School of the Foundations of the Christian Faith “The Creator and His Creation.” Lesson 12. The Clarity of Scripture. The school consists of 22 lessons. The school was founded by the Christian Bible Institute.
If we take a careful look at the world that calls itself Christian, we will see that many people who read the Bible somehow often arrive at very different interpretations of it. Why are there so many different and contradictory movements within Christianity, each claiming that its doctrines are based on the Bible? The Bible is not a book that everyone may interpret as they please. Each biblical text has only one meaning, which God Himself placed in it, and therefore we cannot claim that biblical texts can have multiple meanings.
Consider the following example, which clearly shows how the clearly stated Word of God was distorted by those to whom it was addressed:
THE CLEAR WORD OF GOD
Gen. 2:15 The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and take care of it. Gen. 2:16 The Lord God commanded the man: “You may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, Gen. 2:17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”
INTERPRETATION No. 1
Gen. 3:1 Of all the wild animals the Lord God had made, the serpent was the most cunning. He asked the woman: “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” Gen. 3:2 The woman answered the serpent: “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, Gen. 3:3 but God said, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
We do not know who added the words “do not touch them” to God’s command. Whether it was Eve or Adam himself, the fact remains that these words were added to God’s command later. God did not tell people not to touch the fruit; He told them, “do not eat.”
This interpretation resembles the way the Pharisees interpreted Scripture in the days of Jesus Christ. The Pharisees became so absorbed in adding to God’s commandments that by the time Jesus Christ came, they had 613 commandments instead of 10.
When people stop worshiping God with their hearts, true worship is replaced by observing external restrictions and rituals. To avoid “accidentally” sinning against God, people create far more requirements and restrictions than the Word says. In this way, they distort the clear Word of God and make it confusing and incomprehensible.
The Apostle Paul says that external restrictions without a heart submitted to God are useless and even destructive. Col. 2:21. (“Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch.”)
INTERPRETATION No. 2
Gen. 3:4 – “No, you will not die,” the serpent said to the woman. Gen. 3:5 – “For God knows that when you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
The devil’s tactics have not changed. He continues to cast doubt on the Word of God and says, “No, you will not die; keep thinking that you are gods.” And people continue to want to be gods. As a result, they trust the devil’s lie more than the Word of God. The problem is not that Scripture is unclear, but that the human heart is corrupted and people place their trust in other authorities.
2 Tim. 3:16. All Scripture is inspired by God.
The authority of God Himself stands behind Scripture. Do not dare approach Holy Scripture without a willingness to submit unconditionally, thinking that you can interpret it to your own advantage.
Although Eve knew the clear Word of God, she consciously chose to apply the devil’s interpretation:
Gen. 3:6 Then the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and that the tree was desirable as a source of wisdom; she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
RESULT:
Gen. 3:7 Their eyes were opened, and they realized that they were naked, so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Gen. 3:8 Then they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the breeze of the day. Adam and his wife hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden, Gen. 3:9 but the Lord God called to Adam: — Where are you? Gen. 3:10 Adam answered: — I heard You in the garden and was afraid because I was naked, so I hid. Gen. 3:11 He asked: — Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat? Gen. 3:12 Adam answered: — The woman You gave me to be with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it. Gen. 3:13 Then the Lord God said to the woman: — What have you done? The woman answered: — The serpent deceived me, so I ate.
Below, we will examine several reasons why Scripture becomes “unclear” to believers.
Reasons Why Scripture Becomes “Unclear”
a. Sin
2 Sam. 12:1 The Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said: — There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. 2 Sam. 12:2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 2 Sam. 12:3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb that he had bought. He cared for it, and it grew up with him and his children. It ate from his plate, drank from his cup, and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. 2 Sam. 12:4 A traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man was unwilling to take one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for his visitor. 2 Sam. 12:5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan: — As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 2 Sam. 12:6 He must pay four times for the lamb, because he did this and showed no compassion. 2 Sam. 12:7 Then Nathan said to David: — You are the man!
David knew the commandment: Deut. 5:21 You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, field, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. He even applied it to the man in the parable the prophet Nathan told him, but he did not apply it to himself.
The main reason that led David into this sin was his disregard for the Word of God: “Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in His eyes?” (2 Sam. 12:9). As a result, disregarding the clear Word of God leads to sin; then sin blinds a person and deprives them of the ability to see and understand the clear Word of God.
We are often ready to apply Scripture to anyone except ourselves, because Scripture makes us uncomfortable—it exposes our sin and our hidden nature. Unwilling to take responsibility for our sin, we distance ourselves from Scripture and say that it is unclear to us.
b. Laziness
A person with a lazy spirit will make no effort to study the Word of God. In their self-confidence, they think they already know everything. Therefore, when the Word of God clearly contradicts their principles of life, such a person simply responds: “Everyone interprets the Bible in their own way. It is too complicated and confusing, so I will live according to my own understanding and personal principles.”
Many of our problems arise not because Scripture is unclear to us, but because we are too lazy to study it and apply it in practice.
c. Traditions
People often justify their disobedience to Scripture by appealing to established traditions: “That’s how we have always understood it.” In such cases, the authority of Scripture is placed on the same level as the authority of tradition.
c. Unwillingness to submit
People simply do not want to obey Scripture, and therefore say: – Yes, it sounds beautiful, but life has its own rules.
d. Unwillingness to change.
When Scripture requires real changes, people begin to say that this is simply an unclear passage of Scripture that can be interpreted in different ways.
e. Suppressing the truth with lies
Romans 1:18 From heaven, the wrath of God is revealed against all the ungodliness and wickedness of people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. Romans 1:19 They know what may be known about God, because God has revealed it to them. Romans 1:20 Since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly understood through what He has created. Therefore, people have no excuse, Romans 1:21 because although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Romans 1:22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools Romans 1:23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal human beings, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles. Romans 1:24 Therefore, God gave them over to the sinful desires of their hearts, and they themselves defiled their bodies with impurity. Romans 1:25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is worthy of eternal praise. Amen.
In this passage, Paul clearly shows the nature of people: they are quicker to believe a lie than to submit to the divine revelation of the Bible.
Principles for approaching truly difficult passages of Holy Scripture
a. Examine your heart—are you ready to submit unconditionally to the truth of the Bible?
b. Pray that the Lord will reveal the meaning of Scripture to you
- Psalm 119:18 Open my eyes, that I may see the wonderful things in Your Law.
- Luke 24:45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
- 2 Cor. 4:3 If the Good News that we proclaim is hidden from anyone, it is hidden only from those who are perishing, 2 Cor. 4:4 from unbelievers, whose minds the god of this world has blinded so that they cannot see the light of the Good News about the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
c. Examine your motives—is your desire to trust God and glorify Him driving you, or do you simply want to justify some of your actions?
d. Set laziness aside.
Some questions have no answer—accept this and give glory to God.
Deut. 29:29 The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and our children forever, so that we may follow all the words of this Law.
Review Questions:
- Why do many people interpret the Bible differently?
- Why do people invent various restrictions and rituals?
- Name the reasons why the Bible may seem “unclear.”
Source: Christian Bible Institute
