I beat my wife up a few times a week. It’s true. It happened again this morning. Other times, she wakes up before I do.
Whew! That sounded bad. Just taking the phrase “I beat my wife up” by itself can be interpreted a number of ways. But given the context, you gain a proper understanding of the intent.
The same principle must be applied to the Bible. People misapply and misinterpret the Word all the time, sometimes intentionally and sometimes in ignorance.
For example, did you know the Bible says that “there is no God?” It’s true.
Psalm 14:1 “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.”
See what I mean?
When it comes to the Bible, we don’t get the liberty of quote-mining, taking passages out of context, misapplying them from their original intent, in order to support our own erroneous doctrine.
How do I know I’m not doing that? Well, a couple of things to keep in mind.
1. What is the context? Read the entire chapter, or book. What is the overall message?
2. What is the author trying to convey? What is his intent?
3. Who is the audience? Who was it originally written to? Why?
4. Is this interpretation consistent with the rest of Scripture? Does it contradict other passages?
Understanding everything taught in the Bible doesn’t happen overnight. It comes with maturity.
Paul told Timothy to “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2Tim 2:15
The only way you can know for sure if what you are being taught or what you believe about God’s word is right is if you study it for yourself. Don’t take my word or anyone else’s word for it.
Get your nose in that Book!