I've said it before: The humble and unassuming Craig Keener is a rock star among Bible scholars/teachers.
I highly recommend doing what he recommends below (see his first sentence for the challenge)
When you've finished, click the link at bottom to see if you independently came to the same conclusions he did, simply by reading the Bible in context.
Craig Keener:
I highly recommend that you
look up the following verses in context and decide for yourself what they
mean. Ask yourself the questions we have
attached to each of these texts. After
you have finished, you may check your own conclusions with our observations on
these and other texts below. If our
observations bring issues to your attention that you had not considered, you
may want to consider them and reread the text (although in the end you are not obligated
to accept all our conclusions). If our
observations merely confirm your own reading, you can surmise that your
context-reading skills are fairly well-developed. The goal is not simply to hold particular views
on the sample texts listed below, but to learn the skill of reading all Scripture in context. (As a young Christian I used most of the
following verses out of context until I began systematically studying the Bible
book by book, at which time their context gradually became obvious to me.)
Some of the more difficult
passages (toward the end of our list) are more debatable in sense than some of
the more obvious ones (toward the beginning).
Also, in some cases the passages may include a principle that applies to
the point for which people often quote them.
But the exercise here is to determine what the text specifically means,
so that we can apply the principle in all the appropriate ways and not just in
the ways we have often heard.
1. John 10:10: Who is the thief? (Start back at least at 10:1 or 10:5)
2. When Jesus says, “If I am lifted up, I will draw
all people to myself” (John 12:32), what does He mean by being “lifted
up”?
3. Which day is the “day that the Lord has made” (Ps.
118:24)? Does the text refer to every
day (the way most people apply it) or to a specific day? (See Ps. 118:22-23;
more generally 118:15-29)
4. Is God’s announcement that He owns “the cattle on a
thousand hills” (Ps. 50:10) an assurance that He can supply all our needs? Or does it mean something else in
context? (Keep in mind that other
passages do teach that God supplies our needs; the question here is not whether
God will provide, but whether that is what this passage means.)
5. What does the “baptism of fire” refer to in Matt.
3:11? Is it just a purification or
empowerment for believers or something else?
(Keep in mind that “fire” symbolizes different things in different
passages. The question is, what does
“fire” mean in this immediate
context?)
6. By calling us to “imitate” God (Eph 5:1; King
James’ “followers” here is literally “imitators”), does Paul want us to speak
planets into existence? To be everywhere
at once? Check the context (4:32-5:2).
7. What does it mean to resist the devil in James
4:7? In 1 Peter 5:8? In Ephesians 4:27? Some people use these verses to support
rebuking the devil whenever something goes wrong. Is that the point?
8. Some people quote Joel 2:9 to say that we are God’s
mighty army (in a spiritual sense).
Other texts may say that, but is that the point of this text?
9. Some people quote Joel 3:10 to say that we should
claim God’s strength when we are weak.
While that is a biblical principle (2 Cor 12:10), is it the point here?
10. More controversially, read Isaiah 14:12-14 in view
of the whole of Isaiah 14. To whom does
this text refer? (Keep in mind that “Lucifer,”
found only in the King James Version, is simply a Latin title for the “morning
star,” not actually found in the Hebrew.
Because some interpreters believed this text referred to Satan, they
applied the title to Satan, but the Bible does not use the term anywhere else,
so whether or not it is actually Satan’s title depends on the meaning of this
passage.)
11. Many people apply Ezek 28:12-14 to the devil, just
as they apply Is 14 to him. In context,
is that really the point of this passage?
(Again, we are not questioning whether the devil exists or whether the
devil fell. The question is whether this passage discusses it.)
12. When Paul says, “I can do all things through
Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13), does he have anything in particular in
mind? (I.e., does “all things” mean that
he can currently fly, walk through walls, spit fire, and so forth, or does it
mean something more specific?)
13. What is the “word of God” (or, “word of Christ” in
most translations) in Romans 10:17? Does
it specifically refer to the Bible in this case or to something else?
14. 1 Corinthians 13:8-10. Some people quote this passage to claim that
spiritual gifts have passed away. But
according to the context, when will the gifts of the Spirit pass away? For that matter, what is the function of this
chapter in the context of the whole letter to the Corinthians (cf. 12:31;
14:1). What is the function of 13:4-6 in
the context of the whole letter to the Corinthians? (You may save this question until our study
on book-context if you wish.)
15. Some people emphasize “now-faith” in Hebrews 11:1,
as if faith must be directed toward what we receive in the present. In context, is the sort of faith that Hebrews
11:1 talks about oriented toward receiving something in the present or toward
receiving it in the future? (Start back
around 10:25 and read through 12:4.)
16. Revelation 3:20.
When Jesus knocks at the door, is he trying to get someone
converted? (To whom is the verse
addressed?)
17. One could say that when God “gave” his Son (Jn
3:16), this refers to giving Jesus at his birth in Bethlehem
18. When one seeks first the kingdom, what things are added to one (Matt
6:33)?
19. Who are Christ’s ambassadors in 2 Corinthians
5:20? Whom are they entreating to be
reconciled to God?
20. Some people say that the “witnesses” in Hebrews
12:1 are the dead watching us from heaven.
But in the context of Hebrews chapter 11, does “witnesses” refer to
those who watch us or to those who testified to the truth of God’s claims? (This one may be harder to see depending on
your translation, since some translations do not show the connection of related
words in this context.)
21. Some people claim the promise that no weapon
formed against them would prosper (Isaiah 54:17). Is this a guarantee for every individual
Christian in every circumstance or for God’s people as a whole protected by His
plan for them?
22. Does Proverbs 23:7 mean that whatever we think
about ourselves will come true? (“As a
person thinks in their heart, so they are.”)
Or does it mean something else?
(Read 23:6-8.)
23. Does Psalm 18:7-15 refer to Jesus’ second
coming? Read 18:4-6, 16-19.
24. Who is the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valley,
in Song of Solomon 2:1-2?
25. In Matthew 18:18, what does Jesus mean by “binding and loosing”? Does He refer to how to treat demons here, or does He refer to something else? (Read especially 18:15-20.)
26. What is the “coming” to which Jesus refers in John
14:1-3? Does He refer here to His second
coming or to something else? (Read
14:4-23, and perhaps 13:36-38.)
27. This final question may be the most difficult
one. Read Isaiah 7:14 in context
(especially 7:10-16; 8:1-4). In the
immediate context, to whom does this newborn son refer? (If your conclusions may disturb you, don’t
worry; we will clarify them below. But
it is important for you to grapple with the text intelligently in its context
first, and not simply to interpret the passage according to how you’ve seen it
used elsewhere.) --
--The Bible in Its Context: How to Improve Your Study of the Scriptures, LINK,
click for suggested answers
--
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