Sola Scriptura

Welcome to the middle school Bible study. Will and I are both really glad that you all are gonna be in here with us, this is the first time that we’ve ever co-taught something and so when we started planning a month or so ago about what we wanted to go through, we really felt led to talk about what the core elements of Christianity are. What do you as middle schoolers need to know in regards to the Bible, salvation, and Christ and we were sitting in my office and we were like, ok we got 5 days, what do we do with these 5 days and above some of my bookshelves are 5 framed pictures that told us exactly what we should teach. Over the next 5 days, we are going to be learning some Latin and talking about something called the Five Solas. Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Solus Christus, and Soli Deo Gloria. Has anyone heard of these phrases before? The word Sola in Latin means alone and these five solas came from an event in history, in the 16th century, known as the Protestant Reformation. The Protestant Reformation was led by men like Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, Huldrych Zwingli, William Tyndale, all genius theologians and pastors and what these men recognized was that the Christian church had lost its way. The Catholic church had been teaching things that had no foundation in the Bible. The pope and the Catholic church were claiming an authority that was never theres to give and so you have these theologians and pastors come along that don’t want to create a new church per-say but they want to reform it into what the church was supposed to look like. The Five Solas that came out of the reformation were a way of presenting the core doctrines of the Christian faith and showing how they contrasted with what the Catholic Church was teaching. In English, these five solas translate into Scripture alone, Faith alone, Grace alone, Christ alone, and Glory to God Alone. So why is it important to teach this to a bunch of middle schoolers? Because we need to know what we believe. We need to know what the Bible really is and we need to know what salvation is. We need to know what the purpose of the Christian life is and by going through these five solas, we will be able to better explain what we believe and why we believe it. So, each day we are going to go through one of these five solas and today we are going to look at Sola Scriptura, Scripture alone. What is the ultimate authority for the church? How do we know anything? Because we believe that God has spoken in His Word. Our authority, the reason we believe what we believe, is not because a person or organization has taught something, it is because God has spoken in the Bible. You see during the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Church said that there were two authorities when it came to theological decisions and what to believe and do as believers. They did not deny the need for the Bible but they said that the Bible was to be connected with the traditions and teachings of the Pope. The problem with that though is that nowhere in Scripture do you see tradition as having any authority when it comes to the Bible. The Catholic Church taught that the Pope had the authority to interpret Scripture. The Bible was the Word of God but Church and Tradition would dictate what the Bible taught and would have the final word on what the Word meant. The problem though, to steal a line from Martin Luther, that Popes and councils often contradicted themselves and unless something was established in Scripture, it did not matter what the Pope or anyone else taught. So here we are in the 21st century and when it comes to what we believe, we need to be students of the Bible. Where the Bible speaks, God speaks and all else falls silent. We need the Bible. Our faith rests on the revealed Christ in Scripture. B.B. Warfield said, “Sola Scriptura is the corner-stone of universal Protestantism; and on it Protestantism stands, or else it falls.” To know Christ, we must know the Word of God. John Calvin said, “We ought to believe that Christ cannot be properly known in any other way than from the Scriptures; and if it be so, it follows that we ought to read the Scriptures with the express design of finding Christ in them.” What we are going to do with the time we have left today is talk about what the Bible is and what the Lord offers to us through the Bible and if we have time, how we can use the Bible to defend our beliefs. I am a firm believer that if we are going to faithfully defend the Christian faith, the only way that we can truly do that is not by appealing to the world but holding to the Word of God as the sword of the spirit. Let’s go to the Lord in prayer and then I want us to look at 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

What is the Bible?

