Sola Scriptura: Scripture Alone
by Stanford Murrell
"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, throughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
In the spring of 1521, the Parliament of the German state assembled and demanded the appearance of Dr. Martin Luther. Since October 31, 1517, Luther had set the world on fire with his teachings and now he must give an account of himself. Obedient to the crown, Luther journeyed to Worms believing that he had been summoned to debate his theological positions. That was not to be the case, however. Luther was really being summoned to recant his position at the instance of the 21 year old emperor, Charles V under the influence of the Roman Catholic Church.
In Worms, late in the afternoon, 4:00 PM, April 17th, Luther was ushered into a large room where the nobility of the land had assembled including the king and the royalty of Rome. His books were spread on a table. Luther was to answer two questions in a simple and straightforward manner: "Are these your writings?" and "Will you recant the writings and the beliefs that they contain?"
For the moment Luther was caught off guard. He had come to debate his works not to renounce them. In desperation Luther asked for more time to consider the request and one day was granted. Luther was to return the next afternoon. At the appointed hour Luther re-appeared. He was ready to answer the questions. Yes, the writings were his, and no he would not recant what he had written for this reason:
"Not all of the books are of the same kind: some deal with matters of faith which popes and priests alike have universally applauded as being worthy of a Christian's perusal. Others do attack the papacy, and the teaching of the papist. But what is that? Truth is truth!
Therefore, Your Most Serene Majesty and Your Lordships, since they seek a simple reply, I will give one that is without horns or teeth, and in this fashion: I believe in neither pope nor councils alone; for it is perfectly well established that they have frequently erred, as well as contradicted themselves.
Unless then I shall be convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason, I must be bound by those Scriptures, which have been brought forward by me; yes, my conscience has been taken captive by these words of God. I cannot revoke anything, nor do I wish to; since to go against one's conscience is neither safe nor right: here I stand, I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen."
In that moment, the doctrine that the Bible alone is the ultimate authority for all faith and practice was established as the formal principle of the Reformation.
We have in our possession the most unique book on planet earth. Written over a period of one thousand five hundred years by about forty different authors on three continents in three languages the Bible is profitable, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. The Bible is a book with a purpose which is simply, "That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." When we pick up a copy of the Bible we notice immediately it is one book. Though it contains sixty six works it is still one book for there is an essential unity to the Bible.
There are many, however, who attempt to destroy the unity of the book by denying its inspiration, by dividing God’s Word into multiple dispensations or by pitting Moses against Christ, but the Bible remains one book for the "New Testament is in the Old contained while the Old Testament is in the New explained." Someone else has written, "The New Testament is in the Old concealed while the Old Testament is in the New revealed."
What is the message that is contained in the Bible? What is the glorious truth explained in the Bible but this: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). The Bible is all about Christ and so we find Him in every verse of Scripture, in every chapter, and in every book.
In Genesis He is the Seed of the woman (3:15).
In Exodus He is the Lamb of God for sinners slain (see chapter 12).
In Leviticus He is our High Priest (the whole book).
In Numbers He is the Star out of Jacob (24:17).
In Deuteronomy He is the Prophet like unto Moses (18:15).
In Joshua He is the Captain of the Lord’s armies (5:13-15).
In Judges He is the Angel of the LORD or the messenger of Jehovah (chapter 13).
In Ruth He is our Kinsman-Redeemer (Chapter 3).
In Samuel, Kings and Chronicles He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (1 Samuel 8:1-9).
In Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther He is the sovereign Lord over all the kingdoms of the earth (entire books).
In Job He is our risen and returning Redeemer (Job 19:25).
In Psalms He is the Blessed Man (Psalm 1), the Son of Man (Psalm 2), the Crucified One (Psalm 22), the Coming One (Psalm 24), the Reigning One (Psalm 72).
In Proverbs He is our Wisdom (chapter 14).
In Ecclesiastes He is the forgotten Wise Man (9:14-15).
In Song of Solomon He is "My Beloved" (2:16).
In Isaiah He is our suffering Substitute (chapter 53).
In Jeremiah He is the LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS (23:6).
In Lamentations He is the Man of sorrows who weeps for His people (l: 12-18).
In Ezekiel He is the glory of God (1:28).
In Daniel He is the Smiting Stone (2:34) and the Companion in the furnace of fire and the den of lions (3:24-25; 6:22).
In Hosea He is David’s Greater King (3:5).
In Joel He is the Hope of His people (3:16).
In Amos He is the Rescuer of Israel (3:12).
In Obadiah He is the Deliverer upon Mount Zion (verse 17).
In Jonah He is the buried and risen Saviour (compare Matthew 12:40).
In Micah He is the Everlasting God born in Bethlehem (5:2).
In Nahum He is our Stronghold in the day of wrath (1:7).
In Habakkuk He is the Anchor of our faith (2:4).
In Zephaniah He is in the midst for judgment and cleansing (3:5,15).
In Haggai He is Lord of presence and power (1:13).
In Zechariah He is the smitten Shepherd (13:7).
In Malachi He is the Sun of Righteousness (4:2).
