I Don’t Know

by Steve Higginbotham

When we’re looking for an answer to our spiritual questions, “I don’t know” doesn’t seem to be very helpful or satisfactory. However, for a people who are dedicated to “speaking where the Bible speaks and being silent where the Bible is silent,” sometimes “I don’t know,” is not only a good answer, but the Scriptural answer.

If we are going to speak the oracles of God (1 Peter 4:11) and avoid speculation and opinions that often lead to disagreements, we must realize there are many questions that must be answered with an “I don’t know” because God has not revealed the answer to us.

Consider for example:

What will our “incorruptible bodies” given to us in the resurrection be like? The Scriptural answer is, “I don’t know” (1 John 3:2). I do know that they won’t be like what was sown in the ground (1 Corinthians 15:35-50), but just exactly what they will be like? I don’t know.

Do you think Lazarus remembered anything from the other side of the grave? Do you think he could have talked to his sisters and others and told them of his experience? The Scriptural answer is, “I don’t know.” I do know that when Paul had a vision of Paradise, he heard things that were not lawful for a man to utter (2 Corinthians 12:4). However, was this the same for Lazarus? I don’t know.

More currently, some are asking if Hurricane Irma is a judgment of God. The Scriptural answer is, “I don’t know.” I do know that God has, in the past, used nature to accomplish his purposes (Genesis 6-7). But the only way I know that is because God revealed it. Could God use nature to accomplish his purpose today? Yes. Is that what he did with Hurricane Irma? I don’t know and neither does anyone else because we have no revelation from God on the matter.

The point of this article is simply to remind you that “I don’t know” is not necessarily a bad or insufficient answer. In fact, “I don’t know” sometimes is the only truthful and Scriptural answer that can be given and we need to be content with it. A biblical “I don’t know” is much preferred over an extra-biblical opinion.