So what is the Bible? As we have already mentioned, it is the Word of God. The Bible is not a series of disconnected stories, where something that happens in one book and then has no connection or bearing on another book. Think for a minute about the history of the Bible: the Bible is a collection of 66 books, written by 40 different authors, over the span of roughly 1,500 years, in 3 different languages, across 3 continents and all testifies and points to 1 thing. This is God’s book and this is God’s story. From Genesis 1:1-Revelation 22:21, it all points to one person, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible is the most applicable and relevant book ever written and this is a testimony to God as its author. This entire book points to Jesus. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, “The Bible, in its essence is the grand story of redemption. It is the history of what God has done about men and women as the result of their sin, and everything else that we find in the Bible is, in reality, incidental to that. The Bible is concerned with presenting to us the message of redemption by God and from God, in a way that we can understand and see and believe.” When it comes to Sola Scriptura, we believe that everything that we truly need to know in order to follow Jesus and be saved, God has already revealed in the Bible. No one is waiting for the Bible 2. If there was something that we truly needed to know, God would have put it in there. This book is the only book with God as its author. Yes, this book was written by 40 different human authors but all 40 of these authors were inspired by the Spirit of God to write what they did. Peter says in 2 Peter 1:20–21 “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” No one sat down and wrote anything in the Bible that was contrary to what God wanted in the Bible. This is a book that you don’t just read, it reads you. It shows you who you really are. It shows you who God is. Charles Spurgeon once said, “The more you read the Bible, and the more you meditate upon it, the more you will be astonished with it. He who is but a casual reader of the Bible, does not know the height, the depth, the length and breadth of the mighty meanings contained in its pages.” So before we go to far, what is your relationship with the Bible like? How much time would you say you spend in this book? What is it that keeps you from reading it? Let’s take a couple minutes and look at 2 Timothy 3:16-17. Paul writes:

2 Timothy 3:16–17 NASB95

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Here’s what I want us to do, I want us to work together through these 2 verses and discover what this really means. What does Paul mean when he says “all Scripture”? Did he mean just the Old Testament or was he also referencing what we would call the New Testament? Because keep in mind, at this point in Paul’s life when he is writing to Timothy, not all of the New Testament has been written yet. I think to help us with this, we need to also take into consideration what Peter says at the end of 2 Peter 3. 2 Peter 3:14–16 says “Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.” Did you hear what Peter says at the end? He says that these false teachers are distorting the writings of Paul just like they do with the rest of the Scriptures. Peter, an apostle of Jesus, clearly recognized that there were writings that were being produced by Paul that possessed the same authority and inspiration as the Old Testament. In 1 Timothy 5:18 Paul says, “For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing,” and “The laborer is worthy of his wages.”” The first quotation about the ox comes from Deuteronomy 25:4 but the second statement isn’t in the Old Testament, it’s a direct quotation from the Gospel of Luke. So here we see Paul recognizing that there are Gospel records that possess the same authority and inspiration of the Old Testament. I think we can safely say that Paul while predominantly referencing the Old Testament because they had that completed in his lifetime, recognizes that the New Testament Scriptures are just as inspired as the Old Testament. That goes to the next statement that Paul mentions in 2 Timothy 3:16. He says that all Scripture is inspired by God. What do you think that means? It means that it is God-breathed. It means that God led the authors of Scripture to write only that which He wanted them to write. Yes, the authors still had their own personality as we can see throughout the Bible but everything that was recorded in the original writings were exactly what God wanted on paper. Paul then says that Scripture is good or applicable for 4 things: for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. To just sort of go through these quickly, teaching means that everything that we need in order to know God and to know salvation can be found in the words of Scripture. By reproof it means that it rebukes wrong behavior, it exposes sin, it calls out what needs to be called out. By correction it means that it has everything that we need in order to restore something or someone to the right position. It calls out wrong behavior while emphasizing right behavior. It shows us the way that we are to live. Psalm 119:9–11 says, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.” When it says training in righteousness it means that it doesn’t just say something is wrong, it points to what is right and provides application steps to be carried out. Scripture is the ultimate curriculum written by the Ultimate Teacher. Paul then says in verse 17 that it is through the application of Scripture that we are thoroughly equipped for every good work. Here in this book, you possess the tools and direction to serve Christ and love your neighbor. It is in this book where we see the reason behind every action that we should take. The Bible is the lamp unto our feet and the light unto our path. It is a dangerous road to go anywhere that Scripture does not lead. The moment we start to look at Scripture and say, “Well the Bible says this but I actually think this…” Just shut up, like that is heresy and sin waiting to happen. You are not the interpreter of Scripture, only God is. I say this all the time, it is so stupid when people come to the Bible and people ask, “Well what do you think about this?” Who cares what you think? You didn’t write it and you didn’t inspire it, this is God’s Word to man. What matters is what does it mean to the Author who wrote it? That is the interpretation that we need to go after now. Even at your young age, you cannot neglect this book. This is the most important book you will ever read. Charles Spurgeon famously said, “Visit many good books but live in the Bible.” Are you living in the Bible? Because understand, the world isn’t going to get easier. You need to know that the Bible can be used to defend what you believe. So how do we do that? And why should the Bible be the main tool that we use when it comes to defending what we believe?

