Hard Things To Understand

Hard Things to Understand

Many people in the world reject the truths of God’s word simply because they find it impossible to understand. Although there have been many translations and versions created in order to help us read the word, because even in the church you would find that multitudes of Christians wouldn’t read the Bible, especially in the old King James Version that said things in the old English manner of speaking.

To the untrained and lesser educated, the wording alone was enough to discourage people from reading, much less the subject matter that was being presented. That inability to understand or grasp what the Bible says is not just limited to the uneducated mind; it is the same for those with high degrees of education as well.

There is one hard truth about trying to read and understand the written word of God, no matter how simple we may try to write for everyone, or what language it is written in. That hard truth is stated for us in the Bible itself.

Ephesians 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

Ephesians 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints...and that passage of scripture goes on and on about the things that the Lord will reveal to us though that Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation.

That is why it is important that we stop before we ever read the Bible and say the simple prayer found in Psalm 119:18, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” Before we see that prayer in Psalms we can read where David had already said that he was always “hiding the Word of God in heart so that he would not forget God”.

That has to be our starting point for learning and understanding Who God is; What God is all about, His purposes in creating all things, including mankind, and how God chooses to deal with every heart and work through every man who will choose to allow himself to be led by God.

Let’s look at some things that Peter mentions that are “hard to understand”. Let me say too that these aren’t just words of Peter but Paul also talks about all of these things throughout his letters to all the churches in the New Testament.

1. The Second Coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ

2 Peter 3:3-4 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

Why do so many, even in the church, make jokes about the rapture of the church, or the second coming of Christ, or so many other things concerning these end times and the judgment to come?

Why do so many deny the cardinal doctrines of the virgin birth, the power of the blood of Jesus, or the fact of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ? How can anyone who claims to be Christian, deny these truths of God’s word and still call themselves Christian? Even Christian universities and seminaries are turning out graduates who don’t believe that the Bible is true, and refuse to preach every word of it.

The answer to all of these questions is very simple. We just read it in 2 Peter. They walk after their own lusts! What does that mean? It means they are unregenerate, still lost in sin, without the way of salvation, and the eyes of their understanding are still blinded by their own sinful lusts, desires and way of thinking. Their sinful heart will not allow them to see even the most basic truths. No man can grasp the truth of the Bible unless he first receives the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding, and that only comes through a true repentance and salvation experience. There is not enough secular education in the world to reveal what the Holy Ghost must reveal to us.

We find a lot of well educated historians, geologists and other people who try to explain away everything in the Bible through natural means, and their arguments can sound so convincing, but the one thing that they all lack is the spiritual understanding that will allow them to interpret what they learned and come to a correct conclusion. If we leave God and his word out of the mix, then the truth cannot be found.

And even though the Bible is being fulfilled every day, and the prophecies of the Bible are coming true and so easily seen by those of us who are Spirit filled, the mind of man that is without God cannot and will not see any of it, and will do everything he can to explain it all away.