Why is Matthew 16 so often taken out of context?
This passage is frequently twisted out of context because people fail to maintain a biblical rule of order: a word used in a particular way is never used outside that context. They thereby make it say what it does not, instead of seeing Peter's confession of Christ.
Les explains that the passage in Matthew 16 has been twisted all out of context to make it say something it does not. He points to a biblical rule of order: when a word is used in a particular way, it is never used out of that context. In the preceding context, he notes that the spiritual rock that followed Israel was Christ, and the word 'rock' is capitalized significantly. Then he brings up Matthew 16, a portion most are well acquainted with, which he uses to point out Peter's confession—what was his mode of salvation—where Peter concludes, 'Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.' The mistake comes from not maintaining that rule of order, leading people to misapply the verse.
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.