Religious authorities claimed that ordinary people cannot understand the Bible; they must depend on educated clergy. That seemed to be confirmed when the Reformation went in so many different directions. But what if divergent interpretations came, not from the Bible, but from human thoughts and preferences? For example, England’s King Henry VIII was capable of understanding Jesus’ teaching on divorce (Matthew 19:4-9), but he wanted a divorce anyway. In The Babylonian Captivity of the Church, Luther wrote, “[Baptism] is that immersion in water from which it derives it name, for the Greek baptizo means ‘I immerse,’ and baptisma means ‘immersion’.” Yet, Luther and his followers continued traditional sprinkling as if it were baptism.
GOSPEL SEED STILL PRODUCES WHAT IT DID AT FIRST.
In the Old Testament, God expected Israel to understand His word and comply with it (Deuteronomy 30:1-16; Nehemiah 8:8). The same applies to the New Testament. Though some of Paul’s writings are difficult (2 Peter 3:16), he wrote in such a way as to be understood (Ephesians 3:1-9; Colossians 2:1-3). In Jesus’ parable, God’s word is the seed that is not understood (Matthew 13:19) or understood (Matthew 13:23), depending on the heart’s openness (Luke 8:15). Seeds carry life. A 2,000 years old palm seed was recovered from Herod’s palace at Masada, Israel. In 2005, it germinated! In restoration, the Gospel seed, when planted in honest hearts, produces exactly what it did 2,000 years ago. We receive the same spiritual birth as first century believers received, making us the same kind of Christians as they.
You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the Good News that was preached to you. (1 Peter 1:23-25)