Keys to context

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wattie

wattie

Senior Member
Feb 24, 2009
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There are many popular one line statements believers love to say.

For eg... believers gathered not in a church setting but at a beach or social event or worship concert..

Then the speaker will go on..all excited... and say 'where two or three are gathered, there I am with them!' Referring to Jesus meant to be there 'in the midst ' of them.

The crowd cheers.. everyone is woop wooping :)

The problem?

This statement is from Mathew 18 and the passage refers to resolving sin issues in a local church setting. Especially Matthew 18:18-20.

It is the process for disciplining a wayward church member. Jesus blesses this process by being there in a special way through the Holy Spirit.


Another example:

'God heareth not sinners'....this phrase in scripture gets used to say God won't hear a lost person ask for salvation.

But this phrase is said by a lost person talking to Pharisees and Scribes. You can't take what he said as truth.

Another example:

Revelation 3:20 KJV
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

This is used to describe getting salvation.

But the 'door ' here in context, isn't an individuals heart, but a local church. It's showing how Jesus welcomes those who overcome sin issues in a church. Not a salvation verse.

Other examples you know?
 
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Mar_11:23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

Some attempt to apply this verse to the prayers of Christians today. This was said in response to the demonstration with the fig tree. However, rather than a universal application, one might consider that it was a demonstration of what those of Israel could expect when they were supernaturally changed by God to have the law written in the hearts after entering the earthly kingdom.
 
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wattie said:
There are many popular one line statements believers love to say.

For eg... believers gathered not in a church setting but at a beach or social event or worship concert..

Then the speaker will go on..all excited... and say 'where two or three are gathered, there I am with them!' Referring to Jesus meant to be there 'in the midst ' of them.

The crowd cheers.. everyone is woop wooping :)

The problem?

This statement is from Mathew 18 and the passage refers to resolving sin issues in a local church setting. Especially Matthew 18:18-20.

It is the process for disciplining a wayward church member. Jesus blesses this process by being there in a special way through the Holy Spirit.


Another example:

'God heareth not sinners'....this phrase in scripture gets used to say God won't hear a lost person ask for salvation.

But this phrase is said by a lost person talking to Pharisees and Scribes. You can't take what he said as truth.

Another example:

Revelation 3:20 KJV
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

This is used to describe getting salvation.

But the 'door ' here in context, isn't an individuals heart, but a local church. It's showing how Jesus welcomes those who overcome sin issues in a church. Not a salvation verse.

Other examples you know?
Click to expand...
You’re exactly right that believers often lift memorable one‑liners out of Scripture and use them devotionally in ways the context simply does not support:
“Where two or three are gathered” in Matthew 18 is Jesus’ affirmation of church discipline, not a beach‑party promise;
“God heareth not sinners” in John 9:31 is spoken by an unregenerate man, not by Jesus or an apostle, and cannot be treated as doctrine; and Revelation 3:20 is Christ addressing a wayward church, not an evangelistic appeal to an unbeliever’s heart.
Scripture is full of these misused lines:
“Judge not” in Matthew 7:1 is about hypocritical judgment, not forbidding discernment;
“I can do all things” in Philippians 4:13 is about enduring hardship, not achieving personal goals;
“Where there is no vision, the people perish” in Proverbs 29:18 refers to lack of prophetic revelation, not lack of leadership strategy; “The truth will set you free” in John 8:32 applies only to those who continue in Christ’s word, not to generic truth‑seeking; and
“Eye has not seen” in 1 Corinthians 2:9 is not about heaven at all, but about the Spirit revealing God’s wisdom to believers.
These examples all show the same pattern: when Scripture is detached from its context, it becomes a slogan; when kept in its context, it becomes revelation.
 
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OMC said:
You’re exactly right that believers often lift memorable one‑liners out of Scripture and use them devotionally in ways the context simply does not support:
“Where two or three are gathered” in Matthew 18 is Jesus’ affirmation of church discipline, not a beach‑party promise;
“God heareth not sinners” in John 9:31 is spoken by an unregenerate man, not by Jesus or an apostle, and cannot be treated as doctrine; and Revelation 3:20 is Christ addressing a wayward church, not an evangelistic appeal to an unbeliever’s heart.
Scripture is full of these misused lines:
“Judge not” in Matthew 7:1 is about hypocritical judgment, not forbidding discernment;
“I can do all things” in Philippians 4:13 is about enduring hardship, not achieving personal goals;
“Where there is no vision, the people perish” in Proverbs 29:18 refers to lack of prophetic revelation, not lack of leadership strategy; “The truth will set you free” in John 8:32 applies only to those who continue in Christ’s word, not to generic truth‑seeking; and
“Eye has not seen” in 1 Corinthians 2:9 is not about heaven at all, but about the Spirit revealing God’s wisdom to believers.
These examples all show the same pattern: when Scripture is detached from its context, it becomes a slogan; when kept in its context, it becomes revelation.
Click to expand...

In complete agreement 🤝
 
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The hot one in a thread at the moment is 'be ye perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect '

The context around this is God's perfect justice in dealing with man. Believers are admonished in this passage to be perfect in justice toward others.

It's not about sinlessness. 'Perfect' as in a moral character lacking nothing, whole and complete.
 
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