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“Never read a Bible verse.” That may sound like blasphemous advice, but it’s not. If you only read a Bible verse, then you can make the Bible say just about anything you want.
Twisting the Bible
For example, did you know that the Bible says, “There is no God?” It’s right there in Psalm 14:1. The Bible claims that God doesn’t exist. Well, that’s not really the case. If you read the entire verse, you will find that there is a larger context to that statement.
Psalm 14:1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good.
When you read the whole verse you realize that it’s only a fool who acts like there is no God (no offense to atheists). However, if you ignored the context of the verse, then you could completely twist around its intended meaning. Some people call this “cherry-picking” from the Bible.
Putting Verses in Context
The point is to ensure you always put a Bible verse in its proper context. Don’t just read a verse. Read a paragraph. Read a chapter. Read a whole book of the Bible. This will give you a proper understanding of every statement you read.
There are some popular verses out there that people force to mean things that God probably didn’t intend. For example, people often quote from Jeremiah 29:11 that God wants to give us “a future and a hope.” Read this verse in context to figure out to whom it is applied to. Or, people will quote Jesus’s words from Matthew 18:
Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.
Read the entire section that this verse is found in and you may be surprised by the context that Jesus gives for this statement.
Maybe you are trying to make a big decision in life and you read that God told a prophet, “Move to the north.” Is God speaking to you through that verse? Probably not. He’s just talking to a prophet. People can make all kinds of goofy conclusions if they don’t read the Bible with its context in mind.
All of this reminds us of the need to read our Bibles. Don’t just pick verses at random to read, but systematically make your way through sections and books of the Bible. If you need more help in understanding the Bible, check out our numerous resources on the Bible on pursueGOD.org.
- What is your initial reaction to this topic? What jumped out at you?
- What are some other Bible verses that you have seen ripped out of their context?
- What is the danger in taking Bible verses out of context?
- How can you check your understanding of a verse to make sure it is accurate?
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
