• Misusing figures, continued:
    • Don’t take an unintended lesson from the figure, continued:
      • “Jonah was not dead in the fish; Jesus was not dead in the tomb. He appeared to die but did not actually die.” (Matthew 12:39-40) This contradicts many other passages that plainly say Jesus died. The comparison here is in the timing of the two events. Compare also John 3:14.
      • “If my grown child falls away, I should not seek him out. The father in Luke 15 waited for the son to come home on his own.” (Luke 15:18) This contradicts the parables of the lost sheep and lost coin earlier in the same chapter. Compare Matthew 18:15-17.
      • “One person wins a race. So only one person is going to Heaven.” (I Corinthians 9:24) The context talks about Paul helping others to reach Heaven, so clearly that’s not what the passage means.
      • “Take two people and bind them with a rope. If you cut the rope, both are free. So, if one is free to remarry, the other is, too.” (Romans 7:23) Rope is not in the context. The bond is a legal one from God’s perspective. Rope is a poor analogy.
  • Commentaries
    • Read the Bible first!
      • Matthew 15:3-9
      • Let your first impressions come from the inspired text itself.