On Mondays when my house church gathers, we read through scripture together, carefully observing it over time. We only let the passage answer the question. No external interpretations and no cross references. If the answer is not there in the passage, we’ll just have to wait. As we read on in following weeks, sometimes what we are wondering about becomes apparent. Sometimes it doesn’t.
It’s been remarkable to see, as we follow this disciplined process, people coming to faith and clarifying their world view. Too often we try to answer questions too fast. We dazzle newcomers and unbelievers with the way we can jump here and there throughout scripture, making our case based on inside knowledge. That’s actually how the cults work.
Instead, we need to trust the Spirit to guide people as we allow the scripture speak for itself. That’s hard for many seasoned Christians, because it means we have to be comfortable with not having all of the answers. But really, who among us does?