Because Christ is the single great theme of the Bible and unifies all the Scriptures, it would be proper to read the Bible as a whole. Writer Amos Wells reflected on our need for thorough Bible reading with a little verse of poetry:
"I supposed I knew my Bible,
Reading piecemeal, hit or miss,
Now a bit of John or Matthew,
Now a snatch of Genesis,
Certain chapters of Isaiah,
Certain Psalms (the twenty-third),
Twelfth of Romans, first of Proverbs –
Yes, I thought I knew the Word!
But I found that thorough reading
Was a different thing to do,
And the way was unfamiliar
When I read the Bible through.
You who like to play at Bible,
Dip and dabble, here and there,
Just before you kneel, aweary,
And yawn through a hurried prayer;
You who treat the Crown of Writings
As you treat no other book,
Just a paragraph, disjointed,
Just a crude, impatient look,
Try a worthier procedure,
Try a broad and steady view;
You will kneel in very rapture
When you read the Bible through."
Find Christ in the Scriptures. Read the Bible through. It is one book.
Second, the Bible is authoritative for it sets forth the mind of God, who is the Supreme Ruler of the universe. An American statesman named Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782–October 24, 1852) believed, "If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper; but if we or our posterity neglect its instructions and authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury all our glory and in profound obscurity."
I cannot speak for other nations but there was a day in America when the judgment of God fell upon our society in one great and severe stroke. What we are now witnessing with our economic crisis, high unemployment, slaughter of the unborn through abortion, and moral confusion can be traced in part to that precise day in America when the Bible and prayer were taken out of the classroom. The date: June 17, 1963, the day I turned nine years old. The place: the eastern district of the state of Pennsylvania. The decision of the Supreme Court of the Unites States ruled in favor of Mrs. Madalyn Murray (O’Hair) and her son, William J. Murray III, both professing atheists.
While professing respect for religion with their lips the Supreme Court ruled against God, against the Bible, and against prayer in the public schools. "The place of religion in our society is an exalted one, achieved through a long tradition of reliance on the home, the church and the inviolable citadel of the individual heart and mind. We have come to recognize through bitter experience that it is not within the power of government to invade that citadel, whether its purpose or effect be to aid or oppose, to advance or retard. In the relationship between man and religion, the State is firmly committed to a position of neutrality….It is so ordered."
By casting aside life’s ultimate authority, the nation drifted into war after war, fear of pandemic diseases, unsustainable debt, and gratuitous acts of murder. Daniel Webster was right. In 2008 sudden catastrophe overwhelmed us and may bury all of our glory and leave us in the dustbin of history in profound obscurity.
America is a beacon of light set high upon a hill to those who love and want freedom. But America can also serve as a warning to other nations including Nigeria. Do not reject the Bible. Be a nation of one Book. Submit to the sovereignty of God. Let the Bible be the rule by which all else is measured.
This is not easy to do for often there is a tremendous disconnect between the rhetoric of our religion and the reality of applying it on a daily basis. The apostle James recognized this and exhorted the church writing, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves" (James 1:22). Dr. Billy Graham is reported to have said that if a nation has trouble determining how long a yard is, it is because they have thrown away their ruler. And if a nation has trouble determining what is morally right and what it wrong it is because the nation has thrown away the moral measuring standard, the Bible. So let me ask, "Have you thrown away your moral standard? Is the Bible the rule by which you measure all else?"
Many years ago, 1896, Charles Sheldon wrote a novel in which a question was asked by individuals before they committed themselves to a course of action. The question was this. "What would Jesus do?" That is what we are after. What does the Bible tell us to do? What does the Bible tell us not to do? Do we measure our decisions by the teaching of Scripture?
Former President Ronald Reagan noted that, "Within the covers of one single book, the Bible, are all the answers to all the problems that face us today—if only we would read and believe." Men and women, let the Bible be the rule by which all else is measured and then let the Bible be the one guide for faith and practice.
I know that good people disagree on certain religious issues, but if we simply opened the Bible and properly examined God's Word then it might save on a lot of discussion. Some years ago while pastoring in a small town in Pennsylvania I had the occasion to visit with a lady who had become the pastor of a Lutheran church. In the course of the conversation I asked her a question. My desire was not to embarrass her, but I wanted to understand how she could justify being ordained and serving as the pastor of a local church. In particular I asked her by what scriptural authority she had stepped into that role of eldership for when we open the Bible we read very plainly the words of 1 Timothy 3:1. "This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work." God has spoken.
The Reformers said that all of our Christian practice should be rooted in Scripture by principle or by precept and I believe that with all my heart. The Reformers also said that our faith should be rooted only in Scripture.
I recently encountered a person who embraces Pre-tribulation, Pre-millennial, Dispensational theology. It took only a matter of minutes before I was being told with breathless excitement that the world was coming to an end for all the signs of the time were present. When I offered the suggestion that perhaps we should prepare to die but live with the blessed hope of the Lord’s return there was an immediate emotional outrage. "No, no. We are living in the last days and Jesus is coming soon!"
