“From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands” (Acts 17:26).

An interpretation of scripture that fails to consider the original context invites an incomplete understanding and misapplication of how the text relates to our lives today. Moreover, context lends itself to presenting an honest representation of God’s purposes, as well as lessening the opportunity for corruption through personal opinion or misusing scripture to promote some kind of personal agenda. I Have written previously about context, in particular, a post titled, Bible in Context. In this post, I will take a brief look at three additional passages that are often taken out of context.

One pitfall associated with failing to consider context is the interjection of personal bias or beliefs into our understanding of scripture, such as in an example presented by Elwell and Yarbrough involving Acts 17:26: “From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands” (NIV).[1] I once watched a video of a pro-segregation minister who focused on the ladder part of the passage in order to make a biblical argument against interracial dating and marriage; however, a consideration of the passage, in its entirety, would have clearly shown that we are all decedent of a single ancestry, thus exposing a blatant misappropriation of Scripture in order to endorse his particular racial worldview.[2] Not only was the minister guilty of promoting racial discrimination in the name of Jesus, thus slandering God, but he was guilty of intentionally misleading people with a false teaching. Despite calls from the “don’t judge crowd,” this is a prime example of why we are called to judge rightly and expose false teaching.

The Parable of the Unjust Steward in Luke 16 is another example where a failure to consider context puts a reader at the risk of interpreting Jesus as commending self-serving, dishonest behavior. As a result of being advised that he is fired, a dishonest manager provides for his future economic security by cutting deals and making friends with his master’s debtors. The episode in Luke might lead some to conclude that Jesus is in effect commending the former manager’s fraud; however, what Jesus is illustrating is the manager’s shrewdness and resourcefulness, while keeping in view Jesus’ remarks in verse 8b: “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.”  The parable is an object lesson demonstrating that ungodly, unregenerate men show more wisdom in providing for their future in this world than the children of God show in providing for their eternal future by laying up their treasures in heaven. Interestingly, Luke follows the parable with Jesus’ teaching about serving two masters (v. 13), and if any misunderstanding should persist about Jesus’ true intent here, Luke clears up any misconceptions in verses 14 and 15. The parable, as with Acts 17,  might be manipulated to justify unbiblical practices to hold on to material prosperity in this life, thus presenting another example of why we are called to judge rightly and expose false teaching. 

In the closing verses, we have what Scofield calls “the place and attitude of Christ at the end of the church age.” He is outside the professing church, politely knocking and inviting individuals (no longer the mass of the people) to leave the apostate church in order to have fellowship with Him.[3]

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me” (Rev 3:20). A lack of context applied to our reading about the church of Laodicea in Revelation 3 presents pitfalls as seen with the previous two examples, in particular, deviating from God’s purposes, whether intentional or not, by promoting a false teaching. “But basic to all such interpretations is understanding of the Bible that most clearly approximates the purpose for which God inspired it.”[3] Although an admonishment for sure, the Lord’s words to the Laodiceans was no less a message of His desire for their redemption given to the church (i.e. Jesus is standing at the door knocking), though the lesson can and is commonly applied to evangelism efforts outside the church as well. Much like the previous examples, a misinterpretation of the meanings of being “cold” or “lukewarm” or “hot” would likewise distort God’s redemptive purpose, but also mislead people into embracing a spiritually dubious viewpoint; in this case, God’s pseudo-acceptability of His children also being good pagans. This is a reminder to us that Jesus is standing at the doors of our hearts knocking, meaning that we too, the church, need to examine ourselves. After all, those whom the Lord loves, He also rebukes and disciplines. (Rev 3:21).

[1] Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the New International Version.

[2] Walter A Elwell and Robert W Brough, Encountering the New Testament: A Historical and Theological Survey, 3rd Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2013), 13.

[3] William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary (NT), (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2016), 2466.

[4] Elwell and Brough, Encountering the New Testament, 16.

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