Jesus is now speaking in Latin? I thought it was Aramaic.
Where is the locus of permanence in Christianity? You must answer that it is an institution. Others will say the acts of God throughout history (heilgeshicte), others say in the experiences (good Charismatics apply here) and good Baptists (and some bad ones) will say Doctrine (and thunder their fist on the pulpit). I say (with Barth) that permanence in Christianity is in a way of life.
But how do we know what that "way of life" is? Through the teaching of Scripture, primarily. The center of Christ's prophecies and teachings center around this "reign of God" that has broken into "this present evil age." The leaven that leavens the whole loaf. The mustard seed that moves mountains.
All that to say that hyper sola Scriptura would require a statement within Scripture in support of itself. But sola Scriptura is a principle that places Scripture at the fore of the life of faith. It is a sound principle because Scripture is God's self-revelation to us. It is in the Scripture that God has chosen to show us who He is, what He has done, what He will do, His plan for humanity.
The Scripture has claims in it that it is inspired. (e.g. - 2 Peter 1:20-21). Here Peter is affirming that the prophecies of the OT was moved along by the Spirit of God. The impetus was the Holy Spirit. Our favorite passage is another example. 2 Tim. 3:16. The idea conveyed here is that the sacred writings (which Paul assumes Timothy knows) are breathed by God. Peter uses the OT authoritatively in his preaching in Acts 1. God spoke through the mouth of David. This idea is repeated in Ats 3:18,21 and 4:25. The message equates "it is written in Scripture" with "God said it."
This fits well with the messages of the OT prophets. Time and again they say, "Thus says the Lord..." Micah wrote, "But they shall site every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts has spoken." Isaiah affirms, "For the Lord spoke thus to me....saying..." Jeremiah says, "These are the words which the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah." Amos says, "Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel." And we not mention, except in passing, the obvious authority which Jesus ascribes to the OT.
Furthermore, Scripture is viewed as permanent. John 10:35 - "Scripture cannot be broken." Especially interesting is the comparison Jesus makes in Mt. 24. For two things were considered sacred to the Jew, the temple and the Scripture. Jesus says that the Temple will completely destroyed (not one stone left upon another) but emphasizes the unchanging and everlasting nature of Scripture.
So the Scripture is God-breathed. It is God's revelation of Himself to us. If we are Christians, then we desire to be like Christ. And our best and by far most comprehensive source for information about Christ is the Bible. So it seems natural that our theology should primarily flow from a God-breathed source (the self-revelation of God supplied for that very purpose) which tells us the most about the God-Man who we desire to emulate.
Note that this does not eliminate other sources for theology - tradition, general revelation, philosophy, etc. But they must be viewed through the lens of the glasses God has given us to see Him.
I disagree with this. The two most sacred things to the Jew are the Scriptures and the Covenant. The Temple is simply a place where God designated sacrifice to occur. Jews existed before the first temple, in the time between the two temples, and after the destruction of the second temple.
Good post, though. Yours?