How to Find and Protect Your Knowledge of the Truth
Updated: Jul 27, 2024
The assault on truth is all-out these days. If you believe what is being taught, you may get lost and never know which way to go because there are no true directions anymore. The attack has always been happening, and it has been impacting Christianity from the very beginning. The very first Christian summit was about whether to keep forcing circumcision. One of the chief ways Paul fought the Slice and Dice Party was context. In Romans 4:9-10, Paul referenced Genesis 15:6 as he lays out his arguments.
Context is not a new idea for us. We use it all the time to understand what we read and what is being said to us. If I say, "open a window" you know I am speaking literally. If I say, "the eyes are the windows to the soul." You know I am being figurative. If I stand in front of a row of houses with cars parked out front and tell you to break the window. You will not know what to do because you won't even know if I mean a car window or a house window.
When it comes to reading Scripture, context usually has the following meanings:
The context of the sentence defines the definition of a word. Examples:
Notice that the same word is used, but in the first example, God loves the world, and in the second, it seems that God does not. However, the context shows that the first example world is all of humankind and the second example world represents the fallen/sinful aspect of the world.
2. The context of the surrounding passage defines or clarifies phrases or verses. A verse that people use out of context all the time is Matthew 18:20. They use it to show the significance of having two or more people gathered. Does my dog count? If not, does that mean I am alone without my Savior right now?
Notice that the highlighted blue sections show us what that verse only relates to the subject of someone sinning against another and the gathering of reliable testimony to take action.
3. The context of speaker and audience may explain certain phrasing. Jesus used many agricultural references when spoke to sizeable crowds like Matthew 13:3-8. Paul in Acts 17:22-23 as he addresses the people of Athens, he used their city and culture in his message.
4. The cultural and historical context may explain certain phrasing. In Luke 12:15-21 we can see that God is angry, but in Western culture thinking it may not be obvious why. The man invested wisely and wanted to retire early so he could enjoy himself. In our culture, we put individuals first, where other cultures put the group or community first. It was extremely selfish for the wealthy barn builder to hoard food for himself while others were hungry.
I was directly taught the first two and learned the second two by listening to well-educated speakers and writers. The one I learned later in life is indeed the most important:
The context of the Bible explains all the individual parts. In other words, the entire Bible explains anything within it. If the part doesn't agree with the biblical context, then you need to reconsider the meaning you are attaching to it.
I recently encountered a gentleman who said that because Jesus is our High Priest (true) and since Leviticus 21:14 says that a high priest can only marry someone from his own people (true), that means all gentiles need to convert to Judaism (false). If you'd like a list of all the ways I believe it is false, leave a comment. For now, I will stick to how the entire context of the Bible makes it false.
God has worked to include anyone who chooses Him. He is not looking for reasons to exclude us. Being a Gentile is not a sin, and it is nothing we need to repent of. There are many verses that spell this out but consider the story of Rahab. God wanted nothing of Jericho to remain. Achan learned this firsthand after he was caught later holding on to some of the loot. However, Rahab, the harlot, and her family were spared. Just like Abraham, her faith, demonstrated in word and action, was counted to her as righteousness. Not only was she spared, but she became a maternal grandmother of Jesus.
The story of Rahab has nothing to do with High Priests or marriage, yet it gives us context because it, and many passages like it, show the nature of God. The Bible is how God shows us who He is and how He loves us.
Some people take this message of God's love to an extreme and think God is some kind of hippie and He is cool with whatever we do. However, the context of the entire Bible explains otherwise.
Using context will also disrupt some ways you may have tried to use Scripture out of context to justify what you wanted to do. Here are two quick examples relating to people who want to avoid taking part in church.
LIE: I think I should stay home and avoid church. Proverbs 18:24a says that a person with many companions will find ruin. Since the church is full of companions, that makes it okay.
CONTEXT: The problem is that the rest of the verse is necessary for context, and it says that "but a friend is one that sticks closer than a brother." The wisdom here is to know who your genuine friends are. To apply this to a church, you would ask if the church I am attending would turn its back on someone or me easily. If so, I need a different church.
LIE: I don't need to go to a building with a bunch of people. I can have church with just a couple of people. Matthew 18:20 says that where two or more are gathered in my name, I am among them.
CONTEXT: We already covered this Scripture above, so we know it is being used (more like abused) out of context, but it doesn't fit biblical context for this application either. The New Testament is full of verses that tell us we must take our positions in the church and the Church. We are meant to be practicing Kingdom living now.
Full biblical context protects us from:
Doing Satan's work in the Name of God. Some extreme examples are the Inquisition, Crusades, and racial hate like the KKK.
Near (false) Gospels. I don't know all of them, but each of the following has very large followings: Legalism, Progressive, Prosperity, Universalism, and Nationalism. Yet not one of them can stand up to the Bible in full context. They get popular because they match what a person wants to hear, or it is being taught to people who don't read their Bible enough in full context.
Listening to the wrong voice. God will never tell you to do something that doesn't conform to the Bible. You are special to God, and you are unique in your design and function in the church, however, the entire Bible applies to you just like everyone else and that is good news because the moment you make it subjective you can't count on any of it.
Making errors in what we say. The more biblically minded you are, the more you can call on all that wonderful knowledge to help others when they are lost or confused.
Thinking the Bible is ever outdated or irrelevant. The Bible was written for today, even though it was written between 2000 and 3500 years ago.
The action plan. How do I find and protect my knowledge of the Truth?
Pray and ask God to help you learn and love His Word more.
Be willing to be mistaken. This is also known as being humble.
Be thirsty for Scripture. To get more biblically minded, you will absolutely need to spend more time reading and listening to your Bible.
Learn to look for who God is when you read your Bible.
I have nothing against getting help from books like commentaries or from other people. If you need help, ask for it. However, you need to study all the Scripture that was used to explain the answer to you. Do not take a spoon-fed answer and move on. Learn how the answer was derived.
This may seem hard at first, but it gets easier the more you expose yourself to Scripture.
The following scriptures were considered or used in the writing of How do I find and protect my knowledge of the Truth by RD Montgomery: Genesis 15:6 Genesis 9 Exodus 21:24 Leviticus 21:14 Proverbs 18:24 Proverbs 23:13-14 Matthew 13:3-8 Matthew 18:20 Luke 12:15-21 Acts 17:22-23 Romans 4:9-10 1 Corinthians 3:9 1 Corinthians 12 Galatians 6:2 Ephesians 2:19-22 Ephesians 4:11-16 1 Thessalonians 5:11 1 John 3:17-18 James 5:16 1 Peter 2:5 1 Peter 4:10-11
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