What if the one thing standing between you and a deeper walk with God is something you believe you already know?

Let me ask you a question. If something you have believed about the Bible for twenty, thirty, or even fifty years turned out to be wrong, would you want to know? Most Christians would answer yes without giving it a second thought. After all, we want to know the truth, don't we?

But let's take that question a little further. What if discovering the truth meant admitting you had been wrong for most of your life? What if you had taught that belief to your children, defended it in Bible studies, or even preached it from a pulpit? What if accepting the truth meant admitting that the evidence had been right there in your Bible all along, but you had failed to see it?

Would you still want to know?

That is where things can get uncomfortable, because there is something about human nature that makes admitting we are wrong difficult. Nobody likes it. And the longer we have believed something, the harder it can be to let go.

Sometimes we become so comfortable with what we believe that we stop questioning it. We have heard it preached, read it in books, and discussed it with friends. Everyone around us believes the same thing, so why should we question it? But believing something for fifty years does not make it true. Neither does hearing it from a respected pastor or finding a hundred other people who agree with us.

The question is not how long we have believed something. The question is whether what we believe agrees with God's Word.

Proverbs 18:13 tells us, “One who gives an answer before he hears, It is foolishness and shame to him.”

Yet how often do we begin defending our beliefs before we have even considered what someone else is trying to show us? We may listen to their words, but our minds are already busy preparing an answer. We are not looking for truth. We are looking for a way to prove we are right.

I believe pride is one of the greatest obstacles to growing in our relationship with God. Pride doesn't always show itself through boasting or looking down on others. Sometimes it shows itself through a simple unwillingness to admit we could be mistaken.

A man may love the Bible, attend church faithfully, and spend years studying Scripture. Yet when the Holy Spirit brings something to his attention that challenges a long-held belief, he may resist it. Why? Because accepting it would mean admitting he was wrong.

James 4:6 says, “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, ‘GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.’”

Think about what that means. We can spend years asking God to teach us more while refusing to accept something He is already showing us. We want to grow spiritually, but we don't want to give up the beliefs that make us comfortable. We want God to teach us, provided He doesn't challenge anything we have already decided is true.

Pride can build a wall between the truth God is showing us and our willingness to receive it. Sometimes we have been living behind that wall for so long that we no longer recognize it is there.

There is something else we need to consider. A person can become so good at defending a belief that he mistakes his ability to argue for it as proof that it is true. He knows all the familiar verses. He has heard all the arguments. He can explain why everyone who disagrees with him must be mistaken. But has he ever honestly examined the possibility that he might be wrong?

There is a difference between studying Scripture to discover what God says and studying Scripture to prove what we already believe. One approach seeks the truth. The other seeks support for an opinion. If we are not careful, we can spend our entire Christian lives doing the second while convincing ourselves we are doing the first.

Consider the religious leaders in Jesus' day. They knew the Scriptures. They studied them, taught them, and defended their understanding of them. Yet listen to what Jesus told them in John 5:39–40.

“You examine the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is those very Scriptures that testify about Me; and yet you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.”

Think about that. These men had spent their lives studying the Scriptures, yet when the very One those Scriptures pointed to stood before them, they refused to accept Him. They had knowledge of God's Word, but their understanding and their pride kept them from recognizing the truth standing right in front of them.

That ought to make every one of us examine ourselves. We can know a great deal about the Bible and still be wrong about what it teaches. Knowing Scripture and correctly understanding Scripture are not always the same thing.

The believers in Berea give us a much better example. When Paul brought them the message of Jesus Christ, they did not reject it simply because it challenged what they had previously understood. But neither did they accept everything without checking it. Acts 17:11 tells us:

“Now these people were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.”

These people were listening to the apostle Paul, yet they still examined what he taught against the Scriptures. They were eager to hear the message, but they wanted to know whether it was true.

Shouldn't we have that same attitude today?

I have often said that if something I teach is wrong, show me where I am wrong in Scripture. I will study it, consider it, and pray about it. That does not mean I will automatically agree with everyone who challenges me. But it does mean I must be willing to examine what they show me. And if Scripture proves me wrong, I need to be willing to admit it.

I have been wrong about things I once believed and taught. Discovering that was not always comfortable, especially when I realized I had passed those teachings on to others. But I would rather admit I was wrong and learn the truth than spend the rest of my life defending something God never said.

God's truth is more important than my pride.

Now let's return to our original question. What would it take to convince you that something you believe about Scripture is wrong? Would you honestly consider clear biblical evidence that challenges your understanding, or would you immediately begin searching for another explanation that allows you to keep believing what you have always believed?

There is nothing wrong with carefully examining a different interpretation. We should never change our beliefs simply because someone presents a convincing argument. The Bible must be our final authority. But there is something terribly wrong when we refuse to consider that we might be mistaken, regardless of what Scripture says.

And here is an even more troubling question. Do you really want to know if you are wrong?

It is easy to answer yes when we believe we are right. It is another matter when the truth threatens to take us outside our comfort zone. Sometimes the problem isn't that the Holy Spirit has failed to show us the truth. The problem may be that we don't like what He is showing us.

Stephen confronted that very attitude when he spoke to the Jewish leaders in Acts 7:51.

“You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did.”

Those were strong words, but they needed to be said. These men were so determined to defend what they believed that they resisted the very Spirit of God. They were not simply disagreeing with another man's opinion. They were resisting the truth God was bringing before them.

Now, I am not suggesting that everyone who disagrees with our understanding of Scripture is resisting the Holy Spirit. We must be careful about making that accusation. But the warning is still there. It is possible to become so stubborn in our thinking that we refuse to listen when God is correcting us through His Word.

I wonder how much more God could teach us if we were willing to set aside our pride and honestly examine what we believe. How much spiritual growth have we missed because we were too busy defending an opinion? How many times have we asked God for greater understanding while refusing to reconsider something we learned years ago?

I am not suggesting that we should constantly doubt everything we believe. Christians ought to have strong convictions, but those convictions must be built on Scripture rather than tradition, personal preference, or what somebody told us years ago.

Paul gives us a simple instruction in 1 Thessalonians 5:21.

“But examine everything; hold firmly to that which is good.”

Notice that we are told to do both. We are to examine everything, and then hold firmly to what is good. We are not supposed to believe everything we hear, but neither are we supposed to reject something simply because it challenges our understanding.

And here is something I believe every Christian needs to remember. We must never confuse our understanding of Scripture with Scripture itself. God's Word is true, but our understanding of it may need correction. That is why we must continue studying, praying, and allowing the Holy Spirit to teach us through God's Word.

There is no shame in discovering we have been wrong. The shame comes when we recognize the truth but refuse to acknowledge it because admitting our mistake would wound our pride.

So let me leave you with three questions. What would it take to convince you that you are wrong? Do you genuinely want to know if you are wrong? And if God shows you through His Word that you are wrong, are you willing to change?

Think carefully before answering, because sometimes the greatest barrier to a deeper walk with God isn't what we don't know.

It's what we are unwilling to admit about what we think we know.