Sola Scriptura
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
The Protestant Reformation was a time of great discovery, and rediscovery, of essential biblical truths lost or muted for centuries. Intense and passionate people like Martin Luther rediscovered the biblical gospel, which freed them from the anxiety they had about whether or not they had done enough good works to merit their salvation.
Five Solas: Five Statements
Sola Scriptura (the defining benchmark of the reformation) is the belief that because Scripture is the Inspired Word of God, it is the only inerrant, sufficient, and final authority for the church.
John 17:17 “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”
Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.”
2 Timothy 3:16–17 “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
Rediscovery: This is the Gospel message!
To answer the question, How can I be made right with God?, first I have to determine by what authority I will come to my conclusion. Is it my experience, what seems to work for me? Is it the tradition of the church, or maybe its teachers, who tell me how to be in a saving relationship with the Lord? Or is it the Bible? Luther believed that Scripture—which alone was the breathed-out inerrant Word of God—was the only infallible source to answer weary souls’ questions about their salvation. Sola Scriptura is thus the “formal principle” of the Reformation, guarding the conviction that the Bible alone was able to give shape to our doctrine, especially our theology of the justification of a sinner before the holy Judge. Matthew Barrett defines it as the belief that “only Scripture, because it is God’s inspired Word, is our inerrant, sufficient, and final authority for the church.”
Sola Scriptura - Scripture alone
Sola Scriptura - Scripture alone
is the belief that “only Scripture, because it is God’s inspired Word, is our inerrant, sufficient, and final authority for the church”
Scripture is the Final authority
Not nuda Scriptura - (nothing but scripture) because that also goes against the Word of God.
But that Scripture is the Final Authority.
Final Authority
Final Authority
On any topic that God speaks upon, the Bible is the Final Authority. God’s Word has the “last word”.
Sola Scriptura does mean that the Bible was the sole authority in the ultimate determination of our doctrine and our practice.
Why is this important?
Why is this important?
Look at the tone today: your truth, my truth - relativism
Now: we do not believe that the Word of God is the only truth out there - that would be against the Word, of God, as I said; and it would put weight on the Word of God that God never claimed or intended. Again, the Bible speaks on certain things, and on those things the Word of God is the Final Authority. But God does not speak on math, generally speaking; or physics, or biology (largely), chemistry, rocket science, etc……
Scripture alone means that other avenues of truth are useful, but they all have to sit below the one authoritative source of truth, the Bible.
What does Sola Scriptura truly mean?
What does Sola Scriptura truly mean?
Luther came to an understanding of sola Scriptura in the midst of his disagreements with the Catholic Church. When he began his debate with Rome over indulgences with his 95 Theses on October 31, 1517, what did he begin with? The Bible. The first thesis says,
1. When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, “Repent,” he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.
Aided by Desiderius Erasmus’s 1516 publication of the Greek New Testament, Luther understood that the Catholic doctrine of penance was built on an unbiblical foundation because of a mistranslation of Jesus’ words into a Latin rendition reading “do penance” instead of “repent.” No, said Luther, the Bible—not even church tradition spanning over a millennium—must determine our doctrine and practice.
BF&M 2000- Article 1
BF&M 2000- Article 1
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.
And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early the next morning and set up an altar and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel at the base of the mountain.
“Now, Israel, listen to the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to follow, so that you may live, enter, and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must not add anything to what I command you or take anything away from it, so that you may keep the commands of the Lord your God I am giving you.
It is to remain with him, and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to observe all the words of this instruction, and to do these statutes.
Afterward, Joshua read aloud all the words of the law—the blessings as well as the curses—according to all that is written in the book of the law.
The instruction of the Lord is perfect,
renewing one’s life;
the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy,
making the inexperienced wise.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
making the heart glad;
the command of the Lord is radiant,
making the eyes light up.
The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the Lord are reliable
and altogether righteous.
They are more desirable than gold—
than an abundance of pure gold;
and sweeter than honey
dripping from a honeycomb.
I have treasured your word in my heart
so that I may not sin against you.
Search and read the scroll of the Lord:
Not one of them will be missing,
none will be lacking its mate,
because he has ordered it by my mouth,
and he will gather them by his Spirit.
Your words were found, and I ate them.
Your words became a delight to me
and the joy of my heart,
for I bear your name,
Lord God of Armies.
“Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all things are accomplished.
Jesus answered them, “You are mistaken, because you don’t know the Scriptures or the power of God.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
He told them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. He also said to them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead the third day,
You pore over the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them, and yet they testify about me.
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. For he will not speak on his own, but he will speak whatever he hears. He will also declare to you what is to come. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything the Father has is mine. This is why I told you that he takes from what is mine and will declare it to you.
Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
The people here were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, since they received the word with eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures.
Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation about Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept silent for long ages but now revealed and made known through the prophetic Scriptures, according to the command of the eternal God to advance the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles—
and you know that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Long ago God spoke to our ancestors by the prophets at different times and in different ways. In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things and made the universe through him.
For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
but the word of the Lord endures forever.
And this word is the gospel that was proclaimed to you.
We also have the prophetic word strongly confirmed, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Inspired by God (God Breathed)
Inspired by God (God Breathed)
All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Scripture is inspired - it is breathed by God.
That cannot be said of church tradition, councils, or church leaders, as important as they all may be. While Scripture may have many human authors, it has one divine author.
Inspiration - That extraordinary or supernatural divine influence vouchsafed to those who wrote the Holy Scriptures, rendering their writings infallible.
Not the same inspiration as Stephen King being inspired by an event to write a novel.
because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
If the Word of God if Breathed by God (Inspired) then it is also without error.
Inerrant (Without Error)
Inerrant (Without Error)
Inerrancy means that Scripture is true, without error, in all that it asserts. As the Holy Spirit carried along the biblical authors, he ensured that their human words reflected his own holy character.
Infallible - reliable and trustworthy
Infallible - reliable and trustworthy
Scripture is Truth because God is TRUTH!
The infallibility of Scripture is what separates it from all other avenues of attaining truth and knowledge. Scripture is infallible due to the divine author, all other sources are fallible because of their human author.
Even such distinguished sources suck as Stephen Hawkins and Charles Darwin would change their minds and opinions on things as they grew, matured, gained knowledge, or discovered that their theories were proven wrong.
God is all knowing, absolute truth, honest, trustworthy, and incapable or error. The Word of God reflects all these characteristics of God.
You will notice that these words are tied together: Inspired and Inerrant (without error). They are straight from God, so they are perfect. God does not make mistakes, so God cannot error.
The Scriptures are without error, which means they can only come from God; as man is prone to error.
It is circular, you cannot have one without the other.
And finally, we move into the last bit: sufficient.
Sufficient
Sufficient
Last, sola scriptura means that only Scripture is our sufficient authority. Not only does Paul say all Scripture is God-breathed, but on that basis, Scripture is “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.”
Teaching
Reproof
correction
training in righteousness
to be made complete
equipped fully
Belgic Confession says so well, “We believe that those Holy Scriptures fully contain the will of God, and that whatsoever man ought to believe unto salvation is sufficiently taught therein.”
Contains all we need to know about God
we need nothing else!
Endures forever
Endures forever
Unlike culture
unlike society
This is the Word of God - when Scripture Speaks, God Speaks!
Closing:
Closing:
So the Word of God came from God (inspired), and thus is without error (inerrant), and contains all we need to know about God (sufficient).
Jan Hus - believed in the Authority of Scripture above all and was burned by the Roman Church as a heretic.
A monument contains his words in Prague:
“Love each other and wish the truth to everyone.”
When you stand on the the principles of what the Word of God teaches, you will be marginalized and outcast from society; sometimes even from other Christians. They will sometimes call you names. They will sometimes shock you with the belief that you are “radical” in your thought.
Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than people.
Jan Haus: “We ought to obey God rather than men.”
The reality is that we believe the Word of God as God said: we are removing burden from our life by submitting to the Word of God; which is so very encouraging.
This should be encouraging and give you the confidence to speak with authority and hold your head high.
Perhaps now you understand why it is with confidence I can speak on such topics. It is not I that speak on these topics, but God. I simply repeat what God said.
May we live as simply tools that God uses to make His word known!
I want to leave you with a beautiful and powerful quote from Martin Luther:
Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures, or by evident reason (for I put my faith neither in popes nor councils alone, since it is established that they have erred again and again and contradicted one another), I am bound by the scriptural evidence adduced by me, and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot, I will not recant anything, for it is neither safe nor right to act against one’s conscience. God help me. Amen.