Have you ever entertained the thought that there may be something in the Bible that you are failing to understand properly that could have eternal ramifications for you? Admittedly, there are some rather complex and difficult passages in the Bible, even the apostle Peter said so, himself (2 Peter 3:16).
So, here is my question, “What are the top five most worrisome verses in the Bible that you find to be worrisome?” While you’re thinking about that, allow me to share mine:
- Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37).
- Love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39).
- Pursue holiness (Hebrews 12:14).
- Abhor what is evil (Romans 12:9).
- Preach the gospel to everyone (Mark 16:15).
If you’ll notice, my top five worrisome passages are not passages that are difficult to understand. They don’t have anything to do with the “mark of the beast,” the identity of “the man of lawlessness,” how the Holy Spirit indwells the Christian, the present and future state of the dead, or whether those “Styrofoam” wafers included in those individual communion packets are really unleavened bread (my apologies for throwing in the last one).
No, my top worrisome passages are easy to understand. That’s what makes them so worrisome to me. I can’t say, “But Lord, I didn’t understand what that passage meant. Had I properly understood it, I would have been obedient…” My list of worrisome passages is worrisome to me, not because of their difficulty to understand, but because of their clarity. The difficulty is not in understanding them, but in obeying them.
Maybe it would serve us well if we would spend less time on some questions and more time on others. What do you think?
by Steve Higginbotham