Third, in trying to be accurate, we must not become curious. God’s Word is accurate, but we must never search it with a curious mind. If we search God’s Word with a curious mind, we will miss the spiritual worth of the book. The Bible is a spiritual book, and we must exercise our spirit before we can understand this book. If the purpose of achieving accuracy is the satisfaction of our curiosity, not the satisfaction of our spiritual needs, we are on the wrong track. It is unfortunate that many people read the Bible with the goal of digging out strange things. Some people have spent a great deal of time trying to ascertain whether or not the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a vine tree. This kind of study of the Bible is vain. We must remember that the Bible is a spiritual book. We have to touch life, touch the spirit, and touch the Lord. Once we touch the spiritual things, we will spontaneously recognize the literal accuracy of the Word because all spiritual things are intrinsically accurate. But if our premise is not a pursuit of spiritual things, we will be on the wrong track.
Some people like to take the pathway of curiosity. Their study of prophecies is driven by curiosity. They study prophecies not for the sake of waiting for the Lord’s return, but because they want to know about the future. There is a big difference between being spiritual and not being spiritual. If we are a curious person, all spiritual and valuable things will become non-spiritual and dead when they fall into our hands. This is a very serious matter. Before the Lord, we have to distinguish between things which are valuable and things which are not so valuable. We have to distinguish between the things which are important and the things which are unimportant. The Lord Jesus said, “One iota or one serif shall by no means pass away from the law” (Matt. 5:18). But He also said that there are “weightier matters of the law” (23:23). The law is so accurate that one iota or serif cannot pass away. But there are also weightier things in the law. Curious ones constantly pick up lighter things and study them. If they keep taking the lighter things, they will end up being lighter persons. As the Lord Jesus said, they are straining out the gnat and swallowing the camel (v. 24). They strain out the tiniest things and swallow the biggest things. This kind of reading is altogether wrong. This error comes from one’s disposition for curiosity. If we do not change our disposition, we cannot expect to read the Bible well.
The above mentioned traits-subjectivity, carelessness, and curiosity-are common flaws among men. We must try to overcome these flaws before the Lord. We must be objective, accurate, and non-inquisitive. An objective, accurate, and non-inquisitive character will not come to us in one or two days; we have to discipline ourselves to develop such a habit. As soon as we pick up the Bible, we should read it objectively, accurately, and non-inquisitively. When we have the right character and the right habit, we will know how to read the Bible properly.
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