Here is an interesting topic to consider when thinking about keys to understanding the Bible.  One of the keys to understanding the Bible is understanding the systems and methods that God uses in our everyday lives.  The Bible says God is not willing that any should perish, so we know that God wants everyone to be saved.  So what is He doing to solve this problem, how does God try to reach people and get them to believe and know Him?  That is a question I think many have never thought of.  God is of course capable of solving the atheist and agnostic beliefs in everyone in an instance of time, by suddenly appearing and proving His existence.   Why didn’t Jesus when He rose from the dead, go to everyone and prove His existence?  Why did He only appear to a select few?  If He would have walked into the synagogue in Jerusalem, every Jew would have had no choice but to believe on the one that they crucified.  There would have been an instant establishment of a kingdom of God on the earth.  There would have been no room for any other religion in the world.  But, God chooses to do things differently.  God has implemented a system based around people.  Throughout the Bible we see that God selected certain individuals to bring His message to the rest of the people.  We can see this in the life of Moses, Joshua, David, Daniel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, etc.   Here is a verse that demonstrates God’s system to us:

 Rom 10:14  How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

 God created a faith based system of beliefs for the human race.  We can see in this verse that it speaks of people calling on God to save them.  But how can they call if they haven’t heard of Him.  No one has ever seen God so we are all in the same boat.  We can clearly see a reference in this verse to the human element in God’s plan of salvation.  We can see that unless men and women preach and teach about God and His ways, no one will be able to hear, no one will be able to believe, and therefore no one will be saved.  The weakest link in the chain is people.  God has left the process in the hands of people.  Those that teach the Word of God have been called by God, selected by God, given the responsibility by God to get His message out.   No man or woman on this planet can save anyone, yet God has chosen a system that is totally dependent upon people who are imperfect and capable of failing.  On one hand you can see that God is either crazy or He has great faith in the ability of His Word to accomplish change in the hearts of men.

 Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

 We can see in Ephesians 4:11 that the verse contains one key repetitive word, this word is “SOME”.  Some means not everybody, it could even mean a few, as in a small percentage.  The key emphasis is that not everyone has the same function, the same level of responsibility, the same knowledge, the same spiritual growth level, the same whatever.  God selected some people to specifically teach His Word.  That implies the rest are responsible to learn what is taught.  If everyone was a teacher no one would need to be taught, no one would need to teach.  If everyone knew everything God wouldn’t need to say anything. 

 So the point to today’s blog is for you to recognize that God uses people.  Just as he did throughout the Bible.  We can see David the giant slayer, Samson, even Saul of Taurus, who wrote 2/3 of the New Testament.  God has always selected specific men and women to get His message out to His people.   This is still happening today, your challenge should you choose to accept it is to recognize those whom God has sent and ignore those that just went.  So understanding the Bible will depend upon you understanding how God works and the systems that He has implemented and working with Him to accomplish His goals and purposes.  I hope this has been a blessing to you.