HEARD IN CONTEXT

HEARD IN CONTEXT

Wednesday, January 04, 2017

Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

  Have all of you heard yourself or others quoted out of context? You don’t have to be a politician or otherwise public figure to experience this all too common practice. Individual lives, cultures, and whole nations – the history of mankind has been altered by this practice. Possibly you, as did I, have used the practice as an effective weapon against an enemy? It being a favorite sharp edged - blade of passive-aggressive behavior. Possibly there are several sentences in this DT that could be used accordingly if a person or group is so bent.

  Sadly, the practice is self-inflicted far too commonly by the followers of Christ (Christians) as they personally read God’s Word; the most common out-of-context pitfall being the reading or quoting God’s Word strictly by chapter and verse designations. (The reason I encourage reading my or other’s brief homily or written page references in context.)

  The Wycliffe English Bible of 1382 was the first Bible to use Stephen Langton’s, an Archbishop of Canterbury, system. Chapter and verse are quite handy when used as reference addresses to locate, but the divisions are at times improperly placed, dividing and interrupting content. This problem is easily alleviated by possessing, reading, and studying a Bible with topical headings. Several examples of this:

·         Paul’s enforced boasting bridges 2Corinthians 11:16; 12:18.

·         The Epistle to the Hebrews has chapter divisions that divide context that if strictly adhered to may cause serious misunderstandings, and anxiety.

·         Reading, centering on and commonly quoting John 3:16 without ever studying and referring to the immediate (surrounding verses) context and the greater context (Genesis to Revelation).

  I close this morning with a question: If I despise out-of-context . . . where does Sovereign God Almighty stand on such custom of His Word living (Jesus) and written (The Bible)?

EBB4