Scripture: The No Spin Zone

I really do think people mean well by it, but you know what they say about the road paved with good intentions. I have been trying to go deeper in my Bible study and really study some of the familiar Bible verses that many Christians (including myself) have recited from memory so often that sometimes the entire meaning is lost. I think one of the most misinterpreted verses in the Bible probably is found in Matthew 18.

“For where two or more are gathered together in My name, I am also there.” Matthew 18:20

When I was a college student in the upstate of South Carolina, a pastor quoted this verse as he stood before the almost empty sanctuary one icy Sunday morning in January. When you think of this verse, you probably tend to think that if you and one of your friends gather to pray, then God promises to be there with you. I’ll have to admit, I thought the same thing until I engaged in some further study.

The most important thing to remember about Scripture meaning is CONTEXT. What does the verse before your focal verse say? What about the chapter before it? If you look in Matthew 18, you’ll realize that verse 20 doesn’t have anything to do with small gatherings at churches or Christians getting together to pray. First of all, would you tell me that when I am reading my Bible and praying in the morning, that God is no where to be found because I don’t have another person with me? Of course not, so let’s look at the context.

Read the passage again, but instead of starting in verse 20, go back to verse 15. This passage is not about worship gatherings, but about church discipline! If a church member is out of line or living a life that does not represent Christ, then God instructs the pastor go with another elder in the church to confront the man about his sin and call him to repentance. Other people are to go with the pastor to act as witnesses to what the two parties say. God is being specific about how to deal with people in the church openly endorsing a lifestyle of sin, not achieving a minimum attendance at prayer meetings before God even pays attention. Can you see how that drastically changes the meaning of the text?

Reciting familiar verses is great, and studying the Bible is something all Christians should be doing. But be sure to be fair to the text. Avoid picking out specific verses and making them mean what you think or want them to mean. Look at the context. Step back and look at the whole picture. God is not as interested in your interpretation as much as He wants to reveal His meaning of Scripture to you.

Next time, we’ll look at Matthew 16:18.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Awesome post, Nathan. We need more people standing up for the Bible and God's Word actually says, rather than cheapening it by molding it into what we want it to say. Miss yall.