“Can average people understand Scripture?
We are seeing a trend of many academics
saying that the average person can’t fully understand the Word of God for
themselves but has to listen to what these “learned” people are saying.”
----Ken Ham, Answers In Genesis [1]
And that is a very valid concern and a
very serious problem within the body of Christ today but what Ken Ham describes
in one of his latest X posts is not anything new, but has been a problem even
during the days of Jesus and the Apostles as there have always been those who have
manipulated and twisted the scriptures to their own ends and have made the
scriptures out to be harder to understand than they were actually meant to be.
The scriptures were written to say exactly
what it is they mean and nothing more or less and reveal to us what they were
intended to reveal to us and no more and no less. The authority of scripture has come under constant
attack not just from outside of the Church but also from within.
There have always been attempts by false
teachers and heretics to twist and manipulate scripture to their own ends those
who have made out in the minds of many to be harder to understand than they
actually are and have deceived many within the body of Christ into thinking
that they must possess some kind of formal training in order to receive a level
of understanding of the scriptures that they otherwise would not and so cause
them to be dependent upon a credentialed Pastor, clergyman, or seminarian for
their doctrine.
There are even those within this so-called
elite class within the body of Christ who have even gone so far as to claim
that certain parts and portions of scripture are not even relevant or
applicable to today.
By convincing multitudes that they are too
uneducated or too stupid to understand the scriptures for themselves, the
credentialed class absolve themselves from all accountability for what they
teach and so are never challenged by the masses which then has led to a
multitude of false teachings and heresies that have run rampant throughout the
Church which many have taken to be divine truth given to them by a qualified
and credentialed few whom they have been led to believe are filled with a
superior understanding than theirs and therefore have no reason to question the
doctrines being taught to them.
It is how the Papacy, until the
reformation, retained its power over the nations and how it was able to wage
its spiritual tyranny not just over the masses but also over governing powers
as well until challenged by the reformers who recognized many of the teachings
and traditions of the Papacy to be opposed to the teaching of scripture and
that multitudes were being deceived and not only that, they decided that the
uncredentialed commoners were just as capable of understanding the scriptures
for themselves as well as any of the clergy class which is why many of them had
the scriptures translated from Latin into the common tongues of the people.
The reformers may not have entirely
succeeded in bringing the Church back to the pure doctrine of the first
century, but they did succeed in setting the precedent for the Church to make
its way back to the doctrinal purity of the first century through the
translation of the scriptures, but in spite of their efforts, false teachings
and heresies have continued to persist and multitudes continue to place their
trust, and unquestioningly so, in what men will claim to speak in the name of
God rather than in the instruction, testimony, and revelation contained in the
scriptures themselves because they are still falling for the lie that the
scriptures are more obscure in their meaning than they actually are which is
why false doctrines and heresies are not unique to just one denomination but
abound in several and those who are the most responsible for spreading them are
those hiding behind credentials, titles, and positions of authority and if
people can be wrongfully led into thinking that the Bible does not mean what it
appears to mean but that there must be some hidden meaning withing discoverable
only by well educated experts, then can be led into thinking the same thing
regarding anything they read or hear and what happens when there is not a
consensus amongst scholars about what any given text, legislation, or document
means? Confusion and uncertainty. That
is what happens, and then no one can really know what to believe anymore and
one expert’s guess and interpretation might as well be just as valid as another’s
when a consensus is never reached as when the people rely on persons of
authority and expertise, truth and even morality are then decided by whatever
consensus those in positions of influence and authority come to without any
consideration that even a majority consensus can be proven to be incorrect despite
the fact that consensus has, many times throughout history, been shown to be inaccurate
and wrong even in spiritual and theological matters because there is a
consensus that is higher than that of any men or any persons of expertise,
authority, and influence and it is a consensus and authority that has remained
unchanged and who is the source of all truth and is the sole definer of what is
right and wrong, good and evil and what makes Him the source of all truth and
the definer of what is right and wrong and good and evil is that He is also the
Creator of Heaven and earth and is the source of all things that have ever
existed and continue to exist to this day and so that we may be better able to
determine whether or not that which we read and hear comes of Him or not, He
has given us a general revelation for all people by which we can test and
scrutinize every teaching which is contained in His Holy scriptures that were
written under His inspiration and direction (2 Tim. 3:16) which He intended for
all people and not just an elite few.
