Bible Difficulties
How to Study Bible Difficulties
Many things in the Bible even a child can understand. I remember as a child myself talking with my daddy about the Bible and the stories in the Bible. Even at six years of age I knew I was lost and going to hell. I knew that I had to accept Christ as my Saviour or else I would die in my sins. Just like there are some simple things found in the Word or God there are some hard things found also. When I was a young boy who just got saved I did not understand what the Trinity was, or the Rapture. Even to this day I cannot possibly understand all there is in the Word of God. Peter himself refers to the hard things in the Bible that need to be understood in 2 Peter 3:15-16 “And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.”
First of all we notice
1. Peter did not call into question the truth of what Paul had written.
2. Peter did not say all doctrines are hard to understand.
3. Peter did not say we are not to try and understand the hard sayings. Hard saying just require harder study. Some things we will never understand until we get to glory.
4. Peter did say in 1 Peter 2:2 “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:” A newborn babe does not digest steak well, that is why it is fed milk. A baby would choke to death on meat. Instead it needs milk that can be easily digested in its tender newborn digestive system. Young or new believers in Christ are the same way. They cannot possibly understand the meat of the Word until they cam comprehend the milk. There does come a time when an infant needs to be weaned off of milk so that it can begin to grow and digest solids. Paul tells the Corinthians that he should be feeding them the meat of the Word, but instead he has to still feed them milk. In 1 Corinthians 3:2 Paul said, “I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.” It is unnatural for a young boy or girl at the age of nine or ten to be walking around with a baby bottle. There comes a time in a Believer’s life that he should grow up spiritually and begin to grow in the things of the Word of God.
It’s ashamed that we have immature Christians walking around that have been saved for ten years that are still dealing with the same issues that new converts have. Some believers never seem to grow up. They are always fussing and fighting over trivial matters. They still can’t spend time with God everyday. They still have a problem telling lies, gossiping, lusting, etc.
Lets all turn to an important passage on this point found in Hebrews 5:11-14 “Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”
Notice if you will
1. Paul many hard things to speak that were hard to be uttered.
2. When they ought to be teaching others, they needed to be taught.
3. They had already been taught once, now they had to be taught again.
4. They had to be taught the “basics” or the milk of the Word of God, as they were in the first.
5. They still needed milk and not strong meat.
6. He that is in need of milk is not able to teach others who need milk also. A baby cannot feed a baby.
7. He that needs milk is a baby, not grown or mature.
8. Strong meat belongs to the strong.
9. Strong meat helps us to discern between good and evil.
Six Reasons for Bible Difficulties
1. It is foretold.
Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” The Bible is full of things hard to understand, which reveals the omniscient, omnipotent, eternal God. It also reveals the puny wicked dogs that we are.
2. A different culture, languages, and time separate us.
God gave His Word for all people of all times and races to have and possess. This does not mean that there will not be some problems in understanding the Scriptures. Phillip explained to the Ethiopian Eunuch the Scriptures. Acts 8:30-31 “And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.”
3. Hidden on purpose to the unbeliever.
Matthew 13:13-17 “Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.” God has no problem revealing to us the things in the Scriptures if we are obedient and eager to learn.
4. Requires spiritual understanding.
The unsaved and the immature believer cannot understand the Bible properly because they lack the spiritual discernment needed in order to understand. 1 Corinthians 2:12-15 “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.”
5. Believers must study.
Paul tells Timothy a young preacher to study in 2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” It is not just the duty of a pastor or teacher to study. It is the duty and responsibility of every believer to be ready to give an answer. Peter tells us this in 1 Peter 3:15 “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”
Four thoughts about Studying
Study is not an option it is commanded.
Study is to please God not man.
Galatians 1:10 “For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.”
Study that is diligent will not bring shame.
Philippians 1:20 “According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.”
Study brings about right interpretations not false doctrines.
2 Timothy 2:18 “Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.”
6. The Bible is for all men and all times.
Prophecy falls into this category. Not until just recently have men begun to understand prophecy well until these last days. Perhaps it is possible that some things are difficult to understand because God did not intended that man would not understand it until another point in time.
Eleven Rules for Solving Bible Difficulties
1. The literal sense of Scripture must rule.
2. Allow the Bible to define its own figurative language.
3. Context is the most important in defining words and interpreting passages.
4. Clear passages interpret the less clear passages.
5. Compare Scripture with Scripture.
6. Parables do not define doctrine, but illustrate doctrine.
7. Revelation is progressive.
8. Understand Old Testament parallelism.
9. Study the Bible dispensationally.
10. If two or more interpretations are supported by the passage, both are probably correct.
11. Caution and careful study solve most seemingly problems.
Note: some of the materials used here are from David Cloud’s book “How to Study the Bible.
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