We can never fully understand or appreciate the life of Jesus, or the Good News of salvation, if we don’t know the Old Testament. Skipping through the Old Testament is like only watching the last part of a two part movie. Even though we might see the climax and see the characters being redeemed, we wouldn’t be able to acknowledge the hurdles they climbed over to get to that moment; along with the importance of the character's background. It’s the same with the Scriptures. The New Testament does have a new set of figures (Jesus, Mary, Peter, John, etc). However we wouldn’t completely understand what Scripture means when they talk about the figure’s background, if we skim through the Old Testament. 

 

The Old Testament can be confusing and seem irrelevant in our modern lives, many names and locations we probably can’t pronounce or make sense of. However it is God’s story, our story. Throughout the Old Testament, we see God making covenants with His chosen people and rescuing people from conflict and distress. The Old Testament gives a countless number of foreshadowings of Christ and an overflow of sacraments that point forwards to Jesus Christ and how he fulfils it in the new covenant.

 

The New Testament brings the Saviour, Jesus Christ, into the story. It is where God's love story becomes extensively known throughout nations, and the hope of eternal Salvation becomes alive. The New Testament shows how Jesus fulfils the promises and prophecies of the Old Testament. 

 

The Gospel Of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John speak about Jesus' life, ministry, death and resurrection. They tell the first-hand teachings and missions of Christ. Chapter one of Matthew's Gospel is not easy to read, nor does it grasp our excitement right away. Reading the genealogy of Jesus Christ is a bit like attending a graduation assembly at your nephew's school and hearing all of these random names echoing through the microphone. Even though the graduators are someone's child, the names are unfamiliar and unrelated to your knowledge. However, the genealogy of Christ is important as it reveals firstly that Jesus Christ is fully human and shares in creation with us. Though one massive thing that the genealogy reveals to us is that Jesus Christ was in the royal line of King David. 

 

Paul's letters speak on how to live in companionship with Christ and the message about our salvation. He gives answers to the early Christians on how to love, worship and devote your time to the Lord.  Paul wrote these letters to individual churches. His epistles include Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians. 

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A question could be asked "Why do I need to believe what the Church teaches on this thing in the Bible when I can just trust the Bible alone?" when we should really be asking, "How do I know my interpretation is correct when other Christians who are reading the same verse claims that the Holy Spirit gave them that insight when it's different to mine? 

 

All Christians should study what the Early Church Fathers spoke about regarding faith, morals and worship, as well as Sacred Scripture. This is essential as it helps Christians read and interpret the Scriptures in light of the early Church's worship and belief. We must also be on alert of the different Biblical interpretations. A Scripture passage that is shared with us may seem straightforward; however, the passage may have a different context than the one we might have thought.

 

By using an example of a modern comment that may be used today: "Your mum and I lived in Paris when we were young”.

 

At first, this sentence is clear and easy to understand; although it can have many different meanings. For one, we need to see whom the person is speaking to. From the use of the term "Mum" in the sentence, we understand that these must be children who are the statement's audience. However the number of children present is unclear.

 

We automatically assume that the "I" in this statement refers to the children's Father; Yet, it does not explicitly say that it is the Father who is speaking. It could be referring to the mum's parents, a family friend or another person the mum knew. The sentence is also unclear if the "I" lived with the mum or just knew her in Paris. 

We see by using this statement that it could mean a whole lot more than we initially thought. This can be the same with Bible verses. If we take a single verse out without looking at the entire chapter, we will often miss the actual message. For example in the Bible there are references to 'scripture'; though we need to be aware that the authors of these letters are referring to the Old Testament writings, as the New Testament wasn’t compiled yet into Sacred Scripture.

 

Sometimes one or more verses are used to prove something; regardless of whether it may or may not relate to the broader chapter's message. For example 1 Timothy 2:5 "For there is one God, and there is one who brings God and human beings together, the man Christ Jesus". This verse gives us knowledge and understanding that Christ is both Human and Divine, so He is the only one who can take us to the Father. However, some may take this verse as saying that we cannot ask others to pray for us and intercession on our behalf. Interestingly it says a few verses earlier in 1 Timothy 2:1 "First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, requests, and thanksgivings be offered to God for all people". Also, doesn’t the Holy Spirit intercede for us?

 

It is not useful only looking at the historical, cultural setting and then following the standard rules of grammar when understanding the scriptures; however, we should do that. Nevertheless, most will say that the Bible interprets itself to us through the power of the Holy Spirit. Most certainly, it does. The Holy Spirit gives us the grace and knowledge in reading Scripture; although to understand main topics such as the real presence of Christ in the bread of life discourse, we need the Church as well as the Old Testament writings to help us interpret those Scripture verses. With having the basic understanding of what Scripture means, the Holy Spirit guides our mind and heart to understand more truth according to what the early Church taught. 

 

Some Christians who read the Bible on their own can struggle when interpreting a passage and sometimes may come up with what they think it means on the surface. I’ve done that many times over the years. I am definitely not saying we shouldn’t reflect and apply the Bible to our lives. We must! However we need to understand what the messages and teachings of these passages are really saying to us. Many Christians may disagree on what a specific passage means, so this is one reason why we need the Church's authority to help us interpret the Scriptures alongside the Holy Spirit's help.

 

The majority of non-Catholic Christians believe that for a Church tradition and belief to be valid, it has to correspond with what the Bible says and be in full agreement with Scripture. The issue with this is that the Bible does not say that Scripture is the only infallible rule of faith. Certainly, Catholics believe and have always believed that the Bible is infallible and the rule of faith, although, Catholics believe it's not the only rule of faith. Sola Scriptura, (the doctrine in many Protestant churches that the Bible has supreme authority over other authorities) is not taught in the scriptures. Yes, there are verses implying that Scriptures is the infallible word of God; there’s no doubt it’s not. However, the verses aren't saying that we can read the Bible without the background authority of anything else. The Church Fathers never believed in Sola Scriptura. As Christians, we have to obey and trust that the Bible teaches us, not just the parts we want to believe. It gives us the truth,  courage, and guidance to know how to share it; although we cannot go by the Bible alone.

 

"if you believe what you like in the Gospel, and reject what you don't like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but your self" Augustine AD 354