For as it is written:
It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest
say, Who shall go up for us to heaven and bring it unto us, that we may hear it
and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go
over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? But
the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou
mayest do it. (Deut. 30:12-14)
God made His Word to be accessible to
everyone and for its intended meaning and message to be clearly understood by
all which is why we are admonished to study His Word (2 Tim. 2:15) that we may
know it well because the better we know His Word for ourselves, the less
susceptible we will be to being deceived by false teaching and heresy and the
better able to hold accountable those who preach those things contrary to the
Bible because it is not just the duty of the clergy class or persons of
influence to preserve sound doctrine within our ranks but it is also the duty
of all within the body of Christ to do so which is why we are constantly warned
throughout the scriptures to beware of false prophets, false Messiahs, false
teachers, and false heretics, and to hold accountable any who prophesy falsely
or preach a creed and doctrine that stands in opposition to the teachings of
scripture, defies the scriptures, casts doubt upon the authority of scripture,
and which even attempts to manipulate and twist scripture into making it appear
to be teaching things that it does not (Mt. 7:15-20, Acts 20:28-31, 2 Cor.
11:3-4, 12-15, Gal. 1:6-9, 1 Tim. 1:19-20, 4:1-3, 7, 5:22, 6:3-5, 20-21, 2 Tim.
2:16-18, 23, Titus 1:10-16, 2:11, 2 Pet. 2, 3:15-16, 1 Jn. 4:1-3, Jude) because
not only are those who teach and prophesy falsely, even in the name Christ
going to be held accountable for the things that they have spoken, but we
ourselves are also going to be held accountable for believing the things taught
to us without verifying those things for ourselves to determine whether or not
the things being preached to us are even of the Lord.
The false teachers and false prophets that
scripture warns about do not necessarily preach the things they do out of
honest ignorance but know exactly what they are doing. What they cannot destroy from without, they
try to infiltrate and destroy from within.
They will pretend to be one of us.
They will even play the part very well and the most subtle of them all
will seek positions of influence and authority before they begin to spread
their poison. And once in the positions
that they seek, they will through their false doctrines and heresies cast doubt
upon the sufficiency of the scriptures in which the pure and incorruptible
doctrine is contained and when doubt upon the sufficiency of scripture is cast,
then comes doubt upon its authoritativeness and claims to divine inspiration,
and with that comes a doubting of the faith in its entirety and even to the
overthrowing of faith in some cases which is why accountability within the
ranks of the saints is vitally important.
It preserves the integrity of our faith and the purity of our
doctrine. The salvation of souls and the
securing and stability of faith depends greatly on accountability and our
readiness to be able to defend our faith against every lie and falsehood that
comes against it and not just from outside of the body of Christ, but also from
within.
The fall of any given kingdom, nation, or
institution does not always begin from an attack from without but with subtle
sabotage from within and that is exactly how the world once created perfect
fell into the increasingly wretched and miserable state that it is in; through
an act of infiltration and subtlety and before it was infiltrated, the world
which God had made was a world in which there was no death, no suffering, and
no evil but a world in which there was only peace, joy, happiness and
contentment and in which existed a perfect and uninterrupted harmony between
God, man, and nature but the one who disrupted that perfect peace and harmony
was not God, but it was another power that had once been in the service of the
Lord God Almighty in Heaven and this power was a covering cherub named Lucifer
who had once served at the throne of God until he had become so lifted up in
his pride and conceit that he thought he could make himself equal unto God and
have for himself glory that was reserved for God alone and as a consequence, he
and all who sided with him were cast from their places in Heaven (Is. 14:11-21,
Ezek. 28:12-19) and what they were unable to achieve in Heaven, they sought to
achieve on the earth. And it was in that
day that Lucifer had become known as Satan or the Devil.
After the creation of the world, Satan
then found an opportunity to accomplish on the earth what he could not in
Heaven. He then crept into the newly
created world and caused the first man Adam and his wife Eve who was the first
woman to do something that would prove astronomically consequential to this
very day and which would not only affect them, but all of mankind and all of
creation and it had to with a fruit from a certain tree called the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil.
The fruit from that tree was the only
thing withheld from Adam and Eve having been warned of God that in the day that
they ate thereof, they would surely die (Gen. 2:16-17, 3:3) but with false
assurances and empty promises, Satan caused the first man Adam whom God had
created and the first woman Eve, being Adam’s wife, to eat of that forbidden
fruit (Gen. 3:4-5) and instead of receiving the greatness that they were
promised, they were reduced to an inferior state (Gen. 3:7 and just as they had
been warned of God, the sentence of death was placed upon them (Gen. 3:19) for
it was in that day when Adam and Eve ate of that forbidden fruit that sin
entered into them and from them, the sin which entered into them and brought
about their eventual deaths, was also passed down to all of mankind for all of
us are descendants of that first man and that first woman and because we are
their descendants, we have also inherited the sin that entered into them (Rom.
