We are in a series we are calling “Sword Sharpening” and we are looking at how to make the most out of your time with the Bible. This week we will talk more about how the Bible is written for us but not to us, and the importance of context.
“The Bible was written for us, but not to us.”
John Walton – Old Testament Scholar
The Bible is 100 percent inspired by God, and we can have confidence that every word in the original documents of the Bible is exactly what God wanted it to say. We can be assured that the Bible is completely trustworthy.
The books in the library of the Bible are for all people at all times, but the Bible wasn’t originally written to us. It was written for the original hearers and readers, and it was written in several different languages in a number of literary styles.
To really understand what God was communicating when he inspired the authors of the Bible to write, we need to try and read and hear the words as the original audience would have heard them and in the way the author would have meant them to be understood.
The Bible, the entire library of sixty-six books, reveals the story of God. It tells us who God is and what he has done. It tells us about our salvation and gives us insight into who we are and why we are here. The Bible gives us guidance for life, gives us hope for what lies ahead and most importantly, it tells us who Jesus is.
The Apostle Paul wrote this about the importance of the Bible:
2 Timothy 3:15-17 (NIV)
15 and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Paul was saying in his letter to Timothy that all of the Old Testament (the portion of the Bible they had at that time) is useful for making Timothy (and us) wise and equipping him (and us) for our day-to-day life in Christ.
Today we also include the New Testament writings in what we consider the Holy Scriptures, and we believe all sixty-six books in the library of the Bible can equip us for practical living that honors God.
Interestingly, also in 2 Timothy, Paul gives us all a challenge:
2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV)
15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
The implication is that some people handle it incorrectly. This is one of the reasons we are working through this sword sharpening series together.
“Never read a Bible Verse”
Greg Koukl – Christian Author
The quote is purposely a little sarcastic, but it is sarcasm with a point. The point is that we should never read a Bible verse in isolation from the context. When it comes to the Bible I like to say, context, context, context.
A Bible verse, out of context, can be misunderstood and misinterpreted and used in all kinds of ways that have nothing to do with the original meaning. For example Jesus says this:
Luke 12:19 (NIV)
19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”‘
To take this verse out of context would be to say that this somehow captures Jesus’ philosophy of life. When in context, this verse is part of parable that teaches the exact opposite.
We will be digging into even more this weekend at Keys Vineyard Church so be sure to check it out in-person or online.
Steve Lawes is a Church Consultant and also provides coaching for pastors, churches, ministries and church planters.
