Sola Scriptura - AM
Sola Scriptura
Tradition! …
I have spoken against the thoughtlessness of doing something out of mere tradition…
Allow me to reemphasize, that we should always think and know why we do what we do! No question there…
But I do want to encourage caution will loosely speaking against “tradition”!
Tradition is not—of itself—unprofitable, unbiblical, or otherwise ‘not good’…
it is the source of tradition, that is the critical issue…
the source of tradition should always be carefully considered in our lives!
Semper Reformanda…
Are you?
5 days from today will mark 491 years since the spark of the greatest controversy the modern church has ever experienced was ignited!
The day was October 31, 1517… the place was Wittenberg, Germany…
a 34 year old professor of theology at the university of Whitesburg…
This first thing I ask is that people should not make use of my name, and should not call themselves Lutherans but Christians. What is Luther? The teaching is not mine. Nor was I crucified for anyone … How did I, poor stinking bag of maggots that I am, come to the point where people call the children of Christ by my evil name? --Luther
Please accept a disclaimer…
… and this is not so much a sermon as it is a study and application of Scripture…
[Matt 3]
Reformation today? → A Reformation can never be born out of apathy…
Then there are some who are fanatical about the Reformation…
this too is err…
Let us not get so caught up in God’s use of other people, that we loose sight of God!
Let us not be drawn to the history and power of the Reformation for the sake of Reform… but rather let it be for the sake of Christ!
Why do we study the Word of God so extensively?
Is it because being right is so important us?
No, it should be because rightly knowing Christ is so important to us!
SOLA FIDE
NAS Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "But the righteous man shall live by faith."
“These words were the very gate to paradise” … “the sweetest of words”
NAS Romans 5:1 Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
NAS Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast.
That it is faith alone which on our part is required to interest us in that righteousness, or whereby we comply with God's grant and communication of it, or receive it unto our use and benefit; for although this faith is in itself the radical principle of all obedience,-- and whatever is not so, which cannot, which does not, on all occasions, evidence, prove, show, or manifest itself by works, is not of the same kind with it,--yet, as we are justified by it, its act and duty is such, or of that nature, as that no other grace, duty, or work, can be associated with it, or be of any consideration. And both these are evidently confirmed in that description which is given us in the Scripture of the nature of faith and believing unto the justification of life.
- John Owen, The Doctrine Of Justification By Faith
SOLA GRATIA
NAS Titus 3:4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, 5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
NAS Romans 5:15 But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.
NAS Ephesians 2:5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
I think it well to turn a little to one side that I may ask my reader to observe adoringly the fountain-head of our salvation, which is the grace of God. "By grace are ye saved." Because God is gracious, therefore sinful men are forgiven, converted, purified, and saved. It is not because of anything in them, or that ever can be in them, that they are saved; but because of the boundless love, goodness, pity, compassion, mercy, and grace of God. Tarry a moment, then, at the well-head. Behold the pure river of water of life, as it proceeds out of the throne of God and of the Lamb! What an abyss is the grace of God! Who can measure its breadth? Who can fathom its depth? Like all the rest of the divine attributes, it is infinite.
- Charles H. Spurgeon, All Of Grace
SOLO CHRISTO
NAS Ephesians 2:12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
NAS John 3:36 "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
NAS Acts 4:12 "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved."
NAS John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.
NAS 1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony borne at the proper time.
That there is no remedy but in Jesus Christ; there is nothing else will give you true quietness. If you could fly into heaven, you would not find it there; if you should take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the earth, in some solitary place in the wilderness, you could not fly from your burden. So that if you do not come to Christ, you must either continue still weary and burdened, or, which is worse, you must return to your old dead sleep, to a state of stupidity; and not only so, but you must be everlastingly wearied with God's wrath.
Consider that Christ is a remedy at hand. You need not wish for the wings of a dove that you may fly afar off, and be at rest, but Christ is nigh at hand, if you were but sensible of it. Romans 10:6, 7, 8. "But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart; that is, the word of faith which we preach." There is no need of doing any great work to come at this rest; the way is plain to it; it is but going to it, it is but sitting down under Christ's shadow. Christ requires no money to purchase rest of him, he calls to us to come freely, and for nothing. If we are poor and have no money, we may come. Christ sent out his servants to invite the poor, the maimed, the halt, and the blind. Christ does not want to be hired to accept of you, and to give you rest. It is his work as Mediator to give rest to the weary, it is the work that he was anointed for, and in which he delights. "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound."
