The Crucial Role of Context in Interpretation
Context is vital in understanding any text, recording, or speech that has been given. Consider how media companies play an excerpt of an individual while omitting necessary details critical for understanding the position that said individual would consider contextually relevant in understanding their communication. In many cases, taking words out of context is not only dishonest but, at times, can be blatantly false or even outright slanderous. It dishonors the hearers by skewing the truth and, more importantly, completely disregards the author's intended purposes in communicating what they communicated.
Misinterpretation of Scripture: A Case Study
That being said, the text of scripture has had a longstanding past with those who sought to take its words out of context. One might claim, "The Bible says plain as day, 'There is no God.' (Psalm 10:4). As a matter of fact, the Bible says there is no God over ten times throughout the Old and New Testament!" (Dt 32:39; 2 Sa 7:22; 1 Ki 8:23; 2 Ki 1:3, 6, 16; 5:15; 1 Ch 17:20; 2 Ch 6:14; Ps 10:4; 14:1; 53:1; Is 44:6; 45:5; 1 Co 8:4) Doesn't it? The answer is a whopping yes. However, a close examination of the words surrounding the phrase "there is no God" reveals that the Bible never once makes the claim that there is no God. Instead, it uses the phrase as a means to point out how Yahweh is the one true God, (Dt 32:39, 2 Sa 7:22, 1 Ki 8:23 2 Ki 5:15, 1 Ch 17:20, 2 Ch 6:14, Is 44:6; 45:5,1 Co 8:4) how fools think about God, (Ps 10:4; 14:1; 53:) and at times to rebuke the nation of Israel by asking a rhetorical question (2 Ki 1:3;6;16).
The Importance of Contextual Analysis
Undoubtedly, the Bible indeed contains the phrase, "There is no God," however, when this phrase is pulled out of its context, the Bible and the message contained within becomes twisted and abused. Although this example may seem extreme, taking phrases of scripture out of their context has become commonplace in today's society, and thus, a need for understanding what context is and why it's important is in order.
Defining Context
Context is defined as "the parts of a discourse that surround a word or passage and can throw light on its meaning." (MWD) Thus, when attempting to unpack the text of scripture, three contextual elements must be utilized to "shed light on its meaning" and arrive at a proper interpretation.
Historical Examination
First, a historical examination must be conducted to thoroughly understand how the ideas, cultural norms, geographical setting, and religious and philosophical worldviews influenced the author's mind and the audience's understanding. Take, for instance, 1 Cor 14:34. On the surface, this text seems almost discriminatory and evokes a nasty feeling in today's modern society, especially in light of the recent feminist movement. However, when understanding the culture and background at the time, one would find that Paul is, in part, addressing the fact that women in the congregation were largely uneducated due to the cultural norms at the time and, as such, Paul states in the very following sentence, "But if they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home" (1 Co 14:35.) Void of understanding the cultural realities of the time the modern reader might be inclined to either reject this text altogether or abuse it and support an unbiblical doctrine.
Textual Context
Furthermore, examining the place in which a word, sentence, paragraph, chapter, or even an entire letter/book is necessary to understand the big picture of what God is communicating through His word. This examination is especially needed when attempting to unpack widely debated topics such as limited atonement, "once saved, always saved," and even the deity of Christ.
The Duty of Faithfulness
The apostle Peter recognized that many "unstable" and "untaught men" will "distort" and "twist the scriptures to their own destruction." (2 Peter 3:16). Therefore, it is the duty of the followers of Christ to "be on [our] guard lest [we], having been carried away by the error of unprincipled men, fall from [our] own steadfastness." (2 Peter 3:17) Indeed we must take heed, and a simple and practical way we can do so is by being faithful to the text by being faithful to the context.
Recommended Resources:
Michael J Vlach: Youtube Video: "What Is "Literal-Grammatical-Historical Hermeneutics"?: An Explanation for Bible Interpretation"
Basic Bible Interpretation -Roy B Zuck.
https://www.christianbook.com/basic-bible-interpretation-roy-zuck/9780781438773/pd/61819?event=ESRCG
Hermeneutics: Principles and Processes of Biblical Interpretation: Henry Virkler
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