Monday, May 14, 2012
Misunderstood Bible Passages, Part 1 of 47
TEXT: "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).
IDEA: A passage taken out of its context is a pretext.
PURPOSE: To help listeners realize the consequences of misusing texts in the Scripture.
In Robert Frost's famous poem "The Mending Wall" we find the famous quote, "good fences make good neighbors."
When that is quoted, what do you think is implied by the person who quotes it?
I. Why do people often take that line out of the context of the poem?
Frost himself does not make that comment. He is walking with a next-door neighbor who is something of a dolt. The two of them are building up the walls between their properties at the beginning of Spring. The neighbor says, "good fences make good neighbors."
The poem itself, however, reflects Frost's opening line, "Something there is that doesn't love a wall." Frost observes that the walls that we build up are torn down by nature or the weather or perhaps even God Himself.
The quote takes exactly the opposite sentiment of the author.
Do good fences really make good neighbors?
Is it better to build bridges or to build walls?
II. Why do we tend to jump on familiar lines in poetry or in Scripture without asking, "Is that what the author really wants to say?
When people quote Robert Frost, they want the authority of a well-known writer to support their view.
Why do you think that people sometimes quote the Bible to say something the Bible doesn't really say?
III. What are the dangers of taking a sentence of Scripture out of its setting?
We may be saying something that God Himself is not saying.
In the name of God we may be opening ourselves to ideas that are even contrary to the Bible.
Conclusion:
We'd like to take some programs to look at some passages of the Bible that have been taken out of their setting. Like the poem by Robert Frost, they seem to be saying one thing, but in reality they are saying another.
