“[They] searched the Scriptures daily.” Acts 17:11

When God reveals Himself through creation or the Bible, are His disclosures clear enough so everyone has a fair opportunity to learn of Him? In other words, does someone need a Ph.D. in science to clearly see His workmanship throughout nature, or can it be plainly understood by anyone (Romans 1:19–20)? Can the average person understand the Bible by reading it without a theology degree? Are the Bible’s words in the original languages comprehensible in and of themselves so that they can be accurately translated to different languages? The answer to these questions matters.

What Is Biblical Clarity and Why Is It Fundamental?

Biblical clarity is a foundational doctrine that presupposes God clearly communicates to us through our own reading of the Bible, regardless of whether someone is a religious cleric or hotel clerk. Theologians call this perspicuity, meaning the Holy Spirit inspired biblical authors to communicate with words that are transparent and understandable, not hidden or confusing. Biblical clarity teaches that God intends to communicate a lucid message through the normal meaning of the Bible’s words in their normal context, just like any other piece of literature. Thus, this doctrine rejects that words don’t really mean what they say, additional verbiage needs to be extracted from the text than what is typically read, multiple messages are embedded in the text, and there are degrees of complexity even in straightforward Bible passages. Biblical clarity is an intrinsic element of the doctrines of biblical authority and sufficiency.

That biblical clarity is fundamental to all doctrine is greatly neglected in churches. You’ve likely heard several sermons on inspiration but none on clarity. But consider this: if someone challenged the Bible’s inspiration, you’d turn to 2 Timothy 3:16: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.” If the challenger says the words don’t mean what you think they mean, you’d turn to the doctrine of clarity that gives words their normal meaning. If the challenger says you’re underqualified to understand the passage, you’d appeal to clarity. If the challenger further claims the verse can only be understood with extrabiblical information, you’d respond that the Bible itself is sufficient—an extension of biblical clarity. This scenario can play out for all biblical doctrines. It’s fundamental that the Bible’s words can be understood by ordinary people.

The Biblical Basis for Biblical Clarity

Moses taught in Deuteronomy 30:11–14 that Scripture does not require interpreters: “For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ . . . But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.”

In the New Testament, Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would personally lead believers into understanding truth: “when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:12–13). Freedom comes from knowing that an indispensable clerical order isn’t needed to tell the “laity” what the Bible means.

In Acts 8:26–35, the Ethiopian understood the words of Isaiah. But he needed additional information to know who they applied to, so “Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus” (Acts 8:35, KJV).

Acts 17:11 records of the Berean Christians, “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” Notably, the Berean laymen weren’t dependent on a scholar to tell them biblical truth; the Scripture was so clear that they could assess the truth of Paul’s teaching themselves.

Biblical Authority and Sufficiency Stand on the Clarity of Scripture

Biblical clarity is integral to the doctrine of biblical authority and sufficiency. Biblical authority means the Bible’s teachings are the standard for measuring the truthfulness of all other claims, the Bible is to be believed and obeyed, and it is the final, informative guide for Christians. Restoring biblical clarity was vital to the Reformers because they knew clerics were setting themselves up to control the laity by telling Christians they could not understand the Bible for themselves.

Is the content of the Bible sufficient within itself, or is information from sources outside the Bible (i.e., science or ancient Near Eastern literature) a necessary addition for God to communicate His thoughts? Since God wants to communicate clearly, why would He leave necessary information out of the Bible? Rather, it is through the Holy Spirit using Scripture that Christians “may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:17) and have “all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him” (2 Peter 1:3).

Biblical sufficiency means all things that need to be known about salvation, works, and Christ’s nature are clearly taught in Scripture. Readers can obtain that essential knowledge from the Bible without necessary intervention from outside theological, scientific, or historical sources. Even any crucial historical context will be provided in the text (e.g., Ruth 4:7).

How Biblical Clarity Applies to Creation Versus Theistic Evolution

It is the consistent application of giving the Bible’s words their normal/literal meaning that biblical creationists accept but theistic evolutionists and progressive creationists reject. Millions of people today follow the unbiblical counsel of misguided, science-oriented ministries that tell them they need a scientist to direct their understanding of the Bible. They willfully place themselves back under intellectual bondage and enthrone scientists between themselves and the Bible in instances like the following:

• “the evening and the morning were the first day” (Genesis 1:5);
• “according to its kind” (Genesis 1:11; common ancestors by kind, not a universal common ancestor);
• “the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground” (Genesis 2:7);
• “the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman” (Genesis 2:22);
• “the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered” (Genesis 7:19);
• “in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth” (Exodus 20:11; 31:17);
• “as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin” (Romans 5:12);
• “the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water” (2 Peter 3:6).

Who knew that for millennia, no one could read the words of Moses or Jesus Christ and properly understand them until today’s science informed their thinking with anti-biblical assertions from Stephen Hawking, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Stephen Jay Gould, or Charles Darwin? By reclaiming biblical clarity, Christians embrace a truth that releases them from the bondage of theological or scientific elites who proudly insert themselves as an essential interpretive filter between believers and their Bible. Christians, especially pastors, do not need a “holy man” or a “science guy” to tell them what the Bible means.

Dr. Guliuzza is the president of the Institute for Creation Research. He earned his doctor of medicine from the University of Minnesota, his master of public health from Harvard University, and received an honorary doctor of divinity from Southern California Seminary. He served in the U.S. Air Force as 28th Bomb Wing flight surgeon and chief of aerospace medicine. Dr. Guliuzza is also a registered professional engineer and holds a B.A. in theology from Moody Bible Institute.