How important is context when reading the Bible?
Ask some preachers like Steven Furtick, who seems to make every verse about him personally, and you might get the answer "not very".
Ask Joyce Meyer, who claims that believers can bring things into existence from nothing, and you might get the same answer (by the way, she is butchering Romans 4:17 where it says that God brings things into existence from nothing, not human beings).
Ask cult leaders who take verses out of context, and even use their "here a little, there a little" hermeneutic to connect them, and you may get the same answer.
As someone who has been fooled by such teachers in the past, I caution you against it. Get a good study bible, like the ESV Study Bible or Zondervan NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible, and carefully study the context of each book and section of Scripture. As well, get a book on the "big picture" of the Bible, such as Stephen Nichol's book Welcome to the Story: Reading, Living and Loving God's Word, and understand the storyline of Scripture, so that you aren't fooled by amateurs posing as teachers.
What is the storyline of the Bible? Who is the author of the book? Who is his audience? What is the occasion for the writing? What cultural factors does the passage involve? What do the verses surrounding it say?
I found a story that illustrates the importance of context:
A few years ago...
A friend of mine told me a story about how one Sunday morning, around 7:00 am, he was riding a subway into New York City. It was to preach at a church that was not too far away from its center. Being that it was a Sunday morning and that it was early and quiet, not very many people were riding in the car that he was in; just an elderly lady that was was crocheting something out of her bag, a Jewish Rabbi who was reading the newspaper, and a young business type who was probably going in to work to finish something not quite completed on Saturday.
As the subway was quietly moving along, it stopped at a station and in stepped a father with three small children. Immediately the morning calm was broken. As the unshaven and disheveled father slumped into his seat, all three of the children went running madly up and down the subway car, shouting, playing tag –making a real ruckus, and totally disrupting the quiet harmony of the morning.
After, a few minutes of this, the young business man turns to the father, and yells, “why don't you control your children?” All eyes were then turned upon him, as the father looked up and said, “Yes, you are right. They just came from the hospital where they lost their mother early this morning to her battle with cancer. I guess they don't really know how to handle it, and I am afraid, I don't either.”
In a moment everything changed.
The Elderly woman pulled the little girl over and they began an animated conversation with the lady showing her how to crochet; the Rabbi pulled one of the young boys over and together they began to read the comics --laughing at all the jokes and characters; the young business man, well, pulled the oldest one over and let him play on his gameboy. While the father was sympathetically given a little space so that he could grieve. It seemed in seconds, everything had changed, and a new peace prevailed.
But what had changed?
Context.
By knowing the context, everyone could now correctly deduce what the truth was. Without the context, everyone was left angry and disillusioned. So it is today, you will be asked to accept Scriptures on face value, without checking the context, or the intent of the passage. You will be asked to "just come along," which will mean forgetting the characters in the passage, and the audience or even the author who is speaking. You will also be asked to accept a number of things on face value, and you will even be asked to accept the words of teachers, ministers, and if possible, “prophetic angels of light.” Don't you do it!
You test out everything.
First, you test out all thoughts in the light of the Gospel. Then you test out what is being said, read or believed in the light of the harmony of scripture. Next, --well you get the idea, keep going don't just accept anything on face value.
I know that I am preaching to many in the choir, but let me solemnly warn you, --it is this accepting biblical things at face value that has led to more cults and heresies, than I believe any other factor, including false friendships. My prayer is that each of you grow in spirit and in the truth of the Lord Jesus
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For an example of Joyce Meyer and her misuse of context:
It might be interesting to hear the contextual factors that you consider when reading Scripture.
Ask some preachers like Steven Furtick, who seems to make every verse about him personally, and you might get the answer "not very".
Ask Joyce Meyer, who claims that believers can bring things into existence from nothing, and you might get the same answer (by the way, she is butchering Romans 4:17 where it says that God brings things into existence from nothing, not human beings).
Ask cult leaders who take verses out of context, and even use their "here a little, there a little" hermeneutic to connect them, and you may get the same answer.
As someone who has been fooled by such teachers in the past, I caution you against it. Get a good study bible, like the ESV Study Bible or Zondervan NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible, and carefully study the context of each book and section of Scripture. As well, get a book on the "big picture" of the Bible, such as Stephen Nichol's book Welcome to the Story: Reading, Living and Loving God's Word, and understand the storyline of Scripture, so that you aren't fooled by amateurs posing as teachers.
What is the storyline of the Bible? Who is the author of the book? Who is his audience? What is the occasion for the writing? What cultural factors does the passage involve? What do the verses surrounding it say?
I found a story that illustrates the importance of context:
A few years ago...
A friend of mine told me a story about how one Sunday morning, around 7:00 am, he was riding a subway into New York City. It was to preach at a church that was not too far away from its center. Being that it was a Sunday morning and that it was early and quiet, not very many people were riding in the car that he was in; just an elderly lady that was was crocheting something out of her bag, a Jewish Rabbi who was reading the newspaper, and a young business type who was probably going in to work to finish something not quite completed on Saturday.
As the subway was quietly moving along, it stopped at a station and in stepped a father with three small children. Immediately the morning calm was broken. As the unshaven and disheveled father slumped into his seat, all three of the children went running madly up and down the subway car, shouting, playing tag –making a real ruckus, and totally disrupting the quiet harmony of the morning.
After, a few minutes of this, the young business man turns to the father, and yells, “why don't you control your children?” All eyes were then turned upon him, as the father looked up and said, “Yes, you are right. They just came from the hospital where they lost their mother early this morning to her battle with cancer. I guess they don't really know how to handle it, and I am afraid, I don't either.”
In a moment everything changed.
The Elderly woman pulled the little girl over and they began an animated conversation with the lady showing her how to crochet; the Rabbi pulled one of the young boys over and together they began to read the comics --laughing at all the jokes and characters; the young business man, well, pulled the oldest one over and let him play on his gameboy. While the father was sympathetically given a little space so that he could grieve. It seemed in seconds, everything had changed, and a new peace prevailed.
But what had changed?
Context.
By knowing the context, everyone could now correctly deduce what the truth was. Without the context, everyone was left angry and disillusioned. So it is today, you will be asked to accept Scriptures on face value, without checking the context, or the intent of the passage. You will be asked to "just come along," which will mean forgetting the characters in the passage, and the audience or even the author who is speaking. You will also be asked to accept a number of things on face value, and you will even be asked to accept the words of teachers, ministers, and if possible, “prophetic angels of light.” Don't you do it!
You test out everything.
First, you test out all thoughts in the light of the Gospel. Then you test out what is being said, read or believed in the light of the harmony of scripture. Next, --well you get the idea, keep going don't just accept anything on face value.
I know that I am preaching to many in the choir, but let me solemnly warn you, --it is this accepting biblical things at face value that has led to more cults and heresies, than I believe any other factor, including false friendships. My prayer is that each of you grow in spirit and in the truth of the Lord Jesus
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For an example of Joyce Meyer and her misuse of context:
It might be interesting to hear the contextual factors that you consider when reading Scripture.
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