Peter Krol | Knowable Word

Don’t Let Study Replace Reading

October 14, 2026 By Peter Krol

A few weeks ago, I gave two of my daughters new study Bibles. But along with the Bibles came a few rules I expect them to follow:

Don’t use the study Bible as your main Bible, but keep it on the shelf as a reference.
Don’t use the study Bible just because a passage feels hard to understand. Work on the passage as far as you can first.
Don’t crack open the study Bible unless you’ve got a specific question on a specific text.

Ben Hicks has a thoughtful piece about not study Bibles in particular but the process of Bible study in general. In “Don’t Just Study the Bible, Read it!” he addresses the numerous ways that “study” could get in the way of direct interaction with the Scriptures. For example,

If you want to get started reading your Bible, there’s a lot of help available. Literally thousands of books, podcasts, videos, and other resources have been designed and published to help you study the Bible, many of them free of charge. You could listen to sermons every hour of the day, every day of the week and not begin to make a dent in all the sermons that were uploaded to that internet from that previous Sunday. All of this is wonderful, and could rightly be described as an “embarrassment of riches.” We have near limitless assistance in better reading the Bible. The danger, of course, is that these wonderful tools can become a replacement for actually reading the Bible.

He’s absolutely right. Let’s not get so caught up in the supplements that we starve ourselves of the true feast.

Hicks’s piece is worth a bit of your time. Check it out!

How to Resist Seduction’s Tactics

October 9, 2026 By Peter Krol

Seduction’s tactics are not complicated (Prov 7:10-20):

Initiative
Dress
Commonality
Touch
Foreplay
Piety
Taste
Sights
Smells
Adventure

Though death awaits, we still regularly go looking for trouble and find it. What applications can we make from Proverbs 7? How do we strengthen our resistance to this wily enemy?

1. Before the Seduction

The battle begins long before you face sin’s temptation. This is where you discover whether you want to resist it or not. “Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected” (1 John 2:4-5, ESV).

Do you have time scheduled to soak in the commands of God? Do you have adequate time in the Scripture? Do you even want to have such time?

As you spend time in God’s word, you hear the voice of Jesus. His perspective overshadows your own. His delight drowns yours. His death gives you life and reminds you of what’s most important. Hint: It’s not your self-gratification but his kingdom. When Jesus is your intimate friend, immorality’s seduction becomes less and less seductive. Why would you gorge on black licorice when there’s ice cream in the freezer?

2. During the Seduction

As best you can, try to figure out what you’re thinking while in the midst of temptation. What do you really want? What do you think this immoral act will give you? This is difficult because immorality is not particularly logical. But your thinking provides the avenue to your heart. You and I must identify the lies before we can replace them with the truth.

Did you have a hard day with difficult deadlines and unresolved conflict? Do you think sexual sin will offer an escape?

Does your life feel out of control? Do you think sexual sin will make you feel powerful and stable once again?

Are you feeling sorry for yourself? Do you feel mistreated, alone, abandoned, or discouraged? Do you think sexual sin will make you happy again? Do you think it will feel good?

Remind yourself that the Lord is near, and he sees all. How does that influence your motivations?

3. After the Seduction

You might expect me to say “remember the gospel.” And that’s critical, but it comes with another key discipline: Reinforce the pain. Not in a guilt-ridden, beat-yourself-up sort of way, but in a sobered, moment-of-truth, life-lesson sort of way.

By “reinforce the pain,” I don’t mean that you should flagellate yourself and feel sorry for yourself all over again. That would not be in line with the fact that Jesus already died to rescue you.

No, I mean that you should receive the Lord’s discipline. He disciplines those he loves, and he chastises every son he receives (Heb 12:6). No discipline is pleasant at the time, but painful. So receive the pain. Learn from it. Brand it on your conscience and leverage it to strengthen you in your Father’s love.

As a teenager, I once drove a girl home and ended up making out with her in the car before she went inside. It didn’t surprise me when it happened. I had hoped it would happen when I offered to give her a lift; I was reasonably sure she was baiting me to it (though I blame myself, not her, for the idiocy of it).

But afterward I felt awful. I felt so bad about it—not because I felt condemned by God, but because it felt so unsatisfying—that as I drove the rest of the way home, I prayed to God and shouted things at myself: “That was not fun! That really sucked! That was the stupidest thing you could do!”

