No partial credit.

We all find things in the Bible that we like and agree with. But we naturally tend to ignore the parts that correct us. The problem is that until we can comfortably read and affirm both, even the stuff we think we have right isn’t actually right. Some examples may help.

The rebellious person enjoys reading that the apostles kept preaching the Gospel even when ordered to stop. But he isn’t quite sure how to handle the fact that Paul apologized for dishonoring the high priest.

The angry person revels in Jesus cleansing the Temple with a whip. But he doesn’t know how to process Jesus quietly drawing in the sand during a lynching.

The vengeful person delights in David destroying Goliath and tens of thousands of other infidels. But he is flummoxed by David bending over backward to not harm the wicked King Saul.

Interestingly, of course, the submissive person, the quiet person, and the wallflower would have exactly the reverse difficulty with each respective passage pair, liking the latter but being befuddled by the former.

Because the Bible represents a complete and integrated God, taking out the threads you dislike ruins the entire tapestry. The truth of the matter is that until we get right the things we get wrong, we don’t even get right the things we get right.