No, I'm not going to stop being a comedian. You have to be one in the first place to stop. I have a friend who broke his finger. He asked the doctor if he would be able to play the piano when it healed. The doctor said yes and my friend was ecstatic; he had never been able to play before. Yes! It is good that I never got started as a comic. The one-liners that I have in mind are of a different nature. I am referring to out-of-context quotations of little segments of scripture which are given to prove what are sometimes major points of doctrine. This is not to say that there are not phrases in the Bible which can stand on their own. We can all name many. Every verse and phrase in the Bible does, however, have a context which, when understood, can always enhance and often will change our understanding of a particular verse. The context can be but is not limited to: who is being addressed, the subject being discussed, the time in which the statement took place, results of previous similar events or sayings, and the meaning of the words in the original language. Historical facts can also be helpful for one to understand correctly and correctly use a passage of scripture.
The whole Bible has to be considered as a context for any verse. This of course does not mean that every verse other than the one being considered will have an impact on our understanding. It does mean that we cannot limit our understanding to one or two verses and that we cannot consider each verse as separate and in its own complete context. I am reminded of the following story which I am pretty sure someone made up to illustrate this very point.
A young man decided one day that he was lacking something in his life and wanted to turn to God. Having heard that the Bible was the inspired word of God and that God could help people, that is exactly where he went to redirect his life. Thumbing through the pages of the Bible, it soon became evident that this redirection could take a while if he sat down and began to read from cover to cover. So being impatient he determined that he would open his Bible at random, point to a verse and then, if possible, do what it said. He gently plopped his Bible on the table in front of him, closed his eyes and pointed. The verse was:
Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. -- Matthew 27:5
Not knowing what to do with this verse he decided to use the same procedure again. This time he found his finger resting on:
And he said, "He who showed mercy on him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise." -- Luke 10:37
We continue on with the young man going to the front of the Bible to find: "Make yourself an ark." and finally to the end to read: "If anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life." I guess it would have to happen this way. The young man, in order to have part in the Book of life, would build an ark and then hang himself.
Now some would say that the outcome would have been different if the young man would have prayed first. Others would say that such a thing would never happen. Still others might say that he was not one selected for eternal life and had no hope anyway. The Bible of course does not support any of these considerations. The quest to find what one must do to please God must and should be answered from the Bible; there is, however, no magic abbreviated approach. All are invited to study in their context the following passages:
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. -- Hosea 4:6
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. -- II Timothy 2:15
"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them," -- Hebrews 10:16
These and other passages illustrate the fundamental idea -- One must learn and understand God's word in order to correctly apply scriptures. There are no short cuts or easy paths. Surveys, outlines, graphs and charts all help one to gain understanding, but there is no substitute for regular, frequent, and open-minded Bible study.