Do you come to God through faith? “Yes!” shouts the crowd.
Do you come to God through faith alone? “No!” say some in the crowd. But the rest disagree. They call out loudly, “The answer is, ‘Yes!’”
Do you come to God through works? “No!” replies the second group. “Yes” insist others. Some remain unsure of the answer.
What is this crowd? It is made up of people who call themselves “Christians.” Why are they saying different things about faith and works? Because their leaders have taught them different things. How can this be? Don’t they all follow the same Bible?
In this study we will find that God’s word is not the problem. God is not a God of confusion and division (John 17:17-23; 1 Corinthians 14:33; Ephesians 4:1-6). Most often the problem is in the different lenses through which we read. We all tend to put on glasses when we read the Bible. These glasses are our own thoughts. We think we know what the Bible should say. On some subjects we read our own ideas and meanings into the Bible, instead of examining what the Bible says for itself.
We get our preconceived ideas from many places: our home and its religion, our desires and preferences, our friends and respected leaders. Sometimes—and we will see soon how relevant this is—a position is taken in reaction to another group. The stronger our ideas and feelings, the thicker our lenses for reading the Bible. That is true of any subject, but it is especially true when we turn to the subject of “faith and works.” People find it very difficult to read Scriptures on this matter without coloring what is read.