Do Not Just Read the Verse Understand the Story

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Good morning. Have you ever heard somebody quote a Bible verse and then you thought to yourself, that's not what the passage is really talking about? Or perhaps maybe you've been guilty of doing just that. Here's the question Do we really understand what we are reading? Because there is something

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Important that we must remember. The Bible wasn't written in individual verses for us to pull out what we want. No, the verses belong to chapters, which belong to books. And if we're not careful, we could take something that God had said, remove it from the context, and end up believing something that God never said. Let's talk about why context matters.

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There's two types of context that we need to look at in our Bible study. And one of them is who the passage is written to and what are the circumstances. That's important for us to understand what was going on, what God was doing, what He was leading them through. That's important. But probably even more important than understanding who these verses were written to is looking at how these verses

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Fit into the big picture of scripture. That's the most important thing. Because as we established in yesterday's episode, the Bible is God's letter for us. It's God's instruction manual for us. So even though such and such a passage was written to such and such a people in such and such a time, it is still relevant for us today. Let's let's look at this. We must remember.

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We must remember.

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The big picture. And we looked at these verses yesterday. I want to take a look at them here real quick again today. Second Timothy chapter number three. I want to look for it, read for you, verses sixteen and seventeen. Scripture says, All scripture is given by the inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be perfect.

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Thoroughly furnished unto all good works. Well, let's break this down. All scripture is given by the inspiration of God. There's nothing in these 66 books that we call the Bible today that did not come from the inspiration of God. Because all of this came from the inspiration of God, that means it is just as relevant today as it was when God had given that message to these men.

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That wrote the Bible. It's just as relevant. It's just as alive today. It's just as important today. All scripture is given by the inspiration of God. Then he says, and it is profitable. It is profitable, which means there's a benefit. Which means there's something that we need to do to make sure that we're getting and we're gleaning and we're getting all we can out of scripture. He says it's profitable.

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Let's see, for doctrine, for doctrine, that is the body of truths that are taught. Doctrine is what makes up our faith. Doctrine is what teaches us about God, which teaches us about the Bible, which teaches us about sin, which teaches us of our need for a savior. That's all doctrine. Doctrine is the irrefutable truths that we have to to to hold to. It's the tr the things that that are the tenets of our faith. It's the things that

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That make us who we are.

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And and our doctrine must come from the inspiration of God. It must come from what God wrote in his book. If we may try to make doctrine that is based on the teachings of man, the ideas of man, the things of man, then we're making our doctrine in the wrong places. It's it given by the inspiration of God, it is profitable for doctrine. It is also profitable for reproof. Reproof simply means a rebuke.

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That exposes a fault to guide somebody to righteousness and forgiveness. Reproof is a rebuke, right? Like the illustration I used earlier. Somebody reading a Bible verse and taking it out of context, we need to make sure that we rebuke them. We need to make sure that we lead them in the understanding the fault, in the understanding the wrong. You see, that's that's what is causing so many.

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problems and so many issues in society and in the world today, it's because people don't want to hear the truth. They don't want to be rebuked. They want to be comfortable in living in their version of the truth. And that's all they want. But the Bible, the Bible is clear that we need to bring rebuke to people who is is taking scripture out of context, who is twisting scripture to meet their narrative.

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We need to make sure we do that. It's profitable for correction. That's the next one. Correction. Um restoring somebody from error, from sin, or from foolishness to a proper standard. Correction is where we say, okay, you missed a mark. You have sin in your life. You made an error. You have a fault. You're living in foolishness.

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And we need to bring them to a proper standard, bring them to an understanding that they missed the mark. You see, that's that correction is is basically salvation in a nutshell. That is where we go and we tell somebody and we show somebody how they missed the mark of being right with God. And we show them sin, we show them error, and and they in tune come and and and

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Realize that error and then come to a saving knowledge of God. Then the last one that Paul writes about here in verse 16 is instruction in righteousness. That is a discipline or education to live in a way that aligns with God and his standards. Instruction and righteousness, in other words, instruction and righteousness is teaching us how to live for God, teaching us how to live.

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The way that God wants us to live. Excuse me. And we need that. That's why getting into the Bible and studying the Bible is so important so that we know how to live, so that we know how to live according to God's standards. So we're not falling into false teachings. So that we have a strong doctrinal base. And so that we're continually being instructed.

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In the way God wants us to live. Think of the Bible as kind of a roadmap. I remember at at Chick-fil-A when I was a restaurant manager at Chick-fil-A, part of the training that we would do with new hires is we gave them this paper. And on this paper, it was called the roadmap to success. And there was different stops they had to make on the map as they were training and as they were developing their skills as a Chick-fil-A employee.

