The Context?

Richard Hollerman

We all know the meaning of the “context” of a passage of Scripture. At least, we hopefully do. According to The American Heritage College Dictionary, this means “the part of a text or statement that surrounds a particular word or passage and determines its meaning.” It can also mean “the circumstances in which an event occurs: a setting.”

One of the chief illustrations for this would be the following: We read in John 27:5b that one of Christ’s original disciples (an apostle, Judas) “went away and hanged himself.” But we also read the words of Jesus: “Go and do the same” (Luke 10:37). But, finally, we read in John 13:27: “What you do, do quickly”!  Is this something that is a command to you and me? Should we follow this series of statements in Scripture? Hopefully, we will see that these words are taken out of “context” and applied in a way that was never intended! This humorous example makes a point.

The same would be true of many other passages. But, regretfully, we find that apparently sincere “Christians” (?) do this repeatedly. For example, we read at Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Him [Christ] who strengthens me.” If you are like me, we often have heard this passage quoted in a way that people rely on it to do “all things” because they say that Christ “strengthens” them. Is this right? Is this what Jesus is saying? Is this what Christ is promising? Can we do “all things” because Jesus gives us inner strength? Can we jump over the moon? Can we run a 3 minute mile? Can we go to the planet Jupiter? Can we “ace” a test that we have not prepared for? People think that because this verse is in the Bible, it means that we can do “all things” with the help of God! No, we need to see what Paul is promising and not what we want the verse to mean!

Another passage that has often been misunderstood and led people astray would be Matthew 7:1. “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.” We all know that this is a favorite verse that is often used in a way that the context will not admit. If we were only to read Matthew 7:1-2 perhaps we would get the impression that Jesus forbids all “judging.” But, hopefully, we don’t come to this wrongful conclusion. Notice especially verses 3-5 to see that Jesus is not forbidding all judging but only that which is hypocritical! The person who sins is not to judge one who is guilty of the same sin without changing. The very context tells us this (see verse 6) as well as John 7:24 and many other passages.

A further verse pulled out of context would be Romans 3, especially verse 28. As you may know, this one was abused by the great Reformer, Martin Luther! Here we read, “We maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.” The questions that we might ask would be: What is justification? What are the “works of the Law”? What does it mean to be justified by faith? Is it a bare faith or through the principle of faith? Are we saved or justified by faith that works? What kind of “works” does Paul have in mind? When we answer such questions, we must observe that the apostle is condemning a person who is depending on the deeds of the Law (of Moses) rather than deeds that we perform as a demonstration of our faith in Christ!

Thus, the next time that we are “tempted” to use Philippians 4:13 and similar passages, let’s seek to know what is actually being said. Is this something that agrees with the popular meaning of “religion” or should we seek the deeper meaning? These verses that we have mentioned above would only be the “tip of the iceberg” that should interest us. What is the context? What do the surrounding verses tell us?

Only by answering these sorts of questions are we prepared to go on to actually understand the words of Jesus or the apostles or others.

https://www.gotquestions.org/false-doctrine.html