Why Does Clarity Matter?
While much more could be said about the clarity of Scripture, much has already been said. So we’ll move on to the significance of this doctrine. As with much theology, we are tempted to view the clarity of Scripture as true, but not essentially important for the Christian life. Yet I believe that much is lost if we reject or neglect this concept. What follows are six things affected by our belief in the clarity of Scripture.
Our confidence in the saving power of the Bible.
Is the Bible enough to save us? Clarity says it is. If the Bible is clear, it is able to lead men to salvation, even without another Christian there to explain it. No powerful evangelist, no articulate apologist, no great theologian is necessary to explain the gospel. The Spirit needs no tool but His own Word to save souls.
This belief compels Gideons International that just a Bible in a hotel room is enough to lead men to salvation. The lost soul needs nothing more than the clear Word to understand and receive salvation through the gospel.
Our understanding of who the Bible is for.
Believing that the Bible is clear also leads us to believe that the Word is intended for all mankind. If God only wanted to save a certain sect, a certain gender, a certain class, He would have obscured the truth so that only the brilliant or the privileged could find Him through it. But the gospel is not available to only a privileged few. “God so loved the world.” A clear Word means good news to all men, not to some men. It means God wants to save more than just the wise, noble, or mighty, but He wants to save any who are willing to place their faith in Him. The nature of the Word is such that everyone who desires to know God may find Him and believe.
In fact, the apostle Paul goes even further 1 Corinthians, saying not only that the gospel is for everyone, but that it is especially for those who are not wise, mighty, or noble:
For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence (1 Cor. 1:26-29).
Paul makes clear here that God’s kingdom is not filled with the elites. God did not choose His children according to human standards. Not many of the chosen have a superior intellect or abundant life experience (wise). Not many are physically impressive (mighty). Not many are of high social rank (noble). Rather, God has chosen those who are weak, base (simple, unimpressive), and despised.
In fact, it seems He is especially knowable to those whose spiritual vision is not clouded by worldly wisdom—by philosophies, psychologies, and theories—but who instead exercise simple faith in the gospel. God glories in saving the ignoble, the unimpressive, the common man, so that our boast is not in ourselves, but in God.
As we think about the Bible, God’s revelation to His people, we understand that His Word is composed so these same simple people can understand it. God is not knowable to only some men; He is knowable to all who read His Word in faith. The Bible is for the common man, and God has written it so that even that man can easily understand it.
Our understanding of the church.
We usually take for granted that there’s only one class of Christian in the church. But that hasn’t always been the case. At times in church history, the church was split down the middle between the clergy and the laymen. The clergy were the spiritual elites, the informed, the only ones able to rightly understand the Bible. The laymen, on the other hand, were not considered capable of understanding Scripture properly. There were those to whom Scripture was clear, and those to whom it wasn’t. Only some Christians (it was thought) were able to rightly understand the Bible, a belief paved the way for many destructive ideas.
The rejection of Scripture’s clarity distances the ordinary believer from true doctrine, limiting true knowledge of God and true relationship with Him. Again, what we believe about the Bible is vitally important. Believing that the Bible is clear, not cryptic, invites every believer into deeper relationship with God.
Our preference for expository preaching.
The clarity of Scripture also shapes how we view preaching. Preaching, as a Word centered activity, should be patterned after the Word. It should mimic the purpose of the Word—to make God known to man. And that is best done through preaching that simply, clearly reveals the truth. The Bible does have depth and a certain level of complexity, yet, as we’ve already discussed, regular people with regular means are able to understand it without fancy tools or extensive education. Preaching, likewise, should be understandable to the common man. Since the Bible is clear, preaching should be clear. It must be simple and accessible to everyone. It must reveal God to man and draw men to God.
Scripture is about revealing God. What does that revelation include? It includes telling us about God’s holiness, telling us about our own lack of holiness, telling us about how we can be declared holy through Christ atoning sacrifice, and telling us about how we can be made holy through the Spirit’s sanctifying work. Or, more succinctly, it tells us how to be saved and how to live. In light of that, preaching should also enable the salvation and sanctification of those who hear it. Preaching takes the clear Word, explains it more fully, and applies it more specifically to believers’ lives.
Preaching is at its best when it models the clarity exemplified in the Word itself. In fact, all biblical preaching includes the clarification of Biblical truth. This is why expositional preaching is so vital to church life. Exposition is exposing the truth, uncovering it, laying it bare for all to see, understand, receive, believe, and obey. Exposition is the clear explanation and clear application of God’s clear Word.
Our discussions concerning Christian belief and practice.
Clarity changes our conversation with other believers concerning what we should believe and how we should live. Since the Word is clear, we don’t have freedom to make it say whatever we wish it to, since it definitively communicates some things as true and others as false. And, while we may disagree on finer points of doctrine, the central tenets of Christianity are not so flexible. So we can expect that we will agree with other believers on those major truths, even if we disagree on others.
For example, I may carry a different view of sin and depravity than my Christian brother does, or a different understanding of the atonement. Yet we both believe that sin separates us from God, and Christ reconciles us to Him, since those are clearly laid out in Scripture. And, as Galatians 1 tells us, those who deny these truths are not Christians and must be cut off from the Church. Those fundamental truths are clear in Scripture.
On the flip side, the clarity of Scripture opens the door for us to help each other along our Christian journeys as we examine the clear Word together. If I am convinced that the Bible teaches total depravity or penal substitutionary atonement, I am able to explain what I believe Scripture teaches, understanding that what the Bible teaches can be correctly understood. And my differing brother is free to do the same. We may not fully agree on what the Bible teaches, but we can be agreed that it does clearly teach something, and we can pursue the correct understanding together.
Our understanding of what God is like.
Lastly, what we believe about the clarity of Scripture shapes our view of God’s character. What kind of God do we serve? God’s self-revelation in the Bible tells us that He is a pursuing God. He wants us to know Him. And the Word does not mask the truth in mysteries, but plainly teaches us about God. Since the Bible is clear, we understand that God wants us to know Him truly. He wants us to understand His character: His holiness, perfection, and love.
God’s intention for His people is not that they wander in optimistic obscurity, but in full assurance, in settled confidence. God intends us to know exactly who He is, so He has revealed His character in the Bible. He intends us to understand the gospel and be saved, so He has plainly shown us the way of salvation. And He intends us to obey Him, so He has revealed His will for our lives in that same Word. Clarity tells us that God is good and gracious, a forgiving, pursuing, loving God. He can be known, we need only exercise faith and believe His clear Word.