I don’t condone fits of rage, and I acknowledge that this story is somewhat childish. But I’ll confess that few things have been more helpful to me when I face sexual temptation. The memory of my private shouting match has stuck with me ever since. I’m not perfect, but often, when I face temptation, I still hear my own voice: “That was not fun! That really sucked!” And the memory of the pain reminds me both to remember what Jesus has done and to reconsider what the Lord would have me do.

And I have never regretted such remembrance and reconsideration.

Question: What practical steps have helped you to unmask immorality’s deceptive tactics?

This post was first published in 2014 and is part of a series walking through Proverbs 1-9.

4 Keys to Understanding the Book of Revelation

October 7, 2026 By Peter Krol

Daniel Hyde proposes that “Revelation is Not a Puzzle,” and he provides four keys to interpretation to back it up.

The book does ask to be understood. Yet not in the way so many think. The seals, trumpets, and bowls are not a collection of coded predictions that we can confidently match, one by one, to individual events in a modern timeline. If each symbol pointed to one datable event, how would we identify which event among thousands? Thus, we’d get endless interpretations and no certainty, and the book would stay closed.

That’s why I say Revelation was not given like a mass of puzzle pieces to be solved. God did not give Revelation to be interpreted by us but to interpret the world for us. That one sentence changes what you’re doing when you open it. You’re not the detective. You’re the one being shown something.

So how do you read Revelation? Here are four keys: Read it as a book about Christ, to reveal, written in Old Testament signs, and to be heard and obeyed.

His brief piece is worth your time, as he explains each of the four interpretive keys to help you read this book well.

Check it out!

The 11 Deceptive Tactics of Seduction

October 2, 2026 By Peter Krol

When we commit sexual sin, we are not victims but perpetrators. Therefore the solution is to keep the Father’s words in our hearts so we might see sexual temptation with new eyes. Then the glamor doesn’t seem so glamorous anymore. We’ll see the stupid deception for what it is and make better choices.

So, can you recognize the deception when you see it?

1. Initiative

And behold, the woman meets him…
‘So now I have come out to meet you,
to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.’ (Prov 7:10, 15)

Do you love to feel loved? Do you want to feel wanted? Do you desire desirability? Immorality flatters you. It tells you you’re something special. It comes out to meet you, unlike all those real people with real lives, who are too busy even to take notice of you.

2. Dress

Dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart. (Prov 7:10b)

Women and men both know it: If you dress a certain way, you’ll cause people to think of you in a certain way. But just because they think it, doesn’t make it true. And just because you’re deceived by it, doesn’t make it a good idea.

3. Commonality

She is loud and wayward;
her feet do not stay at home;
now in the street, now in the market,
and at every corner she lies in wait. (Prov 7:11-12)

I know everybody’s doing it. I know it’s “every man’s battle” and “every woman’s battle.” But though immorality is loud and proud, and you can find it on every street corner and in every person’s life, it shouldn’t be that way. As a teen, I thought I should masturbate because all my friends were doing it. With the way many Christians discuss internet pornography today, those who don’t look at it might start to wonder if they’re doing something wrong.

4. Touch

She seizes him… (Prov 7:13a)

The right touch at the right time is like magic. It doesn’t have to be sexual (though see the next point), it only has to communicate a sense of concern and value. That’s why predators groom victims through pats on the back and affectionate tousling. Be careful how and when you touch or are touched.

5. Foreplay

…and kisses him… (Prov 7:13b)

I remember a Christian youth event about dating where the students asked the obligatory, “How far is too far?” Please pardon my flabbergasted incredulity at the woefully misinformed youth leader’s answer: “Well, other than no sex before marriage, the Bible doesn’t really say anything about it. So my personal advice is to keep it above the waist.” I pray and pray that this filthy, destructive lie might soon return to the pit from whence it came. The Bible teaches that kissing is sexual (Prov 7:13, 22:14, Song 1:2). Of course, not the “holy kiss,” which obviously was equal to a wave or handshake (Rom 16:16). I know you know the difference between that which welcomes and that which arouses.

6. Piety

…and with bold face she says to him,
‘I had to offer sacrifices,
and today I have paid my vows.’ (Prov 7:13-14)

She’s just what all Christian parents want for their grown son: a nice girl. She goes to church. Perhaps she went to Bible college. She is pretty, easy to get along with, and nice to puppies. She offers all the right sacrifices; she makes and keeps her religious vows. You think you can trust this girl with your life. But immorality can’t be trusted, no matter how often she serves in the church nursery. Remember that sexual temptation is not something “out there.” It’s right “in here” where we might not expect it.

