Updated on August 29, 2022
Read Your Bible Daily
If "nature" was all that we needed, God would not have provided the Scriptures, nor the sacrifice of his Son. Not one word in the Bible is without purpose. So read your Bible daily. (Ps 1:1-3 [pa|in]) Do not neglect your Bible reading. Do not read with a preexisting bias. Get familiar with the accounts in the Bible. Read the accounts, read about the accounts. Study, research, meditate. Identify the subject under discussion and the point being made. Consider various viewpoints. This is not obsession, but is the means by which you can gain the knowledge to live the life God wants for us and the foundation upon which you can seek and find the one and only truth.
Confusion Comes from Indoctrination
Colossians 2:8 warns: "Look out that no one takes you captive by means of the philosophy and empty deception according to human tradition, according to the elementary things of the world and not according to Christ." So take note that the teachings in the Bible are contrary to "the elementary things of the world" (which would mean no change from the world's ways).
Yes, many things get taken out of context and forcefully reinterpreted. But if it is taken in its context as written, without forceful reinterpretations, then it is quite explicit. There are also translation issues and spurious (fake) verses inserted into some translations as a result of trying to shoehorn doctrines into the Bible, especially the Trinity, hellfire and the inherent immortality of the soul. Facts must be preferred over declarations.
Some think "That is what they all say," and cannot distinguish truth from forceful interpretation. "Asking questions and never arriving at an answer" is a claim that God either cannot or is unwilling to help you. No doubt we can all appreciate the conundrum, but is God's hand cut short? Those who give up don't deserve answers. Truth makes itself known to those who prayerfully seek it in true faith, absolute certainty, that if God exists, then there is an answer.
This is not saying that the answer is only observable in faith, but rather, God will help you. How? With perseverance and a keen eye for details. If you do not have faith that God is active in the life of the one seeking truth, why bother with claiming belief in God? Such is no better than being an atheist.
A person's pessimism or lack of knowledge of God's word does not somehow prove that His word is confusing. God's word is simple. It is the philosophies and false traditions of men that blind people to it. This should anger you to seek the truth, not to throw up your hands and quit and declare the Bible to be sour grapes.
God Informs Us
Jehovah has put eternity in our hearts (Ecc 3:11), therefore, we have a right to know why eternity has been stripped away from us. If he had not put it there in the first place, then, like the animals, we would have no right to ask. But now because he put it there, he provides the answer in his word, and the way to escape judgment.
We were all born into sin against our will with the worst possible start in life. Yes, we all deserve answers as to why, and God provides it in his word; including why it happens, how we can improve it now, and what hope we can have to live peacefully in paradise for eternity through faith.
You can't seek grace if you do not know you need it. And if you're too confused to know what grace is, then you can't seek grace. A wrong understanding of who Jesus is will impede salvation. Thus it is important to find the right teacher who will not shoehorn doctrines into the Bible.
"Not a God of Confusion"
Really, here is the crux stated at 2 Timothy 3:16, 17: "All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, so that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work."
That says "ALL scripture is ... of God ... so that the man of God can be ... COMPLETELY equipped for EVERY good work." It gives the power to teach, to reprove, to set things straight with full competence. That means the source of the Scriptures is perfect, coming from God, the person lacks nothing and all they do can succeed.
In fact, Psalm 1:2, 3 says exactly that, saying, "His delight is in the law of Jehovah, And he reads His law in an undertone day and night. He will be like a tree planted by streams of water, a tree that produces fruit in its season, The foliage of which does not wither. And everything he does will succeed."
Proverbs 19:7 makes a similar statement, saying, "The law of Jehovah is perfect, bringing back the soul. The reminder of Jehovah is trustworthy, making the inexperienced one wise."
Why can these things be said about the Scriptures? Hebrews 4:12 answers, "For the word of God is alive and exerts power and is sharper than any two-edged sword and pierces even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of joints from the marrow, and is able to discern thoughts and intentions of the heart."
Note that "the word of God is alive." This means that it is not limited to the past as if it has since died, but continues to be able to help us. It "exerts power" in that it can influence us. It is sharp in that it helps us to be able to distinguish between doctrines like those about the spirit and the soul, showing us that there is a difference, comparing the soul to the bones (the shell), and spirit to marrow, the thing giving life. Finally, it helps us to analyze our own thoughts and intentions in order to make corrections as we find areas in need of improvement.
So the Scriptures do not leave us in confusion, for the scripture says, "For God is a God not of disorder but of peace." (1Co 1:33) Only the false teachings of men does that. The Bible cannot be blamed for that.
In fact, the apostle Peter warned of this circumstance, blaming, not the Scriptures, but false teachers, saying, "However, there also came to be false prophets among the people, as there will also be false teachers among you. These will quietly bring in destructive sects, and they will even disown the owner who bought them, bringing speedy destruction upon themselves. Furthermore, many will follow their brazen conduct, and because of them the way of the truth will be spoken of abusively. Also, they will greedily exploit you with counterfeit words. But their judgment, decided long ago, is not moving slowly, and their destruction is not sleeping."—2Pe 2:1-3.
