…And neither do I.
Webster’s Dictionary defines the word “know” in this manner: “to apprehend clearly
and with certainty” (emp. mine). But don’t tell that to 17-year-old
Jonathan. He would’ve had you to believe
he was a top-notch biblical scholar. I
look back at those times and I laugh. I
knew so little, yet I boasted so greatly.
School peers would discuss religion and I would interject in a
matter-of-fact manner with a know-it-all attitude. The thought of my arrogance disgusts me. Fast forward nearly 8 years, a bachelor’s
degree in Bible, 3 years of ministry experience later, and I still know very
little about the Word of God.
However, I’m not alone.
You are all in the same boat as I am.
The English Bible has 1,189 chapters, 31,173 verses, and 807,361 words.1 There is not a single person alive who knows
(or can know) every single thing there is to know about the Bible. Why do I bring this up? Simple: to believe
you truly know the Bible is arrogant.
I’m sure everyone of you have encountered a preacher who thinks they
have the final authority on biblical interpretation, and that anyone who
disagrees with them is inferior.
Am I arguing that all people have equal knowledge of the
Bible? No, I am not meaning to imply that at all. Am I arguing that it is impossible to be a
student of the Word and have great familiarity with it? Absolutely not! What I am arguing is that we must avoid
having an arrogant and boastful attitude about how much we “know” the Bible,
because then it becomes a matter of our personal ego. What I am advocating is humility as we study
the Word and grow as servants of Christ.
Both Testaments make frequent reference to an arrogant of proud spirit:
Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. (1 Samuel 2:3)As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. (James 4:16)
Let us all avoid boasting in our
biblical knowledge, and with humility spend more time in the Scripture. There
more I study and learn from the greatest of all books, the more I realize how
little I know.
____________________________
1
The Open Bible: New American Standard. Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1977. p. 1227.
