“Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:17).
In a world where there is so much religious confusion, and where there are so many different ways people attempt to worship God, the Bible still demands that we, “understand what the will of the Lord is.” What this implies is not only CAN we understand the will of God, but also that we MUST understand it. And one who fails to do this is deemed “unwise.”
But how is this pursuit to understand accomplished? Paul tells us that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). You see it is through the message of the “once for all” recorded gospel (Jude 3), the all-sufficient word of God (2 Pet. 1:3), that one is able to come to an understanding of the will of God (2 Tim. 3:15). If you seek, you will find (Matt. 7:7-8; cf. 2 Tim. 2:7; 1 Thess. 2:13). And while it is true that the infallible word of God is to be preached and taught by sound Christians whose message is founded solely upon the Holy Scriptures (1 Tim. 4:16; 1 Pet. 4:11), it is also true that we “hear” the will of God through a careful reading of those Holy Scriptures. In fact, Paul indicates that we are to READ and UNDERSTAND (2 Cor. 1:13; Eph. 3:4; cf. Acts 15:31; Col. 4:16; 1 Thess. 5:27).
It’s sad that there are those who “shut up the kingdom of heaven against men” (Matt. 23:13) by discouraging others from reading the Bible for themselves. On the contrary, Paul stresses that one must carefully and faithfully study the word of God or one will not be able to come to a proper understanding of it (2 Tim. 2:15; cf. Acts 17:11).
Friends, please read and understand.