Fully Devoted: The ConclusionSample

Context Is Everything

Yesterday, we looked at the first part of the statement: Jesus is King and context is everything.Today, we’ll focus on the second part.

Theologian D.A. Carson has said, “A text without a context is a pretext for a proof text.”

That’s a clever way of saying: Ignoring the context can easily become an excuse to try to get the Bible to mean whatever we want it to mean.

Context is everything surrounding a piece or passage of Scripture that helps to determine what it really means. If we want to properly understand what the Bible means for us in our world today, we have to start by learning what it would have meant to the original audience.

The Bible is not a weapon we use to get what we want—that’s absolutely the opposite of what it’s intended for. This is why learning the context is so important. It helps us interpret the Bible in ways that are good, true, and life-giving.

It’s tragic how many examples there have been of people ripping pieces of the Bible out of context to justify their actions, manipulate others, and inflict immense harm. That’s never okay.

During his rise to power, Adolf Hitler stated, “Today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord.” Hitler misused ideas and language from the Bible to paint the Jewish people as the enemy. And he convinced masses of people to turn against their Jewish neighbors.

In 1807, the first Slave Bible was published. This was a version of the Bible that removed most of the Old Testament and significant portions of the New Testament: basically, any part of the Bible that speaks out against slavery and oppression, or shows how God acts as a liberator. Why? Because slave owners understood that if their slaves knew the full context of the Bible, they would see through the false version of Christianity they were being given.

While those are two very dramatic examples of the danger that comes from taking the Bible out of context, the reality is, all of us face this temptation.

We all want to be on God’s side. But, because of our sinfulness and pride, we can easily find ourselves going to the Bible looking for Scriptures to prove God is on our side. And that becomes really easy to do when we start pulling pieces of the Bible out of context.

The Bible is not a book we go to simply to collect truths and prove our rightness. It’s a book we go to to encounter Jesus and become righteous.

As disciples of Jesus, we must stay focused on allowing the truth of God’s Word to shape how we see Jesus, ourselves, others, and the world. In order for that to happen though, we must do the work of learning the context of the Bible.

Because, when it comes to accurately interpreting the Scriptures, context is everything.

In addition to the question we introduced yesterday: Does the way we understand the Bible look like Jesus and make us more like Jesus?

A second question is just as important: What is the context of this passage?

Who’s the author? Who’s the audience? What was the author’s purpose in writing this? What was happening in their culture? In history? How did those events shape the way the original audience would have heard this? Where does this passage of Scripture fall in the bigger story of the Bible? Within this book? Chapter? What verses come before and what verses come after?

How do we read the Bible wisely as disciples of Jesus? We remember Jesus is King and context is everything.

Journaling Questions

• What verse or verses stand out to you the most in today’s reading? Write them in your journal.
• Read John 1 again today. What is the context of this passage? Do the work to understand and journal about what you discover.
• Have you been tempted to use the Bible to prove yourself right? Find someone to share this experience with and commit to allowing Scripture to help you become righteous.

Memory Verse

“’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ’Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31 NIV