Mike Focht 9/4/2026
It is very easy to get tired of hearing things we already know. Familiarity does breed contempt. Music, movies, stories, foods, and events can all get old if repeated. The same can happen with biblical truth. Faithful Christians will all face the test of becoming tired of hearing the very Word of God and growing weary of sound doctrine.
The typical process happens something like this: A person is born again. Their life is transformed, and they find a new hunger and thirst for the Word of God. At this point, they don’t know anything about the Bible. Everything is new. The books are new. The people are new. The places are new. Theological concepts and spiritual principles are all new. That newness is fresh, exciting, and rewarding. There is nothing wrong with this phase. It is just a reality that new believers are not struggling with familiarity because they are not familiar with anything!
Then what happens? A maturing believer begins to learn the books of the Bible. Names, places, and stories become familiar. Yet even here, there is usually still a good bit of learning happening. We missed a few details in the familiar story. We see new avenues that biblical storylines and spiritual truths connect. Theology becomes more familiar, more systematized, and though new, more comprehensible.
It is at this point that many believers face a real danger. A godly Bible teacher and preacher can remain faithful to the gospel and the Word of God, but everything they say holds less glow than before because we are already familiar with it. We know the story. We know the history. We know the relevant Bible passages, and we have our own opinions on the theology derived from them. We might even know the illustrations the pastor is likely to use or the commentaries he is getting his information from. We already know what our human teachers are teaching us. We are far from where we began when everything was new. We have reached a pivotal crossroad. What happens when we already know things?
A Christian who comes to this place in their maturity has two options. They can follow the desire to find something “new” or “fresh” to recapture the feeling of those early days when everything was new and learning seemed so vibrant. But the desire for novelty leads to heresy and conspiracy. People give up sound doctrine because of supposedly “new” understandings of the Hebrew or Greek original. They dive into unbiblical conspiracies because they “have never heard something like that before.” They leave the old paths which represent God’s good and right way for bypaths and bends that lead far from the old familiar truths of God. Some people give up clear biblical truth for unbiblical scholarship, science, experience, or heretical teaching simply because they are actually worshiping the idol of something “new.”
What would the Apostle Paul say to us? Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe (Philippians 3:1). Paul was not tempted to give people a “new word.” Paul knew that people needed the “right word.” Christians need the Word of God, even if they are simply being reminded about what they already know. Familiar truths are not tedious. Familiar truths are protective and life-giving. Or, as Jesus stated so beautifully: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4).
Mature Christians do not need “new” information to please God. What we most often need is the old information we are familiar with but have forgotten, don’t want to hear, have neglected, or need to be reinforced in our hearts and minds. If you are a mature Christian who is very familiar with the Word of God, next time you read your Bible, listen to a teaching, or sit in church and are fed the Scriptures, please don’t reject the truth of God because it is something you are familiar with! Besides, how many times do we have to tell our kids the same thing before they finally listen? God does the same with us.
When you come to the Word of God, quietly pray something like this: Lord, please give me Your Word today. The Word that you know I need to live. I want to live my life in a way that pleases You and bears fruit glorifying to Your name.
The truths of the Bible should remain the same. They are eternal. The application of the eternal truths to our lives is what changes from day to day.