Text and Context

A detective finds a piece of brown wool thread at a crime scene and immediately concludes that the perpetrator wore solid brown clothing that was woolen. An accurate conclusion? Maybe. But the investigator won’t know that for sure without determining what other colors and types of threads might have been woven together with that thread. In other words, he needs to know the “context” in which that piece of thread was found.

A Bible student finds a verse or hears one quoted that seems to support a particular conclusion or validate a certain practice or belief. However, a careful examination needs to be made of the context---the passages before and after the verses--- to see if the conclusions drawn are accurate ones.

The word “context” means “weaving together of words, from Latin contextus connection of words, coherence, from contexere to weave together, from com- + texere to weave” Merriam-Webster. Words in written or oral discourse are “woven” together in the same way as threads in a garment. Just as we are not free upon finding a piece of thread to draw a conclusion about it without looking at the entire garment, we are not at liberty to isolate biblical verses and attach meanings to them without a consideration of the words among which they are woven: i.e., the context.

Ignoring context can lead to conclusions which are harmless, though erroneous. However, too often the conclusions drawn can lead one into error and the loss of the soul.

Few mistakes are as significant as the failure to read the context of a verse and allow the verses woven together with a passage to determine its meaning. And yet, determining context in biblical passages is no more difficult than determining such in any other piece of literature.

We offer the following as examples of passages that have been removed from their context and used to teach things other than what the context demands. Your comments are welcomed.

• James 5:16

• 1 Corinthians 2:9

• Philippians 1:18

• 1 Corinthians 1:17

• 2 Corinthians 11:5

• 2 Peter 1:20

• Romans 16:17

• 2 Kings 2:23-25

• 1 Peter 3:15

• 2 Timothy 4:2

• 1 Timothy 4:8

• 1 Corinthians 15:8

• Ephesians 2:3

• 1 John 3:9

• Ephesians 4:11-12

• Colossians 1:15

• Matthew 7:1

• 1 Timothy 5:1

• 1 Thessalonians 5:22

• Philippians 4:13

• 1 John 1:7

• Psalms 19:12-13