CAN WE UNDERSTAND THE BIBLE ALIKE?
Mike Johnson
If we can understand the Bible at all, we can understand the Bible alike. The Bible is truth, and truth does not contradict itself. If two people disagree on a Bible passage, both cannot be correct, as the Bible does not teach two different and conflicting concepts. We may misunderstand the Bible differently, but we do not understand the Bible differently.
What if one person said one plus one equals two; another said one plus one equals four, and still another person said one plus one equals six. Would we remain silent and say, all are correct? Typically, we would not, but that is the attitude, which prevails in religion. Only one of the persons understands the equation, and the other two misunderstand it.
Many look at the Bible as a dark, deep, mysterious book, which few people can understand. This viewpoint, however, is an incorrect way to view it. God has not given us a book He requires us to follow for salvation, and made that book so difficult hardly anyone can understand it.
The Bible is understandable. Paul said in Ephesians 3:3-4, “how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ).” John 8:32 reveals truth is knowable as Jesus says, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” God’s Will can be known and understood. (Note also II Tim. 3:15, Eph. 5:17, Rom. 10:17.) There are passages and books in the Bible, which are more complicated than others are. The Bible, however, is understandable if we study it diligently with an open mind, and we can understand the Bible alike.