The Bible was designed to be understood.
One of the most common barriers to Bible reading is that many feel it is hard to understand. Most of the lack of understanding is easily resolved with consistent and systematic reading. What i am talking about is not even what would be considered studying. I am talking about reading. Consider the benefits of daily reading.
The Bible is 66 separate books that all tell the same interwoven story of the redemption of the creation. The creation, fall and redemption of man as told by many different writers over several hundred years. The building blocks of understanding the New Testament are sitting in the old testament. The commentary that best explains the Old Testament is the New Testament. When Jesus was on the road to Emmaeus with the two disciples, He used the Old Testament to explain all that had just happened to Him. All those happenings were what was about to be written and called, the New Testament.
In Mat 15:10 Jesus calls the multitude together and says, “Hear, and understand:” All the words that Jesus said in His earthly life were carefully chosen to communicate exactly the message that the Father desired. To say “hear and understand” means that the Words are designed to be understood. God worked supernaturally with languages on the day of Pentecost so that they would understand. Jesus spent time with His disciples explaining the Scriptures to them. God has desired from the beginning that we would know Him and understand who He is.
The Scriptures will not be understood without some effort on our parts. Long before we were instructed to “study to show ourselves approved” (II Tim 2:15) we were told to “give attendance to reading” (I Tim 4:13). Reading must come before studying or there can be error. The Scriptures are finely balanced in that every verse supports every other verse. All the books support the other books and both testaments support each other.
Nice post. I agree that the “The Scriptures will not be understood without some effort on our parts,” but what about those who cannot read or belong to oral cultures, learning everything orally like we did before we became literate?
Even now, readership is on the decline. A recent study by the National Endowment for the Arts shows youth readership rapidly declining. How do we engage their minds with the Word of God? I believe one way is through free audio Bible recordings, like from Faith Comes By Hearing. Youth can download the Bible onto their phones, iPods, MP3 players, etc., and take the Word where ever they go.
I wanted to research this subject and write a paper. Your post what a thousand words would not. Nice job.
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