Understanding the Bible: Why It’s Hard and That’s Okay

I was reading my Bible the other day, in Leviticus, and came across a passage that I simply couldn’t wrap my head around. No matter how hard I tried; I couldn’t understand. Have you been there?

The truth is that it’s okay if you don’t understand the whole Bible. God wants us to understand His Word, but it’s an experience that takes time. You don’t have to understand the entire Bible to get something out of it. God will be our teacher and, in time, our understanding will grow.

There are plenty of things that we can do if we don’t understand something in the Bible. But it’s also okay to admit we don’t understand everything. In fact, that’s key to growing closer to God. I’ll show you what I mean.

It’s Okay Not to Understand Everything in the Bible

If you were to take a poll of every Christian on earth, every single one of them will admit there is something in the Bible that they do not understand.

I got my college degree in Biblical Studies. It was fun and I learned a lot. One of the first things I learned was how little I really understood the Bible. The further along I got in my degree the questions I had were being answered. But with the answers came more questions.

Every answer opened up a whole new box of questions. That’s okay. In fact, it’s beautiful. Why? Because it led me deeper into God’s Word, closer to Him.

So, I learned rather quickly that it is okay not to understand everything in the Bible. A lack of understanding about something in the Bible does not make you less of a Christian. Your salvation comes from the grace of God through the work of Jesus, not biblical knowledge.

God Wants Us to Understand the Bible

When we read the Bible and encounter these hard to understand passages it can make you wonder: Does God even want us to understand the Bible?

What about the passages of Scripture where Jesus deliberately tells his disciples that he teaches in parables so people won’t understand? “This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.'” (Matthew 13:13).

That sure seems to indicate God doesn’t want us to understand the Bible. But that’s far from the truth. Jesus was referencing a passage in Isaiah, where he discusses how the people’s sinfulness hardened their hearts and made them deaf to what Jesus was saying.

Jesus wanted them to understand and hear. Just like He wants us to understand and hear.

After all, God says in Jeremiah, “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people” (Jeremiah 31:33).

God wants us to understand His word so much that He is willing to work to ensure that we will understand it. He wants us to hide His word in our heart.

He wants us to understand it so well that we live it out each and every day. That we end the day with a greater understanding than when we woke up. That we look more like Christ today, than yesterday.

What to Do If You Don’t Understand Something in the Bible

Remember, that it is okay that we don’t understand everything in the Bible. But, because God wants us to understand His Word, when we don’t understand something, we should do something about it.

When we come across a passage of Scripture that we don’t understand, we should

• Ask God for Understanding
• Ask a Trusted Christian Friend, Mentor, or Pastor
• Keep Persevering in Study

Take a look at the story of the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts chapter 8. This Eunuch was traveling along a desert road to Jerusalem to worship God. On the way he was reading Scripture. Like many of us read the Bible. God told Philip to meet this Eunuch on the road and stay near the chariot.

Eventually, a conversation between them broke out. Philip asked the Eunuch if he understood what he was reading. No. The Eunuch said no. He didn’t understand because nobody was explaining it to him. He’s reading the Scripture, but he’s not understanding it.

Wow! Does that experience sound familiar? Reading the Bible, but not understanding it? So, what happened? God sent Philip to explain it to him.

When we don’t understand something from the Bible, we should go and ask a trusted Christian friend, mentor or pastor.

Not only should we seek to ask a fellow Christian, but we should also pray and ask God for understanding. Psalm 119:144 says, “Your statutes are always righteous; give me understanding that I may live.” It’s a prayer asking God for help in understanding the Bible.

You Don’t Have to Understand Everything in the Bible to Get Something Out of It

The beauty of Scripture is that you don’t have to understand everything in the Bible to get something out of it. Because God uses Scripture to lead us closer to Him.

Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.”There are things that God knows that we will never understand. But there are also things that God reveals to us.

Bible study is an experience. It’s a life long journey that draws us closer and closer to God. If we understood everything in the Bible, we’d have no need to read it again. We’d have no reason to go to God and say help me understand this. God will reveal understanding to us when we need it, and when we are ready for it.

In Bible study, it is our lack of understanding that leads us to seek God. That leads us closer to Him. In short, Bible study is experiencing the Bible in a way that we encounter God.