Out of Context

There are alot of scriptures that people take out of context. "Alot!" Probably one of the ones that shakes me up the most is found in 1 John 1:10 "If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives." At first glance one would think "We have and always will sin." But, the very next verse in 1 John 2:1 says "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But, if anybody does sin, we have One who speaks to the Father in our defense- Jesus Christ, the Righteous One." These verses seem like they could definitley 'Contradict' each other, but if we stop, listen and learn, we can understand what John is saying.

John by no means is saying "We will always be sinners." He is saying "If you have sinned don't lie about it. Stand up, repent and move on. Then, "Stop Sinning." A person that thinks they cannot stop sinning is a person who does not have faith. Phil. 4:13, 1 John 4:4, and Matt. 19:26 assure us that we can. If we say that we cannot, then there is a huge lack of faith here. How can we say we have faith if we are not willing to live it out, and beleive all what is written.

For years now men have written tracks that take malign God's word. If I have sinned then I need to own up to it. If I have sinned I need to repent and get back in a 'Righteous' state with Christ. How can Joh tell us in one verse that we are sinners, and the next to stop sinning. You see, the context is very important, and many take the Word of God out of context in order to continue to sin instead of rising above it.

My door is always open to the mormon's and Jehovah Witnesses. I ask them in and ask them "What translation of the Bible are you reading?" When they tell me I simply get up and get their translation. I then ask them to share with me why and what they believe. As they 'Skip' around in the Bible attempting to convert me, I simply say "Gentelmen, Let us look at this verse in context. Let us go up at least ten verses, and go past ten verses." Ironically after a time with these folks I always have one or more ask "Can I come back sometime and talk more?"

Don't race through the Bible, camp on it. Allow it to penetrate the very marrow of your soul. Allow the Spirit of God to take you towards Him, instead of others (people who share scripture out of context) away from Him. Teh Word clearly states that we must "Stop Sinning." What will we do with it~