By Scripture Alone—Sola
Scriptura
Linking Faith’s Content and Faith’s
Lifestyle
May 2, 2020
Larry R Evans
Introduction
Sola
Scriptura is a term
most of us have heard. We understand it
to mean that “the Bible is the sole infallible
source of authority for Christian faith and practice.”
We also
associate the term with the Reformation, as we should. We need to be clear in our speaking and
teachings that the Bible is not a substitute for God. The Bible is not God. It
directs us to God. It is “God-breathed” instruction and guidance (2 Tim. 3:16).
We do respect and treat the Bible with reverence. It is God’s voice speaking through the
ages in recorded messages He gave to His messengers with the intent of bringing us into
harmony with God and with the plan He has for each of us.
“None but those who have fortified the mind with the truths
of the Bible will stand through the last great conflict. To every soul will
come the searching test: Shall I obey God rather than men? The decisive hour is
even now at hand.” The Great Controversy, p.
594)
Before we go
any further, let’s take a quiz which will serve as a general outline for our
study today.
Quiz
1. T/F The
first example for the need for Sola Scriptura is found in the
temptations of Jesus in the wilderness.
2. T/F Scriptural
interpretation is contemporary. This
means that the Bible is not only relevant but that we interpret Scripture in
accordance as we perceive what our needs are.
3. T/F “Our sacred responsibility as
Seventh-day Adventists is to protect, lift up, and promote the lifesaving power
of God’s sure Word—the Bible.”
4. T/F “The Scriptures are the sole infallible rule of
faith and practice.”
5. T/F There
are two gospels in the Bible. The first
is the Old Testament and the second is the New Testament.
6. T/F The
clarity of the Bible enables us to have our questions answered.
7. T/F The
Bible is its own expositor.
8. T/F To
give greater credibility to Scripture, it is helpful to quote from Ellen White.
9. T/F To
communicate faith-as-life means that faith’s lifestyle as well as faith’s
content needs to be learned and linked as they are being taught.
Sola
Scriptura
While the Reformers were
critical of the traditions being held by the church, they also took exception
to the influence of some theological leaders.
Thomas Aquinas believed that while the will had been marred by
the Fall, the mind had not. Rational thought could find the answers to
the great questions that confront mankind.
(1) Who are we? (2) What is our purpose? (3) What makes something
morally right or wrong?
While the Reformers were
not opposed to thinking, they believed that man needs the answers given by God
in the Bible. They needed not only a God who exists, but a God who has spoken
in a way that could be understood. To
the Reformation thinkers, authority was not divided between the Bible and
the church. The church was under
the teaching of the Bible. This
position was in serious contrast with the humanistic thought of the time. Hence, the development of the term Sola
Scriptura—The Bible Alone.
1. T/F The
first example for the need for Sola Scriptura is found in the
temptations of Jesus in the wilderness.
Jesus
certainly quoted Scripture. In the
Garden Eve broke with the spoken word of God and chose a different source for
her authority. She not only listened to
the serpent she established different criteria for interpreting her
situation: (1) It was “good for food”
(she had no need for food); (2) It was “pleasing to the eye.” (pleasure was an
interpretation principle); (3) Her source was “desirable for gaining wisdom.”
(Though God had spoken she sought a “wisdom” other than God.). With Eve’s
temptation, we find the platform for future trends that lead to man asserting
his thoughts and wisdom above that of God’s but present it as if it God’s
thoughts or teachings.
2. T/F Scriptural
interpretation is contemporary. This
means that the Bible is not only relevant but that we interpret Scripture in
accordance as we perceive what our needs are.
What this
The question is attempting to do is to raise the danger of reading into the Bible
rather than allowing the Bible to speak to us.
There is nothing wrong with finding contemporary answers to real
questions. The danger arises when
Scripture is manipulated to meet current issues without taking into
consideration the context of the scriptural passage.
3. T/F “Our sacred responsibility as
Seventh-day Adventists is to protect, lift up, and promote the lifesaving power
of God’s sure Word—the Bible.”
This is a
quote by one of our church leaders in an Adventist publication. Another publication used this statement to
say that the leader was guilty of bibliolatry.
The writer said, “If
our attention to scripture turns scripture itself into the means of our
salvation, we run the risk of idolizing the Bible. To be sure, there is a fine
line between drawing attention to scripture and drawing attention to the God of
scripture. Our tendency toward literalism risks sacralizing the text itself.” Is his concern a valid concern? Does the statement by the church leaders
substantiate his concern?
“The truth and the glory of God are inseparable; it’s
impossible for us, with the Bible within our reach, to honor God by erroneous
opinions.” (The Great Controversy, p. 597)
4. T/F The Scriptures are the sole
infallible rule of faith and practice.”
The keyword
in “By Scripture alone” is “alone.” The final authority when matters of faith
and doctrine are at issue. The Bible does speak of prophets in the last days
but it also speaks of false prophets. The
Bible becomes the final authority in determining what is false and what is
false.
