DeYoung in his book Taking God At His Word walks through several doctrines of Scripture that if rightly understood should foster confidence in a Christian concerning the Bible. One doctrine is the clarity of Scripture. Here’s several things that the clarity of Scripture means:

• Some portions of Scripture are clearer than others. Not every passage has a simple or obvious meaning.
• The main things we need to know, believe, and do can be clearly seen in the Bible
• Though the most essential doctrines are not equally clear in every passage, they are all made clear somewhere in Scripture
• That which is necessary for our salvation can be understood even by the uneducated, provided that they make use of the ordinary means of study and learning
• The most important points in the Scriptures may not be understood perfectly, but they can be understood sufficiently.

The doctrine of the clarity of Scripture means that ordinary people using ordinary means can accurately understand enough of what must be known, believed, and observed in order to be faithful Christians.

[1] Kevin DeYoung, Taking God At His Word: Why The Bible Is Knowable, Necessary, And Enough, And What That Means For You And Me (Wheaton: Crossway, 2014), 58-59.