For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
1 Corinthians 14:33 (KJV)
It seems that everybody is confused about everything. We are constantly confused by conflicting messages coming from experts and people in high places. Even the so-called reliable news agencies.
Even Christians today, even so-called “Christians” are confused about key doctrines. There’s a lot of confusion generated from different Bible translations and the different wordings in each one.
The Carnality of Confusion
The Bible is clear in both the Old Testament and the New Testament; as we see in the Bible the word confusion is not used in a positive way, confusion is always wrong and detrimental, and it was dangerous. (James 3:16)
Some of the dangerous examples can be seen in Leviticus 18:23 and Leviticus 20:12. The Bible says do not do these things. It is confusion! In both verses, the first and second mention of the word “confusion,” it clearly involves perversion and immorality.
The greatest way to confuse is to blend facts with error; the known with the unknown; lies with truth. That is the greatest way to create confusion. In other words, Satan blurs the lines. He is pouring out lies, deception, and half-truths and it creates confusion.
- The source of the confusion was the serpent or the devil.
- The approach was subtlety or crafty.
- The target was the weakest one in the crowd.
The Cause for Confusion
There are two main reasons why people are confused today.
The Ignorance of Scripture
We understand that many people are confused simply because they have never been exposed to the truth. We are all ignorant until we see the answer.
When we base our thinking on God’s authoritative Word, we can confidently answer questions about our world and our life. That includes history and science, as well as doctrine. (2 Timothy 3:16)
Ignorance is a common characteristic of the unsaved. Ignorance is a common characteristic of the ungrounded Christian.
The Ignoring of Scripture
Some people are confused because they never heard or been exposed to the truth. Then, they are people that have been exposed to the truth and rejected it, and now they’re confused.
Once a person has heard the truth and rejects it, their vulnerability to deception increases dramatically. Ignoring truth desensitizes the heart and mind to the truth.
Jesus used the Pharisees as an object lesson of what happens when you ignore the truth. (Mark 7:7-9,13-16)
The cause of confusion today is people that are ignorant of the Scriptures and people that ignore the Scriptures.
The Cure for Confusion
The cure for confusion is so simple that it is overlooked by millions of people every day.
Secular Education
Secular education is not the answer to the confusing were facing today. It is clearly mentioned in 2 Timothy 3:7, Romans 1:22, and 1 Corinthians 2:5. That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men,
Scholarly Elitism
We also do need more scholarly elitism. what we do not need is people telling us that we cannot understand the Bible without them. God chose in His sovereignty to use the weak and the foolish to confound the wise and the mighty. (1 Corinthians 1:25-28) Remember, if you’re saved, you have a Bible and the Holy Spirit. That’s all you need.
Sensual Experiences
Similarly, we do not need more sensual experiences. We live in a society today that elevates experiences over the Word of God. The Bible is clear – minding your experiences is not a valid authority for truth. Ignoring God’s plans results in the loss of God’s blessings that feel good forever.
It is obvious, the solution and the cure for confusion are:
More Scriptural Exploration
This is what we need more – Scriptural exploration! The cure is found solely within the pages of God’s Word. One reason that confusion abounds is the overall lack of studying and our aversion to time-consuming research. Our attention span as a society has been greatly impeded by memes, cartoons, videos, and flashes of entertainment. YouTube and Instagram and Facebook and others now have “shorts” and “reels.”
If you are too lazy to explore the Scriptures but rather rely on the abbreviated version of someone else’s research, you are opening yourself up to confusion and deception. If you have a Bible, you have the answers. You are holding the inspired, infallible, and inerrant truth in your hand. So, you have no excuse for being confused!
More Spiritual Enlightenment
We need more Spiritual enlightenment to combat this confusion issue. In John 16:13, we can see that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, of God will enlighten you. But only if you let the Holy Spirit enlighten you.
More Separated Exclusion
We need more separated exclusion. If you hang out with liars, deceivers, and carnal people, they will turn you. If you hang around confused people, you will become confused, too. If you listen to people that mix and mingle truth and error, you will be confused.
There is no reason for you to be confused we have the Word of God. We have the inspired word of God. That giveth understanding to the simple. We have the author of this book living inside of us.