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Using a passage of Scripture out of context can lead to error and misunderstanding. But not always. Quoting a single verse of course lifts it out of context, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the verse is being misused. Some “out of context” verses reveal a stand-alone truth; others require a consideration of their context in order to be properly interpreted and applied.
Much of the rightness or wrongness of quoting a single verse depends on the speaker’s or writer’s intent. If a single verse, out of context, is used to imply something other than the biblical author’s intended meaning or to overlook the intent of the overall passage, then it is a dishonest use of that verse. But if quoting a single verse leaves intact the original meaning and respects the intent of the passage, then it is good and proper to quote the verse. Of course, verses can be misused even without bad intent, so we must be careful.
An example of misusing a verse out of context is quoting Jesus’ words in Luke 12:19, “Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry,” and trying to pass it off as Jesus’ philosophy of life. The context, in which Jesus tells a parable, teaches the exact opposite of what those words suggest. As the storyteller, Jesus is putting words in the mouth of a foolish rich man, a character who receives judgment from God for living out that hedonistic philosophy.
Another example of misusing a verse out of context is quoting the first part of Habakkuk 2:15 in order to condemn the act of giving someone alcohol: “Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors.” In using this verse to say it is wrong to give a neighbor an alcoholic beverage, the person quoting the verse is twisting Scripture. The rest of the verse contains qualifiers: “Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk, so that he can gaze on their naked bodies!” (emphasis added). The sins here are drunkenness, voyeurism, lust, and sexual exploitation. Further, an examination of the context of Habakkuk 2:15 reveals the giving of alcohol to be a metaphor for the national sins of Babylon.
In the two preceding examples, it’s obvious that certain verses (or portions of verses) cannot be made to stand alone and teach a lesson. A Bible student “who correctly handles the word of truth” will be careful to avoid such interpretative traps (2 Timothy 2:15).
But not all verses become warped upon being lifted from their contexts. There are instances in which we can use a single verse or even a part of a verse by itself and still do justice to the divine intent. For example, if we are trying to tell someone that salvation is a gift from GOD, we might use John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This is definitely a stand-alone verse. It clearly says what it says, and even a cursory understanding of the verse by itself leads one to believe in accordance with the context of John 3.
In summary, quoting a single Scripture “out of context” can be fine at times; other times, it is problematic. If our usage of a verse, out of context, suggests a different meaning from what the broader passage warrants, then it is wrong. Whenever we read or hear someone using a single verse in isolation, it’s good to plug that verse back into its original passage to see if it still fits with its designated interpretation.
