Is it ever okay to play fast and loose with the text?

I'd like some thoughts on this question. I frequently hear people pulling out Bible verses out of context to mean something contrary to the original intent of the author. Certainly, there are many texts whose meanings are debated. What I'm desiring to know is this: Suppose someone quotes a verse and then makes a statement that the verse allegedly proves - the statement may be true or false - is this an acceptable way to quote the Bible?



Option 1 suggests that there is no real truth. The Bible means whatever you want it to mean. There's no possibility of misquoting Scripture with this option or taking a passage out of context. If it's true for you, then that's all the truth you need.

Option 2 is something we see quite often. Often done accidentally or in ignorance, a familiar text is called to mind or a phantom insight is discovered in one's studies and suddenly the text is applied in a way that is counter to the original meaning of the text when it was written. (Now, obviously to some extent, many passages do not apply directly to 21st century believers in the same way they did to the original audience, yet we can still apply the basic principle or underlying meaning practically to our lives.) Can the text have multiple meanings? That is, can God perhaps inspire a new meaning to your heart contrary to what it originally meant?

Option 3 states that, as one professor said, "The text never means what it never meant". That is, the proper way to interpret the Bible is to study it in the context of when it was written and the audience to whom it was written. Then and only then can God's Word be rightly understood.

More on this later, perhaps.

SDG