Have you ever had a hard time putting exactly what you think into words? As a Bible scholar, I’ve experienced that many times. It’s one thing to put the mental energy into studying Scripture—digging into Hebrew and Greek grammar, reading background material, evaluating translation choices, that sort of thing—and another thing altogether to be able to articulate what I’m finding. It can be frustrating.
The problem isn’t writing or speaking; it’s thinking with clarity. Here’s some of the best advice I’ve ever received about clear thinking: to think with clarity, deliberately think about things both positively and negatively. A professor of mine once told us that the best way to come to a clear statement of what you believe is to express yourself in both affirmations (positive assertions) and denials (negative assertions).
The exercise of trying to say what you mean and following it by what you don’t mean has a way of separating the mental chaff from the wheat. For example, let’s take the statement in Romans 13:1 that says, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God.” You could say that you believe the verse teaches that every ruler on earth has been put there by God and should therefore be obeyed. But what exactly does that mean?
Do you mean to say there are no exceptions? How could you justify one? Is the verse an assertion of God’s activity (God actually appoints every ruler) so that to disobey a ruler means rebelling against God’s choice? Maybe it’s just a statement of God’s sovereignty without crediting God for every last tyrant on the planet. Or maybe Paul is just expressing a wish (“let everyone . . .”) since he knows people can’t change their circumstances under the Roman Empire. If your government allows you to replace a ruler, does this verse forbid that? Why would you want to replace someone God put in charge? What is it that you actually believe about this verse? What don’t you believe?
A good way to sharpen your thinking, and your clarity in communicating to others, is to carefully consider the results of your Bible study in terms of what you think the text means and doesn’t mean. It may take an hour or two—or even weeks—of thinking, but the result will be precision and clarity.