The Devil illustrates “proof texting” in Matthew 4:5-7, where he quoted a verse from Psalm 91 out of context to make a point which he believes, but is false. Jesus rightly quotes Deut 6:16. Take an opportunity to note that Jesus chose to highlight God’s greatness. Another example of proof texting is to justify binge drinking by quoting 1 Tim 5:23: “use a little wine because of your stomach”.
You might give a few other examples. However, it might create a very interesting discussion to ask class members to share a verse which they think is often quoted out of context. You'll discover what members already know about proof texting.
I’ll try to post my lesson slides by Saturday afternoon.
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2 comments:
I had been thinking about Satan's msuse of Psalm 91 today as well, as I perpare for Sunday. It seems to me that the Lifeway Literature only focuses on that fact that Satan misused it, not how he misused it. I think it is importatnt for us teachers on Sunday to take a moment to focus on that, and maybe highlight some other verses that can be misconstrued, such as Phil. 4:13. I think this is especially important in thiese times, when many in society do not think twice about quoting verses out of context, etc.
As always, I look forward to your slides!
David
Huntsville.
Hi David,
I think you are right. One point I keep reminding myself about is not to miss the point of the lesson by chasing too far afield. Our lesson passage is very rich, and offers numerous opportunities to get off course. I'm running late on my slides this week. Here is a very first draft. I plan to complete the commentary text tomorrow. The notes on the slides frame my initial thoughts, summarized as follows
1. I want to encourage members to ask questions.
2. Public commitment is somewhat like that of a flying trapeze artist.
3. The "quick fix" mentality in our culture encourages us to "give in" when we tempted.
4. We want to be famous, but God wants us to know who we are in Christ.
5. "Showing off" (illustrated by a motorcycle jump) is contrary to who God has called us to be.
Again, I'll replace these draft slides with the final version tomorrow (Lord willing).
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