Have you ever walked in on the middle of a conversation and realized that you must have missed something? For example, someone may have been talking about a friend who had been so embarrassed that “she wanted to die.” Imagine someone overhearing just part of that conversation and thinking that the friend was actually suicidal.
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I fear that sort of thing happens all too often with the scriptures. If we only get part of a passage, we can end up jumping to some really bad conclusions. That is why context is so very important in the study of scripture. Not only should we focus on the context of the surrounding verses, but we need to also focus on the context of the audience that is being spoken to.
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There is a song about the Bible that says, “Every promise in the Book is mine.” That is an invalid statement, because there are promises in the Bible that are not mine because they were given to a different audience. For example in Genesis 17:6, Abraham is promised that he would have descendants that would be kings. That is not a promise that is given to everyone. In that same chapter Abraham is given a promise that his 90 year old wife will have a son. That does not mean that every woman has the promise of bearing a son when she is 90. Clearly the context of the audience makes a difference in our understanding of scripture.
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The context of history is also important. For example, at our Monday night Bible study we just began to look at the book of Nehemiah. In that book we find out that Nehemiah is concerned about the fact that the residents of Jerusalem had not rebuilt the walls around the city. Earlier the prophet Haggai had been concerned that the residents of Jerusalem had not rebuilt the temple. In fact he rebuked them for making their own houses fancy while neglecting God’s house.
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But as we look at the historical context of Nehemiah, we find out that there is more to the story than just the residents of Jerusalem having other priorities rather than rebuilding the wall. First of all, Judah/Israel was not an independent country at this time. They were instead a province of the Persian Empire. Further when we look at Ezra 4:13-23, we find out that the Persian King had ordered them not to rebuild the wall. The historical context that we find in other portions of scripture as well as secular accounts of that time period, help us to better understand the events that unfold within the book of Nehemiah and how God worked in an amazing way in order to allow the wall to be rebuilt in spite of all the roadblocks that kept coming up.
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Not only does context help us to have a more accurate understanding of Scripture. It also makes it more exciting. It helps us to understand how all the pieces of Biblical history and Biblical doctrine fit together in a unified way that not only makes sense, but is really interesting and electrifying.
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Some people think that the Bible is boring. I believe that it only seems boring because many have not yet seen how the pages of scripture unfold to tell a magnificent story. Context helps us to understand the scripture so that we can see it’s true relevance. For further questions or comments, please contact southtownbc@yahoo.com
Friday, December 27, 2013
Friday, December 13, 2013
The Best Christmas Gift
Christmas time is exciting- especially with little kids in the house. We have four little boys and our oldest is almost 6 and our youngest is 2. It is fun to see their excitement as they open their presents. Of course with little boys in our house, we have a lot of toy trucks. We have some friends who only have little girls and they have a lot of dolls.
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Even though our boys love trucks and tools, they have dolls as well. Of course they look like dolls that have been played with by boys. Instead of dressing them up in frilly dresses, our boys have colored them with markers.
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As fun as trucks and dolls are, I hope we understand that they are not what Christmas is really about. Christ-mas is about the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, but even as we consider the true meaning of Christmas, we can still end up missing it’s full significance.
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Our oldest son Jared recently reminded us of why Christ’s birth is so important. He approached his mom and told her, "Mom, I need to tell you something. My dolls need Jesus too." From a strictly theological perspective, dolls do not have souls and are not even alive, but our little boy had the right idea in realizing that everyone needs Jesus.
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That is why it was so important that Jesus was born into this world. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” In other words we need Jesus in order to have everlasting life. This is clarified later in the same chapter when verse 36 states, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
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The wrath of God sounds a bit scary, and it should, for the wages of sin is death, but the love of God should balance that fear with comfort because the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
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Can you imagine a better gift than eternal life? As much as I would still like a toy truck for Christmas, eternal life is way better than even a brand new real truck and all we have to do to receive it is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 10:9 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
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Christmas is about the birth of Christ, but it should be about so much more than just that. It should also remind us that baby Jesus grew up to be the Savior of the world as He died on the cross for our sins and that He did not stay dead, but rose again 3 days later. If you believe in Him as your Lord and Savior- your only hope for eternal life- then you too can be assured that you have the greatest gift of all. Take comfort in the promise that He made when He said, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” (John 6:37) No wonder so many are excited about celebrating His birth.
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Even though our boys love trucks and tools, they have dolls as well. Of course they look like dolls that have been played with by boys. Instead of dressing them up in frilly dresses, our boys have colored them with markers.
-
As fun as trucks and dolls are, I hope we understand that they are not what Christmas is really about. Christ-mas is about the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, but even as we consider the true meaning of Christmas, we can still end up missing it’s full significance.
-
Our oldest son Jared recently reminded us of why Christ’s birth is so important. He approached his mom and told her, "Mom, I need to tell you something. My dolls need Jesus too." From a strictly theological perspective, dolls do not have souls and are not even alive, but our little boy had the right idea in realizing that everyone needs Jesus.
-
That is why it was so important that Jesus was born into this world. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” In other words we need Jesus in order to have everlasting life. This is clarified later in the same chapter when verse 36 states, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
-
The wrath of God sounds a bit scary, and it should, for the wages of sin is death, but the love of God should balance that fear with comfort because the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
-
Can you imagine a better gift than eternal life? As much as I would still like a toy truck for Christmas, eternal life is way better than even a brand new real truck and all we have to do to receive it is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 10:9 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
-
Christmas is about the birth of Christ, but it should be about so much more than just that. It should also remind us that baby Jesus grew up to be the Savior of the world as He died on the cross for our sins and that He did not stay dead, but rose again 3 days later. If you believe in Him as your Lord and Savior- your only hope for eternal life- then you too can be assured that you have the greatest gift of all. Take comfort in the promise that He made when He said, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” (John 6:37) No wonder so many are excited about celebrating His birth.
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