When Paul got to Rome, he spoke to the Jews who lived there about Jesus. Some would not believe, even though the truth should have been obvious to them. Why did they miss the truth? Their hearts were dull, their ears could not hear, and their eyes were closed (v. 27). Sadly, the same thing happens today. People miss some obvious truths in God’s word. Why do they miss the obvious? There are different reasons, and we will consider four reasons in this lesson.
An Illustration
- In the assembly, as the sermon begins, someone opens a nice, large, new Bible to follow along in
- Person A (across the aisle) doesn’t see it – looking in another direction (front)
- Person B (in the row behind) doesn’t see it – looking past it to focus on the front
- Person C (in the same row) doesn’t see it – distracted with their own Bible, notes, kids, etc.
- Person D (preaching) doesn’t see it – he sees the person, but the view of the Bible is blocked
- Even though the Bible is out in the open, different people might fail to see it for different reasons – (A) not looking, (B) overlooking, (C) distracted, (D) wrong perspective
- These are the same reasons why people miss the obvious when it comes to what the Bible teaches
Some Verses Containing Obvious Truths
- Mark 16:16 – people have different theories about who will be saved; Jesus said, “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved”
- 1 Peter 3:21 – people have different ideas about baptism; most deny that it is necessary for salvation; yet the apostle stated the truth very plainly; “baptism now saves you”
- James 2:24 – many believe we are saved by “faith alone,” and faith is certainly essential (Hebrews 11:6); yet James explicitly said we are “justified by works and not by faith alone”
- Hebrews 5:9 – related to the previous verse, many do not believe we must obey to be saved; yet the Hebrew writer clearly said that Jesus is “to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation”
Why People Miss Obvious Truths
- They are not looking – if we are not looking for the truth, we will not find it; example of Josiah and the lost book (2 Kings 22:8-13); they could not find the truth because they were not looking for it; we must seek for the truth (Matthew 7:7) and go to the right source (Psalm 119:160; cf. Acts 17:11)
- They are overlooking – focus on part of the truth to the exclusion of another part; example of the Pharisees (Matthew 23:23); they emphasized part of the law and neglected other parts; we cannot neglect any of God’s word in our teaching (Acts 20:27) or in practice (Matthew 28:20)
- They are distracted – focus on other things and cannot bring themselves to pay attention to the truth; example of Felix (Acts 24:24-27); he understood enough to be frightened, but waited for a convenient time to respond; there is never a “convenient” time to follow truth (Luke 9:23); worldly things will choke out the word (Luke 8:14)
- They have the wrong perspective – their preconceived notions prevent them from accepting the truth; example of the crowd in Capernaum (John 6:60, 63, 66); they refused to listen to Jesus’ explanation; this is a common problem for those who are sincere but not following the Lord as they should; if they could approach the Scriptures without their preconceived notions, they would see the truth
Conclusion
- God has revealed His word in a way that we can understand it (Ephesians 3:4) – we need to make sure we are studying it properly (2 Timothy 2:15)
- Some miss the truth – we should do what we can to correct them (2 Timothy 2:24-26); all of us have been wrong before (Titus 3:2-3), so we need to keep the right attitude as we try to help
