SOLA SPRIPTURA (Mark 7:5-8)

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1 SOLA SPRIPTURA (Mark 7:5-8) INTRODUCTION In April 1521 Martin Luther, a monk of the Augustinian order in Wittenberg, Germany, was summoned to appear before Charles V, the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, for an Imperial Diet in the town of Worms to see if he would recant his writings. This is what is called the Diet of Worms. Since 1517 Luther had been writing against the abuses of the church and particularly the abuse of the authority of the pope. After two days of trying to get Luther to recant his writings, he replied, "Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason - I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other - my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. [Here I stand. I can do no other.] God help me. Amen This is an early statement of what was to be known as the Reformation principle of Sola Scriptura Scripture Alone. The Reformation was originally aimed at reforming the Catholic church, but ended up splitting the church and changing the world. What were the basic theological principles of the Reformation? There are five of them and I want to dedicate a sermon for each one in the next few weeks, since this month celebrates the 500 th anniversary of the Reformation. They are summed up in five Latin phrases: Sola Scriptura, Solus Christus, Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, and Soli Deo Gloria. Respectively, they mean: Scripture Alone, Christ Alone, Grace Alone, Faith Alone, and To the Glory of God Alone. This morning I want to preach on the first one, Sola Scriptura, Scripture alone. This was foundational to all the others. It is still the foundation of what separates Protestants from Catholics. WHAT SOLA SCRIPTURA IS NOT To understand Sola Scriptura, first let s talk about what it is not. 1. First, sola scriptura is not a claim that the Bible contains all knowledge a person can or should know. The Bible does not claim to give us every bit of knowledge that we could ever obtain. Christians are a people of the Book, but we are not to be people with only one book. We can learn much through God s creation. Sola Scriptura doesn t deny or ignore the many truths discovered by the study of nature. October 8, 2017 Corntassel CP Church Page 1

2 2. Sola scriptura is not saying that we are to ignore all the historical teachings of the church. Luther had enormous respect for the insight, wisdom and collective teaching of the great theologians of the past. He knew that it would be unspeakably arrogant to create theology without any reference whatsoever to the guidance of the great teachers God had given to the Church. But there is something special about the Scriptures. 3. Sola Scriptura is not saying that confessions and creeds are useless. Sola Scriptura is doesn t say, No creed but the Bible as some Christians want to say. In reality all of us have a creed, whether it is written or not. A creed is just a short statement of what we believe. Creeds and confessions have their place, but there is something special about the Scriptures. WHAT SOLA SCRIPTURA IS What then is the meaning of Sola Scriptura? What did the Reformers recover for the church when they emphasized the Scripture alone? 1. Sola Scriptura is about authority. Sola scriptura is making a statement about what our final authority for our faith and practice is. Is our final authority the teachings of the church, whether by pope, council, creeds, or confessions? Or is our final authority for faith and practice the Scriptures? What Martin Luther did was to challenge the popes and councils, the traditions of the church as the final authority or even as equal authority with the Scriptures. It is not that the pope and councils denied the authority of the Bible, what they were saying is that their rulings, traditions, and interpretations were the ultimate authority for the Christian to believe and practice. What the Reformers recovered for the church was that it is only the Scriptures that bind our conscience as to what we are required to believe to be saved and to live as a Christian life. Jesus alludes to sola scriptura in Mark 7. The context is that the Pharisees and teachers of the law were complaining about Jesus disciples not ceremonially washing their hands before they ate. Here is Jesus response. Mark 7:5-8 NIV So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?" (6) He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: "'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. (7) They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.' (8) You October 8, 2017 Corntassel CP Church Page 2

3 have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions." Jesus is saying that their requirement of washing their hands ceremonially was not from the Scripture but from their traditions, and that they had let their tradition supersede the Scriptures. We all have traditions, but the point of Sola Scripture is that all our beliefs and practices are to be evaluated by the Scriptures, the Word of God. It they are not in line with the Scriptures or they contradict the Scriptures, they keep us from having a true heart for God. The final authority for our faith and practice is the Scriptures. 2. Sola Scriptura means that all that a person must believe to be saved is found in Scriptures alone, and in no other source. There is no necessary belief, doctrine, or dogma absolutely required of a person for entrance into the kingdom of heaven that is not found in the pages of Scripture. It is the Scriptures alone that will make us wise unto salvation. This is the teaching of Scriptures themselves. Paul wrote this to Timothy: (2 Tim 3:14-15 NKJV) But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, {15} and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. It is the Holy Scriptures, which alone are able to make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 3. Sola Scriptura means that the Scriptures alone binds our conscience as God s will for our lives. If a teaching, rule, or decree is not found in the Scripture, either directly or by necessary implication, then it is not binding upon the Christian. The binding of the conscience was a big issue in that day. The conscious is that God given ability to discern right from wrong and it will guide us in doing the right. Now only a conscience under the control of the Scriptures can function as that guide. If we violate our conscience which is under the control of Scripture we are violating God s will for us. This is neither safe nor sound. Listen again to how Luther answered the question. "Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason - I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other - my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. [Here I stand. I can do no other.] God help me. Amen. October 8, 2017 Corntassel CP Church Page 3

