Question 1

Why is the Bible so hard to understand sometimes?

Accepted Answer

Psalm 139:17How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!The first step to understanding God is realizing that he fully understands us.Psalm 119:18Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions.We depend on God himself to open our minds to understand his truth.1 Kings 3:9-12“Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?” The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom. So God replied, “Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies—I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have!”God honors our prayers for understanding.Proverbs 2:1-6My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands. Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures. Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God. For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.Understanding and wisdom come when we are relentless in our pursuit of truth and the study of God’s word.Deuteronomy 29:29“The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions.”Isaiah 55:8“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.”2 Peter 3:15-16Remember, the Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him—speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction.Not even the people inspired by God to write Scripture understood everything that God had them record. The difficulties in the Bible mirror the difficulties we have as creatures understanding our Creator. When we are faced with a struggle to make sense of Scripture, we should turn to God with the firm assumption that the problem is in us rather than in God’s word. Humility invites us to wait for God to help us understand rather than concluding that he cannot communicate clearly.

Question 2

How do I know when my understanding of Scripture is right?

Accepted Answer

Matthew 13:18-23“Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”We know we have understood when the truth bears fruit in our lives.Colossians 1:6This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace.2 Thessalonians 3:5May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.A true understanding of the gospel leads to transformed living.