Arguing with myself

[B-A-C]

Do Your Verses Really Support What You Believe?​

A Two-Phase Approach to Honest Bible Study

There is no shortage of Christians who can give you a list of scriptures to back up what they believe. That's good — it should be that way. The Apostle Paul commended the Bereans precisely because they didn't just take his word for it:

"Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."— Acts 17:11

Notice what made them noble: they searched the scriptures eagerly — but also critically. They weren't looking for confirmation. They were looking for truth.

Phase One: Build Your Case​

I hold a number of views that fall outside mainstream evangelical thought. I've learned over the years that a single verse doesn't make a doctrine — context, grammar, cross-references, and the broader sweep of Scripture all matter. So like most students of the Word, I start by building a case:

• Find multiple passages that point in the same direction
• Check the context of each one (who is speaking, to whom, under what covenant)
• Make sure the verses are actually saying what I think they're saying, not just sounding like it

This is good and necessary. As Paul wrote to Timothy:

"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth."— 2 Timothy 2:15

"Correctly handles" — the Greek word there (orthotomeo) means to cut straight. Sloppy handling of scripture is a real thing, and we are all capable of it.

Phase Two: Try to Break Your Own Case​

Here is where most people stop — and where I believe honest Bible study actually begins.

After I've built my case, I deliberately go looking for verses that contradict my position. I'm not looking for straw men. I'm looking for the strongest possible challenge to what I believe.

Sometimes I find it. More often than I'd like to admit, a passage I had overlooked — or quietly set aside — turns out to be a serious problem for my view. When that happens, I have to go back to square one. That's not defeat. That's the process working correctly.

But sometimes, after honest searching, I cannot find solid scriptural ground that dismantles the position. And at that point — maybe, maybe — it's a defensible biblical view. Not infallible. Not beyond further refinement. But defensible.

"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"— Jeremiah 17:9

That verse applies to all of us, including how we read scripture. We are not neutral interpreters. We bring assumptions, traditions, and preferences to the text every single time. That's exactly why Phase Two matters.

The Danger of Selective Reading​

Jesus reserved some of His sharpest words for people who were experts at finding scripture to support their position while dismissing anything that challenged it. The Pharisees weren't ignorant — they were selectively learned.

"You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life."— John 5:39-40

They had verses. Plenty of them. But their theology had become a closed system that filtered out inconvenient truth.

That's a sobering warning for anyone who studies seriously — the more confident we become, the more carefully we need to invite challenge.

A Question for You​

So here's what I'd like to ask you, fellow student of the Word:

Do you have a theological position you hold strongly? Maybe it's about salvation, eschatology, the gifts of the Spirit, eternal security, the nature of hell, the role of Israel, or any number of other debated topics. Good. You should be able to articulate what you believe and why.

Now — have you done Phase Two?

Not just dismissed the opposing verses as "taken out of context" (though some of them genuinely are). Not just noted that your favorite teacher has an answer for them. But actually sat down with those passages, in their context, in the original language if possible, and wrestled with them honestly

"Test everything. Hold on to what is good."— 1 Thessalonians 5:21

That verse cuts both ways. Test what challenges you and what confirms you.

If you can't find scripture that seriously challenges your position, that's significant. It doesn't make you infallible — but it means you're on more solid ground than a view that quietly avoids half the text.

If you can find such scripture and you've studied it carefully and still hold your position, even better — you understand your view at a deeper level, you know its tensions, and you can engage with others honestly rather than defensively.

But if you find such scripture and your only move is to dismiss it without real engagement — I'd gently suggest the position isn't as settled as you think.

What do you believe? And have you tried your best to prove yourself wrong?

 

[Gerbolski]

To me the best thing to do, which you gave really good points, is to draw closer to God, and always seek to be honest with what he says, and of course be like the Bereans.

There are times, now and again to were I held such and such a view, and found it, that this or that scripture was taken incorrectly, whether it was something I was thought through some preacher or even something I thought I saw.

I am a person who checks out things but also check out my own self.

I believe that most people, whether they want to admit it or not, have been influenced in many ways by something they were taught, though some things are good, but we should check ourselves out.

And also not all self thought things are biblical, though some are.

