Have you ever wondered why Christians can be poles apart in their understanding of the Bible? It’s as if they were reading completely different books! I suppose there are many reasons, but one of the biggest culprits is this simple rule: truth, when taken out of balance, can lead us into error.
It’s possible to focus so much on one aspect of the Biblical message that it becomes distorted. For example, when some people read the Bible, all they see is God’s holiness and wrath. It’s no wonder, then, that they view God as a harsh judge ready to mete out punishment for every offense, no matter how small. His love and mercy are pushed aside so much that they almost become irrelevant.
On the other end of the scale, there are those who are so fixated on divine love and mercy that they end up downplaying his hatred of sin. They’ll agree that God isn’t pleased when we disobey, but he certainly won’t get into a tizzy over it, will he? Won’t he just forgive?
Both of these extreme views are grounded in Biblical truth. The Bible indeed speaks of God’s holiness and wrath, as well as his love and mercy. These facts aren’t contradictory; they simply show us the fuller picture. Unfortunately, we humans tend to focus on what we agree with and disregard what we don’t. This happens on many levels (think politics), but the Bible is not immune. The danger, though, when it comes to spiritual truth, is that we end up with a distorted understanding of what the Bible says and, ultimately, a wrong view of God.
So how can we avoid falling into this trap? First, it helps to be aware of the situation. We can’t solve a problem if we don’t know we have it! Beyond that, it’s important to keep the big picture in sight. We can’t simply ignore verses that are inconvenient to our point of view. It’s vital to consider everything the Bible says on a particular topic.
Returning to my example for a moment, when we consider all four truths about God, we can understand the work of Christ on the cross. We see more clearly that his holiness and justice required sin to be punished, while his love and mercy led Jesus to pay the penalty in our place. Truth, in the correct balance, enables us to comprehend God’s Word more fully.
What if we can’t reconcile certain concepts? (The debate over man’s free will versus God’s sovereignty comes to mind.) That’s where humility comes in! There are things we will never fully grasp. After all, how can a finite being fully comprehend the divine? When that happens, it’s best to admit we don’t know for sure.
Understanding the Bible correctly is, to a large degree, a balancing act. It’s about putting all the truths God has revealed to us into the right perspective. I suspect that all of us have some belief that’s out of whack. But if we strive to keep the big picture in mind and account for the complete portrait the Bible paints, we will better grasp what God desires to communicate to us. We’ll avoid the imbalance that is so damaging to our spiritual life.