Remind the people … always to be gentle toward everyone.
Summary: Understanding the context of a verse or passage is critical to understanding the intent of the text. It is important to ask questions about the context as we read through God’s Word.
When I read the Bible or any book for that matter, I hear the words in my mind, and then my brain tries to “picture” what the words mean. When I read the words “always … be gentle toward everyone,” I picture gentle people being gentle towards each other. But life is not always like that. The Bible is not always like that.
Paul himself, referring to the Cretans, says, “rebuke them sharply.” (Titus 1:13) Does that sound gentle? Even two sentences before today’s passage, Paul writes, “rebuke with all authority.” (Titus 2:15) Once again, does this sound gentle?
No, honestly, it does not.
So what is Paul thinking when he says people should be reminded “to be gentle toward everyone?”
Rich is always reminding us that context is everything when it comes to understanding the Bible. This passage is a good example of why that is true. Taken at face value, it appears that Paul is contradicting himself. Yet if we believe that God is the real author behind the Bible’s words, then it does not make sense that there would be a contradiction in the Word of God.
So let us assume that there is not a contradiction. What then?
The context of the sentence we are in began with, “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities.”
The “people” Paul refers to are the new believers on Crete. Paul wants Titus to teach them “sound doctrine.” (Titus 2:1)
The next question is who is the “everyone” that Paul refers to? Is he thinking “everyone” in the church, “everyone” everywhere, or “everyone” outside of the church?
Paul is very concerned about the church’s reputation. (See Titus 2:5, 7, and 10) This makes sense. The church, after all, is based on the gift of salvation from God. So there is no reason for pride or arrogance on the part of believers.
If we understand Paul to be saying that those inside the church should keep an eye on each other that is consistent with Scripture. If we understand this passage to mean that we should be gentle toward everyone outside the church, then there is no conflict.
This does not mean that we are not to be gentle towards those in the church. Yet when leadership determines that a member needs to be rebuked, there is provision for that.
Application: As you read God’s Word, keep in mind that the context changes, sometimes often.
Food for Thought: How does understanding context help us avoid the stumbling stone? (Romans 9:32)
Thank you brother. I had a professor in seminary who used to drill into us: “A text without a context is a pretext.” A pretext is an error or opinion we bring to the text. Paying careful attention to the context is a tool to protect the text from our presuppositions. Thus, it helps us find the truth of the text without stumbling over a false interpretation we impose upon it.
Thank you, Rich!
Your professor would be proud of you! 🙂
I WANNA BUNNY!
How does understanding context help us avoid the stumbling stone? (Romans 9:32,)
What would happen if we isolated and accepted John 3:16, and ignored the remainder of the Bible? Satan would have a hayday as he used every cult in the world to totally distort Gods truths for mankind.
We need to first know the Bible as the eternal, complete, inspired and preserved Word of God who used selected individuals to write His message to all mankind. We must allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate Gods truths for us. To better understand Romans 9:32, we should read Romans so we begin to understand what is being taught, then chapter 9 which will contain clarification of verse 32. At the very least always read before and after the verse, allowing the Bible to interpret the Bible.
2 Timothy 3:16, Psalm 19:7, John 1:14, Psalm 12:6-7, Matthew 5:18, 24:35, Mark 13:31, Luke 21:33
To become solidly grounded on the meaning of this verse, we can find additional verses throughout the Bible that verify possibly enrich the meaning of any one verse.
If we hope to fully understand John 3:16 we need to devote our lives to studying the entire Bible as we look forward to a complete renewal of our hearts when we join Christ in our eternal home.
Ron,
I am sure if you ask your wife nicely, she will let you have a bunny! 🙂
As to using the whole Bible as context, I absolutely agree.
If the stumbling stone is Christ then I want to be tripping up all over it,..The gospel is a stumbling stone for a lot of people,..that’s why we should be gentle with sharing it,..it sure wasn’t gentle as Jesus was going to the cross,..I stumbled over why we rejoice over that for a long time,..it wasn’t until I realized that it is the resurrection of Jesus in which we celebrate,..because the empty tomb is what guarantees us eternal life,..that is of course if we believe in the work of Christ,..
It’s not a gentle message to convey,..but with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the words written in the Bible the message of the gospel does get conveyed gently,..yeah sometimes there are people I would like to smack upside the head with the gospel,..even though I would be forgiven for my action,..it wouldn’t be a very gentle action,..one thing is that it would leave some sound doctrine ringing in the ears,..
I don’t want to stumble over the context and miss stumbling over Jesus
John,
Nicely said!