Interpretation Matters Series, Part 9^[1]

What’s the best resource to help you understand the Bible? Some ministries, like bestcommentaries.com, dedicate themselves to rating and ranking Bible study resources. While these tools can be helpful, the best commentary on the Bible is the Bible itself!

Christ has gifted his church with pastors and teachers who help us understand the Bible (Ephesians 4:11-12). At root, those teachers should use the Bible to explain the Bible. The Bible itself is our only God-given commentary on God’s Word. It’s our supreme authority for faith and practice, so any teaching or tradition that runs counter to the Bible is wrong.

God has also blessed us with the Holy Spirit, who illumines us and enables us to understand the Bible properly (1 Corinthians 2). One of the main ways he does this is through the Bible itself. The Holy Spirit inspired the Bible (2 Peter 1:20-21), and through that same Bible he gives light and understanding (Psalm 19:7; 119:130), which enables us to understand the Bible further.

What does it look like to interpret Bible with Bible, then?

Interpret Unclear Bible with Clear Bible

A classic example of this is James 2:14-26, in which James says, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can such faith save him?” (14). He even states that Abraham and Rahab were “justified by works” (21, 25) and that “a person is justified by works and not by faith alone” (24).

Statements like those might make a Protestant like me sweat, because I firmly believe the Bible teaches that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. After all, Paul says, “We know that a person is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16; also see Romans 3:21-26 and Ephesians 2:8-10).

Other passages harmonize these ideas by teaching that true saving faith will produce certain fruits in the believer’s life, like good works. As Jesus said, “If you continue in my word, you really are my disciples…. If God were your Father, you would love me…. The one who is from God listens to God’s words…. Truly I tell you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death” (John 8:31, 42, 47, 51; also see Matthew 7:13-27; John 15:14-17). Even Paul taught that free grace, received by faith alone in Christ alone, produces good works in the believer (Romans 6; Ephesians 2:10; Titus 2:11-14).

Paul and James weren’t fighting each other; they were fighting different misunderstandings of salvation. Paul fought the idea that we must perform works to be saved, and he answered with the truth that we are saved by faith alone. James fought the idea that works play no part in the Christian life, and he answered with the truth that saving faith produces good works. Paul answered the question “What must I do to be saved?” James answered the question “What kind of faith saves?”

When you compare an unclear passage with the breadth of biblical teaching on that same topic, the meaning becomes clearer. This won’t solve every biblical conundrum you encounter, but it’s the best place to start. In this case, it’s clear that we’re saved by faith alone, but if a person’s faith doesn’t produce any fruit, then, as James says, that faith is dead (2:17, 26). Good works don’t create our calling and election; they confirm them as necessary evidence of our salvation (2 Peter 1:8-11). John Calvin, one of the greatest theologians of the Protestant Reformation, said it well, “It is therefore faith alone which justifies, and yet the faith which justifies is not alone” (Antidote to the Council of Trent, Canon 11).

Interpret Small Bible with Large Bible

Interpreting Bible with Bible also means connecting smaller passages to their broader context. Think about the verses around a particular passage, then the rest of the chapter it’s in, and then the rest of the book it’s in. Consider whether a passage is in the Old or New Testament and how that impacts its relationship to you.

The largest layer of context to consider is the Bible’s overall story. The Bible tells one, unified story of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and New Creation. You can take an individual passage and see how it connects to the Bible’s story, or you can trace a theme from Creation to New Creation.

For example, what’s the real root problem with the world and people? Poverty? Lack of education? Misguided politics? Insufficient self-love?

The biblical story tells us that sin is the root problem of every other problem. God created the world sin-free and perfect, but Satan and mankind ruined creation through sin. However, in his great love, God sent his Son to redeem the world from sin, and Jesus is the only one who can save you from sin and its consequences. Someday, Jesus will create a New Creation that is better than the first because it won’t even have the possibility of sin. Only the biblical story shows us the real problem with the world, offers the true solution, and gives us a sure hope.

Considering the Bible’s overall story also helps us see that everything is about Jesus (Luke 24:25-27; John 5:38-40, 46-47; 2 Corinthians 3:18). He is the Creator God. He is the antithesis of everything about the Fall, and he’s the Second Adam who never sinned. He is the Redeemer who conquered Satan, sin, and death through his own death and resurrection. He is the King of kings who will return someday to make all things new under his reign in the New Creation.

Interpreting the Bible according to its Christ-centered storyline guards us from interpretations inconsistent with that storyline. The Bible is not a self-serving guidebook to make life easy. It’s not a tool for advancing a political agenda. It’s not a moralistic rulebook with a bunch of “dos” and “don’ts”  that you try to follow in your own strength.

The Bible is a revelation from the greatest Person about the great Person, given so that you can personally know that Person. Keep your eyes on Jesus, and interpret the Bible with the Bible.

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[1] This principle is traditionally phrased as “interpret Scripture with Scripture.” I call it “Bible with Bible” for two reasons. 1) Some people believe that some writings outside the Bible are Scripture. In reality, the Bible’s sixty-six books are our only Scriptures because only they were given by God. For the sake of clarity, I’ve just used the term “Bible.” 2) Although a biblical term, “Scripture” is something of a “Christianese” term that means “sacred writing,” and some might not know that. However, (basically) everyone knows what the Bible is.