The Devil Hates Context. Use it.
The father of lies is always working. He doesn’t get tired, sleep, or experience any level of fatigue. When we are worn down, the devil is at his best. When our minds are groggy, his is crisp. We fill our minds with Scripture—the sword of truth—to fight against the schemes of Satan. And it’s shocking that he uses Scripture too.
Satan Wields Scripture
When the Lord Jesus was in the wilderness and tempted by the devil, Christ responded each time with Scripture: “It is written.” What’s interesting is that after Christ’s first response, the accuser quoted Scripture too. He even used it to tempt Jesus.
Matthew 4:6: “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
A direct quotation from Psalm 91:11–12. The devil using Scripture is illuminating.
Satan Avoids Context
While doing my regular Bible reading, I came to Psalm 91. Verses 11–12 brought the wilderness temptation to mind. And the next verse, one the devil didn’t quote, brought something else to mind.
Psalm 91:13: You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
The devil took Psalm 91:11–12, applied it to Jesus, and left out the context. And here’s why: verse 13 is an allusion, reminder, and reinforcement of the promise God made in Genesis 3:15. There in the garden of Eden, as sin rippled through the universe, the devil heard his doom—someone would be born who would crush his head. And his name is Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God. He didn’t want to think about Jesus and verse 13.
You can see why the devil left out Psalm 91’s context. Verse 13 preaches his demise. It reveals Christ’s victory over him. I’m sure the devil hates context. So, in our spiritual warfare, in wielding the sword of the Spirit, use the whole weapon—the whole canon—context and all.
Trample with Context
Our Lord told his disciples, and us, that we can now trample on the devil: “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you” (Luke 10:19). One way we do this is by not being “ignorant of his schemes” (2 Cor. 2:10). And since one of his schemes is contextless temptation and twisting of reality, we use context against him. Gospel reality is ours.
Trample his temptations and accusations with the full word of God. He may try to assault you with the heaviness of sin (Romans 7). In Christ, you can fight back with the context of Romans 8: “There is no condemnation for me in Christ Jesus.” It’s true that the wages of sin—its earning power—is death (Romans 3:23a). And it’s true that the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ (Romans 3:23b).
He may try to tempt you to believe your salvation can be lost. He may even try to use Hebrews 6—“it is impossible to restore...” (vv. 1–8)—to trip you up. Fight back with the context, the surrounding verses:
“Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation.” (Hebrews 6:9)
“And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” (Hebrews 6:11–12)
“We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 6:19–20)
The devil tempts us with sinful pleasures. Remember that at God’s right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11). He tempts us with lies. Remember the truth: God’s word is truth (John 17:17). Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6). The accuser will tells us we have no hope, we are losers, we are damned, we are disappointments. Whip the devil with the golden chain. Fight him off with the full context of God’s word. Remind him of Revelation 20:7: “The devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
Use a nearby verse, a close chapter, another book, a similar genre, the same Testament, or another part of the Bible. It’s all God’s word. If “location, location, location” is key in real estate, “context, context, context” is key for the real use of Scripture. Context preaches God’s promises, God’s goodness, the Spirit’s help, and the gospel victory and assurances Christ gives us.
A Battle Hymn
Embracing Accusation by Shane and Shane captures this reality. My heart swells when the song crescendos with the context of the gospel from Galatians 3:13. You can listen on YouTube or wherever you stream tunes.1 Here’s the lyrics:
VERSE 1
The father of lies coming to steal, kill and destroy
All my hopes of being good enough
I hear him saying, "Cursed are the ones who can't abide"
He's right, Hallelujah, he's rightCHORUS
The devil is preaching the song of the redeemed
That I am cursed and gone astray
I cannot gain salvation, embracing accusationVERSE 2
Could the father of lies be telling the truth
Of God to me tonight?
If the penalty of sin is death, then death is mine
I hear him saying, "Cursed are the ones who can't abide"
He's right, Hallelujah, he's rightVERSE 3
Oh, the devil's singing over me an age old song
That I am cursed and gone astray
Singing the first verse so conveniently over me
He's forgotten the refrain: Jesus saves!
They have captured the same spirit found in Martin Luther, who said:
“So when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this: ‘I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it? For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where He is there I shall be also!’” — Martin Luther
Shane Barnard tells the story of the song here.
Thanks for this. You have a great gift for writing. What a great reminder. The Packer quote reminds me of one my bible college teachers used. I think he was quoting DA Carson: "A text without a context is a pretext for a proof text."