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Contrary to how certain Christians view themselves, I firmly believe that no Christian knows or understands everything when it comes to the Holy Scriptures. I most certainly don't. If we are truly honest with ourselves, we should be willing to admit that we are all engaged in a constant process of learning and growing in our personal understanding of God's Word. Well, at least we should be.

As a result of this fact, I believe that it is imperative that we be flexible in our understanding. In other words, we need to remain open to anything new which God may choose to reveal to us. We cannot be a closed book where our mind is already made up about everything, because to do so will only serve to stunt our spiritual growth. I refer to this process as "evolving theology". Perhaps you will choose to adopt it as well.

Now, for any misguided person reading this article who may erroneously think or believe that they already do know and perfectly understand everything which the Bible has to say, allow me to remind you of the following two verses. I hope you will take them to heart:

"Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know."


It is because the aforementioned is my own personal attitude, that a dozen years ago I authored a two-part article entitled "Humility in Our Understanding of God's Word", which you will find listed at the end of this same article. In it I expound more fully on this same subject, if you care to read it. The bottom line is that we simply need to be humble, and not get too cocky, because as the Apostle Paul writes, "Knowledge puffeth up." So beware!

As some of my more dedicated readers will know, many of my articles and series were written as much as twenty-seven years ago as of 2024. During this long time, my views and understanding have changed regarding some issues. It is for this very same reason that many of my articles contain a notice near the top which states the following:

"NOTE: This article or series has not been updated recently. As such, it may possibly contain some outdated information, and/or ideas and beliefs which I no longer embrace, or which have changed to some degree."

Please note that just because some of my articles do have the above notice on them, does NOT necessarily mean that my views have changed. In quite a few cases, it simply means that I have not yet had time to review those articles, in order to make certain that nothing needs to be updated in them. I have in fact been going through a years-long review process with all of my articles since 2016. However, I am still far from finished, because I have written hundreds of articles and series to date, and I am constantly writing new ones as well, besides everything else I do with the Bill's Bible Basics ministry.

In addition to the aforementioned notice you will find in many of my articles, all of my articles likewise have two dates in them near the top. That is to say a "Published On" date, as well as a "Last Updated" date. This way, you will be able to tell whether or not an article has been updated since the last time you read it.

Furthermore, the Bill's Bible Basics website also has a "New and Updated Articles" page, and an "Old Articles" page. I try to keep everything organized so that my visitors don't become confused, and know what my latest position is regarding any given subject. Once an old article or series has received an update, it is moved from the "Old Articles" page to the "New and Updated Articles" page.

I want to clarify here that contrary to what one individual seemed to believe, that notice most certainly does NOT mean that I believe that God's Word changes, or that we should doubt God's Word for any reason. I am sure that some of you reading this probably know some of the very same verses as I do which support the view that God's Word is indeed eternal and immutable. That is to say, unchanging. Consider the following group of sample verses:

". . . For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven."


"I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for THOU HAST MAGNIFIED THY WORD ABOVE ALL THY NAME."


"We have also A MORE SURE WORD OF PROPHECY; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts . . . For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."


"‭‭For I ‭AM‭ THE LORD, I CHANGE NOT; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed."


"Jesus Christ THE SAME yesterday, and to day, and for ever."


"God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?"


"God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged."


"In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;"


"I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years ‭are‭ throughout all generations.‭ ‭‭Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens ‭are‭ the work of thy hands.‭ They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:‭ BUT THOU ‭ART‭ THE SAME, AND THY YEARS SHALL HAVE NO END."


"And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:‭ They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;‭ And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: BUT THOU ART THE SAME, AND THY YEARS SHALL NOT FAIL."


"Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:"


So, the point of the notice is to say that while God's Word is indeed eternal and unchanging, being as I am a fallible human being, I do not always get it right the first time around. Sometimes my understanding of a particular verse or even a group of verses is a little off, or a little skewed, and it takes me time, sometimes years, to fully understand an issue. I am sure that some of you are the very same way. It is just our human nature. So we must allow God to perfect or complete our understanding a little at a time.

For the record, for those of you who may be a little curious, I have been studying the Holy Scriptures since I was around sixteen years old -- I am seventy-one as of 2024 -- and I am not ashamed to say that there are still some things which I do not fully comprehend in the Bible. God's Word is just that profound, as is revealed in the following group of verses:

"LORD, how great are thy works! ‭and‭ thy thoughts are very deep.‭"


"Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it."


"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!"


"Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law."


"Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable."


"As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all."


"Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding."


"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."


"Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number:"


"Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number."


"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.‭ But God hath revealed ‭them‭ unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.‭ For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.‭ Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.‭"


So tell me, my friend. Do you believe in your heart that you have got everything right? Do you have the confidence to say that your understanding of God's Word is perfect and complete in every way? Or can you humbly admit that there are still some things which you do not quite understand, and which you are waiting for God to reveal to you? If so, then you are not alone. Welcome to the club!

Sadly, there are some proud, haughty Christians who do have such a know-it-all attitude. One very good example is the Jehovah's Witnesses. As some of you will know, when they go door-to-door, they hardly let a person get a word in, because they think they know it all already. They are more interested in just preaching at you, than they are in listening to what you have to say. My friends, I speak from experience, having spent many hours in dialog with them quite a few years ago. Quite frankly, the Jehovah's Witnesses are some of the most obnoxious Christians I have ever met.

At any rate, and in conclusion, it is my hope that the above explanation regarding what I mean by "evolving theology" has helped those of you who may have been wondering why some of my BBB articles have the aforementioned notice on them. I am just human folks. I have not arrived, and I do not pretend to understand it all yet. But I am working on it with the Lord's help!

With these thoughts, I will bring this article to a close. It is my hope that you have found it informative, enlightening, and I pray that it has been a blessing in your life as well. If you have an account with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or with any other social network, I would really appreciate if you'd take the time to click or tap on the corresponding link that is found on this page. Thanks so much, and may God bless you abundantly!

For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were either mentioned in this article, or which contain topics which are related to this article. All of these articles are likewise located on the Bill's Bible Basics web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.

Facebook False Prophets and Misguided Teachers
Humility in Our Understanding of God's Word
Please Stop Misinterpreting the Scriptures
Study, Work and Don't Be Ashamed
The Office of Prophets and Teachers
Understanding the Bible in Context

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Please avail yourself of other areas of the Bill's Bible Basics website. There are many treasures for you to discover.