What Causes Religious Division?

            “wherefore be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is”. Some hold to the idea that we cannot “understand” the truth, but that is not what the Scriptures declares. The Scriptures can be understood. How just would God be to place my salvation upon “that which is written” knowing all the time I could not understand it? The word “understand” occurs about 300 times in the Scriptures, as Paul wrote in the above verse. Paul also said in Eph. 3:4, “whereby, when ye read, ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ”. Read also II Timothy 2:7.

            If the Scriptures cannot be understood, only one of two reasons would explain why. Either God does not want us to understand it, therefore we would be lost. But Peter states in II Peter 3:9 about God, that He, “is not willing that any should perish, but all come to repentance”. Read also I Timothy 2:3, 4. Or, God is not able to make the word understandable, but we know this is not right. John 17:17, “God’s word is truth”, John 7:17, “we can know the truth”, read also John 8:31,32.

            Proverbs 23:23, we are,” to buy the truth, and sell it not”.  “truth came by Jesus Christ”, John 1:17. Paul tells us in II Thes. 2:10, that there were those, “who received not the love of the truth”. We can understand the truth and God spoke it in a way we can understand. If there is no truth, there can be no error or sin and Jesus died for nothing. There can be only one correct understanding of the word of God and this comes to us by faith, which is “hearing the word of God. Romans 10:17. If you cannot “understand “what the will of the Lord is, then you have a “misunderstanding” of God’s will.

            To “understand” means to comprehend the meaning of, to receive the correct meaning of words. There is a rule of logic that says two things cannot differ on the same subject and both be right. If you “understand”, and I differ, then I necessarily “misunderstood”. We can “agree” on what is written, but we “disagree” when talking about, “silence “and what the, Scriptures” do not say. We can speculate of what kind of, “bush” that God spoke to Moses out of. We can speculate what Jesus “wrote” on the ground when the woman caught in adultery was brought before Him. We do not know why Nicodemus came to Jesus by “night”. These things involve “disagreement” among people.

            Unity comes from that which is,” written”. On this we can all agree. But we will all, “disagree” on that which is not written. Faith and opinion are not the same thing. It is that which is written that produces faith and is the standard for unity. The Scriptures do not demand unity on our opinions, and they come from the, “silence”, which is not written.

            There is no authority in, “silence of the Scriptures” which man can agree on. God does not require unity where there is no authority. What God revealed, He expects us to do. He does not demand unity in matters of human opinion, or speculation.-

- CL Bruner