Recently in the Bible study class that I teach, we were discussing speculation and opinion as it relates to religious matters. I decided to try an experiment.  I asked two of the young men to come up and draw a line that, in their opinion, was equal to a foot.  They each came up and drew a line.  Not surprisingly, they were both different lengths.  I asked which of the two lines everyone thought equaled a foot.  It was unanimous.  Everyone picked the shorter of the two lines.  To throw in a twist, I drew a third line.  Now we were a little hesitant to choose one line over another.  I asked if they could be sure by looking at the lines that one equaled a foot.  Of course, the answer was, “No.”  We would need to measure with a ruler to determine which of the lines equaled a foot.

This is how we often do things when it comes to religion.  We sometimes speculate or use our best guess to determine how we need to do things.  This presents more than a couple problems but I'd like to focus on two related topics.

We can't be sure we are right

When we speculate or guess we can't be sure that we are right.  This means we are likely to make mistakes.  Remember the old saying, “measure twice, cut once?”  Well, that's the approach I think we need to take when it comes to spiritual matters.  The Bible states that we are to be workman and that we have to be diligent to make sure we have a proper understanding of the truth.

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. ” - 2 Timothy 2:15

Based on this passage, I believe that God wants us to be careful and not to make mistakes when it can be avoided.  If we are speculating or guessing how to live our lives, we are not going to meet this expectation.  The only way that we can know that God is pleased with us is to diligently seek out the truth.  In another passage we find that we are to test or prove ourselves.

“Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test?” - 2 Corinthians 13:5

Take notice of the words “test, examine and recognize”.  This surely goes beyond guessing or speculating.  When we take tests in school, it is to find out whether we know the material or not.  If we have studied and prepared adequately, we can pass the test. If we just “wing it” or give it our best guess, we are not going to do well on the test (trust me, I've got a lot of experience in this area).  The truth is we aren't going to be able to tell how long a foot is without a ruler.  So, we can't expect to accurately discern spiritual matters without opening our Bibles.

Let me put it another way.  I've been around rulers, yard sticks and tape measures for a long time.  I know that a foot is made up of twelve inches, which in turn is made up of smaller measurements such as halves, quarters, eights, sixteenths, etc.  However, I can't measure an exact foot unless I get out the ruler.  God's word is the same way, you can know it forward and backward but there are still times were you just have to open it up and study it to get the answer you need instead of guessing or speculating.

Opinions and speculation cause division

Speculations and opinions regarding spiritual matters cause disputes and discord among people.  This is always going to be the case.  People think differently, they have different ideas about all kinds of subjects.  For instance, the distance a line must be drawn to equal a foot.  Look around your community.  You will see a lot of disagreement regarding spiritual or religious topics.  Sure, different denominations try to get along and accept one another but they all have different doctrines that collide.  God didn't want discord among his people.  Consider the following example from 1 Corinthians.

“Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.  For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you.  Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, "I am of Paul," and "I of Apollos," and "I of Cephas," and "I of Christ."  Has Christ been divided?  Paul was not crucified for you, was he?  Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”
- 1 Corinthians 1:10-13

The people had varying opinions and it caused them to fight.  They were encouraged to have no divisions and to be of the same mind and judgment.  Unity cannot be accomplished when opinions and speculation take precedence over God's word.  Consider one final passage with me.

But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. - 2 Timothy 2:23

This states the point I've been trying to express.  I believe that if we can put aside our preconceived notions and just study the Bible together we can accomplish a lot and gain the unity that God desires.

By the way, none of the three lines we drew were equal to a foot.  We spent the better part of the class considering those lines, debating about which was equal to a foot before I found a yard stick.  In the end, no good came of it (except for illustrating this point).  I could have pulled the yard stick out, given instructions on how to use it and had the two young men each draw a one foot line in less time.  There would have been no debating which line equaled a foot because they would have both been the same.  Just as we could have used the yard stick, I believe that if we rely on God's word we will often quickly get the surest measure.