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Is a Cookie Always a Cookie?

Context - Does it Really Matter?                                      By Drew & Deborah McKenna

If I said to you, "Here is a cookie." What did I mean by that? Am I offering

you a chewy homemade double chocolate chip cookie that I just baked? 

Am I speaking about my lawyer, who is "one tough cookie?" Or did I find a "cookie" in your computer browser collecting your personal data? Not 

knowing I am actually standing in my kitchen holding out to you a plate of 

freshly baked cookies, it could have been any of those.

The same is true with the wording in the Bible.  As Christians, we say we are "people of the book" and often pick out our favorite inspirational scriptures, promises, stories, and "sound bites" from the Bible. Frequently they are hung on the walls of our homes and underlined or highlighted in our Bibles. We say, "all scripture is inspired by God" and might even remember that this verse is from 2 Timothy 3:16, yet have no idea what came before and after this popular quote. We may never have given a second thought to the author's possible original intent and in doing so, may be misrepresenting what he had intended to say.

How then should we approach our study of the Bible and get to know His good news as intended? Simple!  Never forget "context is king!" Context is the circumstance that forms the setting for an event, statement, or idea in terms of which it can be fully understood. 

Context is king, and knowing it does more than change the meaning; it can change the world.

Context - Accurately Understanding Ancient Words

What is the first step in understanding that context rules? Realize that just like people, nations, cultures, and ideas change over time, so do the words representing these. Many words within a language change or evolve over time —usually to the point that the modern meaning is radically different from the original, causing confusion and misunderstanding, especially when reading an ancient document such as the Bible.

For example, most of us have sung the delightful Christmas carol God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen so many times throughout the years that we don't even stop to ask what those confusing lyrics actually mean. Yet, when we look at this old English carol dated to the 16th century, we find that the word "rest" doesn't mean to cease work or relax, but instead means…

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