5:12) and because of that sin which we have inherited, we all sin in some form
or fashion and as a consequence we all die for as it is written, the wages of
sin is death (Rom. 6:23) but sin is not merely confined to outward behavior or
performance or even the words we speak, but it is rather the inherent inward corruption
of our very nature defiling our thoughts, hardening and darkening our hearts,
and corrupting our very motives which is why it is written that we are not
defiled from that which comes from without, but that which comes from within
(Mt. 15:11, 18-20) and which is why it is written that all have sinned and
fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23) which demands of us nothing less
than moral perfection and not just in our outward acts but also in our inward
as well which is why it is impossible by our own efforts and our own goodness
to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, for sin taints, corrupts, defiles, twists,
and distorts more than we can comprehend and the effects of sin are not merely
confined to mankind, but all of creation is subjected to a curse because of sin
which is why it is written that the entire creation groans and travails in pain
to this day (Rom. 8:19-22) but not only that, the transgression that Satan led
Adam and Eve into committing made him justified in claiming lordship over all
the nations, kingdoms, and empires of the earth, (Mt. 4:8-9, Lk. 4:6-7) which
is why he is called the prince of this world (Jn. 12:31, 16:11)
By that transgression which, Satan, by a
lie, led Adam and Eve to commit, did darkness and evil come into the world by
which all of creation was subjected to the unprecedented and unimagined tyranny
of sin and death which would be followed by a multitude of other oppressions
and tyrannies which would be built upon a multitude of lies that would follow
that very lie that brought about that fateful transgression which brought sin,
death, evil, and darkness into the world and which made Satan the father of lies
(Jn. 8:44) and by that lie, he is also a murderer (v. 44) for it was by that
first lie, that sin and death came into the world through the first two people
into whom it had entered and then was passed down from them to the rest of
mankind, subjugating all of humanity to the sin which brings eventual death to
all who are born into this world; the effects of both not confining themselves
to humanity, but also subjugating all of creation to a slow and painful
destruction thus making Satan a destroyer (Jn. 10:10) and not only does the lie
by which he deceived Adam and Eve into eating the very fruit by which sin and
death came into the world and infected all of creation make Satan into a
murderer and destroyer, but he is also a thief and usurper for by way of the
transgression was the dominion over the earth initially given to Adam (Gen.
1:26) diminished by way of Satan claiming lordship over the nations and
kingdoms of the earth; hence why he is called the thief who comes to kill,
steal, and destroy but it was not by the use of force that he had accomplished
all of this, but through subtlety and deception: First comes corruption and then
comes destruction.
And not only is Satan a destroyer of lives
and of creation, he is also a destroyer of souls for by way of the lie which
brought about the transgression which brought sin and death into the world and
which subjugated all of creation to pain, misery, and suffering that would have
otherwise not been, a separation and estrangement stands in between God and man
and it is because of the sin into which we are born that we are estranged from
our Creator with whom there would otherwise be a perfect and uninterrupted harmony
and fellowship, for that which is in sin cannot be allowed into His direct
presence or into His Kingdom lest Heaven itself be defiled just as the earth
has been defiled and a day is coming when sin will reach its full measure and
will have to face eventual judgment and that includes all who remain in their
sin and they who remain in their sins have nothing to look forward to but a
terrifying and everlasting punishment in the never-ending torments and darkness
of Hell and it was in the day that sin and death had entered into mankind and
into the world that the age-long war between God and Satan became a war for the
souls of men to this day He is not willing that any should perish in their sins
and face eternal damnation, (2 Pet. 3:9) but that all would come to repentance
so that one day all of their tears and griefs will be wiped away and the
brokenness of their hearts may be mended and in His love, mercy, and compassion
for us, He has done for us what we could never do for ourselves in that He, in
His graciousness has purchased redemption on our behalf in Christ Jesus, His
only begotten Son, (Jn. 3:16) who came to us in the flesh, (Jn. 1:14) and being
without any sin (2 Cor. 5:21) was made that perfect sacrifice (Heb. 7:26-27)
that was needed to take away the sins of the world and because of His perfect
goodness, He was able to offer Himself up on our behalf to satisfy the demanded
penalty for all sin and granting mercy and grace through the shedding of His
blood on the cross and after having died, rose again from the dead three days
later that we might be justified in Him (Rom. 4:25) if we will but call upon
His name so that we might be saved from what would otherwise be a terrifying
everlasting punishment if we will but call upon His name (Rom. 10:9, 13) and
believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead (Rom. 10:9) for it is
by calling upon His name in sincere repentance that salvation is granted and
our souls made clean from sin thereby liberating us from the threat of eternal
damnation and with that cleansing comes a new spiritual transformation (2 Cor.
