Posted on 03/30/2007 11:03:33 AM PDT by Gamecock
"It is Written: Sola Scriptura"
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" John 10:27. By Richard Bennett
SCRIPTURE ALONE IS INSPIRED AND INHERENTLY AUTHORITATIVE. The Biblical message breathed out by God is revelation in written form. (2 Timothy 3:15-16). The Biblical claim is that what God has inspired was His written word (2 Peter 1:20-21). When the Lord Jesus Christ said, "the Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35), He was speaking of Gods written word. The events, actions, commandments, and truths from God are given to us in propositional, i.e. logical, written sentences. Gods declaration in Scripture is that it and it alone, is this final authority in all matters of faith and morals. Thus there is only one written source from God, and there is only one basis of truth for the Lord's people in the Church.
THE TRUTH AND THE SCRIPTURE
The Lord Jesus Christ, in His great high priestly prayer, declared clearly the truth of God's Word. He said, "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." This was consistent with the declarations right through the Old Testament in which the Holy Spirit continually proclaims that the revelation from God is truth, as for example Psalm 119:142, "thy law is truth." The Lord Himself therefore identified truth with the written Word. There is no source other than to Scripture alone to which such a statement applies. That source alone, the Holy Scripture, is the believers standard of truth. In the New Testament, it is the written word of God and that alone to which the Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles refer as the final authority. In the temptation, the Lord Jesus three times resisted Satan, saying, "It is written" as for example, in Matthew 4:4, "he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." In stating "It is written," the Lord used the exact same phrase that is used in the Holy Bible forty six times. The persistence of the repeated phrase underlines its importance. The Lord's total acceptance of the authority of the Old Testament is evident in His words found in Matthew 5:17-18,
OTHER SOURCES OF AUTHORITY CONDEMNED Furthermore, in refuting the errors of the Sadducees, the Scripture records the Lord saying, "Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God" (Matthew 22:29). Christ Jesus continually castigated and rebuked the Pharisees because they made their tradition on a par with the Word of God. He condemned them because they were attempting to corrupt the very basis of truth by equating their traditions to the Word of God. So He declared to them in Mark 7:13 "[You are] making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such things do ye." Since Scripture alone is inspired, it alone is the ultimate authority and it alone is the final judge of Tradition.
The Word of the Lord says as a commandment in Proverbs 30:5,6 "Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar." God commands that we are not to add to His Word: this command shows emphatically that it is God's Word alone that is pure and uncontaminated. Aligned with Proverbs, the Lords strong, clear declaration in Isaiah 8:20 is: "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." The truth is this: since Gods written word alone is inspired, it¾ and it alone¾ is the sole rule of faith. It cannot be otherwise.
THE EXPRESSION "SOLA SCRIPTURA" From the time of the giving of the Decalogue on Mt. Sinai, when Holy God wrote with His finger on the tablets of stone (Exodus 31:18), until this present day, the written word of God has been extant in the world. The term "sola Scriptura" or "the Bible alone" as the measure of truth is short hand, as it were, for the emphatic and repeated statements of Scripture and of the commandment of God. The very phrase " It is written" means exclusively transcribed, and not hearsay. The command to believe what is written means to believe only the pure word of God. It separates from all other sources the corpus what a man is to believe. What is at stake before the All Holy God is His incorruptible truth.
In the very last commandment in the Bible God resolutely tells us not to add to nor take away from His Word.
His Word is absolutely sufficient in itself. (Psalm 119:160) THE PRESCRIPT AND INTERPRETATION The principle of "sola Scriptura" is consistent with the very way in which the word of truth that comes from God, is to be interpreted, as Psalm 36:9 explains, "For with thee is the fountain of life; in thy light we see light". God's truth is seen in the light of God's truth. This is exactly the same as the Apostle Paul says, "Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth but which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual" (I Corinthians 2:13). It is precisely in the light which God's truth sheds, that His truth is seen. (Cp. John 3:18-21, II Corinthians 4:3-7.)
The Apostle Peter, under the impulse of the Holy Spirit, declares, "knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation. For prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Peter 1:20-21). Logically then, Peter makes it very clear that in order to maintain the purity of Holy God's written word, the source of interpretation must be from the same pure source as the origin of the Scripture itself. Scripture can only be understood correctly in the light of Scripture¾since it alone is uncorrupted. It is only with the Holy Spirit's light that Scripture can be comprehended correctly. The Holy Spirit causes those who are the Lord's to understand Scripture (John 14:16-17, 26). Since the Spirit does this by Scripture, obviously, it is in accord with the principle that Scripture itself is the infallible rule of interpretation of its own truth "it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth" (I John 5:6). Those truly desiring to be true to Lord in this very matter of the standard of "sola Scriptura" must turn to the Lord to obey His command, "Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you" (Proverbs 1:23). If one is yearning of truth in this essential matter, in the attitude of Psalm 51:17 "with a broken and a contrite heart", the Lord God will not despise, but reveal to him or her the basic foundation where the Lord Christ Jesus stood, as did the apostles. In the words of the Apostle John, "This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true." (John 21:24). The Apostle John wrote, as did Peter and Paul, in order that those who are saved should know that his testimony is true
THE ADEQUACY OF SCRIPTURE The total sufficiency of Scripture is declared by the Apostle Paul, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." (2 Timothy 3:16-17). For final truth and authority, all that we need is the Scripture. THE CLAIM THAT SOLA SCRIPTURA WAS NOT POSSIBLE In an attempt to justify a tradition as an authority, an appeal is often made to the very last verse in John's gospel where it is stated, "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen". (John 21:25) Of course there were many of the deeds and sayings of the Lord, which are not recorded in Scripture. Scripture is the authoritative record that Holy God has given His people. We do not have a single sentence that is authoritatively from the Lord, outside of what is in the written word. To appeal to a tradition for authority when Holy God did not give it is futile. The idea that somehow sayings and events from the Lord have been recorded in tradition is simply not true.
