There are many things we can do to make sure we’re properly studying scripture. But there is one that I would consider the most important. If you don’t learn any other rules for studying scripture, this is the one that will keep you from misinterpreting scripture.
Read Scripture in its literary context.
I feel like this needs to be said again!
Read Scripture in its literary context.
Did you know that Scripture was not originally broken up by chapter and verse? When Paul sent letters to the early churches, they would have read them the same way we read a letter (or email) today. They wouldn’t have taken one sentence or one paragraph and tried to understand what Paul was saying without taking into consideration what the rest of the letter said.
Read the Bible or the books within the Bible like you read any other book, but with even greater care. If you read a novel, there’s no way to read a paragraph here and a paragraph there and understand the complete story or message the author is trying to convey. (Unless you’re like my husband who readily admits this is what he did when he had to do a book report in school.) Reading the Bible is no different. You can’t take certain parts of it, mash it together to convey a message without losing meaning.
Let’s say someone was writing a biography of your life, and in the first half of your life you were an angry, selfish person, but then you met Jesus and He changed your life. You wouldn’t want someone to only read about that first part of your life. They would be missing the point of the entire story. You would probably be very upset that they didn’t see how Jesus changed you. If the Biblical writers were alive today, they would likely protest about how their words are being used to promote messages they didn’t intend.
I will admit that for a long time, I didn’t see a huge problem with quoting single scriptures. I still don’t see a problem with using single scriptures or memorizing them as long as you first understand what the scripture means in its context.
But I’m beginning to see the danger in it now, as it is happening more and more. “Why is it so dangerous?” you might ask. For starters, misunderstanding scripture is misunderstanding God. That in and of itself is enough reason, but there’s more.
There’s a sect of Christianity that is growing you may not be aware of. It’s called Progressive Christianity. Within this movement, there are various beliefs depending on the particular group or church, but a common tenet that they prescribe to is that Christianity has “progressed” beyond scripture. By going beyond scripture, basically, you could say anything goes. To learn more about this movement and the dangers of it, I would recommend a book called Another Gospel by Alisa Childers. She also has a podcast and a YouTube channel.