In bible study group last week I was dealing with a tricky passage (1 Cor 11:2-16). Here’s the thoughts I shared with the group on how to approach difficult passages.

1. It is important not to ‘skip over’ difficult passages in the bible. Even the hard bits are God’s word.
2. The fact that there is a difficult passage that we don’t fully understand shouldn’t bother us too much. It just means that we aren’t infinitely knowledgeable. (Something that is quite helpful for some of us to be reminded of.)
3. Don’t let what is unclear distract you from what is clear.
4. Use what is clear to help you understand what is unclear.
5. You don’t have to understand every thing in a passage in order to understand some things clearly.

[This content was originally posted to Google Buzz, #156]