Scripture Alone - Sola Scripture, Part 2

2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

According to Scripture alone we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone to the glory of God alone.

Reason above Scripture

Scripture = Tradition

Bare (Naked) Scripture

Scripture Alone

This doctrine sees the Bible as the final authority.

This does not remove tradition from the equation.

Rather it sees tradition as the guardrails for us to understand the bounds of orthodoxy (right doctrine).

What does According to Scripture alone mean?

According to Scripture alone means we understand Scripture as the authoritative, sufficiently necessary communication of God for our transformation into the image of Christ.

Why does Scripture alone matter so much for us?

The first generation discovers the gospel.

The second assumes the gospel.

The third generation loses the gospel.

Johan Tetzel

He was a chief salesman of his day.

What did he sell exactly?

Indulgences.

An indulgence was a payment made to the Roman Catholic Church.

An indulgence was used to shorten a person’s time in purgatory.

Purgatory was an invention of the Roman Catholic church that was a holding cell of sorts to heaven.

Since a person was NOT holy, they need to be “purged” from their sins before coming before God.

Because of this something like “purgatory” was used.

Now Tetzel was a great salesman who would

“Listen to the voices of your dear dead relatives and friends, beseeching you and saying, ‘Pity us, pity us. We are in dire torment from which you can redeem us for a pittance.… Will you let us lie here in flames? Will you delay our promised glory?’ ”

And then came Tetzel’s catchy jingle:

“As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.”

With just a quarter of a florin, you could liberate your loved one from the flames of purgatory and into the “fatherland of paradise.”

God’s Word Alone—The Authority of Scripture (The Coin in the Coffer Rings)

It was injustices like this that men like Martin Luther began saying,

God’s Word Alone—The Authority of Scripture “The Scriptures Cannot Err”

“Like an insidious devil you pervert the Scriptures.”

Breathed Out by God

What is Scripture?

That word that is used for “God-breathed” can also be understood as “inspired by God.”

It comes from a compound word “Theos” which is God and “pneuma” which is Spirit given.

When the Bible says something, then God speaks.

The writings themselves are characteristic that they are “God’s Word.”

God Breathed reveals the Necessity of Scripture.

“Why do we need Scripture to know God instead of just relying on other sources of knowledge?

Scripture is required to know God as he intends to be known, since he testifies about himself beyond what he has revealed in creation.” — Jeremy Pierre

Light Necessary for Darkness

The assumption is that everyone is in the darkness.

Remember back to the garden of Eden.

Adam and Eve were perfect yet still needed to the Word of God to understand how to live in God’s world.

God spoke the truth over Adam and Eve.

God declared who humanity was.

God spoke them into existence.

God declared their relationship with one another and Himself.

What was the first thing that was attacked in the garden?

God’s Word.

Genesis 3:1 ESV

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

They rejected God’s Word for another word.

They displaced God’s Word over their lives to believe another word about them.

This is the state that all humanity finds themselves in.

Humanity doesn’t begin in the light.

We all begin in the darkness.

2 Corinthians 4:4 ESV

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Paul assumes that everyone begins as blinded.

Romans 2:14–16 ESV

For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

The light in the darkness.

Scripture is what brings light into the darkness.

No Additions Necessary!

This means that we DO NOT add to God’s Word.

We do not place our words on the same plane as the Word of God.

2 Corinthians 4:2–3 ESV

But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.

The underlying assumption of this is that every Word written is to be heeded.

God Breathed reveals the Sufficiency of Scripture.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 (ESV)

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching...

“As the special revelation of God, Scripture contains all the words of God we need to know him by faith and to function by faith in the world he has made.....Sufficiency relates by excluding.

Sufficiency is an absolute category, an on/off switch. Something is either sufficient or it is NOT. There is NOT a gradation to sufficient. It is an exclusive category. God’s Word is sufficient to provide inspired testimony of Himself to the world, humanity, and salvation.

It excludes everything else from the status of ultimate authority. It is a hard YES or NO about the scope of ultimate authority of all other claims about ultimate authority.” — Jeremy Pierre

Sufficient in truth.

Is is true or false?

It is either true or it is not.

There is no in-between here. The Scripture is either wholly true or not. Many people have tried to get around this by accepting portions of Scripture while rejecting others but this is a rejection of the sufficiency of Scripture.

Sufficiently clear.

Is it clear or not?

“Are other sources of knowledge necessary to make Scripture understandable to everyone? Do we need a key-code to bring clarity to the Bible?

Scripture’s essential message is clear enough for anyone seeking to understand it.” — Jeremy Pierre

God Breathed reveals the Authority of Scripture.

2 Timothy 3:16 (ESV)

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching....

God’s Word Alone—The Authority of Scripture Chapter 7: God Speaks with Authority: The Inspiration of Scripture

The authority of the Holy Scripture … dependeth not upon the testimony of any man or church, but wholly upon God (who is truth itself), the Author thereof; and therefore it is to be received, because it is the Word of God.

—The Westminster Confession of Faith

“As the special revelation of God, Scripture is supremely true in the knowledge and values it expresses, thus acting as the standard of all other knowledge and value.” — Jeremy Pierre

Scripture is the standard by which we measure all other knowledge.

2 Peter 1:19–21 ESV

And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

“Authority relates by arbitrating. Authority is a category of degree, a dimmer switch. A dimmer switch has degrees and varies. Something can have a relative authority in reference to a greater authority. It arbitrates the content and the priority of those other sources of knowledge.

Authority in Content.

The content is that the Scriptures say what is true and NOT true.

Authority in Priority.

The priority of that knowledge. The relative degree of importance which we give to certain idea.

