Understanding the Bible

This is a quote from a man who is trying to prove that God is imaginary:

Have you ever noticed that when you read the Bible, it often makes no sense? For example, you can read Matthew 17:20 and Jesus clearly says, "Nothing will be impossible for you." And yet, you know for a fact that that statement is wrong. Lots of things are impossible for you.

If you ask a Christian about this discrepancy, the Christian will say, "Ah, you see, you are not interpreting the Bible correctly. You need to talk to a theologian. He will set you straight."

Isn't it odd that the all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving, perfect creator of the universe has written a book, but he was unable to write clearly, so we need human theologians to interpret it for us? Why would a perfect god say "Nothing will be impossible for you" unless he meant "Nothing will be impossible for you?" Surely God knows how humans interpret sentences. So why didn't he speak the truth?

The reason why God speaks so unclearly, and why God fails to speak the truth so often in the Bible, and the reason why we need theologians, is because God is imaginary. (godisimaginary.com)

This quote troubled me for several reasons, some more obvious than others. The first is that this man is so blind to truth that he has resorted to every illogical argument possible in order to prove God doesn’t exist, and therefore he does not have to answer to Him. It is people like this who can make your heart seethe with anger and break in compassion at the same time. We feel the righteous anger rising within us against such claims and at the same time we fall before a holy God who chose us for absolutely no reason and He alone has taken away a similar blindness from our own lives. What a humbling and awe-inspiring thought.

But the quote raises other important issues in regards to both who can understand the Bible, and why it is futile to argue against such claims.

Who can understand God’s word?
In order to answer this question we must first understand what is required to be able to correctly interpret the Bible – the Holy Spirit. Paul addresses this issue with the Corinthians when he says:

These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. (1 Corinthians 2:10-11)

So to understand God’s word we must first have God’s Spirit. Thus Christians (those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ and have received the Holy Spirit) are the only people who can truly interpret the Bible correctly.

Now, before I go on to the second question there is one more thing that is raised in the quote that is unfortunately true. Many Christians today think that they must have a degree in Biblical interpretation in order to really get what the Bible is saying. Not True. Every true follower of Christ is equipped to read the Bible. In that sense, every true Christian is a theologian because every true Christian seeks God (theologia: theo- “God” logia “study/theory of”). So does this man need a theologian to understand the Bible? Yes, but every Christian is a theologian because they are constantly seeking God.

Why is it futile to argue against such claims?
In short it is because he doesn’t have the Spirit. For the same reasons mentioned above, it’s impossible for a non-believer to understand Christ apart from the grace of God. In the same passage to the Corinthians, Paul draws a clear distinction between the understanding given to believers and nonbelievers.

Now we [believers] have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:12-13)

You don’t argue with a child about politics because they do not have the mental tools necessary to understand. Similarly, it’s pointless to argue with a nonbeliever about spiritual things because they do not have what is necessary to understand (the Spirit). Studying apologetics and constructing an elaborate and detailed argument for why Christianity must be true is not going to win a single person apart from the grace of God changing them first. Should we study apologetics? Sure, but the main method for sharing the gospel must be the Word of God. Faith comes from hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17), and faith alone brings the Holy Spirit and thus understanding.

Studying and applying the Bible is not a characteristic of a Christian, it is the definition, the very core of what it means to be a Christ-follower. We are not just called to do it, but commanded to do it and equipped for it. We should love it, live it, and share it, but all the while remembering that all understanding comes from God alone.