- Spiritual Truth Must Be Obeyed
In the spiritual realm, truth not acted on in obedience becomes darkness. Our hearing the gospel, for example, was not enough. Within our wills we had to act in faith on God’s saving truth. Without such action, we would have been worse off for hearing; we would have added to our guilt the sin of refusing to believe and obey God’s truth. So in matters of prophecy, shallow-minded, inquisitive men and women should be warned that God will make the light that is in them darkness if they inquire only for the reason of curiosity. The Word of God is truly the word of God! We must be careful concerning the motivation of our hearts. Let us never be numbered with those who want to sniff curiously at every truth without the least intention of embracing and obeying what God has revealed. But there is another kind of human curiosity now prevalent among Bible students. It is the idea of “finding the key to the Scriptures.” Many are saying, “I want to find the key that will let me understand the Scriptures.” I heard a Bible teacher on a radio broadcast promise his listeners that he could give them the key to a proper interpretation and understanding of the Bible. “Of course,” he added, “you will have to write me and ask for it.”
If we are serious Christian believers, we know that there is no secret, magical key to unlock the meaning of the Scriptures. God did not give us His Word in the form of a series of interlocking puzzle pieces, the solution dependent upon our finding the proper key to allow everything to fall into place.
No, the point cannot even be argued. The Holy Spirit who in the first place inspired the Holy Writings is the only One who can give us inner illumination as we read and study the Bible. But people are human. They insist upon some easier way. “If I can just find the key, I will have the understanding.”
It would be tempting, indeed, if we could approach the book of Revelation with so fascinating a prospect. “Here is the key to Revelation. Whenever you want to enter the wonderful heavenly palace and take in all the scenes, just use this master key!” The faithful preachers and teachers would have a much different task if such a master key were available. They would not have to pray as much. They would not have to study and search as much. They would not have to meditate as much. They would not have to ask God for light and help. They would be able to spend much more of their time out on the lake matching wits with the fish.