Catholicism boasts that over the course of her religious calendar, parishioners hear much of the Bible read to them. In making this claim, the Church asserts that she is more biblically grounded than Protestantism. But the claim is misleading. Hearing the Bible read is only a first step in understanding the Scripture.
In Acts 8:26-40, we read the story of the Ethiopian eunuch. This high official of Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians, was a Gentile convert to Judaism. This man was returning home after a long voyage to Jerusalem to worship at the temple.
The deacon Philip was directed by the Holy Spirit to intercept the official, who was sitting in his chariot studying the Book of Isaiah. Philip heard him reading aloud from Isaiah 53 and asked him if he understood what he was reading. The man said, “How can I unless someone guides me?”
Immediately, Philip began explaining how this passage concerned the “good news about Jesus.” Philip’s help continued as the two men rode together in the chariot. At some point, the Ethiopian became so convinced about who Jesus was that he asked to be baptized. After stopping at a place with sufficient water, he was baptized. The Scripture says, “When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing.”
The Ethiopian eunuch actively studied the Scriptures on his own, far from any temple, synagogue, or rabbi. In his study, he came to a passage he didn’t understand. But God had already commissioned a missionary teacher to help him.
God’s plan for understanding the Bible is made clear in the story of the eunuch. Israel had possession of the oracles of God, what we know as the Old Testament. Copies were available across the land, in synagogues, schools, and perhaps even homes.
These Scriptures, as with all kinds of literature, could be either understood or misunderstood, depending on the hearts of those reading or hearing the Word. Priests and teachers of the law were not immune from misinterpreting the teachings of the Scriptures. In fact, Jesus often told his antagonists among the religious leaders that they were wrong about what the Scriptures meant.
Jesus did not depend on tradition or any other human authority for His teachings. His view was that the simple statement “It is written” is sufficient to distinguish truth from error. When Jesus disputed with Satan during the temptation, He used this exact method.
Satan quoted Scripture back to Jesus, and again, Jesus quoted Scripture to show that Satan was misinterpreting God’s Word. Jesus taught that Scripture cannot be used against itself—that is, “the Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). The Scriptures agree when each part of Scripture is given its proper place, weight, and explanatory power.
Readers need two things to understand Bible truth—they have to ask for truth (see Matt. 7:7) and have to have an intense desire to do the will of God (see John 7:17). Jesus lamented that His disciples were unable to understand all that He wanted to teach them. He promised, “However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). These points indicate that truth develops and grows in a person when that person is willing and able to receive it.
Catholicism may use readings from the Bible in her services, but the Church does not concern herself with what a particular passage actually means or how individual Catholics react to certain passages. If a Catholic doesn’t understand a portion of Scripture, such lack of knowledge is irrelevant since no individual has the right to interpret. The individual’s role is to simply believe no matter the mental cost brought about by cognitive dissonance.
Interpretation is a vital human endeavor involving the whole person—mind, body, and spirit. Truth in the soul creates joy, thanksgiving, and righteousness, not cognitive stress.
Merely hearing without personal understanding is useless. Scripture received without understanding is mere noise. Hearers of noise are not changed for the better. Noise is random, meaningless sound—the clanging of a cymbal, as it were. Paul wrote, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a ringing gong or a clanging cymbal” (I Cor. 13:1).
The Catholic Church has reserved interpretation for herself, meaning the interpretation that has come down through the centuries as Tradition. Tradition means, this is what we have believed for a long time, even if it makes no sense, can’t be explained, or is ridiculous, cruel, and harmful. The Church does not share the Word out of love, but out of a desire for dominance and control of the mind.
Truth is light and knowledge. The Church does not teach truth, then, even when its teachings are actually true! This paradox occurs because even the truths taught by the Church are presented as dogmatic, must-believe statements. Many fine Christian people in the Catholic faith believe because the Church demands belief.
Jesus did not teach the way the Roman Church teaches. Instead, He sought every method of persuasion to convince His hearers to accept the truth, to understand for themselves. He wanted His hearers to be changed, to be revived. He wanted his listeners to develop authentic love and compassion. Jesus led his hearers toward spiritual worship, not fulfillment of ritualistic requirements.
It is vital in these final days for you to understand and love biblical truth for yourself. But how to do that?
Here’s a key first principle: know that the Bible is rooted in historical events and reality. The Bible is not merely a philosophical treatise with a theory of salvation. It is a story created over some 1500 years by many different authors of settled prophetic authority who lived through historical events that can be substantiated by evidence.
The events recorded in the Bible occurred in places we can visit today! We are not asked to believe the Bible in blind faith. Historians, scientists, and archaeologists have demonstrated that many of the persons we read about in the Bible lived at the times recorded, in real ancient societies and cultures. The Bible contains many details that are not part of the historical record, of course, but sufficient evidence exists to give us great confidence in the Word.
The Bible has an amazing consistency for a book compiled over hundreds of years. Careful study shows that the Bibles we have today are extremely accurate versions of the original writings. More manuscripts exist for the Bible than any other ancient writing. For instance, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls shows that the Old Testament we have today is nearly identical to manuscripts that existed around the time of Christ.
The New Testament is based on thousands of complete or partial copies that scholars have access to. This is far more than copies of other documents that establish the reality of all sorts of historical events we accept as real without question. You can have confidence that the Bible you use is about as close to the original manuscripts as you could reasonably want. The world’s problem is not the accuracy of the Bible, but the lack of study of the Bible!
You should approach the Bible with confidence, then follow this simple plan—believe that since the Bible was inspired by God, it can be fully understood with God’s help. After this foundation, accept as true any teaching or doctrine that bears the support of the entire Bible. Think of biblical truth as a very large puzzle. Puzzles are made of hundreds or thousands of different pieces with individual shapes that when placed properly create a complete picture.
Consider a doctrine, such as on the divinity of Christ. Was Jesus the man also God of the Universe? I believe that the answer is yes, but I can read various texts that seem to suggest otherwise. Taken in isolation, those texts could lead me to reject Jesus as God. But I don’t read the Bible that way! I look from Genesis to Revelation for evidence of the nature of Christ.
If I am honestly seeking truth as for treasure, I can be assured that the Holy Spirit will lead me to discover truth. If I find myself accepting a “truth” merely because some authority figure says it’s so, I have fallen off the path to truth!
In fact, you must be willing to reject any doctrine not supported by the Bible, no matter the source of that teaching. Truth exists outside of our doubts, opinions, and feelings. Humans can’t change truth by denying it. This is why Jesus says, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 7:31-32).
I may think I can fly by flapping my arms, but thinking so will not set me free to jump off a building without dire consequences. In the last days, knowing the truth will be more than simply important. Knowing the truth will save your life!
The end of the age will involve many terrible physical phenomena, but the greatest threat to the world will be deception. And nothing you or I can do will protect us from deception other than a deep experience with the Word of God.
Paul’s counsel in the Book of Ephesians will secure our salvation. He writes, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes.” Every part of the armor of God originates in the concept of biblical truth—the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of readiness to share, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (see Eph. 6:13-17).
Our own wisdom will prove helpless in the onslaught of “the spiritual forces of evil” (Eph. 6:12).
Jesus invites you to come out of Babylon to avoid her destruction (Rev. 18:4). He is determined to save each one of us no matter who we are. Determine today to open the door of your heart to His saving grace.
