by: Jason Williams
How many of you have ever tried to buy a house? Most likely at some point you saw a picture of the house, whether it was in a magazine or on a realtors Facebook page. You saw a picture of the house and thought, “Wow! This is exactly what I am looking for.” That was until you pulled up and realized the neighbors were Herman Munster and Gomez Addams.
Seriously, you never buy a house based off of its picture; instead, you go examine the house closely and see what it’s neighborhood is like. Looking at the neighborhood of a house helps you better understand the house.
When it comes to studying the Bible, the same principle applies. A lot of harm has been done by well intentioned people who memorized a verse and forgot to study its neighborhood.
Let’s look at two quick examples:
Leviticus 19:19, “Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.”
This verse has come to light in the past months as people who are involved in sin have used this verse as a way of pointing out that the laws of God change. However, when you study the neighborhood of this passage, you realize that this law, as well as other passages, were meant as a way of protecting the Israelite people as they spent their years in the desert. The point here is not that different materials of clothing are wrong. The point is that for these people, mixing plants and cattle was dangerous and unhealthy. Simply put, God placed this law and other laws to protect them from diseases, envy and pride which would lead to sickness and death. By looking at the neighborhood of the verse, we understand that God has put rules in place to protect us.
How about one of the most misquoted verses in the Bible? Matthew 7:1, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” Here we find a verse that seems to suggest that we should never tell anyone that what they are doing is wrong. Is this judging? Are we to simply sit back while everyone decides for themselves what is right or wrong, or are we simply not seeing the whole picture? After all, just 6 quick verses later Jesus says, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” (Matthew 7:6)
Was Jesus contradicting himself? Later on, in John 7:24 Jesus says, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” So which verse is correct? Are we supposed to judge? Or not?
The truth is, both passages are correct when viewed in their proper context. When viewed correctly, both passages suggest that Jesus is saying that we are to tell people what is sin; however, we are to do this in the most helpful, loving way possible. In other words, God has given us the spirit of truth, and we are to give the truth (this is not judgment).
It is not judgment for me to say, I do not want to buy this house because I don’t want to live in this neighborhood. It is judgment for me to say, “I don’t want to buy this house and what is more, I am leveling the whole neighborhood with a bulldozer because it will never be anything but a dump.”
The Bible (yes, even the New Testament) is full of church leadership judging people (see Peter and Ananias and Sapphira) or (Paul in 1 Corinthians). However, all of this judgment was done with the intent to bring the offender back to God and not to push them away forever.
Jesus is not giving license to allow anyone to do anything one wants to do without being warned, He is simply saying that we as Christians are not to:
1. Be hypocritical.
2. Determine whether or not they are capable of being reached by the love of God.
So, how then do we avoid these mistakes?
Here are a couple of helps for studying the Bible in its proper context.
1. Study the history of the passage.
2. Study the culture of the people in the passage.
3. Study the author of the passage.
4. Study the purpose of the passage. (John 20:31 or 1 John)
5. Study the people in the passage – are there main characters? If so, what are they like? What is their personality?
6. Study the meanings of the words.
7. Study parallel passages. (Romans and Galatians – Ephesians and Colossians – Daniel and Revelation)
On a more practical note, here are a couple of things that I do that helps me in my study.
1. Examine the “wherefores.” Anytime the Bible says “wherefore,” we want to see what it is “therefore.” Typically, if the Bible says, “wherefore,” it is referring back to the previous chapter, paragraph or passage.
2. Read a book or passage as it was intended – most New Testament books were written as letters, so once you study the author, history and culture of the people, I have found it helpful to read the entire book as if it were a letter. When you read a letter, you don’t simply read the opening and then wait until tomorrow to finish it. No! You read it from beginning to end. For instance, James is a very confusing book, so I read the book of James from beginning to end each day to better grasp it.
3. Read the words in red as they were intended. I will be a little bit repetitive here, but most sermons Jesus preached are taken out of context simply because we fail to read them as they were intended. Most of the teaching of Jesus are broken down into little pieces by many today, but when He taught He was giving a full message. If you receive a voicemail from someone important, you don’t simply listen to the introduction and then wait until tomorrow to finish it. No, you listen to the whole message. Once again, it is wise to study the entire sermon by Jesus before jumping to conclusions.
In short, don’t memorize the words and forget the meaning. I am all for memorization, it is extremely helpful, but be careful that you don’t buy the house before you look at the neighborhood.
Jason Williams
Assistant Pastor
High Street Baptist Church
Columbus, OH