8. Coffee Cup Christianity Is a Weak Brew
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker, who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15
There are verses of Scripture that appear on T-shirts, coffee cups, and all sorts of merchandise. They are popular verses we all love to quote and hold on to. For example, I’ve seen many different paintings, greeting cards, and coffee cups that have Jeremiah 29:11. The verse is beautiful, and when you read it as a stand alone verse, it does indeed make a good verse for special occasions. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
When I graduated from high school one well meaning individual gave me a card with Jeremiah 29:11 on it. She was trying to assure me that if I belonged to the Lord God was going to be with me. My senior summer was a difficult one. In addition to all the life changes, I learned that my mother had a massive brain tumor that would require major surgery. This dear older saint reached out and just wanted me to know that God was in control. Reflecting back on that event some 30 years later I remain grateful for her concern, but the bible student in me looks back and sees that the promise I held on to wasn’t to be found in Jeremiah 29:11.
Most believe that the idea contained in Jeremiah 29:11 is that God has a life plan for everyone, and if we commit to him then everything will work out. I certainly believe that is a true statement, but I don’t think that is what Jeremiah 29:11 is saying in context. In context, Jeremiah 29:11 records almost the very opposite of what our cards and coffee cups try to convey.
Chapter 29 of Jeremiah tells how the prophet is told that Israel (specifically the southern kingdom of Judah) is going to have to spend the next 70 years in exile. Their nation will be crushed, and their people won’t be rescued. No calvary is coming to defeat the Babylonians. Their captors have them, and until God brings them back (70 years in the future) they need to build houses and plant gardens and accept that they are in the foreign land of Babylon. They are there because of their disobedience, but God still has plans for a rebellious nation. He will ultimately do them good. If we are going to give Jeremiah 29:11 to someone, and they read it in context, they may think we are saying: “Tuff it up buttercup, you’ve made your bed, now you have to lie in it…but good news…God hasn’t forgotten you.” They may think that because that is essentially what that verse is contextually saying to Israel, and that is the message the verse has for the Christian today! We reap what we sow, but God is gracious.
Could we find a verse, in context, that assures the believer that God loves them, is in control, and has them in his care? Certainly we could. A verse from Matthew 6:25 (don’t be anxious for anything) or Romans 8:28 (all things work together for good to those who love the Lord) would accomplish the same comfortable promise, it would simply be in context.
You may be thinking, “What is the big deal? Why be so particular?” I think we have to be particular because we often indiscriminately apply these coffee cup verses to both believer and non-believer. Often, they are seldom for the unbeliever, and they give off the impression that you can have God’s blessings without a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Second, we make the skeptics around us think us fools when we take verses out of context. We apply the verse with a made up meaning, and when the skeptical graduate reads our graduation card for themselves (and reads our out of context verse in context) he thinks we have no idea what we are talking about. We are just sweet but simple sentimental fools. Thirdly, we actually malign the precious word of God. Scripture is God speaking to us. If we garble the message due to our lazy reading methods, then we have wrong views of God, and wrong assumptions about Christianity. Finally, if we teach in Chrisitan education we really need to be particular with Scripture. In our misappropriation of the biblical text we may actually turn our students away from the authority of God’s word, the very opposite effect we intend.
As you teach from a distinctly Chrisitan perspective, make it your aim to teach and speak the unadulterated word of God. Paul told young Timothy to study hard to show himself approved (skillful) in the word of God because there were many deceivers and empty talkers infiltrating the church. That is our aim as well. Let the Word of God speak clearly and contextually. You will honor God and bless others.
Discussion Questions:
Have you had verses given to you, or quoted by you, that were out of biblical context? How did you handle that, and how have you grown beyond it?
The danger of reading the Bible out of context is real, so what are the means you employ to help you study the Bible in a more clear and concise way?
How can reading and studying the Bible with other believers help alleviate contextual errors?
