How to Read the Bible According to Saint Augustine
Ten Principles to Stake Your Next Bible Study On
Augustine of Hippo is without a doubt one of the greatest theologians who ever lived and is considered not only a forerunner to Scholastic thought in the Church, but also Reformed thought. Although Augustine is best known for his powerful Confessions and The City of God, his other writings constitute an overall systematic treatment of Church doctrine and theology. In his writings, we find a treasure trove of quotable quotes, nuggets of wisdom, and ideas that are still fresh and relevant today. In particular, Augustine had a lot of thoughts about what scripture is, how we ought to engage it, and how we can study it. In this article, I’d like to share ten Augustinian principles about how to read the Bible. So, let’s dig in!
1. Approach with reverence and humility.
“For understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore do not seek to understand in order to believe, but believe that you may understand.”
Tractates on the Gospel of John, 29.6
The Bible is not one book, but in fact a collection of books, written over generations. It presents the memories and stories of the people of God and describes what they perceived reality to be. Hundreds of hands over hundreds of years played a role in its composition, and as such the Bible has been subject to different phases of revision, compilation, and canonization. Much in the same way you might walk into a library today with some quietness and respect, so too should you open the Bible — for the Bible is just that — a library of texts, spanning genres, times, and places. The Bible may seem foreign to you, because it is! So do not make the mistake of thinking that every passage or idea that you come across in the Bible will make complete sense on your first reading, because most of the time it won’t. Worse perhaps is making the mistake of thinking you’ve arrived at a complete understanding of the text and can scrutinize and criticize it fully without error. Reading the Bible is an act of faith, and with that faith, understanding will come.
2. The unity of scripture rests on Christ.
“In the Old Testament the New is concealed, in the New the Old is revealed.”
On the Spirit and the Letter, 27.48
The central person in the whole Bible is Jesus Christ. Ultimately, the message of the Bible is that God made the world and everything in it, and because of our sinfulness and wrongdoing, we need to be reconciled not only to God but also to each other. The agent of all reconciliation in this world is Jesus Christ, who came to live a life of perfect obedience so that He could stand in our place and receive the judgment against all our sin and wrongdoing. Our exoneration in the eyes of God only comes after we believe in Jesus and profess Him as our Lord and Savior. Nothing else will work. This is what the Gospel is. While you can certainly piece together the Gospel message from the New Testament alone, it won’t make complete sense until you read the Old Testament. Similarly, the Old Testament won’t make complete sense until you see how all the Law and the Prophets point to Jesus. Colloquially, one might say that we are to read the Bible both forwards and backwards as this is the only way you’ll see its unity.
3. Read scripture with the intent to grow in love.
“Whoever, therefore, thinks that he understands the Holy Scriptures, or any part of them, but puts such an interpretation upon them as does not tend to build up this twofold love of God and our neighbor, does not yet understand them as he ought.”
On Christian Doctrine, Book I, Chapter 36
The two greatest commandments that Christ conveyed to us were to love God with all your heart, soul and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself. If you ever find yourself wondering how you’re supposed to apply scripture, that’s how. If you’re not trying to love God more or love your neighbor more, then you’re missing one of the biggest ethical components of Christianity. This principle might seem like a no-brainer, but I think it’s important because more often than not — especially from mature Christians — we tend to get lost in the sauce of systematic theology and doctrinal disputes or focus on everything but loving God and our neighbor better.
4. Do not read scripture in a vacuum.
“Whoever reads the Scriptures apart from the Church has his eye on a cloud; he is seeking for the sun outside the heavens, and in himself is setting up a false image of the truth.”
Sermons, 49.6
What Augustine is saying here is that the Church — through its various Doctors, Confessions, Creeds, Catechisms, and commentaries — has given all of us a robust treatment of the Bible in terms of interpreting it and understanding it. If you’re trying to figure things out all by yourself, then not only do you run the risk of misunderstanding scripture, but you also run the risk of developing heterodoxical ideas. Sure, there are different theological traditions in the Church, and there are disagreements, but the main idea here is to give the traditional readings of a passage the first word in a conversation.
