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Why the Bible is Not Always Easy to Understand

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Kenneth Berding used to think everything in the Bible should be easy to understand.

There was a part of me that thought that the Bible should be easy to understand. I mean, if it’s really from God and if God wrote it to teach us his character and ways, including the way of salvation, you would think that it would be easy to understand, wouldn’t you?

But the same grounds—connecting the nature of the Bible with the nature of God—eventually leads to a different conclusion.

I was assuming that God should be easy to comprehend—that everything about God should be immediately accessible. But unless God himself chose to create a world in which everything is simple to understand—and tells us that it is so—I was simply forcing my assumption upon God that his communication should be easily and quickly understood, at least by me.

If you have struggled with wondering why parts of the Bible are so difficult to understand, Berding’s reflections may encourage you.

Check it out!

The Bible is More Desirable, More Delightful

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Clinton Manley asks why we don’t read the Bible, connecting his answer to two Old Testament characters who believed something was more more desirable or more delightful than God’s Word.

In other words, when we (like Achan and Samson) find other things more delightful or desirable than Scripture, the problem is not Scripture; the problem is us. This is good news, because taste can change; godly taste can be cultivated. And that’s exactly what David is trying to do when he describes God’s word: He’s trying to help us taste and see that the word is good. So, let’s follow him.

Psalm 19 explains that in keeping God’s word, there is great reward (Ps 19:11). Manley traces that idea through the Scripture to calibrate our taste buds.

Check it out!

Bible Reading Tips for Beginners

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This piece by Kevin Halloran would be a great one to send somebody just getting started with reading the Bible. It covers the most important background, offers strong motivation, and provides a practical path toward a habit of communion with God through his word.

Halloran gives 15 practical tips, some of which are:

  • Understand what the Bible is
  • Understand what the Bible does
  • Read prayerfully
  • Read humbly
  • Read in community
  • Read in context
  • Expect difficulty
  • Don’t give up

I commend this article for your consideration and to share with friends and converts.

Check it out!

Addressing the Real Reasons We Don’t Read the Bible

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Marshall Segal introduces a series of posts that will take a stab at addressing the real reasons we don’t read the Bible.

If we’re honest with ourselves, a lot of modern American excuses boil down to one: I’m just too busy right now.

Really?

Am I really too busy to hear from God? Am I too busy to have my soul revived by his living and active word? Am I too busy to receive the wisdom I desperately need in all of my busyness? Am I too busy to have my dim eyes awakened again to ultimate, spiritual reality? Am I too busy to have my easily distracted mind focused on the most important things? Am I too busy to taste the sweetest honey and receive the finest gold? Are we really too busy?

We’re not — and we know it. So, why don’t we read God’s word more than we do? In part, because we haven’t admitted the real reasons we don’t read the Bible.

Segal goes on to mention apathy, pride, illiteracy, and attention spans as some of the “real” reasons, which will be covered in other posts in the series. These reflections are well worth your time.

Check it out!

After 5 Years, You’ll Be Unrecognizable

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Back at the New Year, Ben Hicks offered some encouragement for regular Bible reading. Now that the year is almost half-over, perhaps some encouragement is in order. Keep on keeping on. It’s worth it!

Writing about the student who is tempted to quit his Bible reading because he hasn’t been perfectly consistent with it:

No, he doesn’t quit. You don’t expect to see a drastic change overnight. But he continues to work at it. Some days he misses. Occasionally he makes sinful choices that really set him back. But he stumbles along, developing the skill of Bible reading and getting better and better at it. After a week nothing looks that different. After a month, you can kind of tell. After a semester, there’s noticeable change. After 5 years, he’s unrecognizable.

Have you been struggling? Are you tempted to give up? Don’t do it. Get back and try it again. Little by little, “you are turning the central part of you…into something a little different from what it was before” (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity).

Hicks might provide the encouragement you need. Check it out!

And then get back into the Scriptures.

Can You Trust Your New Testament as a Legitimate Text?

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John Samson has a wonderful article walking through, in non-technical language, the history of how we got the New Testament text we have today. In so doing, he addresses the foolish and cartoonish claim that reading the Bible is like a cosmic “telephone game” through history.

Samson explains:

The telephone game is fun exactly because it was designed to distort the message. It is one slim chain, one whisper at a time, and you cannot check the whisper you heard against anything else, not even the whisper before the one you heard. By the end of the line, you have no way to test anything that occurred along the way. Distortion is basically guaranteed.

The New Testament is the exact opposite to this.

