Understanding God's Word

Can you understand the Bible? Is it even possible for an average person to comprehend the message of the Bible unaided by some "professional?" Must you have majored in theology or attended a seminary to know God's will?

The Dark Ages were just that...dark. The understanding of people was darkened. The average person was completely dependant upon the religious "professionals" in order to have any access to God's Word. The availability of Bibles was scarce. The ones that did exist were "chained to the pulpit." In order to hear God's word the average person ("layman") was dependant upon the "clergy." Some reports say that most priests had never even seen a Bible during the darkest of these days. False teaching and half-truths abounded as ritualistic tradition and the thoughts of men were peddled as God's Word.

Around 1440, Johannes Gutenberg invented the machine of the millennium—the printing press. Bibles became increasingly available to the common man. What followed was a great "Enlightenment." As individuals began to study the Bible for themselves, they saw a great divide between the church of the New Testament and the traditions and creeds of the church of their day. The result was an effort to "Reform" the corrupted church back to its original form. Eventually, a major movement of unity was made to fully “Restore” the forms and practices of the first century church in the present age. Going back to the Bible and restoring biblical faith and practice was (and continues to be) possible because people studied the Bible for themselves.

Surely, God is powerful enough to reveal his will in a way that all people can understand. From prince to peasant, God has revealed his truth in a form accessible to all who will dedicate themselves to diligently study it (John 8:31-32). It is true that we can benefit greatly from the study and guidance of others (Nehemiah 8:8; Acts 8:30-31; cf. Romans 10:14-15). However, we should not think that we are dependant upon "the professionals" in order to learn God's will for our lives. Spiritually responsible people make informed decisions about their beliefs based upon the evidence of Scripture. We must not blindly follow the teachings of those "professionals" who wear religious garb. God expects all Christians to personally study and arrive at truth (Proverbs 23:23; 2 Timothy 2:15).

The spirit of the Berean Christians is extolled in Scripture. These Christians received the preaching of Paul eagerly. But they did not blindly believe what he said just because of his reputation or the fact that he was respected in the brotherhood. They searched the Scriptures daily to make sure the things that Paul taught harmonized with known divine truth (Acts 17:11). We must do the same. Even the most well intentioned preachers, professors, writers and Bible scholars can be wrong. We must each have a faith of our own based upon our own study. Others can help us along, but ultimately we must each give an account to God as to whether we have kept His word or not (John 12:48).

I am blessed to have the opportunity from the elders to be engaged in the "ministry of the word" in this congregation (1 Timothy 4:13-16; cf. Acts 6:4). I am continually learning and will always be a student. I want you to know that I respect your personal study and want to benefit from it in my ministry. I welcome feedback and even kind correction (see Acts 18:26). I don't claim to have all the answers, but the Bible does. Let us all study individually and find those answers together.