Neither did it help the matter when I ventured the opinion that many major concepts of the Dispensational view that are now being articulated and embraced are not part of the historic Christian faith. The idea of a revived Roman Empire, a secret seven year rapture, a future tribulation period with the rise of an Antichrist who will bring peace to the world, a third Temple, three comings of Christ, a twofold division between Israel and the church, the removal of the Holy Spirit and much more are not found in the debates of the great church councils nor are they found in the creeds of Christendom.
"But it is all in the Bible," came the protest. "Where I asked?" Give me a chapter and verse. That cannot be done. Select Scriptures can only be alluded to, ripped out of context or misinterpreted to fit the teaching of the system.
A case in point. I mentioned the opening words of Revelation state that John was going to see things that must "shortly" come to pass--and two thousand years later is not a good understanding of "shortly". Revelation 1:1 reads, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John." This person retorted that, "one day with the Lord is like a thousand years,"--an appeal to 2 Peter 3:8. The problem with such implausable argumentation, however, is that Peter's point is to assert that God is sovereign over everything, including time, and that His perspective is radically different from ours. Any attempt to change "day" or "shortly" into "thousands of years" is simply applying eisegesis to a passage.
"But so and so believes this!" was the next argument. My response. "I am more interested in what Jesus said and what the apostle Paul believes as set forth in Scripture." It is nice when prominent spiritual leaders agree with one's position, but it is better when all agree with God’s Word. Truth is truth. The biblical text has meaning. When I suggested that the person has been taught a system of theology instead of the Scriptures the idea was immediately rejected with great emotion. The information was not welcomed when I mentioned there is evidence for a historical fulfillment of Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21, which teaches a time of great tribulation for Israel and which history says happened between AD 66-70.
I then made an offer in order to induce personal Bible study minus the teachings of the Dispensation System being super imposed on the thinking process so that people think they see what is NOT in the Bible. "I will give you a financial remuneration if you can find one clear teaching setting forth the Rapture of the church. Just one clear verse. I will give you another financial remuneration if you will provide one clear teaching that the church is going to disappear and there will be a seven year tribulation period."
Even that generous offer was emotionally dismissed. The mind was made up. "You will have to give me more money than that!" was the response. There was just no willingness to look at any historical or theological evidence that might challenge what had been embraced. Such a position is a violation of the Reformation principle of Sola Scriptura for all matters of faith and practice.
Charles Spurgeon said, "I will follow the Scripture wherever it may lead me, and I will renounce the most cherished opinion, rather than shape or alter a single syllable of God's Book. It is not mine to make God's Word consistent, but to believe that it is so. When a text stands in the road I drive no further. The Romans had a god they called Terminus, the god of landmarks. Holy Scripture is my sacred landmark: woe is me if I remove it."
Sola Scriptura is not a denial of other authorities governing the Christian’s life and devotion. Rather, it simply demands that all other authorities are subordinate to, and are to be corrected by, the written Word of God. The clearest biblical example that is given for us to follow is found in Matthew’s gospel where we read:
“Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt 15:1-9).
Here we see Jewish leaders objecting to the disciples not washing their hands before eating--a ritual of the Pharisees. They attacked the disciples for breaking the “tradition of the elders,” and wholeheartedly believed they were in clear violation of an oral tradition passed down from Moses himself. But how does Jesus respond? Does He give some credence to their purported traditions? No, instead Jesus attacks the leaders by pointing out that they “transgress the commandment of God” by their traditions. Specifically, Jesus gives reference in the passage cited above to the corban rule, a tradition that stated a man could dedicate his belonging to the Temple at the expense of his parents in their old age. You see, the Pharisees believed that it was a part of divine tradition with divine support. Yet, Jesus condemned their beliefs by testing the traditions, all traditions, in light of Scripture.
The important aspect to remember about this passage is that Jesus was not condemning all traditions, He was simply subjugating them to that which is ultimately God-breathed, the Scriptures. And since all Scripture is God-breathed, each and every one of us must subjugate our traditions and beliefs to the known standard of God’s Word.
Furthermore, Sola Scriptura is not a denial of the need for biblical interpretation, but it does insist that Scripture should interpret itself. That is, Scripture should interpret Scripture.
Embracing the principle of sola Scriptura does not show disrespect to pastors and teachers who are said to be the gifts of God for the people of God (Eph 4:11) but it does not allow for the Apostolic Tradition to be considered as a source of original authority alongside of the Bible, especially when Tradition does not have biblical support or where it contradicts Scripture. What Sola Scriptura does do is to affirm the Bible is the only infallible or inerrant (without error) authority for the Christian faith, and that it contains all knowledge necessary for salvation and holiness.
An unknown writer said, "This Book sets forth the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding; its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler's map, the pilgrim's staff, the pilot's compass, the soldier's sword, and the Christian's character. Here paradise is restored, heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand subject, our good its design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. Follow its precepts and it will lead you to Calvary, to the empty tomb, to a resurrected life in Christ; yes, to glory itself, for eternity."
I commend to you the Reformation principle of sola Scriptura.
