One of the things that really amuses me is that there are people in this world who think I am really intelligent. My brethren, I'm going to be completely honest with you here: I'm an idiot. I am a complete bone head with barely enough intelligence to fit the latest bag of shopping into the fridge. And yet, people think I'm smart. They come to me looking for answers, expecting I have a significant chance of giving them a good one. "I don't understand this verse, can you clear up the confusion?" "My non-Christian friend gave me this objection, how do I answer them?" "My church teaches this. Is it true?" The truth is, yes, I can answer many of these questions, but it's not because I'm even remotely intelligent.
See, I am what the Psalmist describes as "the simple". Or, as you'll see in the HCSB, the inexperienced. The only reason I appear so smart to the people who ask me these questions is that I've spent a significant amount of time asking them myself. And when I asked, God answered.
Now, obviously, I don't mean God actually peeked through the clouds and said "hey Brian, this is the answer to your question". But I do mean that I pursued the answers using His word. When you read the Bible, you are ultimately reading the word of the most intelligent being in all eternity. Literally, because God is omniscient. There is nothing He does not know. Thus, when you read His word, you are reading exactly what you ought to know.
This is when the struggle really comes in, though. After all, as our atheist friends keep reminding us, "there are many interpretations of the Bible". Or at least, that's how the narrative goes. In truth, however, there are not multiple interpretations of the Bible, but rather a diversity of opinions on various Biblical topics. You will find that, in spite of the large number of denominations, there is a shockingly low amount of division. Don't get me wrong, division exists, but it is not as severe as is claimed.
The first thing to note is that just because an interpretation exists does not mean it is valid. An easy example would be Trinitarian Monotheism. Trinitarian Monotheism asserts that there is one God who exists in three distinct persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is the only feasible interpretation. It is also the biggest. You will find that most nominal Christians, be they orthodox or heretical, are Trinitarian Monotheists.
There are exceptions. Mormonism claims to be a Christian religion, yet it is heavily opposed to Trinitarian Monotheism, not only claiming Jesus is distinct from the Father, and the Holy Spirit is the one member of the Godhead without a flesh body, but also that "as man is, God once was. As God is, man can become". Effectively, Mormons believe in an infinite regression of gods, and an infinite progression of gods. God once had a god. God's god once had a god. God's god's god once had a god. We can become gods by being good Mormons.
One does not need to read too much Scripture to see how impossible this interpretation is. The Bible clearly teaches there is only one God, who was God throughout eternity, and will be the only God throughout eternity. Yet, Scripture identifies the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as God. Therefore, Trinitarian Monotheism alone is acceptable.
So already we can throw out a number of different disputes. You don't have to panic about the existence of obviously wrong interpretations. Sinners will sin, liars will lie. That's just the nature of the human race. But what about honest mistakes? Is it not possible to make these? Of course! Yes, you can make mistakes while reading the Bible.
There is a saying, "never read a Bible verse". This statement is rather profound. While it may sound like it is telling us to put down the Bible, it's actually telling us to read more of it. Using only a Bible verse, you can make the Bible say anything you want. For example, you can make Zechariah 14:12 look like a prophecy about a zombie apocalypse. But every verse has a context, and can be further expounded upon by other Scriptures.
What this leads to is a very limited range of plausible interpretations. I have personally never found a verse with more than 5 "mainstream" interpretations. The number of interpretations drops even lower when we rule out the implausible. Within that limited range, one usually emerges superior, and even in cases when it doesn't, the remaining plausible interpretations have negligible effects on the application. Ultimately, two Christians reading two Bibles will come to very similar conclusions. There is room for error, but this error is on the part of the reader, not the Bible they're reading. There are exceptions due to limits of translation. No translation is perfect, and so occasionally, the error will be on the side of the translation. However, even these kinds of errors can be avoided by comparing translations (this is especially helpful if you're bilingual and have access to a good translation into another language), and by uniting with a Bible-based congregation.
Although we are by no means the best students, God is by all means the best teacher. Whether you're a genius like Isaac Newton, or a total numpty like myself, God's word is sufficient to make you wise. Thus, those who seek wisdom should study it day and night. It will not disappoint.