5:17) that causes us to no longer desire to follow after selfish and worldly
pursuits but after those things that pertain to the Kingdom of Heaven,
to no longer take pleasure in those things
that are evil and displeasing in the sight of the Lord, but in that which is
good, right, and pleasing in His sight,
to no longer desire to walk in the lies of
this present world, but only in the truth that comes from Christ Almighty who
is the source of all truth, (Jn. 14:6)
no longer placing our hopes in the things
of this present world, but looking forward to that new and better world to
come, (Rev. 21-22)
to no longer rely on worldly resources,
men, or even our own power, abilities, skills, and wisdom for our needs and
provision but upon God who is able to meet all of our needs, recognizing that
the resources of this world and even the people He brings into our lives are
but instruments and vessels through which God meets our needs and that the
skills, power, knowledge, and wisdom by which we might acquire our provision
are provided and instilled in us by God, (Mt. 6:25-33)
to no longer fear what men can do to us,
but rather fearing the God before whom we will have to one day give an account
for how we lived our lives, (Mt. 10:28)
to no longer look to corruptible
institutions within our society for direction and order in our lives but to God
who, by His written Word has given us laws and precepts to be applied to our
lives and which serve to produce and maintain an ordered life, and who, by His
Holy Spirit which comes to dwell within us upon repentance, establishes in our
lives a course and direction in our lives to pursue for His glory,
to no longer seek our own glory but the
glory of God,
to no longer rally behind corruptible men,
but instead behind the incorruptible God in Heaven bearing in mind that those
men and women God raises up for our edification are but instruments and
servants of His for that respective purpose to which He has called them,
to no longer seek to align ourselves with
the things of darkness but only with the things of the light,
to no longer trust in the wisdom of the
world but only on the wisdom and knowledge that comes from above, (Jas. 1:5)
nor depend on corruptible earthly authorities to swiftly administer justice,
but only in the power of God to deliver us from evil.
And it is this new inward transformation
that reconciles us to our Creator (2 Cor. 5:18) from whom we had once been
estranged and just as our souls are cleansed from sin and our spirits
regenerated in Christ Jesus thereby liberating us from the eternal tormenting
punishment that must come upon all who remain in their sins, so one day we look
forward to the liberation of our bodies from death itself when our mortal and
corruptible forms are transformed into that which is immortal and incorruptible
and from that which is imperfect to that which is perfect (1 Cor. 15:51-55, 1
Thess. 4:13-18) and lastly, creation itself will be delivered from the curse
placed upon it because of sin when it is made into a new and better world (Rev.
21-22) and liberated from the hand of our adversary Satan, who presently claims
dominion, when he is given his final sentence and cast into an everlasting
tormenting fire prepared for him and his followers (Mt. 25:41, Rev. 20:10-15)
and in that new world which will be made, there will be no sin, no death, no
decay, nor any curse, nor any evil, or violence, suffering, misery, grief,
sorrow, mourning, pain, or hardship of any sort for all of these will pass away
with this present world. Instead, there
will only be light, life, happiness, joy, contentment, peace, and rest before
the Lord God Almighty.
But through various devices, Satan has
continued and still continues to fight against the spreading of the good news
of the Gospel in order to hold as many of the captives that he has taken in
bondage and he does so by blinding them to their spiritual bondage with lies
and in blinding them to their spiritual bondage, he also blinds them to their
need for redemption and salvation and he tirelessly does all in his power to suppress
anything that challenges the lies by which he has poisoned the minds and hearts
of many and to hide and suppress anything that might lead souls to the knowledge
of the truth by which freedom and true freedom begins (Jn. 8:32) and what he
cannot destroy from without, he will infiltrate and corrupt and destroy from
within and that is exactly what he has done inside the body of Christ. He has infiltrated the Church, not always in
forms so obvious, but he has also infiltrated in the form of charming, desirable
looking, clean-cut, well-dressed, well-learned
and credentialed persons who play the part well, are able to gain trust of the
congregations they infiltrate, and after having made themselves credible in the
eyes of those whom they seek to lead astray, begin to undermine and sabotage confidence
in the authority of God’s Word by which the Gospel of salvation is delivered
because if they can shake confidence in the authority and sufficiency of the
scriptures, they can also shake confidence in the Gospel message. The Church does not have just enemies from
without. We have many enemies from
within and it is the enemies among us who do more damage to the cause and name
of Christ than those who ridicule our faith, discriminate against and ostracize
us due to our faith, and who may even go so far as to threaten and carry out
civic punishments and violence against us and against those whom we hold dear
on account of our faith.