Samson goes on to admit that we don’t have the original manuscripts, and there are many variants, but none of that is reason for concern.

If you’d like to know the truth behind how the text of your Bible landed in your hands, and why we have such an embarrassment of riches as evidence for its legitimacy, Samson’s article will not let you down.

Check it out!

Finding Motivation for Bible Reading

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Reagan Rose tells a compelling story of his transformation with respect to Bible reading, from feeling guilty to finding delight in the Scripture. He found the conviction that the Bible can be understood. He realized he didn’t have to read it, but he gets to read it. And he began seeing specific changes in his life as a result of reading it. He writes:

I write this in the hopes that it might be helpful to some other believer who, like myself, eagerly desires to read the Word with consistency but finds themselves discouraged by their lack of consistency.

Perhaps his testimony can encourage you as well.

Check it out!

The Bible is for Everyone

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Jacek Dylag (2018), public domain

There are more Bibles in print today than ever. We have dozens of English Bible translations and scores of Bible apps. The number of ways to listen, stream, and download the Bible would amaze our parents in the faith.

And yet, some think the Bible is exclusive and elite. That it is aimed at a narrow strip of humanity.

Brethren, this should not be. The Bible is for everyone.

It is not just for pastors and ministers, not just for the ordained. It is not just for missionaries or evangelists or worship leaders. It is not just for elders, deacons, or Bible study leaders. It is not just for those in vocational ministry.

The Bible is not just for independent adults. It is not just for the employed or the wealthy or the powerful. It is not just for those who speak loudly into the world and influence others. It is not just for the educated.

The Bible is not only for those who already know it. It is not a private club with a secret handshake. It is not only for church members, not only for the theologically astute, not only for people who can turn to Amos without consulting the table of contents.

The Bible is not for a select, respectable few, because Jesus did not come for a select, respectable few.

With the drama and force of a thousand neon arrows, the Bible points to Jesus. And since Jesus invites everyone to come to him, the Bible is for everyone.

The Bible is for those who don’t know Chronicles from Corinthians. It’s for those who have never been to church, who don’t what “theology” means.

The Bible is for babies, children, teens, and the elderly. It is for the jobless and the retired. It is for the poor and helpless, the weak and the overlooked. The Bible is for grade-school dropouts and those with mental challenges.

The Bible is for regular, normal Christians. And it is also for the curious, the doubting, and the disenchanted.

The Bible is for you. And the Bible is for your neighbor.

Regardless of your achievements, bank account, or any status in anyone’s eyes—good or bad—the Bible is for you. And God invites you to read, listen to, study, and memorize the Bible so that you might know him through his son Jesus.

So grab a Bible, grab a neighbor, and take up this remarkable, unique book that is written for all people. Let’s dig in.

This was originally posted in 2019.

Congratulations to Winners of the Drawing!

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Many thanks, and great job to all who participated in this year’s 90-day Bible reading challenge. This year, we had 34 people complete the Bible reading challenge—22 of them for the first time. With the bonus entries granted for those who recruited others to complete the challenge, there were 42 total entries.

Patti M. won the grand prize of a premium book rebinding from Pro Libris Rebinding. Many thanks to Pro Libris for providing this year’s fabulous grand prize! You can view samples of Pro Libris’s amazing work at their Facebook and Instagram pages.

With 34 participants, we had three additional prize packages, offered to the following folks:

  • Steven S.
  • Jeanette M.
  • Linda R.

I have emailed each of these winners to notify them of their prize. If your name is on this list, and you haven’t seen an email from me, you may want to check your spam filter. Or email me at peter.krol@knowableword.com to double check. If I don’t hear back from you by April 8, new winners will be selected to receive the prize.

What People Thought

As usual, there were a variety of perspectives on the rapid reading experience. Some loved it:

  • Someone who completed the Bible in 24 days: “It serves well, as a companion, with other bible reading I do the rest of the year. Two things stood out to me, neither of which was anticipated. Early, while reading the OT, I began to notice things about “covenant” I had not really seen before. I, then, began paying more attention to things about covenant throughout the rest of the reading. The other was the book of Isaiah. I have never really understood what was going on in Isaiah, and still don’t for that matter. However various parts, here and there, caught my attention, and started to become little pegs in the larger book that I could begin building a better understanding of the book.”
  • 89 days: “While it was challenging, this is one of the most formative experiences I have had. I have always been a Bible reader, but there is something about reading such large chunks of the Bible in context in one sitting that seems to allow for better understanding of what is happening. I’m not sure this is a sustainable practice for me, because I had to take some Saturdays and do multiple readings when I got behind, but I can see myself doing it again. Maybe once a year.”
  • 89 days: “Last year was my first to participate in the 90-day challenge and I loved it. This year was even better.”