7. Taste

I had to offer sacrifices. (Prov 7:14)

Notice the ESV marginal reading for “sacrifices”: peace offerings. Of the various Old Testament sacrifices, peace offerings were the only ones that ordinary people—not only priests—got to eat. Solomon portrays this woman as having divinely blessed lamb chops and hamburgers hot and ready. She’s got dinner waiting. And since the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, her seduction is likely to succeed.

What is the point? Only that immorality will promise to satiate every physical desire. It will try to convince you that, since your hunger must be fed, you should go ahead and take a bite. Don’t fall for it.

8. Sights

I have spread my couch with coverings,
colored linens from Egyptian linen. (Prov 7:16)

Immorality looks so good, doesn’t it? It’s amazing what pounds of makeup and lumens of stage lighting can do to the most normal person. The human being takes on a perfect, angelic appearance. What is seen seems so real. It seems so exotic. So exciting.

9. Smells

I have perfumed my bed with myrrh,
aloes, and cinnamon. (Prov 7:17)

Immorality smells so good. A little deodorant can go a long way. The right fragrance can even cover the smell of death. Especially cinnamon. I love cinnamon.

10. Adventure

Come, let us take our fill of love till morning;
let us delight ourselves with love. (Prov 7:18)

Immorality promises something special. In fact, it promises that you are something special, and with that promise we’re back where we started. You’re not like all the others who have shared this bed. You can expect the delight to last all night till morning. You’ll have your fill of love. You won’t want to miss out. There’s an adventure to be had…

11. Secrecy

For my husband is not at home;
he has gone on a long journey;
he took a bag of money with him;
at full moon he will come home. (Prov 7:19-20)

Seduction’s final tactic is the promise of secrecy. Nobody sees us. Nobody will know what happens here tonight. We’re together under cover of darkness (Prov 7:9), far from prying eyes.

With the promise of such isolation comes the promise of invulnerability. Because no-one knows about it, we will get away with it. Some believe sin doesn’t have consequences (the liberal lie). Others expect God will forgive them, so it doesn’t matter if they capitulate again and again (the conservative lie).

All must know this sin doesn’t take place in isolation. The jealous God sees (Prov 6:34-35). The hapless victim—the willful perpetrator—rushes to the snare at the cost of his life (Prov 7:23).

If you’re caught in the snare, I beg you on behalf of Christ, please get out. We’re nearing the end of Proverbs 7, and Proverbs 8 approaches, so good news is on the way.

O simple ones, learn prudence;
O fools, learn sense. (Prov 8:5)

This post was first published in 2014 and is part of a series walking through Proverbs 1-9.

Don’t Fear Silence in Small Groups

September 30, 2026 By Peter Krol

Douglas Allison helpfully wonders about the causes and cures of silence in small group discussions. Especially, he warns leaders against speaking themselves just to fill an awkward silence:

Small group leaders can tend to believe that something is going wrong if the conversation is not flowing. Silences can be awkward. Wrong answers can seem to beg for correction. But small group leaders do well not to correct every error or to fill every silence.

He goes on to address some of the potential causes for silence, reflecting on what a leader can do about it.

Even if it is unintentional on the leader’s part, the silence could be due to him. In any case, the leader does not help the group by filling the silence with words. In that case, the leader is not building relationships in the small group but compensating for the lack of it.

The best kind of silence in a small group is one in which all or the majority of the students are thinking hard about what to say. It is the kind of silence that is filled with thinking rather than attempting to read one another. It is a kind of silence in which students are actively processing what was said and eagerly developing ideas in response. It is the kind of silence that is called pregnant.

If you are part of a small group Bible study, these keen musings are worthy of your curious reflection.

Check it out!

Another Way to Look at Sexual Temptation

September 25, 2026 By Peter Krol

We commit sexual immorality, not because we are victims to our desires, but because we are looking for trouble. We’re then tempted to believe either that we have to try harder or that we’ll never change. But there is a better way.

Those who walk with Christ will say to wisdom, “You are my sister.” They will call insight their intimate friend (Prov 7:4).