We have to be careful when we say things, such as the Lord showed me this or that, which it can be in certain cases, but be careful, lest it be found to be not so.

Pride has to be taken out of the way, often times that is what holds someone to be dishonest with a view or scripture.

And there are genuine times of defending the truth, but many times, you can discuss with someone t'ill you blue in the face, many are not as open to the bible as they claim to be.

And it does not matter how convincing the argument is to some, this or that is my truth and that is all there is to it, is the way most act.

We have nothing to prove, we need more of Jesus.

 

[Butch5]

Do Your Verses Really Support What You Believe?​

A Two-Phase Approach to Honest Bible Study

There is no shortage of Christians who can give you a list of scriptures to back up what they believe. That's good — it should be that way. The Apostle Paul commended the Bereans precisely because they didn't just take his word for it:



Notice what made them noble: they searched the scriptures eagerly — but also critically. They weren't looking for confirmation. They were looking for truth.

Phase One: Build Your Case​

I hold a number of views that fall outside mainstream evangelical thought. I've learned over the years that a single verse doesn't make a doctrine — context, grammar, cross-references, and the broader sweep of Scripture all matter. So like most students of the Word, I start by building a case:

• Find multiple passages that point in the same direction
• Check the context of each one (who is speaking, to whom, under what covenant)
• Make sure the verses are actually saying what I think they're saying, not just sounding like it

This is good and necessary. As Paul wrote to Timothy:




"Correctly handles" — the Greek word there (orthotomeo) means to cut straight. Sloppy handling of scripture is a real thing, and we are all capable of it.

Phase Two: Try to Break Your Own Case​

Here is where most people stop — and where I believe honest Bible study actually begins.

After I've built my case, I deliberately go looking for verses that contradict my position. I'm not looking for straw men. I'm looking for the strongest possible challenge to what I believe.

Sometimes I find it. More often than I'd like to admit, a passage I had overlooked — or quietly set aside — turns out to be a serious problem for my view. When that happens, I have to go back to square one. That's not defeat. That's the process working correctly.

But sometimes, after honest searching, I cannot find solid scriptural ground that dismantles the position. And at that point — maybe, maybe — it's a defensible biblical view. Not infallible. Not beyond further refinement. But defensible.



That verse applies to all of us, including how we read scripture. We are not neutral interpreters. We bring assumptions, traditions, and preferences to the text every single time. That's exactly why Phase Two matters.

The Danger of Selective Reading​

Jesus reserved some of His sharpest words for people who were experts at finding scripture to support their position while dismissing anything that challenged it. The Pharisees weren't ignorant — they were selectively learned.



They had verses. Plenty of them. But their theology had become a closed system that filtered out inconvenient truth.

That's a sobering warning for anyone who studies seriously — the more confident we become, the more carefully we need to invite challenge.

A Question for You​

So here's what I'd like to ask you, fellow student of the Word:

Do you have a theological position you hold strongly? Maybe it's about salvation, eschatology, the gifts of the Spirit, eternal security, the nature of hell, the role of Israel, or any number of other debated topics. Good. You should be able to articulate what you believe and why.

Now — have you done Phase Two?

Not just dismissed the opposing verses as "taken out of context" (though some of them genuinely are). Not just noted that your favorite teacher has an answer for them. But actually sat down with those passages, in their context, in the original language if possible, and wrestled with them honestly



That verse cuts both ways. Test what challenges you and what confirms you.

If you can't find scripture that seriously challenges your position, that's significant. It doesn't make you infallible — but it means you're on more solid ground than a view that quietly avoids half the text.

If you can find such scripture and you've studied it carefully and still hold your position, even better — you understand your view at a deeper level, you know its tensions, and you can engage with others honestly rather than defensively.

But if you find such scripture and your only move is to dismiss it without real engagement — I'd gently suggest the position isn't as settled as you think.

What do you believe? And have you tried your best to prove yourself wrong?

These are good points that every Chrisian should practice and every church should teach. I've been doing this for years. I don't know anyone who attacks my positions harder than I do. We are talking about God's word. It's nothing to joke with. It's imperative that we do our utmost to make sure we understand it correctly. If we're going out into the world to represent God and Christ, we batter make sure we're representing them correctly. Imagine standing before Christ and being told you taught everyone wrongly.