Rightly understanding and applying Scripture is very much like that. We cannot build correct doctrine by looking only at one section of Scripture, or even several sections. We need to consider everything that God has told us in Scripture about a particular subject in order to be sure we accurately understand what God has said. Not only do we need to understand the substance of what God has said (the meaning of the text), we also need to understand the rules for fitting together all that he has said. Primarily, that means recognizing the context(s) in which God has spoken. To whom was God speaking, historically? What were the circumstances in which he spoke? Why did he say what he said? Did God later say something that superseded or modified what he said earlier?

 

Many of the theological differences we have as Christians arise from a failure to consider the whole counsel of God. Ignoring any portion of Scripture is never a good tactic. Instead, we need to give due respect to all that God has told us and try to reconcile together all that he has said into one harmonious whole. A correct understanding of Scripture on any given subject is one that harmoniously accounts for all that God has said on the matter.

 

When, as an example, we consider the very important question of salvation, we need to look at all that God has told us on the subject. He has in some instances linked salvation to faith, in others to love, in others to his grace, and in still others to our obedience. For a full and accurate understanding of how an individual is saved, we must take into account all of these different teachings and reconcile them together. If we are unable to do that, it is a sure sign that we are missing something. Perhaps we are misunderstanding the substance of what God has said. Perhaps, as is often the case, we are reading something into what God has said based on what other men have taught. It is not always easy to see clearly, but if we work at honestly reconciling the whole counsel of God even when it means admitting that we might have erred, we can with God's help rightly divide the Word of truth.