October 26, 2025

Here is another of Jack Wilkie’s thoughts related to bad Bible study. I want to add another element to it. If we are not using context what filter are we using to determine when a passage applies to us and when it doesn’t? I would suggest it’s often our subjective opinion. If I like what a passage says then it’s not about me. It’s not by mistake that everyone makes Jeremiah 29:11 about them it makes us feel nice. 

Bad Bible Study assumes everything is directly about me

The Bible was certainly written for me and you but that doesn’t mean it was written to me and you. Jeremiah 29:11 may say “I know the plans I have for you…” but the “you” God was talking to there isn’t the high school graduate receiving a Hallmark card and $20 from the sweet older lady at church. Looking at the (you guessed it) context tells us who the “you” is, and once we understand that we can understand what the verse was truly intended to mean.

The other way to insert ourselves into the text is to read the Bible’s “you” individualistically. Our southern brethren use language more effectively than the rest of us when they divide “you” and “y’all,” and the King James Version has a similar distinction with its use of “you” and “ye.” The commands and promises given to “you” in the Bible are generally given to a people, not to a person. Yes, God wants us each to obey those commandments, but they were given to all of us to do together, helping each other along the way. And yes, He has great promises in store for each of us, but those are promises we share with all of our brothers and sisters, and we would do well to emphasize the shared nature of what we have in God.

When we read ourselves into the Bible, we end up with an individualistic religion that elevates ourselves and misses the text’s intended meaning.

What are some examples you can think of where a command or promise does not apply to us today? What are some common misunderstandings associated with this? 

George Dehoff made an interesting point in a short book I read many years ago. He said “The Bible is written in such a way that if a man wishes to cavil he may.” What Dehoff was saying was that if we are not very careful, we will use the varied nature of scripture to justify ourselves instead of to reflect our shortcomings and grow. 

Kevin Cleary