Direct Answer
Hooker's picture shows a God who is patient with His people and wants to help them understand. We can study carefully without fearing that one mistaken idea will turn God against us.
Support from the Message
- Hooker wrote that God is a courteous tutor, ready to amend what we say in error through weakness or ignorance and to make the most of what we say correctly. - A sophist here means someone who argues over minute details, and God is described as the opposite of that. - David Bercot says this quotation fits the spirit of the early Christians, who would say, in effect, let me help you see this more correctly. - He adds that God can overlook a wrong statement because He cares about how you live. - He also warns that this gives no permission to be loose in our theology.
Discussion Follow-up
When you notice an error in your own understanding, do you expect God to correct you like a tutor or to catch you like an accuser? How does your answer affect the way you treat others?