Out of Context Week 1

Jeremiah 29:11 Out of Context

Chick

We are doing a new series… and…

I love you all very much and honestly, I feel a bit bad for what I am about to do, and at the same time, I love you so much I must tell you the truth.

The first verse is one that a lot of you will be familiar with.

Now if you use this verse, I’m sure some of you even have it in your instagram bio, if you do and or if you have used this verse out of context or any verse in this series, these messages are not to shame you or make you feel bad. Listen, the Bible can be confusing sometimes, and we are human we won’t ever understand everything.

So today, I want to address one verse that people often take out of context and explain what the verse is really saying and then bring your attention to two other verses IN their proper context that will hopefully give you a more solid hope than any verse you could take out of context.

Let’s get into this. The out of context verse we are going to be looking at today is Jeremiah 29:11

Jeremiah 29:11 ESV

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.

Let’s pray.

Context of Jeremiah

Jeremiah is a prophet of God

The people of God had turned to terrible things, like sacrificing babies and God was not cool with this

So God said, through Jeremiah, stop or a great nation is going to take you over and enslave you.

They did not stop so after years of Jeremiah tell them it would happen if they didn’t Jeremiah’s message changes

Now its going to happen and in the text where we find ourselves, 29 Jeremiah is trying to give the people hope despite the coming war and enslavement.

So this is where verse 10, before verse 11, is helpful:

Jeremiah 29:10 ESV

“For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.

So this verse… after 70 years of enslavement and suffering under Babylon, God was going to bring them back and restore the nation of Israel.

Key note, after 70 years.

The way we tend to read this verse is that God is saying to one singular person, and in a sense every person individually that he is going to prosper them and give them hope and a future in this life.

The problem with this, well there are many, the first is You (singular) vs you (plural).

The second is our definition of prospering and hope and future.

We think this means that God is going to give us a good life on earth. Was that true for Paul? how about the other apostles?

And I don’t say this to scare you.

There is hope in this, the hope that Jeremiah is pointing to is the hope 1 that God would again save them from Babylon and ultimately the hope we have in Christ.

And this hope we have in Christ does still apply to us today, and this hope is not that we are going to have an easy, prosperous life, with money and happiness all the time, and plans for a great future where all of our dreams come true.

No, this great hope for a prosperous future is ultimately in Heaven where we will reside for all of eternity.

Now I want to point our attention to two other verses in their proper context:

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Context and application

Ephesians 2:1–10 ESV

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Paul is explaining the Gospel and he says, you were not saved by your works, you were not saved by anything you did, but you were saved FOR a purpose. You weren’t save BY your GOOD WORKS, but you were saved FOR GOOD WORKS Your life has meaning. You may end up living in a van down by the river but if you are living a life that is pursuing Christ you will have purpose because YOU WILL be proclaiming the name of Christ and praising him

Romans 8:28 ESV

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Context and application

Romans 8:18–30 ESV

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Paul is proclaiming this great truth that suffering may come, you may not be prosperous, you may feel in this life you have no hope for money, success, fame, family, whatever it is you desire, you will at some point face great suffering.

How can Paul say if there is suffering that it is being worked for good?

He is saying our ultimate hope, our ultimate Good is found in being justified, and glorified Glorification at its simplest form is entering eternity.

So our great hope is eternity, not anything in this life, but eternity with God.

You will say what about this life?

Christian Hedonism.

Jeremiah 29:11 ESV

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.

You may not be prosperous, you will not always be healthy, wealthy, and happy. However, you have a future in eternity that is more prosperous than you can imagine and in this life you get to enjoy God forever and live into his perfect purpose for you no matter the situation and that is really Good news.