This is the on preaching podcast with H.B. Charles Jr.

The podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better.

Good day and thanks for listening to the podcast.

In this episode, I want to talk to you about the circles of context.

So it is famously said that the three rules or laws or principles of real estate are location, location, location.

In other words, where a property is located matters more than anything else in real estate.

Similarly, the three rules of proper Bible interpretation are context, context, context.

If you are going to properly understand a biblical text, as it really is in any other form of communication,

context is king.

A text without a context is a pretext.

When one takes a passage out of its natural setting, its context, it is usually a sign that that

person is concealing their true agenda with the text.

They have some ulterior motives. They have some personal agenda with the text

that they are trying to get across and they are using the text for their own purposes,

means, and goals. A text without a context is a pretext. Context is king if you're going to properly

understand a text for teaching or preaching. In that regard, there are two categories of

context that you need to consider. The historical context of your passage and the literary context of your passage.

The historical context deals with the culture behind the text.

The literary context deals with the content surrounding the text, the content surrounding the text.

Or if I may try it another way, the historical context is about the world behind the text.

Who's speaking here?

Who is he writing to? What are the norms, the manners, the customs,

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