Medium Reader

If “the Author of the Bible was God Himself, penned by man” then why is it so open to interpretation? Why wouldn’t an omni-everything God make him/her/itself more clear? You believe that “the Author of the Bible was God Himself, penned by man” and my next door neighbor believes that “the Author of the Bible was God Himself, penned by man” but you interpret a particular scripture to mean one thing, and he interprets it to mean something else.

My Response

God’s reasoning is above my pay grade, but I can offer one of a few verses that discloses His approach on the matter. Of course this is understandably inflammatory to unbelievers… but that does not change anything.

Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “ ‘You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’ - Matthew 13:10-15

This set of verses is a challenge for the believer. It strikes a tone of God intentionally blocking some from knowing “the secrets of the kingdom of Heaven,” which is basically salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 10:9). Why would God do that?

Yet, going back even further, why would God allow Lucifer to become Satan, allow Adam to eat the forbidden fruit, and allow sin, pain, anger, sexual immorality, lust, greed, and pride, among other human traits, to enter the world if He is all-powerful and all-knowing?

We can provide Sunday School answers to these and other questions raised in Scripture. In the case of the Matthew 13 verse above, the best John MacArthur could come up with was, “This judicial blinding may be viewed as an act of mercy, lest their condemnation be increased.” He makes this point under the correct assumption that God has foreknowledge of who would come to Him and who would reject Him. Yet the argument is a hollow response, as it ignores God’s power to draw those He chooses to Himself. In this verse and Luke 8:10, the Lord chooses to do the opposite by hiding salvation behind parables but calls the believer to share the Good News and states later that He desires “all to be saved” (1 Timothy 2:4). Pastors, theologians, and Bible teachers have answers to all these questions. However, their understanding of the complexities of God is limited to only a fraction of the truth.

Mankind is not prepared to fully understand God, even though He provided us an instruction manual to help in that process. No human has ever perfectly understood Biblical theology. So, when we cannot reconcile our logic or moral code of ethics with God, the problem is not with His perfection; it is with our weakness and shallow understanding (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Will any teach God knowledge, seeing that he judges those who are on high? - Job 21:22

So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. - 1 Corinthians 2:11b

However, when one sees the complexity and beauty of the world around us, when we read of lands and peoples in the Bible that have later been discovered by archeologists, when prophecies are fulfilled and miracles performed, and when disciples who were with Jesus are subsequently killed for their beliefs, there is a strong basis for accepting a Biblical Christian worldview. But, only if we are willing to have eyes to see and ears to hear (Matthew 13:16). We must accept the Bible as the infallible Word of God, encompassing verses that convey God’s love for humanity (1 John 4:16, Romans 5:8). To accept Christ as our Savior and Lord forces the believer to trust God with our heart, regardless of whether we can explain His ways. That is not apologetics (defense of Christianity). It is faith. Faith that all will be answered and understood on the other side of the grave.

Hebrews 11:1 - Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.