Your desires can change. You can train your heart by grace to love the truth. When you write God’s words upon your heart, you gain a new perspective on the things that once tripped you up. Instead of passing along the street near immorality’s corner, you can look out from your window and out through your lattice (Prov 7:6).

The scene in Proverbs 7:6-9 fascinates me because Solomon and the youth both see the same set of events. But what they truly see couldn’t be any different.

The simple youth sees a secret, life-giving delight at the end of his path.
The wise sage sees an obvious but lethal deceit down the very same road.

God’s grace will train you to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions (Titus 2:11-13), because God, in his grace, will show you in his word what ungodliness and worldly passions have to offer: death, death, and more death.

Ask the Lord to show you your path and turn you to his. Write his commandments on your heart and live (Prov 7:2).

And when you find yourself on the wrong path under cover of darkness, whip out those words which can be a lamp to your feet and a light to your path (Ps 119:105). If they’re not already on your heart, ready to go, they won’t be much help to you when it counts.

Do you still want to look for trouble? I can assure you: You’ll find it.

Are you ready to look out upon trouble and reject it? Christ your wisdom can help.

This post was first published in 2014 and is part of a series walking through Proverbs 1-9.

Academic and Devotional Reading Should Overlap

September 23, 2026 By Peter Krol

I appreciate JoAnna Hoyt highlighting a point I’ve been making for years: academic and devotional reading should overlap.

This is just one of 9 suggestions Hoyt has for those involved as students or professors at Christian universities or seminaries. But it’s an important point for anyone who seeks both inputs and outputs from Scripture. In other words, this idea is not just for students reading the Bible to write a paper on it, but also for small group leaders reading the Bible in preparation to lead a discussion.

Even if you are reading for outputs (such as writing a paper or leading a small group), your reading should impact yourself first. If it doesn’t, you are not qualified to teach it. How hypocritical is it to ask someone else to apply a text to their life that you have refused to apply to your own life?

For this reason, you don’t need to have separate “devotional time” and “prep time” in the Bible. Your Bible learning should inform your Bible teaching. Walk with Christ, and then call others after you to do the same. Please don’t separate or reverse that order.

Check it out!

Those Who Look for Trouble Always Find it

September 18, 2026 By Peter Krol

In Proverbs 7, Solomon unmasks immorality’s deception to help us stand against it. The problem, however, is that you and I usually don’t want to stand against it, do we?

Now do you focus on “accountability” and “boundaries”? Have you allowed yourself to feel guilt and misery? Do you express concern about the springtime resurrection of hordes of scantily clad humans?

But when the sun goes down, and you think you’re alone, and you believe you’ll get away with it—do you once again pass right down the street near her corner, taking the way to her house? Don’t you know exactly where Immorality keeps her residence, and do you frequent her establishment to browse her seductive wares?

Looking for Trouble

6 For at the window of my house
I have looked out through my lattice,
7 and I have seen among the simple,
I have perceived among the youths,
a young man lacking sense,
8 passing along the street near her corner,
taking the road to her house
9 in the twilight, in the evening,
at the time of night and darkness. (Prov 7:6-9)

The Victim

Observe who is the “victim” here. He is the “simple,” one of “the youths” (Prov 7:7). He is the one who loves being simple (Prov 1:22). He could become wise, but he doesn’t yet want to. He refuses to receive prudence, knowledge, and discretion (Prov 1:4). He won’t turn at reproof (Prov 1:23-27).

This young man knows the right thing to do, but he won’t do it. All hope is not lost; there’s still time for him to change his mind and turn. He doesn’t need more information or education. He needs to fear the Lord (Prov 1:7).

Notice, though, how else he is described: “a young man lacking sense” (Prov 7:7). Though I believe, generally, that you don’t need to know Hebrew in order to study the Bible, there are times when wordplay doesn’t translate well. This is one of those cases.

The Hebrew word for “sense” is the same Hebrew word used in verse 3 for “heart.” Solomon says: My son, you must bind the commandments on your heart (v.3); but here is a young man lacking “sense/heart” (v.7). Dear reader, you must get this, lest you die: if you don’t write God’s words on your heart, you will lack anything of substance in your heart, and you will continue seeking trouble for yourself.

What does this mean?

