"I have the Holy Spirit and a Bible. Why do I need a church to tell me what it means?" It's a sincere question. Scripture answers it.
Short answer: Every Christian should read the Bible, and the Catholic Church urges it. But no Christian is its final judge on his own. Scripture says "there is no prophecy of scripture that is a matter of personal interpretation" (2 Peter 1:20), and it warns that some parts are "hard to understand" and get twisted (2 Peter 3:16). Christ gave His Church teachers to guard the true sense.
Key verses on interpreting Scripture
- "there is no prophecy of scripture that is a matter of personal interpretation" (2 Peter 1:20)
- "some things hard to understand that the ignorant and unstable distort to their own destruction" (2 Peter 3:16)
- "How can I, unless someone instructs me?" (Acts 8:31)
- "Ezra read clearly from the book of the law of God, interpreting it so that all could understand what was read." (Nehemiah 8:8)
- "the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth" (1 Timothy 3:15)
Scripture quotations are from the New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE), © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
What Catholics Actually Teach
The Church wants Catholics reading the Bible. She "forcefully and specifically exhorts all the Christian faithful... to learn the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ, by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures." She adds, with St. Jerome: "Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ" (CCC 133). In her words, "access to Sacred Scripture ought to be open wide to the Christian faithful" (CCC 131).
But the final word on Scripture's meaning belongs to the Church's teaching office. "The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone" (CCC 85), "that is, to the Pope and to the bishops in communion with him" (CCC 100). Each reader is told to "Read the Scripture within 'the living Tradition of the whole Church'" (CCC 113).
What Catholics do not teach:
- That laypeople shouldn't read the Bible. The Church teaches the opposite (CCC 133).
- That every verse has an official reading you must look up. Scholars work freely "towards a better understanding and explanation of the meaning of Sacred Scripture," with the Church as the final judge (CCC 119).
- That the Church is above the Bible. The Magisterium "is not superior to the Word of God, but is its servant. It teaches only what has been handed on to it" (CCC 86).
The Biblical Case
1. Scripture is not a matter of personal interpretation
St. Peter writes: "Know this first of all, that there is no prophecy of scripture that is a matter of personal interpretation, for no prophecy ever came through human will; but rather human beings moved by the holy Spirit spoke under the influence of God" (2 Peter 1:20–21). Scripture came from the Holy Spirit, so its meaning is not the private property of any reader.
2. Some passages are hard, and the stakes are high
St. Peter says St. Paul's letters contain "some things hard to understand that the ignorant and unstable distort to their own destruction, just as they do the other scriptures" (2 Peter 3:16). He warns: "be on your guard not to be led into the error of the unprincipled" (2 Peter 3:17). Readers can get Scripture wrong, and it matters.
3. "How can I, unless someone instructs me?"
The Ethiopian official was devout and reading Isaiah. St. Philip asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" He answered, "How can I, unless someone instructs me?" (Acts 8:30–31). Then, "beginning with this scripture passage, he proclaimed Jesus to him" (Acts 8:35).
4. God's people always had authorized interpreters
When Ezra read the law to Israel, the Levites "explained the law to the people," and Ezra read "interpreting it so that all could understand what was read" (Nehemiah 8:7–8).
5. Christ gave His Church teachers and a final court
Christ gave "pastors and teachers" so "that we may no longer be infants, tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching" (Ephesians 4:11–14). When the first Christians disagreed about circumcision, no one settled it with his own Bible. "The apostles and the presbyters met together to see about this matter" (Acts 15:6). Their letter said, "It is the decision of the holy Spirit and of us" (Acts 15:28), and the churches were given "the decisions reached by the apostles and presbyters in Jerusalem" (Acts 16:4). That is why St. Paul calls the Church "the pillar and foundation of truth" (1 Timothy 3:15). We explain that verse in Is the Church the Pillar and Foundation of Truth?
6. Christ wants one faith, not many
Jesus prayed "that they may all be one... that the world may believe that you sent me" (John 17:21). St. Paul urged "that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you" (1 Corinthians 1:10). Yet sincere Bible readers still disagree on baptism, the Eucharist, and salvation. Sincerity alone does not produce unity.
Objections Answered
(a) "The Bereans checked everything against Scripture."
At its strongest: St. Luke praises the Bereans, who "examined the scriptures daily to determine whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11). Many Protestants see the pattern here: every believer tests all teaching by the Bible.
Answer: Catholics agree: search the Scriptures. But the Bereans "received the word with all willingness" (Acts 17:11) from St. Paul, a living apostle, and checked his preaching against the Old Testament. They did not end up with a private reading. And the same St. Paul told believers to "hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours" (2 Thessalonians 2:15).
(b) "1 John 2:27 says I don't need anyone to teach me."
At its strongest: St. John writes, "the anointing that you received from him remains in you, so that you do not need anyone to teach you" (1 John 2:27). Jesus promised that the Spirit "will guide you to all truth" (John 16:13). So the Spirit, not an institution, teaches each believer.
Answer: St. John is teaching the very people he says need no teacher. He explains why: "I write you these things about those who would deceive you" (1 John 2:26). They need no new teachers to replace what they first received: "just as it taught you, remain in him." And John 16:13 was spoken to the apostles at the Last Supper. The Spirit guides believers through the teachers Christ sent: "Whoever listens to you listens to me" (Luke 10:16). That is why the faithful receive "with docility the teachings and directives that their pastors give them in different forms" (CCC 87).
