Kyle's Rules for Bible Study #4 context, Context CONTEXT
Don't turn away from this one too quickly. It has wide-ranging applications.
Over the years I have developed my own set of "rules" for studying and teaching the Word of God. They are not meant as substitutes for established sound exegetical guidelines, but are my own personal addendum that help guide my studies.
Rule #4: context, Context, CONTEXT
Like most everything else in life, understand the context of a matter aids in understanding the matter. You might even say that a matter cannot be understood unless the context it understood first. We see this in media and politics frequently where a word or phrase taken out of context so that the story can be tainted or spun at the author's discretion. The great rule in real estate was aptly stated by Lord Samuel Harold, "There are three things that matter in property: location, location, location."(NY Times 6/28/2009) In theology and Bible study the rule is similar: context, context, context.
When a reader is attempting to understand a verse of Scripture in a passage, the first consideration must be context. The verses that precede and that follow can greatly help in understanding. In addition, context includes the chapter in which the verse occurs, along with the book, the testament, and the context of the whole Bible itself. When a student of God's Word considers both the immediate and the broader context, the danger of misusing Scripture is minimized. There are a number of doctrines over which Christians can have honest disagreements, but some of the outlandish teachings that circulate today could easily be stopped if believers understood the importance of context. The Word of God is not going to contradict itself in regard to truth, but it may take more than five seconds to understand the connection of the part to the whole.
Rule #4: context, Context, CONTEXT
Like most everything else in life, understand the context of a matter aids in understanding the matter. You might even say that a matter cannot be understood unless the context it understood first. We see this in media and politics frequently where a word or phrase taken out of context so that the story can be tainted or spun at the author's discretion. The great rule in real estate was aptly stated by Lord Samuel Harold, "There are three things that matter in property: location, location, location."(NY Times 6/28/2009) In theology and Bible study the rule is similar: context, context, context.
When a reader is attempting to understand a verse of Scripture in a passage, the first consideration must be context. The verses that precede and that follow can greatly help in understanding. In addition, context includes the chapter in which the verse occurs, along with the book, the testament, and the context of the whole Bible itself. When a student of God's Word considers both the immediate and the broader context, the danger of misusing Scripture is minimized. There are a number of doctrines over which Christians can have honest disagreements, but some of the outlandish teachings that circulate today could easily be stopped if believers understood the importance of context. The Word of God is not going to contradict itself in regard to truth, but it may take more than five seconds to understand the connection of the part to the whole.
Keep it in context friends!
Comments
Post a Comment