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2 PETER 3:16-17
"[Paul's] letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position." |
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| How to interpret the Bible accurately: 12 critical tips |
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SERIES—PART 1 Reading an improperly understood Bible is like looking at life through blurry spectacles. You're seeing a "version" of the truth, but it's inaccurate. You'll never be able to properly view the world through those spectacles. Imagine wearing blurry or foggy glasses while trying to operate a vehicle in busy traffic. How long would it be before those little glasses resulted in a big accident? Here's a vital fact so many people today—tragically—don't seem to understand: an improperly understood Bible will leave you with the wrong message from God—which will likely result in the loss of your soul. The Bible says: "[Paul's] letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position."Sounds like a pretty serious matter, doesn't it? Obviously, the consequences to believing a distorted version of truth are real—and devastating. Being destroyed, and falling from grace, aren't positions any responsible Christian needs to be in. Please make sure this never describes you. And here are some tips that should help you properly understand God's message... Tip #1: Don't be "ignorant" Who were the first people Peter mentioned who would be earmarked for God's destruction? The "Ignorant." But please don't confuse "ignorance" with "stupidity." Often, Biblically ignorant people are intelligent, successful people who simply haven't been exposed to the word, or never understood its value. After all, if you truly believed the Bible contained the most important message in our world—words literally from your Creator to you—why would you ignore them or treat them lightly? Yet people are doing so today en mass. And it's not like folks don't have access to the Bible. Think about it: there's a Bible in practically every home, hotel room, and hospital waiting room in our country—and people choose to read magazine material instead. Here's the point: men today have no excuse for ignorance. But the Bible itself warned this would be happening; that people would WILLINGLY "close their spiritual eyes, ears, hearts, and minds"—and thereby remain spiritually unhealed (Matt 13:15). Fortunately, the solution is simple: Clear the fog off your spiritual spectacles by arming yourself with an accurate and comprehensive knowledge of God's word. Tip #2: Don't be "unstable" Remember, the Bible indicated there would be 2 groups that would be destroyed by God: (1) Those who were ignorant; and, (2) Those who were unstable. But what does it mean to be "unstable?" Unstable Bible students are those who never can seem to make up their minds about relatively simple Bible concepts. If one doctrine comes along, and it seems to make sense, they adopt it. Before long, another perspective will come their way, and they decide to adopt that. Then, yet another version presents itself, and that becomes their current favorite. In other words, their spiritual glasses are fogged with the notion that God doesn't really care what people actually believe—as long as they're sincere in their erroneous thinking. They really don't think, as the Bible indicates, that "unstable" people will be destroyed. The Bible also warns us about "giving ear" to every ridiculous message promoted by a seemingly religious person. Paul warned his readers not to be "blown here and there by every wind of teaching" (Eph 4:14). Like a reed blowing in the wind, whichever direction the wind blows is the direction unstable Christians will lean. Instead of being like a reed blowing in the wind, be like a solid oak that stands firm in obvious truth, no matter which direction the wind chooses to blow. 
PART 2
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