By David Sproule
How many times have you heard it said? Or maybe you were the one saying it? “The Bible is too hard to understand.” People have been saying that for years. But, is that true? Should we set the Bible aside and dismiss it as an incomprehensible book? Or have we maybe been misinformed and the Bible can actually be understood? Let’s consider this.
First of all, who is saying that the Bible is hard to understand? I have known people over the years who had not read the Bible but were making claims about the Bible. If you haven’t read the Bible, then how do you qualify to offer any evaluation of it? Or maybe you are one who has tried to read it but you have found it hard to understand. Why is that?
Sometimes things we have heard cause us to think the Bible is hard to understand. Some have said over the years that “only the clergy could understand it.” That conditions the mind of the average person to think, “Well, then I won’t be able to understand it.” Perhaps you’ve started to read the Bible but didn’t expect to understand it. Again, the mind is already closed to the possibility and is preconditioned to “not” understand.
If you are one who has thought the Bible is “too hard to understand,” can I ask you a sincere question—How much have you read? What parts have you read? When someone who has never read the Bible asks me where they should start, I usually tell them to start with the book of John, then read Acts after that, and then go back to Genesis or to Matthew. John is easy to understand and it’s all about Jesus. After reading through John, can you still say, “The Bible is hard to understand”? I’ve never met anyone who could still claim that.
Admittedly, some parts of the Bible are difficult to understand, such as reading about animal sacrifices, or reading the names of people and places that we don’t recognize, or reading figurative language that is not familiar to us. Peter made a statement about Paul’s epistles and said, “in which are some things hard to understand” (2 Pet. 3:15-16). Someone might say, “Well, there you go! Even Peter said it was hard.” But wait? Notice that Peter says it was “SOME” things hard to understand. Not all. Not most.
Here’s something we need to grasp. God gave us the Bible (2 Tim. 3:16), and He said that it could be understood. Paul wrote, “when you read” what he had written, “you can understand my insight” (Eph. 3:3-4). We can understand what Paul understood and such is expected (Eph. 5:17; John 8:32).
So, let me encourage you to open your Bible. Expect that you will understand it. Ask God to help you. Then, start with the book of John and enjoy reading about Jesus.