5. T/F There
are two gospels in the Bible. The first
is the Old Testament and the second is the New Testament.
With God as
the Bible’s ultimate author it is safe to assume that there is basic unity and
harmony among its 66 books. There is no discord between the Old Testament and
the New Testament. Paul, for example, in
Romans 3:10-18 has scriptural citations from Ecclesiastes (7:20), Psalms
(14:2,3; 5:9; 10:7) and Isaiah (59:7,8).
6. T/F The
clarity of the Bible enables us to have our questions answered.
The Bible
assumes the priesthood of all believers rather than restricting the
interpretation to a priest or pastor. Note the expectations of Jesus:
“Jesus said
to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures,. . .” (Matt 21:42)
“But He said
to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his
companions . . .” (Matt. 12:3)
“An understanding of Bible truth depends not so much on the
power of intellect brought to the search as on the singleness of purpose, the
earnest longing after righteousness. GC
599.2
“The Bible should never be studied
without prayer.” (Great Controversy, 599)
7. T/F The
Bible is its own expositor.
The Bible is its own expositor. Scripture is to be compared
with scripture. The student should learn to view the word as a whole and to
see the relation of its parts. He should gain a knowledge of its grand central
theme, of God's original purpose for the world, of the rise of the great
controversy, and of the work of redemption. (Education,
p.190)
8. T/F To
give greater credibility to Scripture, it is helpful to quote from Ellen White.
How can the Lord bless those who manifest a spirit of “I
don't care,” a spirit which leads them to walk contrary to the light which the
Lord has given them? But I do not ask you to take my words. Lay Sister White to
one side. Do not quote my words again as long as you live until you can obey
the Bible. (3SM, p.33)
But God will have a people upon the earth to maintain the
Bible, and the Bible only, as the standard of all doctrines and the basis of
all reforms. The opinions of learned men, the deductions of science, the creeds
or decisions of ecclesiastical councils, as numerous and discordant as are the
churches which they represent, the voice of the majority—not one nor all of
these should be regarded as evidence for or against any point of religious
faith. Before accepting any doctrine or precept, we should demand a plain “Thus
saith the Lord” in its support. GC
595.1
Application of Bible to Life
9. T/F To
communicate faith-as-life means that faith’s lifestyle as well as faith’s
content needs to be learned and linked as they are being taught.
For our purposes, the whole
person is composed of (1) Beliefs, (2) Attitudes/Feelings/Emotions, and (3)
Behaviors. We can illustrate it this
way:
As we teach
from the Bible, oftentimes where is most of our attention focused? Is that wrong? Should the dimensions of the
person also receive some attention? If
this is true, does this lessen the role or the authority of the Bible? Does it give even more emphasis to what the
Bible says?
We can
illustrate the emphasis that is given when only the cognitive or mental assent
to a belief is made this way:
The following
illustrates a “whole person” focus.
“If we are
dealing with lifestyle issues, we must concern ourselves with the person as a
whole. Rather than seeking to induce
change and growth by contacting the personality at a single point (his
knowledge or beliefs), we need to contact persons at every point of their
personalities . . . at the same time.” (Lawrence Richards in A Theology of Christian
Education, p.65)
Faith’s lifestyle as well
as faith’s content needs to be learned and linked as they are being taught.
He Is Risen!
The danger
above is helpful but there is also a danger.
It is easy to make Christianity an art of psychology and in the process minimize
the objectivity of the Bible. Sola Scriptura
can easily morph into Prima Scriptura – the Bible’s authority chief among other
sources rather than the “sole infallible
source of authority for Christian faith and practice.” The experience of Thomas in John 20
illustrates that when his heart and mind and emotions met Jesus, Thomas was a “whole”
new person and with an attitude change and with sincere conviction Thomas could
say, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)
Concluding Thought
As you read
the following quotes, observe how mind, spirit or attitude and behavior merge
together into God-given appeals.
“In reviewing our past history, having traveled
over every step of advance to our present standing, I can say, Praise God! As
I see what God has wrought, I am filled with astonishment,
and with confidence in Christ as leader. We have
nothing to fear for the future except as we shall forget
the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in
our past history.” TM 31.1
Do you find hope,
confidence, belief, emotional readiness appealed to in the following quotes?
“God has not passed His people by and chosen
one solitary man here and another there as the only ones worthy to be entrusted
with His truth. He does not give one man new light contrary to
the established faith of the body. In every reform men have
arisen making this claim.... Let none be self-confident, as
though God had given them special light above their brethren.... LDE 90.6
I warn you to beware of these side issues,
whose tendency is to divert the mind from the truth. Error is
never harmless. It never sanctifies, but always brings confusion
and dissension.—Testimonies for the Church 5:291, 292 (1885). LDE 91.2
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