Should There Be Things We Must Not Search for in the Bible?

Occasionally, someone will say, “There are certain things one should not question in the Bible.” On the surface, that can sound humble and reverent. It may be taken as a warning against pride, speculation, or irreverence. And to be certain, Scripture does warn against folly, mockery, and the proud handling of holy things. But that statement, if left unqualified, can be profoundly misleading. Why?  Because the Bible is consistent in calling us not away from the knowledge of God but to the pursuit of it.

The question is not whether we should seek knowledge. The question is how we seek it, why we seek it, and if we are willing to submit to what God reveals. Job asked profound and painful questions. He did not suffer in silence, nor was he condemned merely for desiring understanding. When God finally answered Job, He did not rebuke him for caring about truth itself. Rather, He confronted Job with the majesty, wisdom, and sovereignty that far exceeded human understanding. God’s response taught that questions are allowed. It taught that human questioning must eventually bow before divine wisdom. Job searched, asked, and wrestled, but eventually, he was brought to humility, awe, and submission. That is the pattern believers should follow. Not refusing to ask, but asking in a way that is prepared to be corrected by the greatness of God.

Hosea (6:3) makes a direct invitation: “Let us know; let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD.” That is not a passive posture. That’s not tentative language. It is not the language of escape. It's an active call. God’s people are called to know Him and to seek to know Him. If God Himself calls us to pursue His knowledge, then it cannot be intrinsically wrong to search the Scriptures deeply and carefully. Since my childhood, I have tried to mimic the people of Berea in that "they were more noble than those in Thessalonica in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so (Acts 17:11).  

This is driven home in Proverbs: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction (1:7). The Bible does not, in fact, paint knowledge as the enemy. Knowledge is not depicted as dangerous in itself. Knowledge, rather, starts in the right posture before God. The search isn't the problem. The problem is looking without the fear of the Lord, without humility, without a willingness to receive instruction. Proverbs teaches that fools reject wisdom and instruction, not the wise.

That truth becomes even more acute a few verses later: “How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For it is a pleasure to the scorners to scorn, and fools hate knowledge” (Proverbs 1:22). Scripture says that hatred of knowledge is not a sign of spirituality. That is a sign of foolishness. One must be very careful not to make statements that discourage believers from seriously searching out what God has said. When God describes hatred of knowledge as foolishness, the discouragement of biblical learning can unwittingly mirror the fool more than the faithful, as Proverbs suggests.

"Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD." Proverbs 1:29 continues in the same vein. Here, also, the rejection of knowledge is coupled with the rejection of the fear of the Lord. In other words, true reverence for God does not move one away from His truth. It brings a person into it. The fear of the Lord is not anti-intellectual. It is the proper spiritual basis for true understanding. Reverence does not close the Bible. Reverence opens it with trembling, sincerity, and submission.

We should also recall the value Scripture places on knowledge itself: “There is gold and a multitude of rubies, but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel” (Proverbs 20:15). Gold is a precious thing. Rubies are expensive. But godly knowledge is described as something more precious and beautiful. Why would we tell believers not to seek after what God calls a jewel? Why would we discourage the careful search for truth when Scripture sees knowledge as treasure?

To be fair, some people who say, “There are some things one should not search for in the Bible,” may be trying to guard against unhealthy motives. And in that narrow sense, there is a biblical concern worth preserving. We should not go to the Bible to twist Scripture, to justify sin, to feed pride, to win arguments, or to indulge in speculative fantasies divorced from faithful interpretation. The Bible denounces crooked hearts, not honest seeking. It condemns rebellion, not devout inquiry. It is not a warning about the pursuit of truth. It is a warning against the corrupt use of truth.

God has not revealed in Scripture any truth that His people should be afraid to search out, if they do it in humility and in the fear of the Lord and a willingness to obey. What He does not want us to know, He sealed it until another day (Daniel 8:26, 12:4; 2 Corinthians 12:4; Revelation 10:4). We don’t want to avoid deep searching, but arrogant searching. Not questioning. Irreverence. Not study. Pride.

The Bible does not call us to a lazy faith, a fearful faith, or a censored faith. It calls us to a godly faith. We should pursue a faith that seeks the knowledge of the Lord, that values wisdom and disdains the folly of despising knowledge. Christians should never look upon serious Bible study with suspicion. God has given His Word to be read, searched, meditated upon, and obeyed.

So when someone says, “There are some things one should not search out in the Bible,” the answer should be clear. We must never search Scripture with a rebellious heart, but we must never shrink back from searching out what God has revealed. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; fools and the jealous despise wisdom and instruction.