted, is our only objectively trustworthy guide to everything out hearts are aching for.
I’ve been keeping a list of resources that are helping me learn to read, interpret, and apply the Bible more faithfully, and I’d love to share it with you here: https://www.teasicannon.com/new-page-2
I especially recommend getting an ESV Study Bible. It contains several articles with simple instructions on how to read the Bible and includes study notes on the original context at the beginning of each book. I also recommend reading, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, which you will find on the list along with a link to more information.