As I am writing this, the Supreme Court of the United States needs to replace one of its nine justices, and the news cycle is now focusing on whom the president will nominate as a replacement. Liberal and conservative pundits are warning of democracy’s impending demise if the new justice’s political bent does not match theirs. One among nine may not always carry the swing vote. Still, the group as a whole has the ultimate final word on how to interpret and apply the Constitution of the United States—and that is based on a simple majority vote.

This begs the question for Christians, who decides the correct interpretation of our “constitution,” that is, the Bible? We no longer have the apostles alive with us to sit on a board of orthodoxy; they were foundational to the church (Eph. 2:20). Their teaching authoritatively conveyed the truth of Jesus Christ. Their plan was not to appoint successors but to lay the foundation for a local church movement propagating throughout the world. They did not set up a denominational headquarters to rule in matters of faith and doctrine, but they established the guiding truths of the working of the Holy Spirit in the church with Christ as the Head (Col. 1:18, 2:10, etc.).

Remember, Jesus left no personal writings; his teaching was all oral except possibly for the one time he wrote something in the dirt (John 8:6). The original apostles were His official witnesses (Acts 1:8, 21-25), and they were charged with carrying the message of Jesus forward.

The NT was formed by collecting the apostles’ writings and writings recognized as having apostolic authority. (For an in-depth study on how the collection of twenty-seven writings, what we call books, of the NT came to be recognized as Scripture, see my book “The Formation of the New Testament”). If there was a doctrinal or interpretative dispute in the early church, one could consult an apostle for a determinative answer. Even then, if Acts 15 and Galatians 2 are any indication, the apostles sometimes had disputes over applying spiritual truths they needed to wrestle through. But we now have the NT in our hands (or on our electronic devices), which has been universally accepted among believing Christians as authoritative for the Christian life and belief.

But, circling back to our original question, who decides the correct interpretation of the Bible? Indeed, the local church elders are invested with the responsibility to guard sound doctrine (Acts 20:28-31, Titus 1:9). The problem we read about in Acts 15 (traditionally called the Jerusalem Council) was dealing with a dispute caused by some folks in the Jerusalem church, spilled over into the Antioch church, and turned into a conflict between the apostles Paul and Peter. But the decision was handled locally, and it carried apostolic weight along with the local leaders of the Jerusalem church.

Some have extrapolated from the Acts 15 incident, extending the apostolic teaching to present-day successors who exert denominational authority over doctrine and interpretation of the Bible. Scripture, however, does not support such a teaching; the apostles never even hinted at passing on their authority to a succession of apostles. Others take a very loose approach that see interpretation as a matter of personal preferences; the only question is what Scripture says to each of us, different though it may be. That would make anyone’s interpretation just as good as anyone else’s. The result would be that every person becomes his or her own interpreter. That can’t be right, to take the interpretation of Scripture so lightly and subjectively.

We had better be sure about this issue and not allow ourselves laziness, sloppiness, or superficiality in our interpretations. A great deal is at stake. Jesus warned people to disregard the faulty teaching of the Jewish ecclesiastical teachers:

“Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” (Matt. 15:14)

Instead of trusting in human interpretations, we are to put our faith in the person and teachings of Jesus: “He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day” (John 12:48). And we know what He taught by the record of the apostles.

How can we pull all this together? We must build our lives on the teachings of Jesus and the apostles (who were Jesus’ own appointed representatives). God has given us teachers who have studied the Word of God in depth, investigated the Bible in its original language, researched the customs of the first century, and understood literary conventions for communication—and who are gifted communicators. Their ministry can help us gain a better understanding of God’s Word and how to apply it. And we thank God for those who write extensively in commentaries, Bible encyclopedias, and many other reference works.

But in the end, we stand before God, who judges us according to what He has written. We cannot bail out by saying, “That’s what my church taught me” or “A present-day apostle spoke authoritatively on my beliefs.” In the end, God will ask us, “What did I say?” With that question in mind, interpretation becomes quite simple. God judges our hearts and intentions, but true understanding requires us to study Scripture. That is why Paul wrote to Timothy:

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. (2 Tim. 2:15)

Luke, the writer of Acts, commended those who subjected the teachings of Paul to the authority of God’s Word (which at that time, was the OT):

Now these [Bereans] were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. (Acts 17:11)

Thank the Lord for godly people who help us understand His Word. But in the end, each of us must study the Scriptures for ourselves. We should not rely on a final and definitive answer from a denominational HQ like a supreme court. We should rest on Scripture and study it earnestly.

Lord, help me develop a Berean-like eagerness to examine the Scriptures every day, evaluate what I am being taught in my church, and discern between posts and blogs on the internet that reflect Your truth and those that are simply the teachings of men.