- Jonathan Edwards, Safety, Fulness and Sweet Refreshment in Christ
SOLI DEO GLORIA
NAS 1 Chronicles 16:23 Sing to the LORD, all the earth; Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. 24 Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. 25 For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; He also is to be feared above all gods. 26 For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens. 27 Splendor and majesty are before Him, Strength and joy are in His place. 28 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. 29 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him; Worship the LORD in holy array. 30 Tremble before Him, all the earth; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved. 31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; And let them say among the nations, "The LORD reigns."
NAS Romans 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 34 For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? 35 Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? 36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
From the purest principles of reason, as well as from the fountain of revealed truth, he demonstrates that the chief and ultimate end of the Supreme Being, in the works of creation and providence, was the manifestation of his own glory in the highest happiness of his creatures.
--Jonathan Edwards
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But each of these convictions are borne out of one, fundamentally necessary source… GOD!
And the means by which God has chosen to communicate to mankind, to translate His will to us, to reveal Himself and preserve the historical record of His works… is found in Scripture Alone!
SOLA SCRIPTURA
Evangelical: “At the Reformation the name ‘evangelical’ was given to the Lutherans who sought to redirect Christianity to the gospel and renew the church on the basis of God’s authoritative Word.” –EDT
I simply taught, preached, wrote God’s Word; otherwise I did nothing… the Word so greatly weakened the papacy that never a prince or emperor did such damage to it. I did nothing. –Luther
“The Scripture Principle, the commitment to sola scriptura, is an essential and defining feature of evangelical theology.” –Clark
NAS 1 Corinthians 15:1 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand,
"Unless I am convinced by proofs from Scriptures or by plain and clear reasons and arguments, I can and will not retract, for it is neither safe nor wise to do anything against conscience. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen."
In this statement, Luther demonstrates his willingness to die for what the Bible says!
Where do you stand?
How do you see the Bible?
If our faith is built upon sola scriptura, then what if the Scripture is attacked?
Our faith is attacked!
Knowing this…
NAS Psalm 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
NAS 2 Timothy 3:14 You, however,
· Notice the contrast to “evil men and imposters” v.13
· Notice that such “will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” v.13
· What follows is specifically addressing how to counter being deceived and deceiving!
continue (command to commit to continuous action) lit. “be abiding”
in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them;
· “have learned” → ‘disciple’ → intentional learning → he did the learning!
· “convinced of” → made sure, firmly believe, proved
· “from whom” → plural
15 and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
· Do we hold to the traditional view of the canon: it is out of logical necessity that we must maintain a defined rule of authoritative writings? In part, for although logic is not the ultimate arbitrator in the matter, logic must nevertheless be employed to guard from irrational thought that leads to inconsistencies between what is said to be true and reality.
· Is it out of wishful thinking? Anyone who invests any serious commitment to their faith certainly wants the basis of their beliefs to be real, that is true to reality. However, the compelling desire to want something to be true may serve in part as motive but cannot suffice as a defense.
“We must not underestimate the importance of this question.”
Ten Commandments the earliest collection of written words of God.
NAS Exodus 31:18 And when He had finished speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger of God.
NAS Exodus 32:16 And the tablets were God's work, and the writing was God's writing engraved on the tablets.
NAS Deuteronomy 10:5 "Then I turned and came down from the mountain, and put the tablets in the ark which I had made; and there they are, as the LORD commanded me."
NAS Deuteronomy 31:24 And it came about, when Moses finished writing the words of this law in a book until they were complete, 25 that Moses commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying, 26 "Take this book of the law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may remain there as a witness against you.
NAS Jeremiah 30:2 "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book.
NAS Isaiah 30:8 Now go, write it on a tablet before them And inscribe it on a scroll, That it may serve in the time to come As a witness forever.
