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Why the Bible is Difficult to Understand

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Kevin Halloran lists 9 reasons the Bible is difficult to understand, along with what we can do about it. His reasons:

  1. We live at a different time
  2. We live in a different culture
  3. We speak different languages
  4. We have natural minds that struggle to understand spiritual truths
  5. We are sinners
  6. We don’t know how the Bible storyline fits together
  7. We have weak reading skills
  8. We are lazy
  9. We don’t approach the Bible correctly

After explaining these five hurdles, Halloran continues with reasons to rejoice in the resources God has given us. And he offers suggestions for growing in handling the Word.

This is great, practical instruction, which I highly commend.

Check it out!

Approach Your Bible Desperately

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Matt Smethurst wants you to “Approach Your Bible Desperately,” and I heartily concur.

Have you ever ruined your appetite for an epic dinner by snacking all day? You wish you could work up an appetite, but it’s too late. The steak is on the table, and you’re not hungry.


This is how we often treat God’s Word. Is it any wonder that nibbling long enough from the table of the world would leave us with little appetite left for God?1 If we’re snacking on cheese puffs, we shouldn’t be surprised when we don’t have room for steak.

The charge:

Shortly before his death, after rehearsing God’s law one final time, Moses looks at the people of Israel and says, “These are not just idle words for you—they are your life” (Deut. 32:47). The stakes could not be higher.


Your soul will wither and die without your Bible. Approach it desperately.

Check it out!

Keep Rereading the Passage

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books

Susan Yin (2018), public domain

What’s the key to understanding a Bible passage? Ten different people may give you ten different answers to that question, all of them helpful.

Today I’ll share the best advice I know on this topic. It’s not complicated or sophisticated or newsworthy. It’s difficult but extremely effective. Are you ready?

To understand a Bible passage, you need to read it. A lot.

Read to See the Structure

This advice is not ground-breaking, but I’ve recognized its value on several occasions since a discussion with my co-blogger Peter back in February.

We were talking about the way we prepare Bible studies, and he mentioned that his main practice is to read a passage as much as possible to determine its structure. Peter is convinced of the value of structure in understanding a passage’s train of thought and main point. He tries to understand the structure by listening for the rhythm, repetition, and other literary markers that occur in the Bible.

The more we read a passage—and this is especially true for longer passages—the more we understand the author’s intent. We notice words and phrases and themes that show up in neighboring chapters of a narrative. We see a character’s description change throughout an extended story. We observe the way a Gospel writer groups parables together to make a common point.

Peter has already written a great deal on structure. I encourage you to read his posts, starting here or here.

Advice for Rereading

Rereading a passage may be challenging. But the hard work will pay large dividends. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

  1. Allow yourself time. It may take 10 or 20 or more readings before you get a grip on a passage’s structure. That’s ok! We are fallible and finite, so we should not expect instant understanding of divine truth.
  2. Approach the passage from multiple angles. Read the passage from at least two translations. Listen to an audio version of the passage for a change of pace.
  3. Make an outline. After five or ten readings, sketch your own outline of the text. Don’t worry about trying to be perfect! Since we often think as we write, forcing yourself to diagram and label the various parts of a passage will help you think through the big picture.
  4. Adjust your outline. Change your outline as you go. Your first version will rarely be your last. As we continue to read, God often reveals more to us, so be willing to modify your work.

An Upcoming Case Study

In my next article, I’ll explain how this rereading strategy helped me prepare a Bible study on Luke 16.

If you’re unfamiliar with the chapter, it contains some confusing verses. (See especially Luke 16:9.) Heading into my preparation, I knew this might be the case, so I decided to put Peter’s advice into practice. I read the passage as much as I could before my small group meeting, and while I won’t pretend to have a definitive interpretation to offer, the repeated readings were immensely helpful.

I’ll share it all next time.

Congratulations to All Who Took Up the Bible Reading Challenge

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38 people completed this year’s Bible reading challenge and submitted entries for the drawing. The evaluations of the speed reading process ranged from “It was difficult and required a lot of discipline” to “It was AWESOME! I would recommend total immersion to anyone!”

I found one response particularly noteworthy: “What a blessing!! It was my first time actually reading the whole thing, and reading it quickly helped in retaining the details and timeline of events.” I’m impressed that someone had the stamina to read the entire Bible for the first time this quickly!

