Can a non-believer interpret God's Word accurately?

Based on the Word of God, e.g., Matthew 13: 10-16, a non-believer cannot consistently interpret the Scripture accurately. After Jesus had told the parable of the sower to large crowds (Matthew 13:2), His disciples asked Him why did He speak to those crowds in parables. Here is the passage from the NASB version:

¹⁰ And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” ¹¹ Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. ¹² For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. ¹³ Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. ¹⁴ In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand;
You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;
¹⁵ For the heart of this people has become dull,
With their ears they scarcely hear,
And they have closed their eyes,
Otherwise they would see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart and return,
And I would heal them.’

¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.

Spiritual things are discerned spiritually. They do not make sense to unregenerated people. They need first to be born again (John 3:3,7). Without the new birth, they cannot understand the deep things of God in His Holy Scripture. The Lord Jesus let His disciples know that only those who believe in Him (are His disciples) will be able to discern His sayings. 

Sometimes, it may not be worth (in terms of energy, time, and resources) debating with atheists/agnostics when they are not on the same wavelength to begin with, e.g. Creation v/s Evolution (among others) debates. Unless the Holy Spirit of God makes a breakthrough Himself, the best sound intellectual argument would not change their pre-set minds. Repentance comes only through the power of the convicting Holy Spirit, not the flesh.

Double negatives in Greek!

I John 1:5

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. NKJV

Kai e;stin au[th h` avggeli,a h[n avkhko,amen avp v auvtou/ kai. avnagge,llomen u`mi/n( o[ti o` qeo.j fw/j evstin kai. skoti,a evn auvtw/ ouvk e;stin ouvdemi,a)

If we were to translate the bold original Greek phrase to English in a literalistic manner, what would it be?

It would be : "And darkness in him not is there none at all".

This sounds weird to our ears but it reveals the emphatic character of the two negatives ouvk

and ouvdemi,a

In English, if we say: " It is not untrue", it means that "it is true". the two negatives cancel out each other. In Math also, when you say 5 - - 3, it becomes 5 + 3 which is = 8. But, in Greek, this is not the case. When we have a double negative, ouvk and ouvdemi, a, they do not cancel out each other. On the contrary, they reinforce each other making the NO even more emphatic and definite or categorical and absolute. It shows the very strong conviction of Apostle John that in Our God, there is no darkness at all, absolutely none. In this verse, Apostle John is emphasizing most strongly that God is Light in such a way that NO DARKNESS can He admit in His presence.

So, brothers and sisters, we must abhor and avoid sin (which is darkness) in all its forms so that we can stay in God's presence and enjoy His blessings. If we sin continually, that is, if we live in darkness, Our God would not admit us in His Fellowship. He is Light and in Him is no darkness at all. Amen.

How to live the victorious Resurrection life

What is the Victorious Resurrection Life?

The victorious Resurrection Life is the life that is Christlike, that is one that pleases God, honors God, and glorifies God. It is a life that does not enjoy sinning but enjoys in righteous living. It is a life that is always bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit-love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). It is a life that is characterized by love for God and others (Matthew 7:12; 22:36-40; John 13:34-35: 15:12, 17). Furthermore, it is also a life that is characterized with obedience to the Great Commission of making disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8)

How to live the victorious Resurrection Life?

A person is nothing and can do nothing without their Creator, the Lord God in Christ Jesus (Psalm 39:5, 11: James 4:14; John 15:5). The very first condition to live the victorious Resurrection Life is to abide in Christ (John 15:4-9). How to abide in Christ? It is by keeping His commandments (John 15:10). What are Jesus’ commandments? They can be summed up in 

(i) The Golden Rule of doing unto others as we want them do unto us.

¹² “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 7:12 NASB.

(ii) The Greatest Commandment of loving God and others.

³⁷ And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the great and foremost commandment. ³⁹ The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40 NASB

(iii) The New Commandment of loving one another unto death.

³⁴ A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. ³⁵ By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John: 13:34-35 NASB

¹² “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. John 15:12 NASB

¹⁷ This I command you, that you love one another. John 15:17 NASB and 

(iv) The Great Commission of making disciples of all nations.

¹⁸ And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 NASB

¹⁵ And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Mark 16:15 NASB

⁸ but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Acts 1:8 NASB

To live the victorious Resurrection life is to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and obey His commandments of love. To enable one to obey God’s commandments, one needs to be filled with the Holy Spirit through a consistent daily quiet time in prayer and Bible Study. 

In conclusion, a victorious Resurrection life will surely bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit and the fruit of saved souls and new disciples. What a blessed life!