From the Pen of Paul

Can We Understand the Bible Alike?

Yes! We proved in our last article that the Bible CAN be understood and to understand anything implies uniformity. If something is understood (pick any subject) then all that understand it will understand it alike. If someone were to ask how much is ten plus ten and the correct answer is given as twenty. Everyone who understands the answer will all understand it alike. If someone thinks that the answer should be thirty, we would readily say that he is just mistaken. Disunity or disagreement means someone is wrong. Again, pick any subject. There are no exceptions to this rule.

Notice some of the instructions we have from the inspired Book: "speak the same thing" (I Corinthians 1:10); "walk by the same rule" (Philippians 3:16); "preach the word" (II Timothy 4:2); "speak as the oracles of God" (I Peter 4:11); "endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:1). Now if we all speak the same thing, walk by the same rule, preach the same word speaking as the oracles of God while endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, why will we not be seeing the Bible alike?

Then why so much disunity? Why so many conflicting doctrines in the world? Why are not all agreed on what the Bible teaches? And certainly we are not affirming that all do understand the Bible but we are affirming that all can understand this marvelous Book. Let me suggest some reasons that the Book is misunderstood.

1. Many people do not approach a study of the Book in a wise way. If you are going to profit from studying the Bible, you need to notice carefully the context. Who wrote it? To whom was it written? When or in what period of religious history was it written? What was the purpose of the discussion? (This is especially important when studying Paul's discussion in I Corinthians 12-14 about the use and misuse of miraculous spiritual gifts in the early church.) What was the conclusion? You would not learn a difficult subject like physics or chemistry by beginning in the middle of the book and following a haphazard method of study. Nor would you understand an opera by going in near the end and listening only to the final song. Yet, these depict the way a lot of people study the Bible. I heard of one young man and his wife who had never attended worship nor studied the Bible; they decided they needed to start studying the Book and they started in the book of Revelation. I don't believe that is an intelligent decision. Whether it is public Bible study or your own private Bible study, develop a plan; set a goal; study a subject—don't just study here and yonder with no plan. If you do, don't be too surprised if you don't understand this marvelous Book.
2. Perhaps the greatest enemy to understanding the Bible is prejudice. Pre-conceived ideas will cause one to misunderstand the Book. The poet wrote: "One reads with Father's specs upon his head, and sees the Book just as his Father said. While others read to prove a pre-adopted creed; hence understood little what they read, for every passage in the Book they bend to make it fit that all important end." And Peter said it this way, "As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of those things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction" (II Peter 3:16). We need to "receive with meekness the implanted word" (James 1:21) and as the Bereans "search the Scriptures daily whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11). Please notice that they did not search the Scriptures to prove that what Paul had taught was right; nor did they search the Scriptures to prove that what Paul said was wrong; they searched the Scriptures to see "whether these things were so." Just because we have never heard something before or just because it is worded differently from what we have heard does not automatically mean that it is wrong. Let all of us study God's Book with open minds and pure hearts that we might learn His will for us.
3. A lot of folks don't understand the sacred Book because they are more interested in what the Book does not tell us than they are with practical passages that apply to us today. A friend of mine had shown the Jule Miller filmstrips to a couple; they had expressed their desire to be baptized for the remission of their sins; while the wife was getting their coats so that they could go to the church building, the man asked the preacher, "Can you tell me where Cain got his wife?" And because he could not satisfy this man's curiosity, as far as I know, to this day this couple still are not Christians. Why? He was more interested in things that are not given than he was with being saved. What kind of bush did Moses see that burned but was not consumed? The truth is that the Bible does not cater to our curiosity. I would love to know more about the Garden of Eden, the tower of Babel, how was Lazarus' life following his resurrection, what happened to those saints who came forth from the grave and went into the city following Jesus' resurrection, etc. But we must remember, "The secret things belong unto God; but those things which are revealed belong unto us and our children for ever" (Deut. 29:29). God has given us "all things that pertain to life and godliness" (II Peter 1:3). He has revealed everything we need to know in order to get from earth to heaven. We ought to be content with that.

