Principle 4

HERMENEUTICS

PRINCIPLE 4

Look at the Literary Context

We all know that if people are quoted “out of context” they can be made to say just about anything. It happens all the time in today’s media. When part of a sentence is quoted and part is left out, it (often deliberately) creates a misleading statement.

Unfortunately, that’s what some people do with the Bible. It’s amazing what the Bible can be made to say if you take a whole verse (or part of a verse) out of the surrounding verses and quote it by itself. For example, Psalm 53:1 says, “There is no God.” How can the Bible say that there’s no God?! Well, it doesn’t. When the whole verse is quoted in its context it actually says, “Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.””

The literary context means the verses that surround the passage we want to interpret. Literary context includes the surrounding verses, the surrounding chapter, the entire book, and ultimately the context of the whole Bible itself. While most Christians don’t deliberately pull Scriptures out of context, sometimes Christians may unintentionally take Bible verses out of their contexts by ignoring the literary context. When people take Scripture out of context, the result may be harmless, but it could sometimes be dangerous - or even heretical. It’s very important to study the context of a verse or passage to understand the true meaning.

Let’s look at some examples where ignoring the literary context is harmless, and sometimes even humorous.

Genesis 31:49

“May the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other.” (NIV)

This example can be seen on various Christian greeting cards and memes. It sounds like a nice benediction or blessing that Christians might say to one another. But when we look at the context of the entire chapter (Genesis 31), we see that this “blessing” was actually more of a threat! In the surrounding verses, we see that Jacob and his father-in-law, Laban, were in a very tense and unfriendly relationship. During the twenty years that Jacob worked for his father-in-law, Laban had treated him unfairly. A frustrated Jacob finally decided to leave town. In Genesis 31:49, Laban was not blessing Jacob; he was actually saying, “We’ve treated one another badly - now may the Lord watch between you and me to make sure it doesn’t happen again!”

You can read one of our Devotions about this misinterpreted passage here.

Habakkuk 2:20

“The Lord is in his holy Temple. Let all the earth be silent before him.”

Have you ever heard this verse used as a “call to worship” at the beginning of a church service? However, when we look at the context we see that its actually a command: Be careful not to question God’s ways!

The prophet Habakkuk saw all kinds of evil in Judah, and he asked why would a holy God allow so much evil to take place? So God revealed that He was sending the Babylonian armies to invade Judah as a punishment for the people’s sins. Habakkuk was dismayed, and he asked God why He would permit a nation that was even more evil than Judah to conquer them?

God told Habakkuk to trust Him, even though the future looked grim. Habakkuk needed to remember that “The just shall live by his faith” in the sovereign God (2:4). God would work everything out, and good would conquer evil in the end. “The Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him.” In other words, don’t question God’s ways. Be silent before Him, trust His wise judgments, and live by faith in Him.

Psalm 118:24

“This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.”

Imagine waking up to a beautiful sunny day, and joyfully quoting this verse. While that’s a great attitude for starting the day, it’s not the proper use of Psalm 118:24! When we look at the context of this passage, beginning with verse 22, we see that this is a Messianic psalm. Although verses 25-26 were quoted by the crowds at Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus taught that this passage actually refers to His second coming (Matthew 23:37-39). The day that He returns to establish His kingdom on earth will be the day to say, “This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it!”

These examples of verses taken out of context are relatively harmless because no heretical or dangerous doctrine is being derived from them. However, other times Scripture is pulled out of context and used to teach heresy, either knowingly or ignorantly. Let’s look at a few examples.

Matthew 5:38-42

“You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.”

How far should we carry the principle of “turning the other cheek” and “giving to those who ask”? Should we not defend ourselves if someone tries to injure us? Should we really give money to everyone who asks for a donation - even to fraudulent or corrupt “charities” that try to wrongly take money from us?

The context of this passage is the Sermon on the Mount. In this sermon Jesus was correcting misinterpretations of some Old Testament Scriptures. In Jesus’ day, some people had twisted the Mosaic Law to justify selfish acts of personal revenge. God never meant that “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” should be used to justify personal retaliation. Each time that law is mentioned in the Old Testament the context is civil justice — not individual vengeance (Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20; Deuteronomy 19:21). God gave this law as a safeguard against excessive civil punishment, but over the years it had been twisted and misused to justify carrying out people’s own personal vendettas.

In contrast, the Lord taught that we’re to turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, and “never take our own revenge” (Romans 12:17-19). Turning the other cheek doesn’t imply pacifism, nor does it mean that we should open ourselves up to danger. And this passage isn’t throwing out the judicial system. Crimes are still wrong, and wrongdoers should be properly prosecuted. However, Christ followers don’t need to defend personal “rights” or avenge their honor.

Seeking to retaliate is a worldly reaction. Turning the other cheek requires help from on high. The supernatural power of God in us is demonstrated when we’re able to ignore personal insults and respond to hatred with love. Those responses provide a great witness to those around us.

Jesus was the perfect example of turning the other cheek. Instead of calling down revenge from Heaven on those who crucified Him, He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34).

Philippians 4:13

“For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”

This verse is a favorite of many Christians, and it’s a classic case of a verse that’s taken out of its context. Does this verse mean that I can set a world record in athletics if I have enough faith? Can I jump off a tall building and not break a bone because Christ strengthens me? Hopefully no Christian would take this verse that far out of context.

But how about a Christian student who takes on too great a work load: academics, athletics, student government, etc. Should this student feel that he has too little faith if he ends up in academic difficulties and on the verge of burn out? What about a Christian athlete who quotes this verse after winning a big game? Does this mean that Christians on the other team didn’t have Christ’s strength? Did this promise fail them?

When we look at the context of Philippians 4:13, we see that the book of Philippians was a letter that was written during the apostle Paul’s first Roman imprisonment. Paul was under house arrest, and the Christians in Philippi had sent a financial gift to help support him, so he wrote a letter to thank them (Philippians 4:10 and following verses). Paul wanted them to know that he appreciated their gift, but he also wanted to tell them that he had learned to adjust to various life situations. He had learned that he could be content in good times and bad, in need or in suffering - in any circumstance. How? Through Christ’s strength!

When properly interpreted in its context, this verse is a great promise for Christians! It tells us that we can adjust and be content in whatever circumstances God allows in our lives by relying on the Christ’s strength. He will provide that strength as we trust in Him (Ephesians 1:19).

These examples show why one of the best ways to study Scripture is the book-by-book method. God didn’t compose the Bible by putting isolated verses together. He gave His Word in book form. There’s historical and literary context to every verse in the Bible. So before we ask, “What does this verse mean to us today?” we should always consider, “What did this verse mean when the human author wrote the book?” And “How do the surrounding verses affect the meaning of the passage I’m trying to interpret?” Once we’ve done our homework, the application for today will be much more clear. We can base it squarely on the author/Author’s original intent for the text.