And so that the name of Christ does not
suffer needless damage, we need to hold accountable, and that includes those in
positions of authority and influence among us, everyone for how they behave,
their conduct and actions, and for what teaching and doctrine they bring into
our midst and to be prepared to give a defense for the faith that we have
embraced (1 Pet. 3:15) and to earnestly contend for the faith from intellectual,
theological, and philosophical challenges from without and from false teachings
and heresies from within (Jude 3) so that credibility of our testimony is not
damaged, so that the light of Christ within us may shine brightly to a lost and
dark world, and so that we might be better able to persuade the lost to come to
repentance.
And if you reader happen to be among those
who have not yet called upon the name of the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of
sins but find yourself falling short of the glory of God and in need of
redemption, then I urge you today to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
for the forgiveness of sins today so that you need not fear the fiery torments
of hell, but so that you can be assured of your place in Heaven and in the new and
better world to come. It is but a simple
and sincere prayer of repentance away:
"Lord Jesus I need you.
I realize that I am a sinner
who has fallen short of the glory of God
and that my goodness falls short
of your standard of Moral perfection.
Please forgive me of all of my sins.
Come into my heart and into my life
to be the Savior and Lord of my life.
Make me into the servant and follower
that you want me to be.
In your name Lord Jesus, I pray.
Amen."
Know that God is not concerned with the
words that you use to call upon Him forgiveness, but with the attitude of your
heart and if you have, with all sincerity, have asked Christ to forgive you of
your sins, placing your trust in Him only for your salvation and in nothing
else, then your sins are forgiven and your place in Heaven is certain.
End notes:
1. Ken
Ham X Post, November 29, 2025
https://x.com/aigkenham/status/1994722977728926101?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1994722977728926101%7Ctwgr%5Eb62bfcbcd2bb062d724017246ed9b2559665a2d2%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fanswersingenesis.org%2F
Scripture references:
1.
2 Timothy 3:16
2.
Deuteronomy 30:12-14
3.
2 Timothy 2:15
4. Matthew
7:15-20
5.
Acts 20:28-31
6.
2 Corinthians 11:3-4
7.
2 Corinthians 11:12-15
8.
Galatians 1:6-9
9.
1 Timothy 1:19-20
10.
1 Timothy 4:1-3, 7
11.
1 Timothy 5:22
12.
1 Timothy 6:3-5, 20-21
13.
2 Timothy 2:16-18, 23
14.
Titus 1:10-16
15.
Titus 2:11
16.
2 Peter 2
17.
2 Peter 3:15-16
18.
1 John 4:1-3
19.
Jude
20.
Isaiah 14:11-21, Ezekiel 28:12-19
21.
Genesis 2:16-17
22.
Genesis 3:3
23.
Genesis 3:4-5
24.
Genesis 3:7
25.
Genesis 3:19
26.
Romans 5:12
27.
Romans 6:23
28.
Matthew 15:11, 18-20
29.
Romans 3:23
30.
Romans 8:19-22
31.
Matthew 4:8-9
32.
Luke 4:6-7
33.
John 12:31
34.
John 16:11
35.
John 8:44
36.
John 10:10
37.
Genesis 1:26
38.
Revelation 21:4
39. 2 Peter 3:9
40.
John 3:16
41.
John 1:14
42.
2 Corinthians 5:21
43.
Hebrews 7:26-27
44.
Romans 4:25
45.
Romans 10:9, 13
46.
2 Corinthians 5:17
47.
John 14:6
48.
Revelation 21-22
49.
Matthew 6:25-33
50.
Matthew 10:28
51.
James 1:5
52.
2 Corinthians 5:18
53.
1 Corinthians 15:51-55, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
54.
Matthew 25:41, Revelation 20:10-15
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