Each verse in the Bible has a greater context around it. Each chapter in the Bible has a greater context around it. Each book in the Bible has a greater context around it. If you don’t take the whole context into context, you’re very likely to miss important truths and twist other truths into lies, especially when you read the Bible through the lens of what you want it to say.
Do not pull Bible passages out of context to prove your opinion on a grey area.
Do not cherry pick passages to finagle your way into or out of something.
Know the context, or you might be conned with the text.
Remember that the Bible is written for us but not to us, meaning the Bible was written specifically for other people while also applying to each of us to this day. What we need to realize is that if we’re going to apply the Bible properly, we need to understand who it was written to, who it is from, and why it was written. (See Reading Someone Else’s Mail.)
While the Bible may not list every specific issue we face and exactly what to do about it, it absolutely has principles with which we can come to the correct conclusions about the specific issues we face. God gave us brains and He gave us the Holy Spirit, so we should be using our sanctified grey matter to make our choices and form our opinions.
Related:
How to Study the Bible
Context