Some people do not read the Bible because they do not think it can be understood. Several things contribute to this erroneous way of thinking. Some see the Bible as a tangled mess of contradictions, and they believe that making sense of it would be like working an impossible jigsaw puzzle. Some become frustrated when they encounter the old English of the King James Version. Others have actually been taught by their church that the Bible cannot be understood by the common man. They claim that it takes a specially trained or divinely gifted person to understand the Bible. Are these assumptions true or was the Bible meant to be understood by everyone?

God desires that all men understand His Word. "Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is" (Eph. 5:17). "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:3-4). Why would God desire that all men come to a knowledge of the truth, but reveal that truth in a way that is impossible for all men to understand? This would not be characteristic of an all-loving, all-powerful, and impartial God.

Jesus taught in a way that everyone understood. He purposely directed His message to the poor and simple (Matt. 11:5, 25). "The common people heard Him gladly" (Mark 12:37). He used words, phrases, and illustrations that would be familiar to everyone, allowing both the ignorant and the educated to understand. Why would Jesus speak in a way that was easy to understand, yet allow His words to be recorded in a way that could not be understood?

The apostles claimed that their writings could be understood by their readers. The apostle Paul wrote, "How that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)" (Eph. 3:3-4, emphasis mine - HR). Paul said that when the Ephesians read this epistle, they could understand it. Why wouldn't the same be true for us today? The apostle Peter acknowledged that some of the things that Paul wrote were hard to understand (2 Peter 3:15-16). They were hard, but not impossible. We have to study the Bible in order to understand it (2 Tim. 2:15). Man says that the Bible cannot be understood, but the promise of Scripture is that when we read, we can understand.

Just because some people claim that they cannot understand the Bible does not mean it cannot be understood. Just because one does not understand all of the Bible does not mean he cannot understand any of it. God should not be charged with making His word too hard to understand when the real problem is that many people are not willing to put forth the effort to study the Bible for themselves. The claim that the Bible cannot be understood not only contradicts plain passages of Scripture, it is also an indictment against its Author. The Bible can be understood by anyone who is willing to ask, seek, and knock (Matt. 7:7-8). Are you willing?

Of course, it follows that, if we are truly understanding the Bible, we will understand it alike. Such a conclusion poses a challenge in our society today. People like to "agree to disagree," and honor one another's interpretations of the Bible as being equally valid. This view is popular, but it is both illogical and unscriptural. As an older Christian once told me, "If you and I aren't understanding the Bible alike, we can't both be right. Both of us might be wrong, but we can't both be right." God's Word is not nebulous, abstract, and ever evolving. It is an established, eternal standard. "Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven... Concerning Your testimonies, I have known of old that You have founded them forever" (Psalm 119:89, 152). Not only did the apostle Paul call upon his readers to understand God's Word, he called upon them to understand it alike. "Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment" (1 Cor. 1:10). If we truly understand the Bible, we will understand it alike.