7 Bible Verses Every Catholic Should Know (3 of 7)

St. Peter said: “First of all, you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy  ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke by God.” The heart of this text is that no prophecy of scripture is a mattter of one’s own interpretation. In Protestantism, every matter of scripture is a matter of interpretation by man. The logical outcome of sola scriptura is that the Bible and you are all you need to be a Christian. Sola scriptura rejects any authority that may come from Tradition or the Church or the Pope or the bishops. It leaves you with a situation where the bible is your only authority. But then what does it mean? You can’t have recourse to Tradition because Tradition is not dependable or the Church because it can’t be trusted, so it’s all up to you. It ends up in a situation where every individual becomes his or her own pope! Pride and arrogance come into play in this scenario when one makes him or herself the sole arbiter of truth, which is the Protestant principle. In this passage, St. Peter rules out the sola scriptura premise. Then what is our authority if it’s not ourselves, our own interpretation of scriptures? Answer: It’s the apostolic authority. St. Peter writes this with the authority of an Apostle. In 2 Peter 1:19 he writes: “And we have the prophetic word made more sure. You will do well to pay attention.” The “we” he’s talking is the apostolic authority communicated down the ages by the Holy Spirit through apostolic succession. (Source: Dr. John Bergsma, St. Paul Center)