How important is it that we pick up the Bible and read it for ourselves?
I often think of how differently I understand God now from when I was a younger Christian. This is in large part due to new understanding of how to read the Bible well and the importance of reading the Bible for myself. There is a big difference between the God I see in scripture and the God I heard about growing up. When what I knew about God came from what other people said about God, I developed a distorted and murky view of who God is. When I look directly into scripture and see the God of the universe as He interacts with humanity, I see a clearer image of who God really is. My understanding is a partial, human understanding that will only be made perfectly clear in eternity. But I am happy to spend the rest of my life trying to see and understand more clearly who God is and how He loves his creation.
Misunderstanding God is a human tendency. The very first humans in history were the first humans to misunderstand God. To some degree, every human after them has gotten God wrong in some way. When the truths of God are miscommunicated or when we fail to examine the words of God in the Bible, we develop a distorted understanding of God, his nature, his work, and his love.
Truth and a Tree
The story of Adam and Eve displays why we need to know exactly what God said and have a good understanding of who God is. Genesis 2 records the story of miscommunication and misunderstanding that leads to catastrophic results.
God formed Adam from the dust and breathed life into him. Adam became a living being (Genesis 2: 7). Then God made a special garden with every type of living plant and animal and rivers running through it. In the middle of the garden were the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen 2:9). God put Adam in the Garden of Eden and said: “You are free to eat from ANY tree in the garden; BUT you must not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, for when you eat from it, you will surely die” (Gen 2:16 emphasis mine). After this, God made Eve. “Adam and his wife were both naked and they felt no shame” (Gen 2:25).
Then, the sneaky, cunning, wily serpent came to Eve to ask her a question. “Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?” This is not what God said. They could eat from all of the trees in the garden but one, including the Tree of Life.
Eve corrects the serpent but adds something to what God actually said. “God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die” (Gen 3:2). It is interesting that Eve does not name the tree other than ‘the one in the middle of the garden’. Also, she says that she is not allowed to touch the tree. How did this miscommunication happen? Did God not share the rules with her the same as he had shared with Adam? Had Adam told her she couldn’t touch the tree, perhaps in a misguided attempt to keep her away from the tree? Or did Eve simply misunderstand what she had heard?
Scripture does not answer these questions. What we know is that Eve misunderstood the words of God and the character of God. Jesus said of the serpent, Satan, that he is the father of lies and that when he lies, he is speaking his native language (John 8:44). The serpent assured Eve that she would not die and added an insinuation that God was withholding something good from Eve, being like God and knowing good from evil (Gen 3:4).
The truth is that God made Adam and Eve (and all humanity) in His image. He gave them freedom of choice. They could choose to do as God commanded or not. Isn’t it fascinating that God gave them every tree in the garden but one and they couldn’t leave that one tree alone? As a result of their free choices, Adam and Eve had to leave the garden and the presence of God.
Misunderstanding or miscommunication of the words of God leads to mistrust in the character of God. The most pernicious lies are mixed with truths because, after all, a spoon full of sugar helps the poison go down. If we add just a few words to what God said, we can create religiously manipulative mandates that alter the behavior of others. If we misquote God, we can create deceptive philosophies that spiritually damage others.
God inspired the authors of the Bible to put his words and actions on paper so that we would have a reliable witness of what He has said and done. We have inherited the privilege and responsibility of knowing in our hearts and communicating to others God’s words faithfully. We can only do this if we pick up the Bible and study it for ourselves. It would be easy to remember the words incorrectly or understand the words incorrectly if we aren’t continually looking to see what the words say.
Two Things to Remember, Three Things to Ask
First, think of it this way. We don’t get any health benefits from vitamins and supplements by listening to someone talk about the health benefits of vitamins and supplements. We have to actually ingest the vitamins. In the same way, we all have favorite Bible preachers and speakers. There’s nothing wrong with that. But it is not enough for others to tell us what God has said. We have to ingest God’s words ourselves. It is our responsibility as followers of Jesus Christ to read, know, and respond to His Word. This is an interaction between our spirit and the Holy Spirit who makes the scriptures “living and powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:11). There is no substitute for reading the Word of God for ourselves.
Another thing to remember is that other people teach from their understanding, training, opinion or personal agenda. The only way we can know if someone is teaching the Word of God well is if we know what the Word of God says. It is possible for someone to quote the words printed in black and white on the pages of the Bible yet completely miss the intended meaning of the words and the heart of God in the words.
Here are three questions to ask any time someone is teaching God’s Word. These three questions apply to anyone teaching God’s Word- your grandma, your pastor, your favorite writers and speakers included.
1) Are they accurately quoting scripture? Have they added thoughts to what the Bible says, have they omitted words and teachings?
2) Are they accurately conveying the intended meaning of the original author? The Bible can not mean to us what it did not mean to the original audience.
3) Are they teaching the scripture with the true heart of God? If you sense an excess of guilt, shame, judgment, pressure tactics, or if God seems far off, distant, or angry, then the speaker may be misrepresenting God’s character and intentions.
Conclusion
We all struggle to correctly understand the words of God in the Bible. It is the human condition. But know that God has not left us to struggle alone. His Spirit is with us to help us. The Bible is a precious gift given to us to reveal not only the words and actions of God, but also his character of love, faithfulness, and mercy. There is no greater privilege or responsibility in life than to know the truth of what God’s Word says and who He is. Read the Bible for yourself and see if the God revealed in the scriptures is the same God you’ve heard about from others. The difference may surprise you.
Acts 17:11 (when Paul went to preach the gospel in Berea)
“The Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”
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