How Do We Handle Difficult Bible Texts?

The Bible is God’s gift to humanity.  It shows us the way to heaven.  It shows us how to be rightly related to our creator, redeemer and judge.  It is God’s primary source of revelation about Himself.  It is, by far, the most important book. 

But there are some difficult parts to it.  If someone doesn’t find troubling texts, I doubt that he has studied the Bible very much. 

The meanings of many passages are clear and self-evident.  But some require study to unlock the true meaning.  And some, no matter how much we study them, remain difficult.

Sometimes passages that were once troubling to us will later become understandable.  One example for me is the book of Ecclesiastes.  I used to think it was confusing and seemed to contain things that were difficult to reconcile with other parts of scripture.  But, over time, I made my peace with Ecclesiastes.  Rather than see it as communicating verse by verse truth, I see it (and even appreciate it) as God letting us know that He knows it is a rough world, where things sometimes seem unfair and pointless. 

But there are other texts I still find difficult. 

One example is in Genesis 22, God’s command to Abraham to sacrifice Isaac.  In Genesis 22:1-2 it says: “Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

“Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”

This is shocking.  Isaac was the long-awaited-for child of promise.  He was to be the ancestor of the chosen people.  Now, God is saying to sacrifice him as a burnt offering.

This is a very hard scripture.  Some have tried to solve the problem by saying that Abraham only thought that God was speaking to him. 

But that’s not what the text says.  It clearly says that God said it; God told Abraham to do it.  That’s what makes it so hard.

Some mitigating factors that soften the difficulty:

• This was a test of Abraham’s faith (vs. 1).
• God, by means of an angel, rescued Isaac just as Abraham was raising the knife to slay his son (vs. 12).
• Abraham reasoned that God could raise Isaac from the dead (Hebrews 11:19). 

But I still wrestle with it. 

Another troubling text for me is Revelation 20:15 which says, “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

The doctrine of hell is so sobering and tough.  Severe punishment; no second chances.  I can understand why some invent ‘escape hatches’–like purgatory.  But the biblical doctrine of hell is there.  No second chances, no parole, no time off for good behavior, no community service…none of those mitigating things to soften the sentence.

I understand that the harshness is designed to get the attention of the sinner; with the goal that the sinner will repent.  It is a warning to not go there.  It is given to those who are still in this life, still able to make spiritual decisions, as a warning in the harshest terms: don’t go to this place. 

I also take comfort in the fact that going to hell is so preventable.  No one has to go there. 

Once, while in Vietnam, one of the ladies in our church was a teacher at an international school.  She invited me to come and talk to the students on career day.  So I told them about my career; about being a pastor.  I told them what the evangelical church stands for.  During the question and answer time, one perceptive student asked a question about hell, noting that it was eternal, harsh punishment.  I said, yes, that was true, but that God offered everyone a way to avoid it: salvation through Christ, available and free to all. 

But hell is still a difficult doctrine.  I pray for more insight.  In the meantime, I will believe it even though I don’t understand it.  I will wait for insight, which may take years.  Maybe it’ll have to wait for heaven. 

But I take comfort in the fact that, as I get older, the really tough passages get fewer and fewer. 

What do we do with difficult texts that remain?

First of all, we must submit to the authority of scripture.  We must believe it all, even though we find some parts hard to accept.  We should humbly acknowledge that these passages which we dislike the most may contain the lessons we most need to learn. 

Second, don’t get bogged down over them.  If insight doesn’t come…don’t worry about it.  There are many other texts to study.  Just move on to other things.   

Third, we should pray for insight and wait for understanding to come.  Maybe years from now you will find the insight.   

God does not require perfect understanding from us, but he wants us to trust Him, to know that He is good and that the whole scripture He gave, even the difficult parts, is useful (2 Timothy 3:16).