“One cannot say he has ever truly studied his Bible if he has never found himself proven wrong by it.”

— Nick White

There is a way to read the Bible without ever allowing the Bible to read us. We can open its pages, underline its verses, memorize its doctrines, and become skilled at explaining its arguments, while quietly maintaining one condition: Scripture must never seriously challenge what we have already decided to believe.

In this case, we approach the text looking for confirmation rather than correction. We diligently search for passages that strengthen our convictions while passing quickly over those that disturb them. Yet if the Bible is truly the Word of God, then serious study of Scripture will eventually bring us face to face with something we have believed, assumed, practiced, or cherished that cannot survive the light of God’s Word.

Pastor Nick White’s observation reveals where the problem resides. The problem is with us. We are finite, fallen creatures approaching the revelation of an infinite and holy God. We bring traditions, experiences, preferences, teachers, cultural assumptions, and theological systems with us when we open our Bibles. Some of those things may serve us well. But others may quietly become lenses through which we force Scripture to speak according to what we already believe.

Humility Before God’s Word

This is why the proper posture of Bible study is humility. The question cannot only be, “How does this passage support what I believe?” We must also be willing to ask, “What does this passage require me to change?” Scripture is not a witness summoned to defend our theological conclusions. It is God’s authoritative Word before which our conclusions must stand trial.

Paul writes that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). Notice that Scripture does not only teach. It reproves and corrects. If our study of the Bible never corrects us, we should at least consider whether we have allowed it to perform the work for which God gave it.

This becomes especially difficult when the belief being challenged is one we have held for years. Perhaps it was taught to us by parents we deeply respect. Perhaps it came from a beloved pastor. Maybe it belongs to the theological tradition in which we were raised. Perhaps it is a belief we have defended publicly and argued for passionately. At that point, changing our position costs something. We must admit that we were wrong. And pride hates those words.

Yet Christian maturity should make them easier to say, not harder. The mature Christian is not the person who has reached the point where he can no longer be corrected. Instead, he is the person whose love for truth has grown greater than his desire to be right. When Scripture demonstrates that something we believe is mistaken, surrendering that belief is not defeat. It is obedience. We have not lost an argument with the Bible. Rather, we have been graciously corrected by our Father.

Examining What We Hear by Scripture

The Bereans provide a helpful example. When Paul and Silas came preaching Christ, Luke tells us that they “received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11). Their eagerness did not produce gullibility, and their examination did not produce cynicism. They were willing to hear, but they measured what they heard by Scripture.

Apostolic preaching itself was examined according to the written Word available to them. If that is the case, then how much more should the sermons, traditions, theological systems, social media clips, and inherited convictions of our own day be subjected to that same examination?

This does not mean we should live in perpetual theological uncertainty, suspicious of every doctrine we believe. Scripture calls Christians to conviction. There are truths for which we should be willing to stand without apology. Nor does humility mean treating every doctrine as though two thousand years of Christian reflection have accomplished nothing. We should learn from faithful teachers, historic confessions, and the church that came before us.

But all subordinate authorities remain subordinate to Scripture. Our confessions are valuable precisely because they seek faithfully to summarize Scripture, not because they stand alongside Scripture as another infallible authority.

Teachability Without Instability

There is also a difference between being teachable and being unstable. Some people change theological positions every few months because they heard a persuasive sermon, discovered a new teacher, or watched a compelling video. That is not necessarily humility. Sometimes it is simply theological restlessness. Biblical teachability is slower and sturdier. It says, “This is what I presently believe Scripture teaches, but if careful examination of Scripture demonstrates otherwise, I must submit to Scripture.”

That posture is particularly important when studying passages we find uncomfortable. We should examine the instinct that immediately explains away a difficult text merely to protect what we already believe. Sometimes our discomfort is precisely where the Lord intends to teach us. The doctrines of God’s sovereignty, human depravity, election, judgment, church discipline, biblical authority, marriage, holiness, repentance, and countless other subjects confront assumptions deeply rooted within us. We must resist the temptation to soften Scripture until it agrees with our instincts.

Correction in Doctrine and Daily Life

The same is true beyond theology narrowly defined. Scripture may prove us wrong about our conduct. We may discover that what we have called righteous anger is actually bitterness. What we have called discernment may be pride. What we have called Christian liberty may be indulgence. The Bible does not only correct our doctrinal charts. It corrects husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, church members, pastors, workers, friends, and neighbors.

Hebrews describes the Word of God as “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword,” discerning “the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). We do not come to such a Word as neutral judges deciding whether we approve of what God has said. We come as creatures before our Creator, sinners before the Holy One, and children before our Father. We come asking Him to expose what is false in us and conform us to what is true.

For those who belong to Christ, this exposure is not a reason to flee from God. The Savior who bore our sins welcomes us to draw near for mercy and grace (Hebrews 4:14–16). We can confess where we have been wrong because our acceptance with God rests in Christ, not in our ability to have always been right.

As we grow in Christ, we should be able to recognize ways Scripture has corrected our beliefs, exposed our assumptions, and changed our conduct. There should be practices we abandoned because Scripture confronted us. There should be assumptions we once confidently repeated that we now recognize were poorly grounded. This is evidence that Scripture has been doing its work.

The dangerous Christian is not the one who occasionally discovers that he has been wrong. The greater danger is the Christian who cannot remember the last time God’s Word corrected him. If every passage always confirms our instincts, every study vindicates our existing theology, and every disagreement ends with Scripture conveniently taking our side, we may need to ask whether we are sitting beneath the Word or quietly placing ourselves above it.

Open the Bible Expecting Correction

So open the Bible expecting truth, but also open it expecting correction. Pray with the psalmist, “Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth” (Psalm 86:11). Bring your theology, traditions, opinions, habits, and assumptions before the Word with an open hand. Hold tightly to what Scripture clearly teaches, but never hold so tightly to your own understanding that God’s Word is no longer permitted to correct it.

It is far better to be proven wrong by Scripture and brought nearer to truth than to spend a lifetime confidently defending an error that an open Bible would have corrected.