Those who take the time to learn and study God’s words, memorizing them and delighting in them—these are the ones who find something more desirable than immorality. Because in loving God’s words, they love God himself. By drowning themselves in God’s words, they find saturation in God’s favor. With wisdom close at hand and intimate (Prov 7:4), they won’t feel the need for a counterfeit companion.

The Victim’s Tactics

Now, observe the victim’s tactics. He passes along the street near her corner. He takes the road to her house. He does it under cover of darkness. If you didn’t catch it, Solomon repeats this last point 4 times: twilight, evening, time of night, darkness (Prov 7:9).

The victim is actually the perpetrator. He knows exactly what he’s doing. He knows what road he’s on. He knows who lives on that corner. He could take a million different routes, but he chooses this one at this time because it will get him where he wants to go.

Here is the point: You are not a victim to your desires. You are not a slave to your sexual sin.

You and I are willing, intentional, conscious, premeditated, first-degree, voluntary, calculated, and deliberate partners with immorality. And what can we do about that?

Some people say, “I had better try harder. I’m not being good enough.” But this approach leads only to more death.

Others say, “I’ll never change.” The gospel-loving, spiritually sanctified version of this sentiment uses comforting terms like “besetting sin” and “deeply-rooted patterns.” But this approach often flies in the face of God’s call to repentance and drastic life change.

There is another way. I’ll write more of it next week.

This post was first published in 2014 and is part of a series walking through Proverbs 1-9.

Clear Answers are Not Always the Best Goal

September 16, 2026 By Peter Krol

Douglas Allison has a thought-provoking post on leading small groups, where he argues that there is a time not to give clear answers to people’s questions.

In particular, it is better to promote exploration than to explore answers. We do better to teach people how to think over teaching them what to think. And we can capitalize on their own questions to help them learn to ask even more and better questions.

Arriving at a conclusion but not necessarily resolution means that small group leaders can be ok leaving the students wondering at or puzzling over something. There does not always have to be a clean and clear answer to every question a student asks. In fact, it is often better for leaders to encourage further thinking and more discussion than to try to answer the question and move on.

Allison provides much helpful insight into our leadership of others in small group settings.

Check it out!

Prepare Yourself to Resist Sexual Immorality

September 11, 2026 By Peter Krol

According to Proverbs 7:1-5, your battle with sexual immorality begins by writing God’s words of wisdom on your heart. You can’t wait until your hormones kick in before deciding how to honor God with your body.

This week I’d like to take that main point and run it through the Application Matrix to generate a variety of potential applications.

Inward Application

The battle approaches. Time to lock and load.

Head

Do you believe this battle is worth fighting? Do you believe it’s possible to fight and win, or have you given up, thinking that immorality will simply characterize the rest of your days? What passages of Scripture most motivate you in this realm? Do you believe God’s Spirit working through the word is powerful enough to defeat the sin in your heart? Or do you expect to keep doing the same thing and get a different result?

Heart

What rules your heart? What have you written there? Can you quote the Hunger Games movies more readily than Scripture? Do you want things to be any different? I don’t just mean the guilt. I mean the holiness of life and denial of self that will produce true and lasting joy in knowing God.

Hands

Take time this week to memorize Proverbs 7:1-5. Write these words on the tablet of your heart. Cut a bit of time on social media to work on the memorization. Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call understanding your intimate friend. Jesus is your best friend and counselor; get to know him better this week.

Outward Application

One of the best ways to get your focus off yourself is to consider others. As you build your influence for Christ and help others to write the word on their hearts, you can’t help but draw closer to the Lord yourself.

Head

Whom has God put in your life, whom you can serve and lead in godly wisdom? What Scripture passages would be good to help them write on their hearts?

Heart

How can you help others to value what the Lord values? How can you avoid merely giving people a list of rules and behaviors, and instead help them identify the desires of their hearts that lead them to commit immorality (pleasure, escape, control)?

Hands

Perhaps you can spend time this week practicing memory verses with those you lead. You can ask what they’re learning from the word. You can ask what will be their plan when they face temptation (how they can choose intimacy with Christ their wisdom over the false intimacy of pornography or immoral relationships).

Conclusion

God wants to change specific people in specific ways and so conform them to the image of Christ. Reading, writing, and speaking about immorality won’t guarantee change. Only repentance and obedience show our faith to be true. Will you work out your salvation this week, even as God works his perfect will in you?

This post was first published in 2014 and is part of a series walking through Proverbs 1-9.