Now have I said anything untrue or misrepresented any scripture? If not, then so far I have not been found to be a false teacher, have I? But anyone contradicting these things and teaching others to that effect IS a false teacher.
"Make Sure of All Things"
The apostle Paul instructed the Thessalonians to "make sure of all things, hold fast to what is fine." (1Th 5:21 [pa|in]) He wrote that because they were not doing as much as they should in that regard. He said that the Boroeans "were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they accepted the word with the greatest eagerness of mind, carefully examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so." (Ac 17:11 [pa|in]) The research required to do that is substantial, but well worth it.Unfortunately, despite the advent of the internet, research today is more difficult than it was for them back then. Back then, Hebrew was still a living language and the only Scriptures they needed to check were the Hebrew Scriptues with a translation into Greek by the very people who spoke both languages, and many Hebrew-speaking Jews living that gentiles could ask help from. So there really were no language issues for them to research and fewer false beliefs to combat.
That said, the following level of research is not for everyone and that is okay. Those with faith who rely upon Jehovah's holy spirit to guide them toward the truth are just as capable of finding it so long as the truth is truly what they are seeking. They rely upon the ring of truth which Jehovah reveals to them. But note that Paul referred to those who dig deeper as being "more noble-minded", thus being worthy of greater note, and to those who do not, he reminds to "make sure of all things."—1 Thessalonians 5:21 [pa|in]
For those who claim to need facts, deep research is necessary. You do not have to be an expert, it does not take an expert in Koiné Greek grammar to understand the words written by an expert in Koiné Greek grammar, but being aware of the controversies, the various viewpoints, and the basics of Koiné Greek grammar is essential to not being duped.
That said, the following level of research is not for everyone and that is okay. Those with faith who rely upon Jehovah's holy spirit to guide them toward the truth are just as capable of finding it so long as the truth is truly what they are seeking. They rely upon the ring of truth which Jehovah reveals to them. But note that Paul referred to those who dig deeper as being "more noble-minded", thus being worthy of greater note, and to those who do not, he reminds to "make sure of all things."—1 Thessalonians 5:21 [pa|in]
For those who claim to need facts, deep research is necessary. You do not have to be an expert, it does not take an expert in Koiné Greek grammar to understand the words written by an expert in Koiné Greek grammar, but being aware of the controversies, the various viewpoints, and the basics of Koiné Greek grammar is essential to not being duped.
I challenge you to let go of your preconceived notions and focus on two things important to science: 1) logic (James 3:17) and 2) sound evidence. (Joh 16:8)
Go Deeper
Good research also requires that you do more than compare translations. Comparing translations only highlights the differences resulting from the controversies; it does not tell you what the cause of those differences are. Thus you need to go deeper, finding out the history of the doctrine, what the rules of grammar are relating to the verse, review differing opinions and commentaries, analyze the context, compare scriptures with scriptures, and make clear sense of the information provided in the scripture. (See Part 4: Testing the "Proofs".) To be sure of something, we cannot simply rely upon the words of others, but we can rely upon the word of God.—2Ti 3:16, 17 [pa|in]; Heb 4:12 [pa|in]; 2Pe 1:19-21 [pa|in].In so doing, you must use every tool at your disposal to get at the truth along with preparing your heart to accept whatever the truth may be. (2Ch 30:18-20 [pa|in]; Ezr 7:10 [pa|in]) To go this deep, you will need access to a variety of commentaries (Do not leave out the literature of Jehovah's Witnesses, as they provide reasons for their viewpoints and can point you to additional research material,) a Greek-English Interlinear translation of the New Testament based upon the NA-27 or NA-28 composite manuscript, an introductory Biblical Greek Grammar and a Biblical Greek-English Lexicon. Some variation of Strong's Exhaustive Concordance can also help, but know that it has biases according to the Methodist Church, but it is still a scholarly work. (The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon and the Greek-English Lexicon by Joseph H. Thayer are excellent sources to find the truth of word meanings.)
The Hebrew scriptures do not usually need as much attention as the Greek because there exist many Hebrew copies that come from before the Catholics purged the Christian scriptures for the reason that the Jews maintained them and not the Catholic church who had no problem tossing spurious texts into late manuscript copies of the Greek Scriptures and destroying untampered copies.
Consider every viewpoint you can find on each scripture, poking holes until only the truth is left. Because, to get at the truth, you must be determined to find and accept the truth and not simply look for confirmation of what you already believe. And if you come across new infomation, always be willing to reexamine and revise your understanding.
Do you think careful personal research is required to get at the truth of the Scriptures? If not, state your disagreement in a comment below.
Return to the beginning of the Salvation vs. series
Go back to: Part 3: Counterfeit Christianity Has Served a Purpose
Go to: Part 5: Let the Bible Speak
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