Week 2 - Biblical Context

Yep!  Due to circumstances beyond our control we skipped a week (or two, lost count).  So let's start by reviewing our video from tonight.

Biblical context is "the circumstances that form the settings for a passage of Scripture by which that passage of Scripture can be rightly understood".  Fair enough!

I don't watch a lot of TV other than sports and cooking shows, but I will often catch something my wife is watching and begin to get interested.  "Who is he?  Why is he mad?  Who are they after? How did she die?....."  I need to know all the facts so that I can further enjoy the rest of the show/movie.  I need to know the "context" of the scene I am watching.

The same thing applies to the Bible.  Understanding as much of the circumstances behind a particular passage as possible helps us better comprehend the meaning and purpose of the passage.  Does that mean we have know all there is to know about 1st century Rome to understand the book of Romans?  Of course not.  But sometimes the more we know going in the more things make sense (thinking back to the movie scenario, I can still enjoy what's left of the movie, but how much clearer would things be had I tuned in from the beginning).

This is where a good tool set comes in.  Most study bibles and bible dictionaries have background information available for all the books of the Bible.  Most will give you a time period the book was written in, who the author was, and a brief historical background regarding the events and significant information of the time period - for example, my HCSB study bible usually has 4 - 5 pages of information.  Its well worth the extra 5 - 10 minutes spent reading these before reading Chapter 1, verse 1.

Another thing that will help with context is reading the Bible systematically (a.k.a, one book at a time).  Just like you can't start a novel in chapter 5 and understand the story, the same is true for most books of the Bible.    I'm more likely to understand Romans 5 having read Romans 1-4.  Just makes sense, right?

This week Dr. Guthrie leads us through four types of Biblical context - Historical, Cultural, Literary, and Theological.  We will discuss each one as the week progresses.

"The key is to have a posture toward God's Word by which His Word is changing us in our context rather than our molding the Word to our cultural tastes and values."  Andreas Kostenberger via Read the Bible for Life, George Guthrie. 

In Christ,

Wag