WHY SO MANY
THE BIBLE IS PERFECTLY CLEAR
Exposing the Blindness of the Human
Heart
By Gary Ray Branscome
“This is the condemnation, that light has
come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light,” (John
The question has been raised as to how the Bible can
be said to be clear when there are so many different explanations and
interpretations, and so much disagreement. However, the clarity of Scripture
has nothing to do with interpretation! On the contrary, because Scripture is
clear the actual words of Scripture mean just what they say! And whenever God
says something in Scripture that is what He expects us to believe and teach.
Those who question the clarity of Scripture are failing distinguish between
God’s Word and man’s word.
Scripture is clear because God is intelligent enough
to say exactly what He means, and He does not need any man to explain what He
said. What the words of Scripture say is exactly what God wants us to believe
and teach (2Corinthians.
For example: several years ago, when talking with a
pastor who held that salvation could never be lost, I quoted Galatians 5:4,
“Christ is of no benefit to those of you
who seek righteousness by the law; you are fallen from grace”. In reply, he
said, “I know that is what it says, but I don’t think that is what it means”.
Now because every word of Scripture is inspired by God, when he said, “I know that is what it says,” he was
actually saying, “I know that is what
God says”. Yet, he professed to know better than God. That is the madness
of the human heart. He knew what the Bible said! Its words were perfectly
clear. But he chose to reject what the Bible said because it did not agree what
he had been taught. Another passage that he explained away was 1Corinthians
He failed to see that EVERYTHING God has said in His Word is
important! And even if two passages seem
contradictory to our puny finite little minds, because they are both the Word
of God BOTH ARE TRUE and both need to be taught. Yet the way of the world
is to choose one passage (or group of passages) and explain away the others.
Christians, who believe that they are saved by grace, but still strive to make
themselves righteous through works, need the warning of Galatians 5:4. Christians who are
tempted to use the forgiveness we have in Christ to justify willful sin need
the warning of 1Corinthians
Now let us look at some other examples:
Because the Bible tells us that God “has chosen us in Him [Christ] before
the foundation of the world,” some
people assume that Christ only died for the sins of those God had
chosen, not for all sins. That is not God’s Word it is an assumption (Eph.
1:4). So when those who hold to that assumption come to the words, “He [Christ] is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for
the sins of the whole world,” they feel constrained to explain those
words away (1John 2:2). The words of 1John 2:2 are perfectly clear! If they
were not, they would not explain those words away. However, instead of
rejecting their assumption (which is man’s word), they
reject God’s Word by explaining it away. And, that is rebellion against God.
Because God has said, “To as many as received Him [Christ], He gave power to become the sons
of God, even to those who believe in His name:
Who are not born of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will
of man, but of God,” that is what God wants us to believe and teach (John
1:12-13). Yet, many explain away the words, “Who are not born of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will
of man, but of God,” because those words do not agree with their own ideas
about free will. Again, instead of correcting their opinions, they reject what
God has said. And, some have even changed the word, “power” in John 1:12 to “right,” to make the Bible agree with their
own ideas, ignoring what the Bible says elsewhere about our faith and the power
of God. Passages such as 1Cor. 2:5, “Your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of
God,” or
Now let us consider the words, “In six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything
that is in them” (Exodus
For that reason, to reject the God who created all
things in six days, is to reject God! And, the Bible says of all who reject
God, “Professing themselves
to be wise, they became fools… Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness
through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between
themselves: For they changed the truth of God into a lie… (See Romans
1:22-28). Those verses tell me why churches that deny what God has revealed about Himself in Exodus 20:11, worshipping
instead a made-up god who used evolution, excuse and justify all manner of
sexual wickedness.
Conclusion
The clarity of Scripture does not mean
that men will always understand or agree with what the Bible says. It means
that what God said in Scripture is what God wants us to believe and teach, and,
“No divinely revealed truth ever comes
from man-made explanations of those words” (2Peter
God wants us to believe and teach what He has said in
Scripture! And if men fail to understand or agree with what He has said the
problem rests with them, not God. God speaks, and men disagree because of the
blindness of their own sin-darkened heart (2Corinthians