5. Be patient and persistent.
“The Scriptures were written in such a way that as the reader advances, he will learn more fully and more correctly how to understand them.”
Confessions, XII.23.32
Jordan Peterson often describes the Bible as a “hyperlinked text” because there are so many patterns, cycles, internal references, and parallelisms within it. Understanding how one verse or passage relates to another can take some time, but a great way to hack this process is to consult a concordance. There is a good chance your main study Bible already has a concordance in it, but there are more substantial ones that can easily help you cross-reference key ideas, themes, or words. I’ve found that consulting a concordance can be a bit tedious, but you’re often rewarded with an ‘aha!’ moment. You just need to put in the work!
6. Interpret unclear passages with clearer passages.
“If the meaning of the text is obscure, it is to be brought to the light by the clearer expressions of other places.”
On Christian Doctrine, Book III, Chapter 26
If you are struggling with understanding a particular passage, then what Augustine is basically telling us here is to pay attention to the context! But even if the context is unclear, you can always zoom out even further. Be mindful of what book you’re reading and what Testament you’re reading it from. Something else that people often say regarding this principle is ‘to let scripture interpret scripture.’ Theologians refer to this as exegesis, and that’s just a fancy word for trying to read the Bible and identify what a particular passage is trying to say according to its own presumptions rather than what you want it to say according to your own presumptions.
7. Know the genre you’re reading.
“In all the sacred books, we should consider the eternal truths that are taught, the facts that are narrated, the future events that are predicted, the commandments or prohibitions that are given.”
On Christian Doctrine, Book III, Chapter 10
Lots of people like to take this all-or-nothing approach when it comes to the Bible, in that it’s either completely literal or completely metaphorical. This approach however fails to appreciate all the nuance and sophistication and complexity of the Bible, especially when it comes to all the different literary styles and genres a given passage might be written in. There is history in the Bible, yes, but there is also poetry, prophecy, biography, songs, memoirs, parables, and so on. Paying attention to these things will help you appreciate the tone of a given passage, which in turn will help you understand its point.
8. Remember that the Bible is a gift from God.
“The Holy Scriptures are our letters from home.”
Expositions on the Psalms, Psalm 90
I just love this quote from Augustine. Have you ever been away from home for a long time because of school or work, and gotten a letter from home or a care package? Well, I think that’s a beautiful way of understanding what exactly the Bible is. It’s God’s Holy Word, and it has been given to us as a gift so that we can understand what the point of living life is. Allow it to refresh and restore your soul. You won’t regret it!
9. Trust in the authority and sufficiency of scripture.
“Whatever appears in the canonical Scriptures is true and can be used for building up our faith, and that only such Scriptures are to be followed as those which the Church has received from the apostles and which has been preserved in the Church from ancient times.”
Letters, 82.3
Augustine echoes 2 Timothy 3:16 here. One way to think about the authority and sufficiency of scripture is the same way we might utilize a compass. If you go on a journey without having some understanding of what the cardinal directions are, then you’ll run the risk of getting lost. In this day and age when there are so many competing authorities trying to influence us and pull us in different directions, we must remain steadfast when it comes to the Bible. Every other authority will be insufficient in some way.
10. Pray for illumination.
“I knocked at the door of the Word to find out at last what the Lord wanted to say to me… and as I continued to meditate, the light flooded my mind, and all the shadows of doubt melted away.”
Confessions, XII.10.11
You can study the text of the Bible with a critical lens, you can parse the ancient Greek and Hebrew, you can write volumes worth of commentaries, but at the end of the day, until God reveals the truth of the Bible’s message to you directly through the witness of the Holy Spirit, none of those other things are going to matter. That’s why it’s so important to pray as you do your Bible study. Ask God to speak to you, for Him to open your heart, so that you may perceive what is truly there.
I asked a group of children what they thought the first three steps were to read the Bible. They said “open it up, start reading, and turn the page.” I think that about settles it! Get to it!
