There are times when God has stated things that we need to study, meditate, and pray to come to a knowledge of what we are to learn. Peter, speaking of the writings of Paul states, "And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these 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." (2 Peter 3.15-16). While there are some things that are harder to understand, there are others that are simpler and more direct. Christ often spoke in ways that others did not understand. This created a problem for some. After feeding 5,000 Christ told some who came looking for him that it was not for the miracles, or his teachings, but because they had eaten of the loaves that he had provided (John 6.26). Christ then proceeded to teach a spiritual lesson about the true bread that they should have a desire for, the word of God (John 6.27). As He taught this lesson he incorporated the image of Himself, as the bread (John 6.35), and stated, "... the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." (John 6.51). This immediately caused some concern as those who had gathered wondered and stated, " How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" (John 6.52). Having the written word, we can understand that Christ was speaking figuratively, having told them that he was the bread of life. The end result of this was that there were some who could not understand this concept. "Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?" (John 6.60). As a result of their inability to understand what Christ meant, John states, "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him." (John 6.66). Confusion often results when one encounters a deeper passage of scripture that we do not readily understand. Rather than think about these things and study to develop this knowledge, some turn away, or, as is the case with a great deal of religious error, will interpret the scriptures in ways that change what is taught. Being a disciple means to become disciplined in how we approach the scriptures. Understanding what is meant in a passage, or book, is a matter of a lot of work. Too many times one may be tempted to avoid certain subjects, or settle for the ideas and opinions of others without searching the scriptures for themselves. A true disciple is not one who simply rests on the work and study of others. Discipleship means working, reading and meditating on the things that are revealed until that time that we understand what is being taught. While there are those things that are hard to understand, especially if we have not developed the discipline necessary to come to that knowledge, they are not impossible to understand. Paul states, "Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ " (Eph 3.4). We need to make a habit of spending time with God's word. Reading, studying, meditating on what is stated. Prayer is another avenue that we have to come to this understanding. James states, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him" (James 1.5). This of course takes some work on our part. It takes some dedication to setting time aside to study, alone and with others, such as in our Bible studies. In that way we can come to a knowledge of these passages that give us trouble when we try to understand them.
When some of the disciples left due to this Christ asked the twelve, " Will ye also go away?" (John 6.67). Peter responded to this stating, " Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life" (John 6.68). When we fail to come to an understanding of what God's word says, by neglecting it, or, by believing doctrines that are not found in the scriptures, we reject Christ and the words of life that will save our souls. It will take time, dedication, and the willingness to rethink many of our own ideas, or the thoughts of others to realize what the scriptures have to say. God expects us to do that and if we will work, we will learn.
TLC