As we study God’s will for us, we must look at both the context and full picture of things He says. Looking only at “bits and pieces” of a biblical subject often leaves an incomplete and distorted view of His will.
For example, Jesus commanded “Judge not, that ye be not judged” in Matthew 7:1. Stopping there leads some to believe that judging others is sinful. Yet, when one looks at the context and full picture of what Jesus teaches about judging, it is clear that He has something else in mind.
The context of Matthew 7 shows that Jesus is warning against hypocritical judging. Notice verse 5: Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
The full picture of Jesus’ teaching about judging shows that not only is it not forbidden, but it is actually required in certain situations. Jesus does not forbid judging others, but He forbids unrighteous judging. Notice, for instance, John 7:24: Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. Consider another subject, from Ephesians2:8-9. There the Spirit says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
These two verses are often (ab)used to promote “faith only” doctrine and deny that God requires works of obedience, such as baptism, for one to be saved.
Yet, what the context of the verse really stresses is that no keeping of the Law (“Old” or “New”) makes one deserving of salvation, because no one (besides Jesus) has kept the Law perfectly. This is not the same as saying that God does not require works in order to receive forgiveness.
If we want to know if “faith only” saves, we must look at the full picture of what God teaches about how to receive salvation. Notice, for instance, James 2:14-26. There, the Holy Spirit states “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone” (verse 17). He asks “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” (verse 20). He further states “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only” (verse 24).
Verse 24 makes clear that to be justified (i.e., to stand before God un-condemned), one must “work” the good works God requires. If one is not justified, he or she still stands condemned before God, and thus is not saved. The full picture of God’s Word shows that good works are essential for one to receive salvation (also see Philippians 2:12 & Hebrews 5:9).
The point is that to understand God’s will concerning faith and works, or any biblical subject for that matter, we must look at all that the Bible says on the subject. Moreover, we must not remove a verse, sentence, or phrase from its context and twist it in a way that goes against what is taught in context.
These principles demonstrate the diligence needed in studying God’s Word. It’s much easier to read just a few words on a biblical subject than it is to study the full context of multiple passages that deal with the subject.
These principles also show the need for honesty when studying God’s Word. For instance, if one has his or her mind made up that judging others is sinful (before diligently studying what the Bible says about the subject), there will likely be a temptation to take Matthew 7:1 and “run with it” in whatever direction the person desires. If, on the other hand, we study God’s Word with a sincere desire to know the truth (whether it agrees with what we currently believe or not), then greater care is likely to be taken to study a given biblical subject with the diligence God’s Word deserves.
– Michael Hickox