HOW TO PROOF TEXT

There was a time not too long ago when I was impressed by biblical "proof texting" - rattling off verse after verse in order to "prove" some theological point you are teaching. 

It took a while for reality to sink in to me. And reality is that as a means of argumentation, proof texting is incredibly persuasive but not necessarily trustworthy.

Proof texting is used to support any number of doctrines. Calvinist teachers are adept at the practice and can cite several verses from all over the Bible to support propositions like total depravity or unconditional election.

But here's the red flag: These "proof" verses are always pulled out of the context of the surrounding paragraph, chapter, book, and the Bible as a whole. 

The easiest way to illustrate the inadequacy and the danger of proof texting is to show how it could be used to support an idea that we all (hopefully) agree is wrong.

So here are a few verses I could use to "prove" that we earn eternal life by our own good works and righteousness:

As my central text, I would focus on Matthew 25 and Jesus' parable of the sheep and the goats. It clearly shows that Jesus is watching each of us as we live our lives. Those who visit the sick and feed the hungry are welcomed into "the Kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world" (34). They are called the sheep. 

Those who fail to do good works, though, "shall go away into everlasting punishment".

"But the righteous into life eternal" (46)!

How could Scripture be any more clear? This is straight from the mouth of Jesus: the righteous earn eternal life. 

(You're not supposed to notice that I just slipped a word in there - "earn" - that isn't in the original text.) 

Now that we have established that salvation is earned by good works, and that the righteous are called sheep, we can go look for other references to sheep and see just what Jesus thinks of the righteous.

We notice that if He loses sight of even one of His righteous sheep, He goes looking for him and brings him back to safety. (Matthew 18:12)

The righteous are obviously quite valuable to God.

So valuable, in fact, that Jesus laid His life down for the sheep! (John 10:11)

Next, I would turn to the Old Testament to show that God has always favored the righteous and promised them eternal life.

For instance, Proverbs 10:2 - "Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death."

Or Proverbs 11:19 - "Whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live, but he who pursues evil will die."

The psalmist said (in 112:6) - "The righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever."

And then just to drive the point home, we turn to the Apostle Paul. Two passages will be enough to demonstrate how Paul taught that the righteous earn eternal life: 

Romans 2:6-10 - "(God) will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek."

2 Corinthians 5:10 - "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil."

So there you have it. The Bible clearly teaches that the righteous earn their salvation by their own good works. 

God simply keeps score. 

Just look at how many verses I quoted! You aren't going to argue with what the Bible clearly teaches, are you?