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FAITH-FILLED STUDY

Their minds were made dull, for to the day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. II Corinthians 3:14 – 16

As a Christian we must approach studying the Word of God from a position of faith in Jesus, even if we don’t understand everything written in Scripture. In the early church, new members had to be baptized first (i.e., say yes to faith in Christ) before receiving full instruction in the faith and being allowed to stay in the gathering place for the entire worship service. It was only after baptism that the new Christians could sit through the part of the service in which Holy Communion was given.

To the early church faith was an assumed prerequisite for the words of Scripture making sense, and it should be to us as well. Even with faith there are things that fall into the category of mystery. This is why trying to explain a difficult passage of Scripture or a doctrinal issue like the Trinity to unbelievers is often very frustrating and sometimes impossible.

We all know people who have gone to church their whole lives and yet have no understanding of the Christian faith. They say things like “It doesn’t matter what you believe so long as you believe in God.” Or “All paths lead to God.” Or “I believe in the words of Jesus, but not Saint Paul.” Or “I don’t like the God of the Old Testament, so I ignore all of that.” After years of hearing, they seem to have no understanding of the faith the church has taught since its beginning.

For some it is because they have never really allowed Jesus to become Lord—ruler—of their lives. For others it is due to poor teaching by their clergy. As in the passage above, it is still possible to have a veil over our minds and hearts that distorts the clarity of the words of Scripture. Let us regularly ask God to take that veil away.