What an amazing promise! Such a pity that it’s made by the devil speaking to Jesus in the second of his temptations in the wilderness.

There is a sticky note on my computer monitor that says, “Always consider the context.” It was put there when I was reading a book on effective learning, especially for software developers. Awareness of context is essential for effective learning and for effective software development in general. It’s also essential for understanding the Bible.

Take a look at these two verses:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV

You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. James 2:24 ESV

If we’re willing to cherry-pick bits of scripture and not consider context, we have your essential biblical contradiction. Paul says we’re saved by faith alone. James says it requires works. Done.

But context matters. Paul goes on in the first passage to say, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10 ESV). Paul is assuming that the faith he’s talking about will result in works. This is evident in other passages in which Paul talks about being justified by faith, such as Romans 5 and Galatians 2-3. In Romans 5, he starts with being justified by faith and goes on to talk about rejoicing in suffering and all of the good character qualities that will come from that. In Galatians, he focuses on contrasting works of the law with faith in their power to justify, but also assumes a change in behavior resulting from the justification. In all cases, Paul’s focus is on the notion that works alone cannot save: faith is required.

James is coming from a different direction. He assumes faith throughout the discussion in James 2: 14-26. The question is whether faith that does not result in works is effective for salvation. The key notion is in verse 22: “You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works.” James is not arguing that works apart from faith can save. He is arguing that faith that doesn’t result in the life change that Paul assumes isn’t a saving faith.

Once we fully consider the context, the contradiction is a matter of perspective, not substance. If we wish to use the Bible to understand God and grow closer to Jesus, we must be careful to look at the context of what we read and memorize in several ways.

The first and most obvious way is to avoid taking a single verse of scripture out of the passage it belongs in. There are many examples of verses that can be twisted out of their intended meaning easily if pulled out of context. One example is James 4:2: “You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.” That last part seems pretty clear that those addressed don’t have things because they don’t ask for them from God. But then if we read verse 3, it goes on to say, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” That’s an important piece of context.

One thing I have been doing to help me avoid the danger of pulling verses out of context is to memorize passages of scripture rather than individual verses. Although there are verses in the Bible that do stand alone, particularly in Proverbs, even in that collection of sayings, we must be careful. Here’s an example

If you lie down, you will not be afraid;  
     when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. 
Proverbs 3:24 ESV

That sounds broadly applicable and we could take it to mean anyone who loves God, any Christian, or even that it should be true of everyone. However, it is part of a longer thought.

My son, do not lose sight of these—
     keep sound wisdom and discretion, 
and they will be life for your soul
     and adornment for your neck. 
Then you will walk on your way securely,
     and your foot will not stumble.
If you lie down, you will not be afraid;
     when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
Proverbs 3:21-24 ESV

Now we can see that the promise in the final verse is only for those who keep sound wisdom and discretion. The first piece of context we must always consider is the surrounding text.

We also must always consider how the Bible got to us. We read translations, and, as translator and New Testament Greek textbook author Bill Mounce is fond of saying, translation necessarily includes some level of interpretation. For example, the early Greek manuscripts of the New Testament are written in all-capital letters without spacing between words and with almost no punctuation. Consider how this impacts texts that include quotation. James 2:18 in the English Standard Version reads, “But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” On the other hand, the New American Standard Bible places the quotes differently: “But someone may well say, ‘You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.’” Some translations even avoid the problem altogether by leaving out the quotation marks, such as the 1599 Geneva Bible and the Wycliffe Bible. Which of these approaches is correct? We don’t actually know, and it’s important to understand that as we seek to understand the intent of the passage. 

For these reasons, I choose to read the Bible in a variety of translations and make a point of recognizing the impact of differing translations of verses and passages here and for other teaching or personal purposes. Although I memorize in ESV these days and usually quote it here, I try to make sure that I am aware of alternative translations, especially those that affect the meaning.

Finally, we really do need to hold to the idea that the Bible was written for us, but not to us. The writers God chose to inspire wrote within a cultural context to specific groups of people for particular purposes with limited understanding. If we want to clearly discern the messages God has for us, we need to understand something of the context of the writers. For that, it is useful to learn some history and look at commentaries by people who have studied the history and culture as well as the text itself.  To some extent, this is simply about a deeper understanding of the stories. The stories of the woman at the well and the good Samaritan are better understood when we know about the enmity between the Samaritans and the Jews at the time. Jesus using the term “woman” to his mother is not so off-putting if we know that the term was used as an endearment at the time. Stories of Jesus interacting with Jewish leaders and teachers are much clearer when we understand the positions of the Pharisee and Sadducee factions.

As we look at scripture, we need to ask the question, “What did this mean to those who wrote it and those who first read it in their context?” before we ask the question, “What does this mean to me and my life?” Our application of the scripture will be far more effective if we understand the passage in its textual and historical contexts before attempting to determine how the passage applies to us.

I’m currently memorizing 1 John (slowly), so I have been making a point to read commentary on it, seeking to better understand the context and purposes of the writing. My understanding of the text is improved by the awareness that John is talking to a church largely about heretical teachings and teachers who claim Christ but are not living lives that reflect him. John has a number of statements about recognizing who are and are not actually followers of Christ. Some of the statements make more sense as we understand that his point is about recognizing who in the church has actually come to know and follow Jesus as opposed to those who simply claim Jesus but behave in ways that contradict that claim.

It’s very easy to grab a Bible verse out of context and use it poorly for many purposes. If you believe in Jesus, I encourage you to join me in working to consider the context of these verses and avoid those pitfalls.