Context, Context, Context.

 

Have you noticed how many verses from the Bible are only half quoted?

Every verse in the scriptures is part of the previous verses and the following verses.

It is called "context".

It is becoming more and more prevalent for Christians to take verses that sound encouraging out of context, leaving out any challenging parts of the verse.

Mega churches in particular do this purposely. Others do it out of ignorance.

 

It is in effect watering down the Gospel.

Where the church is concerned, numbers have become paramount.

How many people make a decision for Christ has become the object of the Gospel.

Now I am not saying that the salvation of souls is not the objective but that is only the beginning.

Of course the Bible tells us to go into the world and preach the Gospel but it also tells us to go into the world and make disciples.

The object of the Gospel is not just to fill the church but to fill the church with disciples.

Very often we find people making decisions for Christ only to disappear from the scene afterwards.

Successful evangelism is often judged by how many make a decision for Jesus. However, how many of these go on to produce the fruit of that salvation.

They supposedly get saved, then return to their former lifestyle and appear to be no different than they were before. Consequently, there appears to be no difference between the church and the world.

Salvation if it does not bring about transformation should be looked on with doubt.

Having said that, it does not necessarily mean that a conversion is not genuine.

That faith in Christ is not present but it does tell us that something is drastically wrong.

The account of the raising of Lazarus from the dead in John 11:1-44 serves as a good example of salvation and life in Christ.

When Jesus arrived at the tomb of Lazarus, Lazarus had already been dead for four days. In fact the scripture says he had already begun to stink.

To the Jews, he had passed the point where return to this life was impossible.

The Jewish belief was that a person's spirit remained for three days and then left. So on the fourth day, there was no hope of return.

Jesus was to show the power of God in this situation, that God indeed was able to bring life from the dead, to create out of the impossible, that what was possible.

 

Had Martha, or Mary, Lazarus sisters called him to come out of the tomb, he would not have. He needed the word of Christ. "Lazarus, come forth".

 

Notice what Jesus said next.

"Loose him".

Jesus gave him life but He gave the job of releasing him from the objects of death, those things that bound him.

 

We cannot as children of God and brethren in Christ, see someone be brought to life in the Spirit and then abandon them to the world. We have the responsibility not only to preach the words of Christ which is God's ordained way of drawing men to Jesus but we are also to free them from the entanglement of the world of sin. This is making disciples 

 

To return to the context of scripture.

 

Let us look at a few misquoted verses often used by preachers or Christians.

 

Romans 8:28 – “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

 

This is a very encouraging verse and is often quoted without the following verse.

 

Romans 8:29 – “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.”

 

The reason God predestined and calls people to Himself, is to conform them to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ.

 

It is not a case of getting saved but going on in the faith and producing the fruit of salvation by abiding in the vine, which is Christ.

 

John 5: 5,6 Christ is the vine and we are the branches, if we abide in Him, we bring forth much fruit.

 

The proof of genuine salvation is a changed life. Info fruit appears, salvation is doubtful.

 

Sadly, Obedience to Christ's teachings are left out of the message.

 

Scriptures like John 14 "Anyone who loves Me, will obey My words".

Salvation and obedience to Christ"s teaching cannot be separated.

 

Ephesians 2:8-9 – “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

 

Here is a scripture we love to quote.

However, should we stop there?

 

Ephesians 2:10 – “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

 

Again the result of salvation is to produce a changed life that results in good works.

 

Matthew 6:33 – “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

 

Oh how we love the second half of this verse. Receiving all the good things that salvation in Christ brings.

Yet we neglect to see how this occurs.

The first part tells us 

Seeking first, His kingdom and His righteousness. We can't have one without the other 

 

To Rom 12:3-8.

These verses are very often emphasized by preachers to show us that we all have gifts, which should be used to serve the institution of the church.

 

However, in the previous verses, we read how these "spiritual gifts" are made operative.

 

Romans 12:1-2 – “In view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

 

To emphasise Rom 12:3 to 8 without 1 and 2 can very often lead to carnal Christians or even unsaved Christians serving in church ministry.

 

Discipleship is imperative to church service.

We see the abuse of this in the verses of 

 

1 Corinthians 9:13-14 – “Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.”

 

Again this is an example of advantage being taken of scripture that would benefit without a price.

For the text goes on to say in verses 15 to 27 how the responsibility is training, dedication, and endurance necessary to live out the ministry calling.

This goes as to show how some professing Christians want the benefits of Christianity, (the prestige or financial gain) without the hard work needed to produce the qualities for ministry.

 

The truth is, whilst salvation in Christ is a free gift, discipleship comes at a cost.

 

Galatians 5:22-23 – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…”

 

This is the hard part and it is the part that church leaders very often play down so as not to scare new "converts" away.

A watered down Gospel brings them in and played down Christian life follows.

They fail to point out that to be a true disciple of Christ there is a cost, there will be trials and tribulations.

That "If you are in Christ, you must put on Christ, and make no provision for the flesh". Romans 13:14.

 

If you are a true born again believer, you are expected to go on to maturity, to grow in the faith, the object is to glorify Christ in the world. We cannot say we are saved and continue in sin.

 

Galatians 5:24 – “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

 

We must preach the whole truth.

God wants a strong church, one that can make a difference in the world.

Not a weak sickly church that cannot be distinguished from the world.

 

Christ when He walked the earth showed an example and made a difference. We, if we are truly saved, are part of His body on the earth. He left us His Word to help us mature in the faith, to make us the salt of the earth and the light in the world.

 

We need the fullness of the Word, not just portions of it.

 

Context, context, context.

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