I'm a far cry
from an expert on sewing and knitting. A
seam went in a uniform of mine one day, just minutes before a parade. My fix was a stapler that seemed to do the
job. So I'm not an expert, for sure. However I do recall the days as a kid when I
wore sweaters. My Mom would caution me
about pulling that loose thread. She
warned me that the sweater will start to unravel.
The Bible is very
similar. Pulling a few verses out and
separating them from the source,causes the whole canon to unravel. The Bible is an
extremely cohesive and unified book.
It is A Book! It is also 66 Books. Please note: The Bible is not a collection of
verses. It is not a vault containing
cute sayings and words to live by. The
Bible is a Book. It is a Book of Books,
with Books. To extract some verses and disassociate
them with the Book is to cause the entire Canon to unravel.
I said to someone
these words: "Not one single verse of the Bible can stand alone apart from
its
ASSERTION: “And
as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be
lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” (John
3:14–15, ESV)
1. “FOR God
so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him
should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, ESV);
2. “FOR God did not send his
Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be
saved through him.” (John 3:17, ESV); and
D. A. Carson sums it up nicely: "Because
John 3:16 is sandwiched between vv. 14–15 and v. 17, the fact that God gave his one and only Son is tied both
to the Son’s incarnation (v. 17) and to his death (vv. 14–15). That is the
immediate result of the love of God for the world: the mission of the Son. His
ultimate purpose is the salvation of those in the world who believe in him …
Whoever believes in him experiences new birth (3:3, 5), has eternal life (3:15,
16), is saved (3:17); the alternative is to perish …There is no third option."[1]
We should read, study, memorize (not
verses) but context. To simply pull
verses out of the Bible endangers the Bible to become unraveled.
[1] Carson, D. A. (1991). The
Gospel according to John (p. 206). Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI:
Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans.
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