The Holy Bible

Interpretation of Scripture

Some are of the belief that Scripture alone is the only standard of faith (i.e. “Sola Scriptura”). This concept was never embraced as a doctrine of the Early Church, and was actually an innovation of the Protestant Reformation nearly 1,500 years later. The Holy Orthodox Church rejects this idea as unscriptural and dangerous. In Acts 8, Luke recounts the story of the Ethiopian eunuch who was reading the book of Isaiah when the Apostle Phillip approached him and asked: “Do you understand what you are reading?” The Eunuch replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” The Apostle then sat beside him and explained that the scripture he was reading foretold of Jesus (verse 35). The Church carries on the sacred responsibility of passing down the correct teaching of scripture as handed down by our apostolic fathers.

The Church that gave us the Bible is the only one with the authority to accurately interpret it. The Apostle Paul exhorts Timothy to “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15). Wrongly interpreting Scripture causes great harm. There are those who take a 100% literal approach to interpreting Scripture without understanding the proper context, bringing upon themselves serious problems. For example, there are some religious groups who practice snake handling in their religious services, misapplying the promise of Christ: “they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them.” (Mark 16:18). This verse was not a license to tempt God by deliberately reaching out for snakes. Similarly, Jesus’ statement recorded in Matthew 5:29: “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you…” in no way was a command for self-mutilation. The Church correctly understood that Jesus often used figurative language, including hyperbole, to drive home an important message. In this case, the emphasis was in earnestly avoiding lust, so as to live a life worthy of God’s Kingdom. Conversely, those who advocate for “Sola Scriptura” fail to accept Jesus’ clear teaching on the Eucharist being His Body and Blood, and that “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.” (John 6:56). Also, they reject the explicit authority Jesus gave the Church to forgive or retain sins in His name: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” (John 20:23)

If “Sola Scriptura” were the standard of faith, there would be no need for instruction through sermons or bible study, there would be no need for sacraments like baptism or marriage, and there would be no need for pastoral counseling, pastors or churches. The effects of this erroneous doctrine are evident, with thousands of Christian denominations holding different beliefs and practices, leaving the masses of Christian believers confused as to the truth on important matters, such as the nature of God, Jesus, the Church, death, salvation, etc. Scripture should not be of any private interpretation (2 Peter 1:20). The Apostle Peter addresses the difficulties by the unguided in understanding some of the Apostle Paul’s sacred writings: “…as also in all his [Paul’s] epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.” (2 Peter 3:16). When the Early Church had dissent on how to receive Gentile converts to the Church, they did not address it through “Sola Scriptura,” but rather convened the Apostles and elders in Jerusalem, where they were led by the Holy Spirit to resolve this dilemma (Acts 15). Jesus established His Holy Church as the “pillar and ground of truth” (1 Timothy 3:16) to teach and guide us in the proper understanding of Holy Scripture, so that the man of God may be fully equipped for every good work, and walk on the correct path that leads to eternal life (2 Timothy 3:17).