NAS Ezekiel 43:11 "And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the house, its structure, its exits, its entrances, all its designs, all its statutes, and all its laws. And write it in their sight, so that they may observe its whole design and all its statutes, and do them.
NAS Habakkuk 2:2 Then the LORD answered me and said, "Record the vision And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run.
NAS Luke 16:29 "But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.'
NAS John 20:30 Many other signs therefore Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;
NAS Matthew 5:18 "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished.
NAS Matthew 24:35 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words shall not pass away.
NAS Exodus 17:14 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this in a book as a memorial, and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven."
NAS 1 Corinthians 10:11 Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
NAS 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
NAS 2 Timothy 3:17 that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
NAS 2 Timothy 4:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths.
NAS Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden '?"
NAS John 5:39 "You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me;
NAS 1 Corinthians 2:13 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.
NAS Galatians 1:11 For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. 12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
NAS Matthew 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 And Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
NAS 1 Corinthians 14:37 If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord's commandment.
NAS Romans 15:4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
NAS Revelation 1:3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.
Marks of an accepted canon!
NAS Luke 24:44 Now He said to them, "These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled."
· “Establishing the canon was God’s action; recognizing it was the church’s.” –Snider
· the NT canon was “established” in the 1st century, but was recognized over the next 3 centuries
· no one set of criteria
· unbelievers won’t get it → it is in a “divine language” [analogy of language]
[analogy of declaring Bach and Beethoven to be the greatest musician → “thanks for nothing”]
Calvin called the “interior witness of the Holy Spirit”
this testimony does not create the authority of Scripture (which exists already on its own right), but is the means by which believers come to acknowledge that authority.
[analogy of the soul and body → relationship to word of God and the Bible]
Reasons:
· rise of heretics
· circulation of spurious writings
· missions
· persecution → would you die for a nice/divine book
God must move in order for us poor limited creatures to see Him.
Is the canon closed?
NAS Deuteronomy 4:2 "You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
NAS Revelation 22:19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.
· Now, the consistent hermeneutist would say, this book only…?
o Last book
o Last apostle
o Last things
o Last words
o Case of Deut. → Torah → normative rule of faith (closed)
§ Miraculous revelation of God testified by many witnesses
§ All prior recognized Scripture anticipated a future miraculous event → closed until then
· Analogy of OT close of canon until Christ’s 1st advent
In reference to the Scriptures, Luther wrote his final words on a scrap of paper, referring to the supremacy of the Bible, he wrote, “we should bend low in reverence before it.” –Luther
Scripture needs no defense!
Spurgeon → “unleash”
NAS 1 Peter 1:20 For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you 21 who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
“The church, far from having priority over Scripture, is really the creation of Scripture, born in the womb of Scripture. ‘For who begets his own parent?’ Luther asked. ‘Who first brings forth his own maker?’”
· Example of John the Baptist! → before but after! (John 1:30)
· Analogy of Works! → The activity of the church bore witness to a reality that was determined external to their choosing… their recognition and affirmations did not make these writings the Word of God, but rather testified that they were!
Application:
· READ – (15min. / day)
o consistency (eating)
o priority (choice) → fear/love?
o Don’t read to read! or to fulfill an obligation
§ Read to grow, imbibe (drink in), learn, and know GOD!
· CONTEXT
o Do not look for special meaning → observe principles
· TOO DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND?
o Focus on what you do understand and grow in that
o Be cautious of private understanding & commentators
· REPEATEDLY
· THOROUGHLY
o Be good Bereans, search out the Scriptures to confirm what you hear and what you understand
· PRAYER
o Faith → Holy Spirit → YOU CAN!!
§ Don’t need to be a scholar
· HUMILITY
· EXAMINATION OF SELF, NOT OTHERS
· SEEK APPLICATION IN YOUR DAILY LIFE
· MEMORIZE
· THINK UPON!
· SHARE WITH OTHERS
o 1ST in your life
o 2nd in your words
§ proclaim and read and recite to others
§ Preaching is not telling others what to do or what to believe, it is communicating and explaining God… His work, and His will … to others w/ conviction and dare I say passion of personal ownership!
NAS Isaiah 66:1 Thus says the LORD, "Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? 2 "For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being," declares the LORD. "But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.