A few repeat entrants commented that they were able to complete the reading faster this year. The increased familiarity with both the Bible and their reading habits enabled them to make more of it in less time. That’s what I have also found to be the case, as this year was (again) my fastest time, yet, I believe, without any loss in comprehension.

Special congratulations to Becky and Jonah who were selected to win this year’s prizes. For the other 36 entrants: Fret not. Your reward is even greater in heaven. And we’ll see what we can drum for prizes next year so you can try again.

“I cling to your testimonies, O Lord; let me not be put to shame! I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart!” (Psalm 119:31-32).

Choosing a Daily Bible Reading Method

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Perhaps you just finished speed-reading the entire Bible. Or perhaps you’ve drifted from other New Year’s resolutions and you could use a fresh start to your Bible reading.

Matt Schneider has some great advice for you to consider.

Often people ask for God to speak to them, to give them signs, or to make himself known to them while ignoring regular Bible reading. This is unfortunate. If we want to hear from God, to know him more and more and to see his works in the world, we can do no better than regularly listening to him in Scripture for our entire lives.

Schneider then explains four approached people might take to develop the habit of daily Bible reading. The most important this is to do something. Perhaps one of these ideas can help you to refresh your vision and renew your practice.

Check it out!

2019 Bible Reading Challenge Ending Soon

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We’re in the final stretch of this year’s reading challenge. If you’ve taken up the challenge to read the entire Bible in 90 days, your deadline to finish is 90 days after your start date and not later than March 31, 2019.

For more information on the Bible reading challenge, including official rules, see the announcement.

We’ve had 13 entries so far, and a few completed the reading in 10-20 days. So it’s not impossible for you to still complete the challenge between now and the end of the month! And in completing this challenge, one person read the entire Bible for the first time!

When you finish, simply complete this Google Form to enter the drawing for a complete set of ESV New Testament Scripture Journals.

Preparing Children to Read the Bible

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Though I haven’t yet read Joe Carter’s new book, The Life and Faith Field Guide for Parents, I’m intrigued by this excerpt published at the Gospel Coalition. Here is a taste:

Some missionaries spend years or even decades learning how to teach literacy to unreached people. Why? Primarily, to give those people the tools they need to read the Word of God for themselves. As Christian parents—missionaries to our own children—we want our kids to know how to read so they too can one day read the Bible for themselves. This mindset about teaching can lead to long-lasting benefits for your children. Instead of viewing the literacy process as the means to reach the goal of reading, think of it instead as the means by which your child reaches the goal of reading the Bible.

This may appear to be a trivial distinction. After all, children who learn to read will likely be able to read the Bible. While that is true, a profound shift occurs when we teach reading for the primary goal of reading Scripture. Whatever stage your child is at in literacy education—whether they’re an infant learning words for the first time or a high-school student learning vocabulary terms for the SAT—consider this to be your objective: to shape their reading so they can better read the [Bible].

Check it out!

Disclaimer: The Amazon link above is an affiliate link. If you click it and buy stuff, we’ll receive a small commission. Thank you for helping us better prepare our children to read the Bible.

5 Ways to Read More of the Bible

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J.A. Medders understands real life, and how the ideal setting for Bible reading rarely occurs. In his post “5 Ways to Read More of the Bible,” he mentions a few ways to capitalize on the clumpy nature of life.

Life is loaded. Add up the ingredients of a routine day: getting kids ready for school, packing lunches, getting ready for work, traffic, co-workers, projects, meetings, helping with homework, kids extracurricular activities, exercise, church functions, and more. And this recipe alone doesn’t make it difficult to regularly read the Bible.

These full days also get bits of eggshell in the batter. Days can spin out of our routine with stress at work, car problems, sick kids, a spouse traveling for work, or a rough night of sleep. Our days can be unpredictable, and that’s why our Bible intake often is too.

Medders holds himself to 2 rejections and 3 practices. If you already feel behind on your Bible reading plan, perhaps these suggestions might work for you as well.

  1. Reject needing the Instagrammable scenario
  2. Reject the checkbox
  3. Read on your phone
  4. Read without study speed bumps
  5. Read in community

This is great advice. Check it out!