The main problem with taking verses of context is that it distorts our view of God and can cause major issues in one’s faith and their walk with the Lord.

Here are 4 main consequences of improper hermeneutics;

(1) Limited or incomplete view of God

When verses are picked out of the context in which the author wrote them, we fall in danger of retrospectively changing how we view God and His word.

By plucking verses out of their proper context, we can miss out on the true intended meaning of the Scripture, end up with partial truth, and miss out on important theological concepts that the Bible teaches us.

The misinterpretation of the Scriptures is precisely how believers end up with a view of God as a “cosmic vending machine” as described in the prosperity gospel, or a God that is “only about love with no justice” as portrayed in “the progressive Christianity movement.

These are unfortunate consequences of misinterpretations that focus on the gifts and blessings of God rather than on Christ, who has provided them for us.

(2) An exalted view of self

When the text of scripture is misapplied, the consequence is that people may end up with an exalted view of themselves. Therefore, it is only natural that when people have an incomplete view of God, it intrinsically leads to glorifying men.

People love to feel good about themselves, and so they end up focusing solely on scriptures concerning God’s love, peace and joy. While these are essential components of Christianity, it is unfortunate when that is all a Christian knows about the faith. Because when trials, pain or persecution comes, they may end up devastated because they don’t fully understand the whole counsel of God.

Furthermore, those who develop an exalted view of themselves also struggle to submit to the exclusivity of Christ because they are being taught that the Bible revolves around them. On the contrary, the Bible’s purpose is to continually redirect our attention to the nature of God, the work of Jesus and the continuous work of the Spirit in this world.

The scriptures should lead us to have a greater view of God and a lesser view of ourselves.

(3) Surface-level understanding of Scripture

When people skim through Scripture only to obtain an immediate solution or application, it merely leads to a surface-level understanding of Scripture.

The Bible is not a self-help book or a manual for instant solutions and easy answers. Rather, it is a means to know God and the mechanism through which God has chosen to reveal Himself to us.

We must read the Bible in its entirety and not simply read individual verses in isolation.

The proper study of the Scriptures takes time and effort on behalf of the believer, which, unfortunately, many shy away from doing.

When we take time to read and understand the scriptures, we can fully the God’s whole counsel of God and get a better and truer understanding of the nature of God.

(4) Missing out on the full meaning of God’s Word

When Scriptures are misused, misquoted and misapplied, it can cause believers to miss out on the full meaning of God’s word.

Christians today are more focused on cliche one-off statements that can be printed on t-shirts or tattooed on rather than being motivated to study scripture to grasp the fullness of God.

Once saved we must strive to become diligent seekers of God through the sacred Scriptures and trust the Holy Spirit to give us the understanding and application we need.