“Decree and Declare” Misquoted Bible Verses

Christians who believe that they can “decree and declare” things into existence argue that since God made us in His image, we have the same power as God to speak things into existence. Making declarations over one’s life is a ruse to manipulate God and force Him to do what the individual desires. 

In last week’s blog, I discussed the erroneous Christian practice of “decreeing and declaring.” This week, I shall list some of the verses that subscribers to this heresy use to defend their doctrine. I have to say that this list is not exhaustive. I especially want the reader to observe the trick that heretics use to defend their position with Scripture: they take a single verse out of its context. Hence, the way to evade this type of heresy is for us to be what I call “contextual readers.”

Matthew 16:19 (NIV): “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

This sentence actually appears in two places in the Gospel of Matthew: in Matthew 16:19 and Matthew 18:18. In both places, to better understand the meaning, the contextual reader will seek to find out the meaning of the “keys” as spelt out by the context.

In the Matthew 16:19 case, the contextual reader will start reading from verse 13. The text deals with the theme of evangelism. Hence, the “keys” in this context should be understood to be the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is only the Gospel that acts like a key that opens the doors of the Kingdom to sinful man. Adhering to the Gospel’s redemptive message, we have the authority to declare someone fit for heaven or hell based on their response to the Gospel. So we understand that, through the Gospel, we have the authority to “bind” unrepentant man for God’s judgment and also to “loose” repentant man from God’s wrath. The Amplified Version best captures this perception: “I will give you the keys (authority) of the Kingdom of Heaven; and whatever you bind [forbid, declare to be improper and unlawful] on earth will have [already] been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose [permit, declare lawful] on earth will have [already] been loosed in heaven.” Notice that, in this translation, whatever we are “binding” and “loosing” on earth is a manifestation of what God has already “bound” and “loosed” in heaven. We have no authority to “bind” and “loose” individuals apart from the constraints provided by the message of the Gospel. It is on this note that Jesus gave these instructions to His followers whenever they went out to evangelize: “If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them” (Luke 9:5). By so doing, His disciples would have symbolically “bound” the rejecters of the Gospel to eternal damnation.

This phrase “binding and loosing” appears in Matthew 18:18 as well. The contextual reader will start his or her reading from verse 15 and will understand the theme of the text to be church discipline. In this text, Jesus paints a scenario where a church member has erred and refuses all stages of admonition, which are: stage 1, a church member admonishes the offender; stage 2, the church member plus two or three other church members admonish the offender; and stage 3, the entire church admonishes the offender. Jesus explains that should such an offender reject the three stages of admonition, the church is to eject the offender from her midst and treat him or her as an unbeliever. The “keys” in this context are the authority given to the church within the bounds of these three stages of admonition. Depending on how an offender responds to these three stages, the church can “bind” (forbid, declare the offender to be improper and unlawful) or “loose” (permit into fellowship and declare the offender lawful).

Job 22:28 (New King James Version): “You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you….”

These words were spoken by Eliphaz the Temanite, one of Job’s three friends who had visited Job to console him in the wake of tragic events that befell him and his family.

Eliphaz is the first of the companions to respond to Job’s complaints. His first speech is found in chapters 4–5. According to Eliphaz, Job was not prospering because he had done something wrong. In his discourse, Eliphaz emphasized that no life that experiences such anguish as Job’s could be remotely innocent. Another address of his is found in Job 22, where he once again charges Job with major misconduct: “Is not your wickedness great? Are not your sins endless?” (Job 22:5). He goes on to list all of Job’s alleged transgressions in verses 6–9. Eliphaz believed that God would never allow bad things to happen to a good person. 

Eliphaz’s inferences about Job’s moral character were eventually proven to be false. Indeed, in Job 42:7, God singles out Eliphaz for special rebuke for his false doctrines: “After the LORD had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, ‘I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.’” God Himself identifies Eliphaz as a false teacher with false doctrines. In verse 8, God instructs Eliphaz to sacrifice seven bulls and seven rams to atone for his sin and have Job pray for him, “and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly.” God declares Eliphaz’s doctrine, including his Job 22:28 heresy of “declaring a thing and it shall be established for you,” as folly. Unfortunately, millions of Christians worldwide subscribe to this folly by attempting to decree and declare things into existence.

Proverbs 18:21 (NKJV): “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.”

The book of Proverbs is a book with one-line instructions that can easily be decontextualized. The best way to study a topic in the book of Proverbs is to search out other verses in the book that touch on that particular topic. That way, the contextual reader gets a clear understanding of the verse in question. For example, Proverbs 21:14 reads: “A gift given in secret soothes anger, and a bribe concealed in the cloak pacifies great wrath” (NIV). Reading this single verse might make someone conclude that the Bible condones bribery. The message seems to be: “If you want to prosper, then arm yourself with bribes.” But if we were to read other verses in the same book that touch on this subject, we would get a clearer picture of what that verse really means.

Proverbs 15:27 (NIV) – “The greedy bring ruin to their households, but the one who hates bribes will live.”

Proverbs 17:23 – “The wicked accept bribes in secret to pervert the course of justice” (NIV).

Proverbs 29:4 – “By justice a king gives a country stability, but those who are greedy for bribes tear it down” (NIV).

All these verses in Proverbs speak against bribery. This means that Proverbs 21:14 should be interpreted in the same light. Proverbs 21:14 simply acknowledges the fact that bribery does open locked doors and condemns the practice. 

Equally, a reading of Proverbs 18:21 will seem to support the heresy that man has the power to create reality through his words. In fact, Jesse Duplantis is quoted as saying: “I am going to say something that will knock your lights off. God has the power to take life but he can’t. He’s got the power to do it but he won’t. He’s bound, he can’t. He says death and life are in the power of whose tongue? Yours.”

It is not uncommon to hear proponents of this heresy tell a sick person: “Be careful how you speak. Death and Life is in the power of your tongue. Stand on the word of God in faith and speak life. Don’t say you’re sick! That just cancels out the prayer of healing.” But is this what the verse really says: that man can create reality with his spoken word? Let’s inspect Proverbs to see what the book in general says about the power of man’s words.

Proverbs 6:2 – “You have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth” (NIV).

Proverbs 13:2 (Holman Christian Standard Bible): “From the words of his mouth, a man will enjoy good things, but treacherous people have an appetite for violence.”

Proverbs 13:3 (Amplified Bible): “The one who guards his mouth [thinking before he speaks] protects his life; The one who opens his lips wide [and chatters without thinking] comes to ruin.”

Proverbs 21:23 (Message Translation): “Watch your words and hold your tongue; you’ll save yourself a lot of grief.”

Again, this has nothing to do with inventive visualization or the ability of believers to summon things from nothing. A study of these Scriptures reveals that man can only influence but not create reality. Scripture does provide us with many universal truths about how our words can either be constructive and edifying or harmful and crippling. For example, if you are called in for a job interview and end up giving incorrect answers, the words you speak will have a negative impact on your future. None of us can bring a non-entity into existence with our words. Only God has that power, as demonstrated in Genesis 1.

Conclusion

Now more than ever, it is very essential for believers to be equipped with the necessary skills for practicing discernment. The sad reality is, discernment has been redefined by contemporary Christianity as being judgmental, and, as a result, all manner of heresies has crept into the church. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church in 2 Corinthians 11:4 – “For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough” – (ESV).

God has given every believer the obligation to exercise discernment. As a believer, you need to understand theological truth, learn how to handle the Word correctly, and so determine whether what you are being taught is in line with God’s truth.