Every source of knowledge is only authoritative only to the degree that its content and prioritization conforms to the perspective revealed in Scripture.” — Jeremy Pierre

This means that when we read something from secular perspectives, we filter what is being said through a Christian worldview.

We filter everything we read through Scripture.

This is opposite of the way that many people read the Bible.

We are tempted to bring all of our perceived “understandings” to the Scripture and all them to govern us.

The most easy example to see is when we read anything from history, “Millions and millions of years...” or in science, “we know this through evolutionary processes.”

“How does the testimony of God about who he is and his purpose for human life arbitrate the knowledge we gain from other sources?

“As ultimate authority, Scripture is the standard that measures all other sources of knowledge, both in content and priority of knowledge. The authority of other sources of knowledge are derived from their adherence to this standard.” —Jeremy Pierre

In “content” means that we measure what is said by the testimony of Scripture. This means the words themselves.

We also measure it in “priority” meaning that when we read something from secular counseling manual’s its not only wrong

Profitable for Transformation

What does Scripture do?

When we say “profitable for...” what we need to have in our mind is the purposes that God has mind for redemption.

The transformation of those who are “in Christ” to be conformed into the image of His Son.

Colossians 1:15 ESV

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

Mankind is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) but Jesus Himself is the image of God (Colossians 1:15).

It brings God great glory to take the base things of this world and transform them into the image of the beloved.

It brings God great glory when mankind is transformed from their former way of life to reflect His most precious treasure.

Romans 8:29 ESV

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Transformation in teaching, rebuking, correcting, and building.

Colossians 1:27–28 ESV

To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

Transformation through the Spirit.

I did not mention last time but it is important to note that not only does the Word of God powerfully come to us in the written Word, but without the Spirit of God empowering us, we cannot obey what is written from the heart.

Without the Spirit of God working in us we only read the Words on a page.

Without the Spirit of God working in us it is like hardened stone expecting to be changed with further hardening.

Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief Controlling Power

The power of the Word brings wonderful blessings to those who hear in faith, with a disposition to obey. But it hardens those who hear it with indifference, resistance, or rebellion.

Isaiah 55:10–11 ESV

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief Controlling Power

That implies that the word is never without the power of the Spirit. But sometimes that power effects a blessing, sometimes a curse, depending on God’s sovereign intent.

Soft teaching creates hard hearts and hard teaching creates soft hearts. This is why some of the hardest hearts in our society are people who hear the Word of God week in and week out. Without the Spirit of God applying the Word of God to us we have no hope.

Romans 8:13–14 ESV

For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

1 Thessalonians 1:4–5 (ESV)

For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you,

because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.

Paul could say they knew that the gospel came to them when the Word of God was received and saw demonstrations of power and the Holy Spirit through full conviction.

It wasn’t enough for the Word of God to come to them, it was received and lived out with full conviction.

Formed for the New Creation

What does Scripture create?

2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

We all by nature have rejected the Word of God.

We all by nature hate the Word of God.

But when the Father sends us the image of His Son (Colossians 1:15), He reveals the purposes and plans set forward to us.

He then recreates us in the image of His Son through the Word of God.

2 Corinthians 4:1–6 ESV

Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Romans 10:17 ESV

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Scripture creates a complete person.

2 Timothy 3:17 ESV

that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Our understanding of what is needed for a “complete” person is extremely important.

We need to know what it means to be “complete” according to the Bible.

To use the word complete is to assume that we are in a condition currently of NOT being complete.

The complete person has been revealed to us in the person of the Lord Jesus.

We have ideas of standards all over the place in our modern world.

For example, there is a whole field of science that is based upon what it means to be a complete.

Within the field of mental health there is a standard they have called DSM-5 (Diagnosis and Statistical Manuel of Mental Health Disorders).

Within that manual there are many good and helpful observations that science has made about mankind.

But do you know what DSM never tells us?

What normal looks like.

What a complete person looks like.

How we understand the way a person becomes a complete person is critical.

For example, if I am discouraged for more than a week, I can be easily diagnosed with depression.

The problem with this though is we never ask the question, what is the baseline of a person supposed to be?

There are many situations that the ONLY proper response is discouragement.

The Bible gives us the picture of what a person is meant to be.

We are able to look into the mirror of the Word of God and see how far off we are from how God made us to be.

Scripture equips you to do the master’s work.

2 Timothy 3:17 ESV

that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Jesus told a parable in Luke 6 that captures well this training Paul discusses here.

Luke 6:39–42 ESV

He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

When a disciple is “fully trained” he will look like his teacher.

The only other option laid out here by Jesus is to be a hypocrite.

This is fitting for the discussion of being equipped to do the masters work because one element we need to be fully equipped is to be free from hypocrisy.

When we see others struggling with a sin, our reaction is always revealing.

There are typically two responses.

The first is to act as though we have never struggled in this way.

The second is to be afraid of addressing them because we know we still struggle.

The first is judgementalism and the second is hypocrisy.

These are both two ditches on the side of being faithful.

The path of faithfulness according to the Lord Jesus is to pull the log from our own eye and then address the speck in our brothers.

When we do so, we will be tender toward them knowing that we also have struggled but we will be gracious knowing that we have been forgiven ourselves.

The most freeing part here though is that we don’t change people.

We bring them the Scriptures and allow the Spirit of God to change them.

2 Timothy 2:20–21 ESV

Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

The goal as seen also here earlier in 2 Timothy is a vessel that is prepared to do the work of the master.

According to Scripture alone means we understand Scripture as the authoritative, sufficiently necessary communication of God for our transformation into the image of Christ.