In Matthew 13 Jesus sat down by the seaside, and with a great multitude assembled before Him, started speaking – “Behold, a sower went forth to sow…” (vs. 3). Over the next several verses He spoke a parable regarding different types of soils and the effect those types of soils had on the seed when it was sown. Long story short, when He got done His disciples just didn’t get it. They asked in vs. 10 – “Why speakest thou unto them in parables?” – to which He responded with both an explanation of why He spoke in parables as well as an explanation of the parable itself.
More often than not that is the response people give to their, typically meager, attempts to study the Bible. “I just don’t get it.” I’m sure that’s true. Most people in this world don’t “get” the Bible. But it’s not because the Bible is ungettable. Like the disciples’ difficulty understanding parables, they just aren’t digging deeply enough. And what’s worse is I’m convinced that many people are satisfied not getting the Bible. It gives them an excuse to live, talk, and act the way they want with no regret or remorse. If that’s true then let me give you some pointers to make sure you continue to not get it.
- Read the Bible trying to make it fit into your worldview. Pro gay marriage? Pro abortion? Believe interracial marriage is a sin? If these particular social issues are matters you have already made your mind up on then there are some things in the Bible you’re just not going to get. You’ll have trouble reading passages like Romans 1:26-32; Proverbs 6:16-19; James 2:1-13. Do you think that it’s okay to be dishonest on occasion as long as the situation “justifies” it? Revelation 21:8 could cause you some trouble. So often we attempt to interpret the Bible dependent on our worldview when, instead, our worldview should be shaped by the Bible. If we depend on the former instead of the latter we will never get the Bible.
- Read the Bible trying to make it fit into your religious convictions. Reject the importance of baptism? Don’t accept the premise that Christianity is exclusive and unique? Have difficulty believing that God would really send people to hell. There’s going to be a lot in the Bible, specifically in the New Testament, that you’ll have a lot of problems understanding. The fact that Jesus along with every inspired writer in the New Testament emphasized all three will cause you some hang-ups. Like our worldviews, many people grow up being taught a particular set of religious beliefs. The difficulty in that comes when we begin to read our Bibles and have to compare those religious beliefs with what is in that Book. Sometimes what we’ve been taught isn’t necessarily there. At least if we read it objectively we learn it isn’t there. When we don’t read it objectively we drop our Bibles in despair and conclude we just don’t get it.
- Read the Bible trying to make it fit into your logic. Did Naaman think that God’s command through Elisha was irrational (2 Kings 5)? Absolutely. Do you reckon that Nadab and Abihu thought God was unjust for killing them just because they got their fire from the wrong altar? Probably. They’re not alone. People today think it is irrational that God would send a soul to hell just because they aren’t dipped under a big tub of water. People today think it is illogical that women shouldn’t be allowed to serve in roles of public leadership in the church. Don’t allow instruments in worship? Those people are just nuts. At least that’s what people believe when they read the Bible and try to take God’s Divine wisdom and make it fit into human logic. Unless we are willing to accept the premise that God’s authority is sovereign, relying on nothing else to make it right, then we are never going to get the Bible.
Don’t be discouraged, though. The Bible is very “gettable.” Otherwise it would be worthless and God would be impotent (for not being able to communicate with man in an understandable way). Paul told the Ephesians that if they would read, they would understand his knowledge in the mystery of Christ (Ephesians 3:4). The same is true with us. But until we are willing to set aside our own worldviews, religious convictions, and logic to accept what God has said we will never get the Bible.
-Andy