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Well, that's what the Bible essentially is, is the instruction manual. That's why we need to get in there. That's how we need to get in there. And verse number 17 says that that that the result of these things he wrote about in verse 16 is so that we may be perfect and thoroughly furnished unto all good works. It means that we're going to be ready to do the things that God wants us to do. Means we're going to be ready to live according to his standards.

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To make sure that we're not falling into false teaching and all that. And the reason I revisited these verses today is a result of an ad, and you've probably seen it on Facebook or on some other social media. But apparently there's a new Bible app out there. And the ads that they have is somebody is saying a popular verse, and then they have someone else come up to them.

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And tell him why that verse doesn't mean what it means.

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And that kind of really struck home with me. And the verse that they had used was Jeremiah chapter 29. Jeremiah chapter 29. Specifically verse number 11. And I'll get to that here in just a second. But you see, where this app is missing the mark is they're only looking at one type of context. They're just looking at who the passage is written to.

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Or what the circumstances were. They're not taking into account what the big picture is. So let's look at this. Let's look at Jeremiah chapter 29. Let's look at verses 10 and 11. For thus saith the Lord, that after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon, I will visit you and perform my good word toward you in causing you to return to this place.

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For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end. All right, let's break this down and let's see this here. Who is this verse written to? These verses are written to the people that is about to go into exile into Babylon and live in captivity for the next seventy years.

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That's who these verses are written to. How does that fit into the big picture? Well, just like God is going to rescue them out of their captivity, God has a plan to rescue us out of our life of sin.

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You see that there? God has a plan to rescue us out of our life of sin. He says here in verse 10, after 70 years, I'm going to come back, I'm going to visit you, and I'm going to do my good word toward you in causing you to return to this place. So God is making a promise to them. He's saying, After 70 years, I'm going to come back, and you're going to end up coming back to this place, coming back to Israel, coming back to Jerusalem.

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Sounds like a great promise. Then he goes on in verse number eleven, and this is in so many people's life verses. God says, For I know the thoughts that I think toward you.

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Saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end. So God is essentially telling these people that's going to be going into exile. He says, Hey, I I know the plans, I know the thoughts that I think toward you. That was his word to them. And fast forward to today, all these years later, to today.

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God still has a plan for you. He still has a plan for me. And he knows the thoughts that he thinks toward us. He knows that he's gonna that that his plan is to bring peace between a sinful people and a righteous God. And that plan involves the Lord Jesus Christ. So that that plan that the thoughts that God was thinking toward them, to the people that was gonna be in captivity.

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is just as relevant for you and me today because we may not be captive in in Babylon like these people were about to go through, but we are held captive by our sin nature. Paul writes about that in Romans chapter six. Take a look at that.

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And and God knows that we need to be delivered from our captivity of sin. That's why Jesus came.

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God has given them a plan with an expected end. That expected end was at the verse, the end of verse number 10, to return. Let's see, we find it here, and causing you to return to this place. That was their expected end. They knew that they were going to get carried off to Babylon. They were going to spend 70 years in captivity there in Babylon. Then after 70 years, God was going to come, He was going to rescue them.

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And then bring them back to that place, the place that they called home. For us today, we have living our captivity of sin. God sent Jesus to pay the penalty of that sin, to bring us that peace, the peace between him and us. And then he's going to give us an expected end. And that is when we we get home, when we get to heaven to be with Jesus for all eternity.

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Look what's mean in John chapter fourteen. John chapter fourteen.

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And it's verses two and three. If my fingers here'll start working.

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John chapter fourteen verses two and three, these are the words of Jesus now. In my father's house are many mansions, if it were not so I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. All right, let's look at this in context. Who's he talking to? He's talking to the disciples.

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Alright, what's he promising them? He's promising them that he's going to come back and get them. But friends, that promise is as good for for them as it is for us today. Because he is the plan and the way to heaven, the way to go with him. And his plan has given us an expected end when Jesus said here at the end of verse number three, that where I am, there ye may be also.

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Which means that we will be with heaven, be with Jesus in his father's house at the place that he prepared for us. Let's wrap it up today. Don't give up. Don't give up. I don't know where you are. Maybe your situation looks dire. Maybe you're you're going through things. Maybe you're you're maybe you're at a spot that that you feel God's deserted you.

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Remember, God has a plan. He has thoughts for you. He has a plan of peace for you. Are you ready to take it? Are you ready to to to get that forgiveness, to get that that plan?

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Think about that as you go through this day. And remember, get into God's word and allow God's word to get into you. And then share that word with someone today. Have a blessed day.