by Jeffrey Wilkes<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Bible is so difficult to understand,\u201d an acquaintance recently asked. \u201cWhy is it written this way?\u201d<\/p>\n
The Holy Spirit through Peter acknowledges that some things in Paul\u2019s letters are hard to understand:<\/p>\n
“As also in all his<\/em> [Paul\u2019s] epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures<\/em>” (II Peter 3:16).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Notice that these hard things are only destructive for \u201cuntaught and unstable\u201d people who twist all Scripture.<\/p>\n
It appears that the taught and stable people who never twist scripture also have difficulty understanding the hard things, but their ignorance shouldn\u2019t result in their destruction.<\/p>\n
“You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ<\/em> \u2026” (II Peter 3:17-18).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The heart of the person is the issue, not the degree of difficulty of the Scripture being considered.<\/p>\n
“Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little<\/em>” (Isaiah 28:9-10).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\n
- \u201cprecept\u201d ts\u00e2v<\/em>: an injunction: – commandment, precept.<\/li>\n
- \u201cline\u201d q\u00e2v<\/em>: a cord (as connecting), especially for measuring; figuratively a rule; also a rim, a musical string or accord: – line.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The Bible is written to be understood precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little there a little. This is a learning process, a maturing process we all must go through to be able to understand the harder things.<\/p>\n
“For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe<\/em>” (Hebrews 5:13).<\/p>\n
“I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able<\/em>” (I Corinthians 3:2).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
If I find something that I can\u2019t seem to understand, perhaps I need to put it aside, keep patiently receiving the easier things and let myself grow a while before tackling it again.<\/p>\n
“As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby<\/em>” (I Peter 2:2).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
My personal experience is that there will be an \u201cah ha\u201d moment when the message I didn\u2019t understand and put aside will jump clearly into my mind. Often it comes \u201cout of the blue,\u201d sometimes it comes from the comments or writings of another Christian, other times I see it while I\u2019m meditating on what I come to realize is a prerequisite precept, line, or little. Our experience helps us understand, and obeying what we do understand helps open our understanding of harder things.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey Wilkes \u201cThe Bible is so difficult to understand,\u201d an acquaintance recently asked. \u201cWhy is it written this way?\u201d The Holy Spirit through Peter acknowledges that some things in Paul\u2019s letters are hard to understand: “As also in all his [Paul\u2019s] epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[383,482,761],"class_list":["post-4971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-growth","tag-learning","tag-understanding"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":44729,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-meant-by-the-ignorant-and-unstable-would-twist-scriptures-to-their-own-destruction\/","url_meta":{"origin":4971,"position":0},"title":"What is meant by the ignorant and unstable would twist Scriptures to their own destruction?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What was Peter talking about in II Peter 3:16 when he said that the ignorant and unstable would twist scriptures to their destruction? Answer: \"And consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation--as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35736,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-i-check-my-own-understanding-if-i-misunderstand-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":4971,"position":1},"title":"How can I check my own understanding if I misunderstand the Bible?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 7, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How can I check my own understanding in comparison to the Bible, if I misunderstand the Bible itself? Answer: \"Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is\" (Ephesians 5:17). The first point to realize is that the Bible is understandable. Yes, people do\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8100,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/your-site-has-helped-me-understand-gods-intention-for-sex\/","url_meta":{"origin":4971,"position":2},"title":"Your site has helped me understand God’s intention for sex","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 13, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Thank you for your site. It helped me understand what God intended me to fulfill in my life when it comes to sex. I have found many sites that have twisted God's words about the boundaries of sex. I'm very happy I found your site because I was getting\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":85411,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-we-understand-the-bible-alike\/","url_meta":{"origin":4971,"position":3},"title":"Can We Understand the Bible Alike?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton If we think about it, anytime we understand something, we understand it alike. We can misunderstand things differently, but when we truly understand something, we understand it alike-2 plus 2 equals 4. If we understand that math problem, we will understand it alike. Anyone who comes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9052,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-the-bible-be-understood-by-the-common-man\/","url_meta":{"origin":4971,"position":4},"title":"Can the Bible be understood by the common man?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 19, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Have you heard of Eli Soriano? What do you think about his teachings? Answer: I looked briefly at Eli Soriano's website. I'm afraid I didn't get far because there was a statement on the first page that I knew to be contrary to God's Word. \"The Bible contains many\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24806,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/people-are-really-bashing-the-bible-and-jesus-teaching-in-attempting-to-forbid-the-eating-of-meat\/","url_meta":{"origin":4971,"position":5},"title":"People are really bashing the Bible and Jesus’ teaching in attempting to forbid the eating of meat","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 22, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm a hunter who's also a Christian and I see no problem with\u00a0providing food for my family. People are really bashing the Bible and is twisting Jesus' teachings to their liking. I read the 'Was Jesus a Vegetarian?' and I loved it! 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