Are there those who say they understand the Bible and the word of God but do not?
Of course. The Bible is an incredible book. On the one hand, it’s message is so simple that even a child can understand and be saved. On the other hand, the Bible was written by about 40 authors over 1600 years with different cultures, historical points, and situations.
It can become a very hard book to understand. No other book in all of history has ever had so much written about it, and so much to continue to be said about it. Even the most intelligent and prolific scholars profess that they don’t understand parts of the Bible.
This wide variance shows you its range. I will say as I have been in academia and scholarship, there are commentators on the Bible who are not believers. These people do not confess the same faith that Christians do.
They routinely rip up all of the Scriptures, breaking down the words and sentences of the Bible but never talking about its message. They seek to discredit every word of the Bible so they don’t have to face the reality of what it says.
They profess to understand the Bible but they don’t really understand it. They may be able to understand each word that composes the Bible, but they cannot comprehend the message. They cannot see what the Bible is saying to them and to every human being on this planet.
Some of what they write can be useful. They do have a grasp of the technicality of the languages of the Bible. This can be helpful to Christians. But often times it is meant to break down the Bible into its individual parts so that the whole cannot be understood.
They also seek to discredit the credibility of the Bible. They’re hoping the people will see that because all of the words don’t really fit together, or they are not used properly, or they are not even spelled properly, which all this can be challenged, that the Bible does not deserve to have a hearing.
The Bible itself speaks to understanding its message, a message at cannot be understood with the physical human ear. It must be understood with spiritual faith and understanding (1 Corinthians 2:10-14). We must listen to the Gospel and the rest of Scripture in the Bible with spiritual ears and faith.
Faith is required to hear the message of the gospel and respond. Paul talks about how we receive Christ through the preaching of the gospel in Romans 10:8-10. Faith is required to fully understand the Word of God, the Bible.
The Bible is a book of faith we must understand with ears of faith and hearts open to receive it. Anyone who approaches the Bible in any other way is not really understanding the way God intended.
