I think that, perhaps, the greatest hindrance to understanding the Bible is that people do not read and study it very much. Far too many Bibles collect dust and are often used as filing cabinets for valuable papers. It is impossible to know what is contained in the Bible if we do not read and study it. We cannot learn anything unless we study and meditate.
Many people do not understand the Bible because they do not realize the divisions of it. The Bible is divided into two sections. It contains the Old Testament, which gives the history of God’s dealings with man until the coming of Christ, and the second section which is the New Testament. The New Testament starts with the birth of Christ and ends with John completing the book of Revelation. The Old Testament is God’s word as well as the New Testament. The Old Testament was God’s law to the Jewish nation. It ended with the cross of Christ (Col. 2:14). We are not under the law of Moses but under grace (John 1:17). We are to hear Christ (Matt. 17:5). God speaks to us today through His Son (Heb. 1:1-2). Jesus was the fulfillment of the law of Moses (Matt. 5:17). We could never be justified by the law of Moses (Gal. 5:4). None of us have ever been under the law of Moses. No Jew living today has ever been under the law of Moses. That law was taken out of the way almost 2,000 years ago. The gospel of Christ is for all nations and all peoples of the earth (Matt. 28:19-20). The New Testament is what men are to follow today.
I think men do not understand the Bible today because they do not realize that all that God has said, or ever will say to guide us in religion, is found in the Bible. Some think that God still speaks to them directly from heaven. This is not so. The Bible is God’s complete revelation to man (II Tim. 3:16-17). We are to reject everything but the Bible including angels (Gal. 1:6-9) in what we preach and practice in religion. We must not add to nor take from the Bible (Rev. 22:18-19). We must abide in the pages of the Bible in faith and practice (II John 9-11). God has given us everything we need to become Christians and practice the Christian religion (II Pet. 1:3). What we do in religion must be authorized by Christ (Col. 3:17). We live by what Christ says and not by what He has not said (Matt. 4:4).
Many other things could be mentioned as to why folks misunderstand the Bible. Some view religion as it is today and not as it was in the first century. Others are led in religion by their parents or kinfolks instead of by Christ. Some do not have respect for the Bible and its authority. Some are prejudiced and will not hear. Some do not want to pay the price for genuine Christianity, and on and on we could go. The Bible is not hard to understand. We can know the truth if we desire it (John 7:17; Matt. 5:6). Please read, study and then obey the gospel for your salvation and for the salvation of others.
-Malcolm L. Hill, January 12, 1934 – June 26, 2012