What’s the Context? — Part 1

Synopsis:

Interested in in-depth Bible reading and Bible study? Today’s guest host Jim Kerwin (M.A., Biblical Studies) from Finest of the Wheat Teaching Fellowship, introduces us to the subject of hermeneutics — how to read and study and share the Scriptures in context.

And for our purposes this week, discovering the context comes down to remembering two ideas:

• Asking “What’s the context?” every time we open the Bible to read. When we think about what we’re reading right now in Scripture, how does it relate to the passages that preceded it and the passages that follow? How would knowing the culture, history, geography, original language, etc., of the author open up this passage?
• Realizing that the greatest context, what Paul calls “the whole counsel of God,” is reading and re-reading the entire Bible systematically, and preferably annually.

Tomorrow:

• Why chapter and verse divisions are enemies to seeing Scriptural context, how they can blind us to truth; and,
• Some practical Bible examples of how context changes our understanding of things we think we “know.”

Links:

• For more of Jim’s teaching (and those of his teacher/father in the Lord, Percy Gutteridge) visit http://FinestOfTheWheat.org.
• Sign up for the monthly newsletter at https://finestofthewheat.org/ccnpc for mission reports, insights, announcements on new Bible-teaching articles, and more.
• Like Finest of the Wheat Fellowship’s Facebook page — https://finestofthewheat.org/fb — for featured Bible-teaching articles each week, as well as regular Powerful Poetry links.
• Be used by the Lord to make the October/November missions-teaching trip to Perú possible by contributing at https://finestofthewheat.org/paypalmissions. Not comfortable with electronic giving? Not a problem. Donations by check can be sent to Finest of the Wheat Teaching Fellowship, P.O. Box 2754, Chesapeake, VA 23327-2754. Finest of the Wheat is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, so all gifts are tax-deductible. Canadians can make tax-deductible contributions to FOTWTF through WorldWideMissions, POB 1292, Calgary, AB T2P 2L2.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 53:54 — 25.3MB)