{"id":2388,"date":"2016-08-18T11:54:29","date_gmt":"2016-08-18T16:54:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedisciplemaker.org\/?p=2388"},"modified":"2016-08-18T11:54:29","modified_gmt":"2016-08-18T16:54:29","slug":"6-steps-to-prevent-misquoting-scripture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2016\/08\/6-steps-to-prevent-misquoting-scripture\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Steps to Prevent Misquoting Scripture"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Don’t just think you are quoting the Bible, know you are. These six guidelines will help you teach with accuracy<\/strong>\u2014and fill in the gaps with contextual understanding.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Don\u2019t assume that you know what a passage means<\/strong> based on how others use it. Former televangelist and PTL host\u00a0Jim Bakker testifies that he often circulated on the air teachings he heard from some of his Bible-teacher friends until, in prison, he had more time to read the Bible for himself. To his horror, he discovered that much of what he had taught contradicted the Bible read in context.<\/li>\n
  2. Read the verses surrounding your passage.<\/strong>
    \nSome people quote 1 cor. 13:8-10 to argue that tongues and prophecy have ceased. If they read a few verses further, however, they would discover that these gifts are scheduled to cease only when we see Jesus face to face, at His\u00a0return (v. 12).<\/li>\n
  3. Read your passage as part of the larger argument of the book<\/strong> in which it occurs. God did not simply inspire random verses separated by blank space, but the entire flow of thought in each book of the Bible. to return to the example of 1 Corinthians 13: Paul explains love in the context of spiritual gifts (chapters 12-14). Love guides us in using the
    \ngifts and even in which gifts to seek (12:31, 14:1).<\/li>\n
  4. Read the whole book.<\/strong>
    \nEven though any context helps, you will profit most when you can read through an entire book of the Bible. (Don\u2019t let the translators\u2019 cross-references distract you from following the context. cross-references will show you how words in that book of the Bible are used elsewhere, but reading the book itself is what will help you\u00a0see how it develops a theme.)<\/li>\n
  5. Let the Bible do much of your lesson preparation for you.<\/strong>
    \nA passage of scripture can provide your themes. (often, those who teach on topics backed up with verses use verses out of context. even when they do not, they often run out of topics and verses. Usually teaching from passages offers us many more topics and verses to work with in the long run.) If you let the rest of that book of the Bible inform your understanding of the passage, you will have plenty to say. of course, you still need to know your audience and the spirit well enough to know how to apply the text\u2019s message\u00a0for your people.<\/li>\n
  6. Explore wider circles of context if you wish to press deeper.<\/strong> God inspired different writers with different styles. Different books belong to different literary genres (types of writing), which must be interpreted somewhat differently. For example, whereas we should take most biblical history literally, biblical poetry (such as the psalms) is full of symbol- ism. Knowing ancient cultural background is also important (see, for example, my IVP Bible Background Commentary:\u00a0New Testament).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     
    \nCRAIG S. KEENER, a New Testament scholar, is a professor at Palmer Theological Seminary and author of 12 books. He is also an associate minister at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in
    \nThis article was reprinted with permission from Ministries Today, July\/August 2005. Copyright \u00a9 Strang Communications Company, USA. All rights reserved. www.ministriestoday.com
    \nUsed by permission of Discipleship Journal. Copyright \u00a9 2006, Issue 155, The Navigators. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. www.navpress.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Don’t just think you are quoting the Bible, know you are. These six guidelines will help you teach with accuracy\u2014and fill in the gaps with contextual understanding. Don\u2019t assume that you know what a passage means based on how others … <\/p>\n

    Read more6 Steps to Prevent Misquoting Scripture<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":2488,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":""},"categories":[4,16],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n6 Steps to Prevent Misquoting Scripture - The Disciplemaker<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2016\/08\/6-steps-to-prevent-misquoting-scripture\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"6 Steps to Prevent Misquoting Scripture - The Disciplemaker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Don’t just think you are quoting the Bible, know you are. 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