If you are a competent journalist, you know news stories carry more weight if you feature quotes from those involved. What someone said is often what the article focuses on and this gives credibility to your report, sometimes.

When including quotes, it’s easy to take them out of context, essentially making the quotes fit whatever you are trying to communicate. People can use the same manipulation (even without realizing it) while studying or teaching the Bible.

You can take a verse, isolate it, and mold it to fit whatever viewpoint you would like to give credibility to. This misuse of scripture is exactly what Satan uses when tempting Jesus in Matthew 4:1-11.

Another mistake in how you handle God’s word is to ignore the context of the passage you are studying. As with the manipulation I mentioned above, ignoring the context of the verse (s) you are studying can lead to misunderstanding and even cult-like followings which lead members further from God’s intended purpose.

What can a person do, who wants to study God’s word with integrity, to avoid manipulation and misunderstanding? Simply put, remember a fundamental principle I learned in Bible college: Context is King.

Just as it’s true with journalists with their articles, someone studying the Bible needs to look at the context of what they’re reading. What is going on or spoken in the chapters and verses before it? What happens in the chapters and verses afterward? What type of literature is it? Is it a narrative, poetry or a parable? Studying the Bible with integrity demands that you hold the context in the forefront.

Remembering that, Context is King, can enrich your Bible study and help you avoid misinformation.