CONTEXTUAL STUDY OF THE WORD

CONTEXTUAL STUDY OF THE WORD
Wednesday, 16th October 2024
Pastor Victor

Matthew 7:21‭-‬23 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.‬‬

This is by far one of the least understood scriptures in the Bible. Even notable preachers have used this scripture to beat God’s people; and most believers in Christ have been threatened they will go to hell if they don’t live right. In as much as I am not for unholy living, using this scripture to straighten people out and put fear in them is unscriptural.

Studying your Bible contextually will help you a great deal. I can boldly tell you that our opening scripture is not referring to Christians. Now I can see religious folks choking on what I have just said. Now if you don’t study that scripture in context you will miss the interpretation. Let us flip back and look at the context of this scripture to see the people Jesus was referring to:

Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

It is clear that in context Jesus was referring to false prophets. And scripture tells us that by their fruits you shall know them. But because folks don’t study their Bible in context, they just take anything and preach it out of context, and in the process they hurt God’s people, instead of edifying them.

The believer is saved by grace through faith. Ephesians 2:8‭-‬9 says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” This is the principle by which we are saved. It has nothing to do with good works. Good works is good; but it is not the prerequisite for salvation.‬‬

I believe every Pastor and every believer should take the study of the Bible seriously like never before in order to avoid getting into error. Contextual study is very vital to scriptural interpretation. It simply means studying the subject matter in context.

As new creations, we are Jesus’ sheep and He knows us. The only people He doesn’t know are unbelievers and unregenerated people. We are the ones who have done the will of God by believing in Jesus and confessing Him as Lord.

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