When Paul visited the idolatrous city of Athens on his second missionary tour, he encountered some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, who were intrigued by his so-called “new doctrine” (Acts 17:18-20). Luke, the inspired penman, went on to record, “For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing” (17:21). Think about that. That which was known or old or proven was of no interest to them. They were in constant search for “some new thing.”
This description could be applied even to some folks today. Are you one of them? Don’t be. The way some people approach Bible study today is with an apparent determination to “find something new.” I don’t want to attempt to speculate about their motives, but it does not seem that they are satisfied with the simple, obvious, proven study of a text. They want to find something that no one else has ever found. They want to unearth a new meaning, a new perspective, a new detail that has never crossed anyone’s mind before. They want to wow others with their unique insight or their clever dissection of a text.
Unfortunately, there are some who seem to go even further. Some church leaders have questioned sound Biblical doctrines and have sought to “restudy” a subject, in order to “see it in a new light.” They usually come back with a “new understanding” of that Biblical doctrine and enact a “change” in their congregation’s practice.
If you are a preacher, a Bible class teacher or a church leader, may I urge you to not be ashamed to “ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it” (Jer. 6:16)? May I urge you to “hold fast the pattern of sound words” (2 Tim. 1:13)? May I urge you to “be diligent to present yourself approved to God…accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15)? May I urge you to remember that it is the text of God’s Word that is “profitable” and makes the man of God to “be complete” (2 Tim. 3:16-17)? May I urge you to be mindful of the “newborn babes” who need the “milk” of the Word (1 Pet. 2:2) and also the “mature” members who need “the solid food” (Heb. 5:14)? May I urge you to point people toward the meat of the Word and not the sizzle that you place around it? May I urge you to help people to fall in love with the Bible, Bible study and the Author of the Bible and not with you and your abilities? May I urge you to hide yourself INSIDE the Word when you are studying and then to hide yourself BEHIND the Word when you are teaching?
It is not necessary to “find something new.” Life-changing, soul-saving truth has not (and will not) change!