When it comes to Scripture, there’s not much worse than half a verse. Recently someone told me that he’d applied for a job that he was really right for, and had believed that it was the Lord’s will for him to have it. Full of faith, he waited for the reply. But when it came he was amazed to be told that he hadn’t got the job.
When he asked the Lord why not, the Holy Spirit gave him: “I will never leave you, nor forsake you” – one of the most quoted texts in the New Testament.
Yes Lord, he queried, I know that you will never leave me or forsake me, but what does that have to do with the job I really believed I’d get, and the money it would have brought me?
“Read the verse,” was the reply. So he turned to Hebrews 13:8 and, much to his surprise, read: “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as you have: for he has said, I will never leave you, nor forsake you.”
How would you feel if someone gave you a gift of one shoe: a quality piece of footwear, nice to look at, highly polished, comfortable, but good for only one foot? Half a verse is like that.
But it doesn’t only happen with half-verses. How about “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32) The CIA has this verse inscribed on its headquarters in Langley, Virginia. A wonderful statement. (Even though spying involves lying.) What’s more, it’s a complete verse. But is it the whole truth?
The statement starts in verse 31: “Then said Jesus to those Jews who believed on him, ‘If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed.’ ” Verse 32 starts with “And.” And what? “And you show know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
So if you do not continue in the word you will not be a disciple, and you will not know the truth that can make you free. So the promise of verse 32 is conditional on the requirement of verse 31, which is that we must continue in the word.
Abraham told half-truths. He told two kings that Sarah was his sister. When caught out, he confessed to one that fear made him do it (he thought that the king would have killed him to get Sarah). Then he added, “And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother…” (Genesis 20:12) A half-truth? Well, a half-truth is a half-lie, where deception is involved.
My mother always said, “Don’t do things by halves.” She was right, of course – as mothers usually are. A Big Mac with no bun on top would be half a burger. A full gospel church without the whole truth is a half gospel church. One of Israel’s tribes was described as “a cake unturned” – half-baked! Clearly, the Lord wants us to do things by wholes!