Skip to main content

Why the Bible Can Be Hard to Understand




Question: Why is the Bible so hard to understand?

Short Answer: What you understand when you’re reading your Bible has a lot to do with what you do with your mind when you’re not reading it. 


What the Bible Says

Why does the psalmist ask for his eyes to be turned from what is worthless (Psalm 119: 33 – 40)? Because what we see becomes our thoughts and our thoughts take root in our hearts and “out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person” (Mark 7:21-23 ESV). Even if you don’t act on feelings of pride or envy, God sees that those feelings are there. As God told Samuel before anointing David over Israel, “Humans do not see what the Lord sees, for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart” (1 Samuel 16:17 CSB). In other words, even when don’t act on evil desires, God still sees the intention and desire to do those things. This is why the psalmist prayed “Create in me a clean heart” (Psalm 51:10-19 KJV).

 Jesus said, “the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them” (Matthew 15:18 NIV). If your heart is defiled, “unclean”, then it’s not going to be a place that the Spirit of God can live. Your body is meant to be “a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you” (1 Corinthians 6: 19 NIV). However, we know from Old Testament scripture that God cannot dwell in temple that is not clean. If the Spirit of God is not living in you, then the Holy Spirit, who “gives anyone understanding” (Job 32:8 NIV) is not present.


What do you do with this?

The short answer is to ask God to help you clean up the temple. The harder answer is the responsibility for guarding the temple falls on you. Only you know how often you really scroll through social media or turn on Netflix, and only you know whether you dwell on those images that you see. However, what is true for all of us is that mentally dwelling on worldly images will eventually lead to a heart that is full of the sinfulness that those images represent, and a heart of sinfulness is not one that can understand God.

 

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” (Psalm 51: 10 – 11 NIV).


Relevant Scripture

Psalm 119: 33 – 40:

(NKJV) Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statues, And I shall keep it to the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart. Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, for I delight in it. Incline my heart to Your testimonies, and not to covetousness. Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your way. Establish Your word to Your servant, who is devoted to fearing You. Turn away my reproach which I dread, for your judgments are good. Behold, I long for Your precepts; Revive me in Your righteousness.

 

Labels:

Popular Posts

Why should I intercede for someone who hurt me?

  Short Answer: Those who are right with God have a spiritual responsibility to bring those who are walking in sinfulness before the Lord so that He might be moved to mercy on their behalf.   What the Bible Says Scripture repeatedly shows us that God calls those who are righteous to intercede for those who are not. Abraham asked that God spare Sodom if ten were found righteous (Genesis18:16-33) . Moses pleaded that God would spare the Israelites for their idol worship in the wilderness ( Numbers 14:11- 20 ). Daniel petitioned for mercy instead of disaster for Judah during their Babylonian exile ( Daniel 9:19 ). Each time, God faithfully responded. To Abraham, He promised that if just ten were found righteous, He would spare the city ( Genesis 18:32 ).   He told Moses that He would forgive the Israelites because of his words ( Numbers 14:20 ). To Daniel, He sent the angel Gabriel with a message of hope for Judah ( Daniel 9:20 – 27 ). We are not told that interces...
Post a Comment
Read more

Who Told You That Your Seasons Are The Same?

Question: Do I need to be like the Proverbs 31 woman?   Short Answer:  Only in that she fears the Lord   What the Bible Says Proverbs 31:9-31 shows us a model of virtuous perfection. The woman in these verses is praised by her husband and blessed by her children. She cares for her household and the needy. She’s wise in words and in business. Scripture says that she surpasses all the other noble women. But when we focus on what she is, desiring to be her, we miss the heart of the passage and veer into the lane of sinful comparison ( Galatians 6:4 ). Every good work and noble trait is futile without the fear of the Lord because, without that, we can only serve ourselves. The most significant part of the passage is this: “a woman who fears the Lord.” That’s it. The Proverbs woman produced good fruit and did good works because she feared the Lord, not the other way around. Her fear of the Lord isn’t an extra detail to be spoken of as if it also describes her l...
Post a Comment
Read more

Should I Always Correct Sinfulness in Others?

  Short Answer: We have to learn the difference between being prompted to speak by the Holy Spirit and a desire to speak from a lack of self-control. Not all thoughts, even what we believe to be righteous, are meant to be spoken. What the Bible Says The Apostle Paul tells us to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” ( 2 Corinthians 10:5 ). We generally talk about this verse in the context of what we believe to be “bad” or sinful thoughts. However, the key word in this verse is every . Every thought, even the ones that we believe to be righteous, must come before the Lord before it comes out of our mouth. First, only God knows the true motivation of the heart – even yours. We can say that we’re speaking out of love to help our brothers and sisters in their walk with Christ, but only God knows if there are hidden motivations behind your words ( 1 Chronicles 28:9 ). Second, as we don’t know anyone else’s heart, we can’t know how our words will be received. J...
Post a Comment
Read more