Three ways to live

We all heard many times that we should not quote Bible verses out of context. I must say I was personally guilty of this on several occasions, latest being misquoting Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” to mean that Jesus is always in the midst of our gatherings and prayer meetings. Looking at the context in verses 15-19 makes it apparent that Jesus didn’t mean this at all. Here he speaks on church discipline and the authority he gives to decide what’s right and wrong in terms of practical application, not some general presence in some random gathering. Another very common misquotation is “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” in Matthew 7:1 and parallel verse in Luke 6:37, which commonly mistaken to mean that we should avoid judging others. Looking at the broader context reveals that both verses apply only to hypocritical judgment. So there is nothing wrong with passing judgment on others when they sin, and we are told to do so in Matthew 18:15-18. See Never read a Bible verse article by Gregory Koukl for other common mistakes. Not sure if you agree with his conclusions regarding verse memorization and devotional reading, but at least we should all be aware of this problem and make a serious effort to avoid this kind of mistakes.