Another desperate attempt to justify tradition, is the statement that the early church did not have the New Testament. The Apostle Peter speaks about the writings of the Apostle Paul when he states, "even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction" (2 Peter 3:15-16). Peter also declares that he was writing so that the believers could remember what he said. So he wrote, "Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth" (2 Peter 1:12). From the earliest times a substantial part of the New Testament was available. Under the inspiration of the Lord, the Apostle Paul commands his letters to be read in other churches besides those to which they were sent. This clearly shows that the written word of God was being circulated even as the Apostles lived. The Lord's command to believe what is written has always been something that the believers could obey and did obey. In this matter we must have the humility commanded in the Scripture not to think above what is written. "that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another" (1 Corinthians 4:6). THE REGULATION AND OUR LOVE OF GOD
The Lord brings the topic of truth to bear on our love for Him. This again underscores its importance. "Jesus answered and said to him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings; and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent Me" (John 14:23-24). And then again "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Matthew 24:35). The Lord himself looked to the authority of the Scriptures alone, as did His apostles after Him. They confirmed the very message of the Old Testament. "The law of the LORD is perfect" (Psalm 19:7). The believer is to be true to the way of the Lord, holding alone to what is written: "Thy Word is truth."
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Dis donc, ou est la bibliotheque? :)
So 86% of Protestant Ministers are Celibate?
Actually that must be what Jesus wrote in the sand at the prostitute stoning incident. Jesus figured writing in sand lasted just about as long as He wanted scriptura to last. He did not follow 'what was written'.
Jesus believed in teaching through people both good and not so good. If Jesus believed that writing scriptura was the best way to teach, Jesus would have written it.
Dude, I've lost so many rosaries I've lost track. Course I've broken more, as have my little girls who seem to think they are necklaces. I got me ten fingers so I know I'm good. Plus there's the big child size one hanging on my daughters' bedroom wall. Yeah, not too worried about it. Plus, the be all and end all of worship is not the rosary. I have almost all the psalms for evening prayer and night prayer memorized, so I got that going for me too. And since the rosary is simply a way to meditate on the life of Christ, I don't think it's going to throw me for too big a loop if I can't find one.
So why was this supposed to be an earth shattering event in my life?
What if your church burns to the ground???
Dude that so already happened, and I suppose should it happen again we would just do what we did last time, move into the parish hall.
Okay, so it didn't burn to the ground, but it was a four alarmer, and the fire department couldn't figure out how it wasn't completely lost. We know why. Once again, how is this supposed to be some earth shattering event in my life? It's so been there done that.
What if you lose your missal
I haven't had a missal in twenty years. Seriously, got one for my first communion, haven't had one since. Now, if I lost my children's missal, that would be awful. Keeps the girls entertained and away from books that they could damage.
all of your priests quit with no one to consecrate your wine and bread???
Well now, I don't know yet. On my list of things to plan for, this is right under what to do when aliens invade and they only speak French so when I figure that out, I'll move onto your proposed dilemma. Off the top of my head, I guess I would hunt down one of the eight guys I went to school with who are already ordained.
What if the pope dies and he's not replaced???
This is under both the alien concern and the no priests concern. So once again, I haven't really thought about it. Something tells me that with unbroken succession over the last two thousand years, I have better things to worry about. Plus, my Lord and Savior made it very clear that the gates of Hell will not prevail against His Church. So, because I trust Him, I don't worry about this.
Where's your religion then???
Dude, my beliefs are not a thing that can get lost, like the aforementioned rosary. It is knowing and loving the Truth.
Pretty clear Peter was stone, not a rock...But even had he been a rock, he not the rock Jesus built his church on...
Eph 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body.
Do you see Peter's name in there anywhere???
If you found a bible lying on the beach and Matthew 16:18 was bleached out by the sun and you studied fervently the entire rest of the bible, you could not possibly come away with a conclusion that Jesus Christ built His church on anyone other than Himself...
ROTFLMAO. That is the funniest response I think I've seen on Freepers in a long time. Outstanding work. Much more humorous then mine.
Holy Smoke...Someone stole Jesus...
Protestants don't find fault with kneeling. The problem is what RCs choose to drop to their knees in front of.
Christians are instructed to kneel to none but Christ. Anything else is idolatry.
But church tradition~~~
** Ren Hoek **
Who is HE?
Who is HE?
You don't know Ren Hoek?
Sorry, don't watch cartoons! (Or have kids that do.)
Duelling verses??? I don't see any verses from you. Just more "magisterium knows best."
I'll merely have to point back to the fact the Jesus calls His Church the Pillar of Truth and commands us to go to Her for teaching and instruction.
Scripture tells us our understanding comes from the Holy Spirit guiding us through Scripture.
"Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual." -- 1 Corinthians 2:13 "And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." -- Romans 5:5
May God bless all of you with the desire of your hearts, to come ever closer to the Lord.
I too look forward to that glorious day!
What's NVR and hyper-dulia???
It may be oh-too-obvious but since it came upon me this way, I thought I'd better post it here as a follow-up.
"Burn all my clothes, Martha, I'm going to Heaven!"
Much appreciate the ping and thoughts, A-G.
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