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Do you agree with the lecturer that a person must be a born-again Christian in order to understand the Bible? Give reasons for your answer.
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Absolutely yes. I do see some with a lot of head knowledge, and no application. However, the Bible is God’s inspired word (2 Tim 3:16). In several places we can find where Jesus has spoken in ways that we need His understanding to interpret correctly. The parables were a great example with the apostles having to seek out meaning. In surrendering our lives to Christ, He indwells our spirit with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will guide and direct us (John 16:13).
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Absolutely. Scripture supports this view through Jesus’ words during His earthly ministry that only those who have ears will hear the truth of His message, a point He makes repeatedly. And we see in the account of Philip and the Ethiopian official in Acts 8, for example, where Philip interprets scripture for him, then he asks to be baptized as an outward display of his understanding and acceptance of the Gospel. Our acceptance of salvation and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit gives us hunger and means to feed ourselves spiritually by understanding how to feast on the “meat” of the Bible.
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The Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21), therefore to fully understand the Bible one has to be in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit. It is possible to understand the Bible from a purely academic point of view, but to understand the spiritual truth needs prayer and dependence on the Holy Spirit, whose mind we should seek.
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Do you agree with the lecturer that a person must be a born-again Christian in order to understand the Bible? Give reasons for your answer.
Yes I certainly do agree. I’ve been a Christian for many, many, many years and I still rely totally on the Holy Spirit which fills my life to give me the ability to interpret and exegete scripture properly. The Bible is not “just another book”, it is The Book and thus can be left with a non-believer to provide interpretation because it was given for a specific purpose – salvation and sanctification, moving ever closer to God so, first, one must know God and love with all their heart and mind and soul. Nothing else works right. -
Yes I do agree with the lecturer that a person must be a born again Christian in order to understand the Bible.
Non-Christians don’t have the Holy Spirit to teach them and help them to understand the Word of God. Their hearts are usually not open to believe or even read the Bible.
As a Christian, I have a hunger to know what Gods Word says. I started taking the courses at Daily Bread University four years ago because the Lord placed that on my heart since I am a lay speaker that I needed to study the Word. We are held accountable to God.
The Holy Spirit teaches me as I read and study the Word which enables me to better understand Gods Word.