(c) "The Bible is clear. Plain readers can understand it."
At its strongest: The psalmist says, "The revelation of your words sheds light, gives understanding to the simple" (Psalm 119:130). God speaks to ordinary people, and the main things are plain to anyone who reads with faith.
Answer: Much of Scripture is plain, and the Church wants every Catholic reading it (CCC 133). But Scripture never claims every passage is plain to every reader. It says the opposite: some things are "hard to understand" (2 Peter 3:16). Even the apostles needed the risen Lord: "Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures" (Luke 24:45). And history presses the point. Sincere Christians who hold that Scripture is clear still divide over baptism, the Eucharist, and how we are saved, the very things Christ commanded. A clarity that cannot produce one faith is not the unity Christ prayed for (John 17:21).
The Early Church Agrees
- St. Irenaeus of Lyons (Against Heresies, c. AD 180) saw private interpretation in action. The Valentinian Gnostics quoted Scripture freely, but "they disregard the order and the connection of the Scriptures, and so far as in them lies, dismember and destroy the truth." He compares them to a man who takes a jeweled image of a king and "should rearrange the gems, and so fit them together as to make them into the form of a dog or of a fox" (I.8.1). His remedy: "it is not necessary to seek the truth among others which it is easy to obtain from the Church; since the apostles... lodged in her hands most copiously all things pertaining to the truth" (III.4.1).
- Tertullian (Prescription Against Heretics, c. AD 200, before his break with the Church) refused to let heretics turn Scripture into a private battleground: "Our appeal, therefore, must not be made to the Scriptures; nor must controversy be admitted on points in which victory will either be impossible, or uncertain, or not certain enough." The first question is "With whom lies that very faith to which the Scriptures belong" (ch. 19).
- St. Vincent of Lérins (Commonitory 2, c. AD 434) explained why the Church must interpret: "owing to the depth of Holy Scripture, all do not accept it in one and the same sense, but one understands its words in one way, another in another; so that it seems to be capable of as many interpretations as there are interpreters" (ch. 2).
- St. Augustine of Hippo (Against the Fundamental Epistle of Manichaeus 5, c. AD 397): "I should not believe the gospel except as moved by the authority of the Catholic Church" (ch. 5).
Conclusion
Read your Bible daily. The Church begs you to. "Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path" (Psalm 119:105).
But read it the way the Ethiopian did: humble enough to ask, "How can I, unless someone instructs me?" Christ gave us the book and a Church to teach it, led by the successors of the apostles (see Is the Papacy Biblical?).
Come home. The Bible was never meant to be read in isolation from the Church that received it; Christ entrusted it to the Catholic Church, whose teaching office still guards its true meaning. Christ did not found many churches. He founded one, on St. Peter and the apostles (Matthew 16:18), and that Church is the Catholic Church. "It is through Christ's Catholic Church alone, which is the universal help toward salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained" (CCC 816). If you are a baptized Christian, you already share "a certain, although imperfect, communion" with her (CCC 838). Every truth you already hold is a call to the rest of the way. Christ is calling you into the Catholic Church.
Your next step: Come to Mass this Sunday at your local Catholic church. You can find one near you at MassTimes.org. Everyone is welcome; if you're not yet Catholic, pray with us but don't receive Communion yet. When you're ready to become Catholic, call the parish office and ask about OCIA, the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults. They will walk you through every step. Read our guide: How Do I Become Catholic? Not ready yet? Get our free pocket guide below and keep learning.
FAQ
Are Catholics allowed to read the Bible on their own? Yes, and urged to. The Church "forcefully and specifically exhorts all the Christian faithful" to read the Scriptures often (CCC 133).
Who has the authority to interpret Scripture? "The task of interpreting the Word of God authentically has been entrusted solely to the Magisterium of the Church" (CCC 100), which serves the Word (CCC 86).
Doesn't the Holy Spirit guide every believer? Yes, through Scripture, prayer, and the teachers Christ sent (Ephesians 4:11–14). He never contradicts Himself.
Sources
Scripture (NABRE, bible.usccb.org): Nehemiah 8:7–8; Psalm 119:105, 130; Matthew 16:18; Luke 10:16; Luke 24:45; John 16:13; John 17:21; Acts 8:30–35; Acts 15:6, 28; Acts 16:4; Acts 17:11; 1 Corinthians 1:10; Ephesians 4:11–14; 2 Thessalonians 2:15; 1 Timothy 3:15; 2 Peter 1:20–21; 2 Peter 3:15–17; 1 John 2:26–27.
Catechism of the Catholic Church (vatican.va): 85, 86, 87; 100; 113, 119; 131, 133; 816, 838.
Church Fathers (newadvent.org): Irenaeus, Against Heresies I.8.1 and III.4.1 (ANF vol. 1); Tertullian, Prescription Against Heretics 19 (ANF vol. 3); Vincent of Lérins, Commonitory 2 (NPNF2 vol. 11); Augustine, Against the Fundamental Epistle of Manichaeus 5 (NPNF1 vol. 4).