Others were not as enthusiastic, but still endured through the challenge:

  • 69 days: “It’s good and I’ll be glad to read more slowly again.”
  • 49 days: “Refreshing in one sense, but also a ‘dutiful’ sense in needing to keep moving without lingering. Almost a burden.”
  • 81 days: “Great for the bigger picture but hard to enjoy the parts I’m already familiar with.”

Perhaps my favorite response came from a first-timer, who completed the Bible in 84 days:

For starters I am Orthodox, my primary is the NKJV, I decided to give the CSB a try, and was amazed about how smooth the reading experience was. It was hard to put down, lol. This led me to order the CSB Ancient Faith study Bible (my next project, very excited about that).

Thanks

Thanks for the great time in God’s word. May it set you up for a profitable time the rest of the year, as you continue delighting in the Spirit-inspired scriptures handed down to us.

Please keep the ideas coming for future Bible reading challenges!

3 Poor Reasons to Read the Bible

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Christin Hume (2017), public domain

On this side of our glorified bodies, Christians have two natures that wrestle within. Our “old man” persists until we see the Lord, and as a result, even our good behavior can be laced with sin.

We rejoice at the opportunity to help our neighbor, but we recognize the pride of self-congratulation on the walk back home. We try to give money generously, but we catch ourselves scheming how to work our latest donation into a dinner conversation. Our hearts have graduate degrees in dusting sour, selfish powder on the wholesome bread of obedience and love.

Bad Reasons for Bible Reading

Reading the Bible is no exception. We can exploit even this act of devotion for selfish gain.

I’ve seen this in my life. The reasons I have for sitting down with God’s word are often mixed. The more we can identify and repent of our bad impulses, the better.

Read the Bible to Have a Great Day

Over the years, I’ve heard a lot of encouragement to exercise in the morning. I’m told this active start to the day will make me feel amazing and will set me up for success in every other area of my life.

Some people advocate Bible reading in the same manner. Fifteen minutes in the Psalms will give you the spiritual equivalent of endorphins. If you start your day with God, what could possibly bring you down?

This approach to the Bible is stained with the prosperity gospel. Yes, obedience to God brings blessing, but “blessing” does not mean a smooth path and a fat wallet. We must not tie our ease and comfort to God’s favor or our obedience.

Those who push the Bible as a vaccination against trouble also speak a lot about how “inspiring” the Scriptures are. Call me a downer, but we need this sobering truth: The Bible is not always inspiring. It isn’t supposed to be.

In the Bible we find the self-revelation of the holy God of the universe, and this revelation is not always intended to make us feel good. God has designed something much better.

Read the Bible so Others Know You’re Holy

Social media has multiplied our opportunities to broadcast our spiritual practices. And the dopamine hits from likes and shares can transform a posture of humble worship to one of gold-nugget hunting.

But Instagram did not create this temptation. From my earliest days as a Christian I have wanted others to praise me for my piety. I would read God’s word with an eye toward sharing my devotional discoveries with my friends.

Most people want others to think well of them, and in the church, this can take the insidious form of spoiling genuine time with God by an obsession with one’s reputation. Time set apart to think about and worship God becomes more time to focus on me.

Read the Bible to Earn God’s Love

Christians need to hear the gospel of grace over and over and over. The news is so stunningly good, we have trouble believing and remembering it.

We doubt that God’s love is as deep and steady and present as he says. We know the devotion God desires, and we think his love for us must be proportional to our obedience. We pick up the Bible either in the fear that we have sinned too much or in the hope that God might, finally, be pleased with our latest offering of worship.

This thinking is pervasive, but it is nowhere in the Bible itself. For Christians, God is a good father whose love cannot be improved. Our accounts are at maximum capacity. Whether we read the Bible, or how well we read the Bible, does not change God’s affections toward us.

One Good Reason to Read

These poor reasons to read the Bible are focused on self. A great reason to read the Bible is to focus on God.

In the Bible, God shows us himself. He shows us his holiness and his law and his mercy. We see the background and setting for the life of Jesus, the central act of history. We hear the cosmos-rocking implications of his death, resurrection, and ascension.

We read the Bible because God commands we love him with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. But the transformed people of God long to worship their loving father and hear from him.

This was originally posted in 2019.