—Paul Wilmoth

From the Preacher's Viewpoint. . .

Dedication

Dedication is a tremendous thing. It caused Adolf Hitler to take over the control of Germany. Dedication caused Vladimir Lenin to overthrow the government of Russia and take control thereof. By this he brought about godless communism that ruled millions and millions of people for about 75 years. Dedication caused Alexander the Great to have a love for battle and to march over and take a large section of the world's population at that time. Dedication has caused many a person to accomplish great things and to bring about wonderful inventions such as the telephone, automobile, airplane, electricity, etc. This thing called dedication is wonderful, especially when used in good and worthy causes.

But what is dedication? Give us its meaning. Webster says it is "to become committed to as a goal or as a way of life. Devoted to a cause, ideal, or purpose" (Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, p. 293). Now we can see clearly what dedication is all about. Now we know what caused the whole world to hear the Gospel before 100 A. D. (Col. 1:6, 23). It was dedication to the cause of Christ that caused those early Christians to go "everywhere preaching the word" (Acts 8:4). It was dedication that caused many early Christians to suffer starvation, ridicule, beatings, slander, imprisonment, and many times death.

Daniel was thrown into the lions' den because of his dedication to God. The three Hebrew children were cast into the fire because of their dedication to God. Elijah, the great prophet of God, was hated and hunted by the King's men because he was dedicated to God and the proclamation of His Word. Noah found grace in the sight of God and built a huge ship that saved him and his children because he was dedicated to the righteousness of God. Peter and John would not stop preaching the Gospel, even though the dignitaries commanded them to, because they were dedicated to the cause of Christ. The beloved apostle Paul could not be stopped in his efforts to spread Christianity even though he was beaten, hated, rejected, stoned, laughed at, put in prison, and suffered many other injustices because he was dedicated to the salvation of souls and the service of Christ. On and on it goes with the great and good men of the Bible when it comes to dedication to God.

But we must understand dedication. We must understand the nature of dedication. We must understand how it works and its origin. Dedication does not come from the outside in but from the inside out. There is absolutely no way to pressure dedication into a people. Oh yes, we may have the power in our hands to make people do certain things but this is a far cry from dedication. Dedication comes through a teaching process. Dedication comes about by persuading and reasoning. Love for a particular thing or person brings about dedication. Love is a great element that brings about dedication. Love brings about dedication for a person, place, or thing. This means that association has to do with dedication. A man loves his wife because of his association with her. He learns about her. He sees what she is. He sees what she has done for him. He comes to see her qualities and her values. As a result of these things he becomes dedicated to her.

A preacher dedicated to Christ does not preach for the money paid him. Yes, he must have an income to live and we all know this. But his primary purpose for preaching the Word of God does not come about because of what he is paid. He preaches the Gospel of Christ because of his love for it and for the souls of men. Many elders are excellent examples of dedication. In most cases they are not paid one dime for their most important service to the church of Christ. They serve because they are dedicated men. Most deacons are the same way. The best members of the church of Christ are dedicated members. They understand the love of God, the love of Christ, the value of the Christian life, and find it impossible to turn from Christianity and the service required to be a child of the King.

Many, many have talked to me about my starting Tennessee Bible College. Some have told me that I could have just preached and had a much easier Christian life. Many have talked to me about the hours I have spent in hard labor and sacrifice (to me a great joy and very little given when compared to the great men of the Bible) in building the school. Why did I do so? Because I can see (maybe in a small way compared to others) the value of the Christian life. I can see that Christ is the answer to all the world's ills and problems. I felt I could multiply the work of my life by going the Christian school route. I know what Christ has meant to me which in turn has caused me to know what He can mean for others. If all of us could only see what Jesus means to the well-being of the entire world, we could not help being dedicated to His service. Dedication—a most needed thing when it comes to Jesus Christ, His Gospel, His church, and the salvation of souls. Its price is far above silver and gold!
—Malcolm L. Hill