
1. Who said it?
2. What’s the context?
3. When did it happen?
4. How does the description of the action line up with what the Bible commands us to do prescriptively?
5. Finally, God has given us a brain and a conscience, and in most cases those should be sufficient to discern whether the Bible condones or condemns the actions it records. When those are not sufficient, He has also given us local churches, pastors (Ephesians 4:11), and you can ask your pastor for guidance with a passage if it is confusing to you.