Ten Things I Struggle With in the Bible

Ten Things That I Struggle With in the Bible

Maybe you’ve met people with all the answers. Maybe you are someone who has all of the answers. I am not one of those people. In fact, the more I learn, the more that I realize that I don’t know nearly as much as I thought I did. I hope it is OK if I am that unflinchingly honest with you about this, because sometimes people expect Pastors to have all the answers.

There are things that I know, things that I am sure of, and things that I have faith in. But there are others that I just don’t know or at least am not entirely sure about. I am very careful not to be dogmatic when I am unsure.

When I was younger, in my late teens and early twenties, I knew everything. I was an expert on lots of things and was very willing to tell people just how wrong they were, whether they were listening or not. I’ll admit it, I was an overbearing, know-it-all jerk. I have softened with much with age. I hope that I am humbler now.

The Bible is full of some wonderfully clear things, but it also contains some things that are less clear, things that scholars have more than one point of view on. Often these are the things in which people loudly offer simple answers for complex questions. In my experience, the louder they are, the less likely they are right.

I just want to let you know that it is OK to question and wonder.

It’s OK not to have all of the answers.

Even pastors and scholars don’t know everything.

Here are just some of them that I struggle with:

Number Ten: 1Timothy 2:12 – 15. Paul telling women that they cannot teach or exercise authority over a man. I struggle with this in light of Debra, Priscilla, Lydia, and others. I struggle with this in light of many gifted teachers that I have had that are women. There are different points of view taking all of 1Timothy 2 in context. In addition, there is Phoebe. Romans 16:1. In some translations, Phoebe is referred to as a servant. In others, she is referred to as a deacon. The Greek word is διάκονος or diakonos. That is the same word we use for deacon. Was she a leader in the church or just someone who helped out? Does this mean we could have female elders and deacons? How much of this is culture?

Number Nine: James 3:1. Teachers of God’s word will be held to a stricter standard of judgment than everyone else. This one scares me a little bit especially when you consider this very list. I am a teacher and preacher, and thus I will be held to that stricter judgment.

Number Eight: Job 1:8-12. God allows Satan to screw with Job, killing his ten children, and taking away all he had. Now Job was a faithful man and God allowed all this and more before Satan was done. I struggle with the enormous injustice that seems to be here.

Number Seven: Exodus 11-12. The tenth and final plague of Egypt. This was the first sermon that I preached to the main church and though I found some timeless truths in it, I struggle with the fact that God killed children just to make a point of his power. Not just the children of Pharaoh and his officials, but every first born son from the most important personage down to the lowliest slave.

Number Six: Acts 15:1-20. The Jerusalem Council. The message of Jesus and the message found throughout the New Testament is one of release from the Old Testament Law. Yet, in Acts 15, they choose to keep a tiny part of the law for the Gentiles. This seems like they came to a bad compromise.

Number Five: 1John 3:4-10. The suggestion that somehow we will stop sinning completely as a follower of Christ. It repeats this twice in 1John. It just doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of the Gospel and with observation of real people. It is also confusing based on other statements that he makes within such as 1John 1:8.

Number Four: Romans 8:29-30 & Ephesians 1:5-11. Predestination. Despite the common refrain of ‘Free Will’ by many Christians, there is much more evidence that God chooses who will be saved. Yet, it also says that God wishes all to be saved in 2Peter 3:9. This is the start of the whole Calvinism vs. Arminian arguments.

Number 3: Matthew 25:31-46. The Sheeps and Goats judgement. Does this mean that some Christians won’t be good enough despite believing or does it mean that some non-believers will be given a second chance because of the good works they have done. Either is problematic in light of the Gospel message.

Number 2: Genesis - Malachai and Matthew - Revelation. Canon. I struggle with the methodology of choosing scripture. I have no problem with leaving out goofy things like the Gospel of Thomas which is so popular with pseudo-scholars like Dan Brown. But, it does take a step of faith to consider what was left in and why.

Number 1: Matthew 5:44-47. Love those who persecute you. Love your enemies. OK, I can handle this with regard to the jerk who cuts me off in traffic or my old boss who hurt people and messed with their lives. But… Terrorists? Child Molesters? The guy that just beat his girlfriend’s three year old to death here in Phoenix or the guy who poured gasoline on his little girl and lit her on fire? The guys who flew the planes into the twin towers? Hitler?

There’s more than ten things on this list, but I’ll stop at this point. Now, if you are one of my fellow pastors, seminary professors, or students in Bible college, please don’t comment with explanations of these. I have come to some sort of understanding on each of these and I do know the arguments and the orthodox views. If you are honest with yourself, I know you struggle with some things. I’m just being honest about some of the things I struggle with.

An excellent book on this subject is, “The Blue Parakeet.” by Scot McKnight.

Tomorrow: Ten Verses that People Always Seem To Get Wrong.