"Don't Ever Read a Bible Verse" - Now there's a provocative title! See Justin Taylor's blog post
Don’t Ever Read a Bible Verse -(Quoting Greg Kouki in a post of the same name.)
If there was one bit of wisdom, one rule of thumb, one single skill I could impart, one useful tip I could leave that would serve you well the rest of your life, what would it be? What is the single most important practical skill I’ve ever learned as a Christian?
Here it is: Never read a Bible verse. That’s right, never read a Bible verse. Instead, always read a paragraph at least.
My Radio Trick
When I’m on the radio, I use this simple rule to help me answer the majority of Bible questions I’m asked, even when I’m totally unfamiliar with the verse. It’s an amazingly effective technique you can use, too.
I read the paragraph, not just the verse. I take stock of the relevant material above and below. Since the context frames the verse and gives it specific meaning, I let it tell me what’s going on.
This works because of a basic rule of all communication: Meaning always flows from the top down, from the larger units to the smaller units, not the other way around. The key to the meaning of any verse comes from the paragraph, not just from the individual words.
Yeah, it's a provocative title - but totally true.
Read the whole thing here.
this is absolutely true and a 'must' if you intend to teach the truth. The problem is that it will unhinge many verses we have quoted for years totally out of context. Most of what I've taught from them are true but the truth I taught is not really contained in that verse. I was recently looking at the verse "where two or three are gathered in my name". When you read it in context it is a verse about church discipline... I have had to modify the way I use that passage.
ReplyDeleteYou are right about Matthew 18. Jeremiah 29:11 is another one where context messes up our "promise box" interpretations.
ReplyDelete