The church is called to be a pillar and ground of the truth, able to discern between wheat and tares, truth and counterfeit. Yet, the tragic reality is that most believers have not been equipped to recognize the difference. The problem is not a lack of the Holy Spirit, but a systematic failure: the key of knowledge has been withheld. Instead of being trained to know and discern for themselves, Christians have been conditioned—often silently—not to know, not to watch, and ultimately, not to discern.
When I was saved, I was privileged to be mentored by someone who actually knew how to study the Bible. He put the Interlinear Bible and Strong’s Concordance in my hands, showing me that God uses words with remarkable consistency throughout His Word to reveal the same truths. We didn’t settle for surface readings; we did word studies, traced themes across scripture, and let the text interpret itself. This simple, diligent approach—using the tools God has made available—unlocked the power of the Word. We could lead people to Christ and answer objections, not with clever arguments, but with scripture rightly handled. Within months, I understood more of the Bible than many who had been in church for years. Not because I was exceptional, but because I had been given the key of knowledge that others had been denied.
Jesus’ words to the religious leaders remain a devastating indictment:
“Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.” (Luke 11:52)
In nearly twenty years as a Christian, I have rarely—if ever—heard a sermon or found a class in any church that teaches believers how to study the Bible for themselves. The institutional church does not place these tools in the hands of the saints. Instead, it quietly fosters a dependence on religious professionals. The result is a church that is not equipped to test the spirits, but is left vulnerable to whatever narrative is presented from the pulpit.
Here is the chain of loss:
- When believers are not taught how to study the Bible, they lack the confidence and skill to interpret scripture for themselves.
- Lacking these skills, they become dependent on clergy for interpretation.
- This dependence leads them to accept secondhand interpretations—no matter how much scripture is quoted, even when it is misused or misapplied.
- When the pulpit’s narrative cannot be found in the text, believers do not question the message—they question their own ability to understand God’s Word.
- Discouraged, they give up trying. Personal Bible reading ceases. Spiritual growth is stunted. Discernment is lost.
This is not a minor issue. When the key of knowledge is withheld, believers are hindered from entering into truth and spiritual discernment. The church is robbed of its inheritance: the confidence, clarity, and authority that comes from direct engagement with God’s Word, by the Spirit, with the right tools in hand. What is lost is not merely information, but the very foundation of sonship and assurance. If you accept this error—if you resign yourself to secondhand knowledge and perpetual dependence on men—you forfeit the boldness of conscience and the inheritance that belongs to every child of God.
But it does not have to be so. Any believer, with the Holy Spirit as their helper, can use a concordance and a dictionary to discover the precise meaning of scripture. The Word is not locked away for experts; it is open to all who will seek. When believers are mentored in how to study, they gain confidence, discernment, and the ability to lead others to Christ with truth that is anchored in scripture—not in the shifting opinions of men.
Do not surrender your birthright for a bowl of secondhand interpretations. Take up the key of knowledge. Let the Word dwell in you richly, and refuse to be hindered by any system that would keep you dependent and spiritually stunted. The inheritance is yours—enter in.