How can we use the Bible to defend our faith?

Knowing what we know about the Bible and about what Paul says in 2 Timothy 3, why do you think the Bible is the best tool when it comes to defending our faith? Well, think about all the uses that Paul talked about. When it comes to defending our faith, we need to understand that if we argue with the worlds way, we are arguing incorrectly. Proverbs 26:4-5 says,

Proverbs 26:4–5 NASB95

Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Or you will also be like him. Answer a fool as his folly deserves, That he not be wise in his own eyes.

Solomon says that the unbeliever rejects the truth. The unbeliever denies what is obvious, that God exists and that God has spoken. Jesus says in John 17:17, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” Our argument then is that God speaks truthfully in His Word and since God is the standard of truth and all truth stems from Him, the Word of God is more than able to provide a thorough defense against any argument that the atheist or unbeliever pushes for. You see a lot of ways that people attempt to argue for Christianity is by arguing for Scripture where really what we do is argue from Scripture and as we argue from Scripture, we show the unbeliever that their lives are completely inconsistent with their worldview. The things that they claim do not make sense outside of a Christian worldview and the Bible tells us that if all we are trying to do is use an atheists own arguments to prove the Bible or God, we’re actually doing their job for them. Does Scripture teach that man is totally oblivious about God? Does Scripture teach that God has not made Himself known to the world? Absolutely not. In fact, it is clear in Scripture that God has revealed Himself to every single person but because of sin, man chooses to reject God and that knowledge. Paul says in Romans 1:18–21 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” What is it that Scripture is teaching here? That which is known about God is evident within them because God has made it evident to Him and ever since the creation of the world, God has been clearly seen so that they have an excuse? No, they have no excuse because they know God but they do not honor him. Paul continues in Romans 1:28–32 “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.” No one can honestly say that they didn’t know any better. There will be no acceptable excuses in heaven. Ignorance is not an acceptable excuse. What we argue is that every single person on the planet has knowledge of God but has chosen to reject that clear knowledge. The unbeliever has no right to make any argument on any form of absolutes because in his worldview, he rejects all forms of absolutes. He can’t make any arguments for or against morals because he worldview does not allow for morals. Why? Because in their worldview, everything comes from chaos and nothingness. There is no reason for any rule of logic or morality to exist in an atheistic culture. Cornelius Van Til, one of I believe, the greatest apologists that the church has ever had said that the unbeliever is like a man with an iron mask on and we as apologists and defenders of the faith must seek to tear the iron mask off of him. What he means is that the man knows that he has a mask on, he knows deep down that the things that he claims are not consistent with his own world view and as soon as we can get him to take that mask off to see who he really is, then we are making real progress. When people argue against Christianity, we have to use the Bible because the Bible is the tool that God has given us to defend what we believe. So what are some common objections to Christianity that you guys have or have heard in the past? With the time we have, I want to show you how we can use the Bible to tear down the arguments of unbelievers.