4 My conscience is captive to the Word of God. He uses a metaphor of a prisoner. His conscience is captured by and is captive to the Word of God. The Word of God is the only instrument authorized to bind our conscience. If he goes against his captured conscience he is going against his captor, which is the Word of God. It is not safe to go against the Word of God! Sola Scriptura is saying that my conscience is bound only by Scriptures, not by tradition! To summarize what is Sola Scriptura saying. It is saying that the Bible alone is the ultimate authority for our faith and life. It is the Bible alone that is what is sufficient to lead us to salvation. It is the Bible alone that is worthy of capturing our conscience and guide us. WAYS WE DENY SOLA SCRIPTURA TODAY Does the Protestant Church still subscribe to Sola Scriptura today? Yes, it does, but there are many ways we can deny the principle today. We need to be aware of some of these ways. 1. We deny Sola Scriptura when we accept what popular Bible teachers and preachers say without evaluating their teaching with the Scriptures. Even the Christians in Acts checked out the Apostle Paul s teachings with the Scriptures. Acts 17:11 NIV Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. Now we all have our favorite Bible teachers. But how do we know that they are giving us the truth? It is not by how large a crowd he can get to come to hear him, nor is it how eloquent he preaches, nor even how helpful in making you feel good. It is only by comparing what he says with the Scriptures, which alone is our final authority. This implies that we must know the Scriptures, which requires us to read, study, and meditate on the Scriptures. 2. We deny Sola Scriptura when we allow any other source of knowledge to hold greater authority for us than the Bible. There are many competing sources for claims to truth which many put above the Bible as the final authority. One of the most prevalent authorities today is autonomous humanism. Autonomous humanism is the belief that man himself is the highest authority. It is the old Greek philosophy that says, Man is the measure of all things. In ethics it has led to the assumption that morality does not need an objective standard; October 8, 2017 Corntassel CP Church Page 4

5 morality is only relative to the society one lives in accepts as moral. There are no moral absolutes. This is why we have difficulty determining whether same-sex marriage is right or wrong, whether abortion is right or wrong, whether there is not a higher end in life than personal peace and affluence. What guides our moral decisions today is more about the pleasure we derive from the action, rather than an objective standard we are accountable to. What guides our moral decisions today is more related to what our society will socially accept, rather than an objective standard like the Bible. But Sola Scriptura says that the Bible is the final authority for how we should live. Psalms 119:9 NIV How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. Psalms 19:7-9 NIV The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. (8) The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. (9) The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the LORD are firm, and all of them are righteous. Yes, our society and even our churches have forgotten, compromised, or even denied the great truth recovered during the Reformation of Sola Scriptura. There is the temptation to be swayed by our modern view of things. It is the Bible that gives us God s absolute standard of right and wrong. Man is not the center of all things, God is. 3. We deny Sola Scriptura when we deny the infallibility or inerrancy of the Scriptures. Many evangelicals, who in the past were great champions of the inerrancy of Scriptures, are wavering in the face of criticism from humanism. But the inerrancy of Scriptures is the foundation of the authority of the Bible. The Bible cannot have absolute authority if it is errant, or if it has errors in it. How can a fallible Bible be an infallible authority? But the Bible is infallible or inerrant because of its ultimate Author. God cannot lie and will not lie. If the Bible is the Word of God, then we can trust it. The Bible attests to its inerrancy. Proverbs 30:5 NIV "Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. John 10:35 NKJV If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), Cannot be broken means that it cannot fail because it is God s Word. October 8, 2017 Corntassel CP Church Page 5

6 John 17:17 NIV Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. The foundation of the authority of the Bible is the inerrancy of the Bible and the inerrancy of the Bible is based on the reliability of the author of the Bible, who is God Himself. To deny inerrancy is to deny Sola Scriptura! CONCLUSION The recovery of Sola Scriptura is what launched the Reformation. Sola Scriptura is being assaulted on many fronts today. But if we do not stand on the principle of Sola Scriptura, we are on shaky gorund and sinking sand. What are we to do today? We are to do what Martin Luther did in his stand against the powers of society and say Here I stand, I can do no other. Here I stand on the Bible alone as my sufficient guide in life. Here I stand on the Bible alone as my ultimate authority over all of life and practice. Here I stand on the Bible alone as my standard for moral decisions. The doctrine of Sola Scriptura should still be the hallmark of the church and of all Christians if we are to bring reformation to our nation and to our churches. Sola Scriptura will not only save our souls, it will save our nation and our world. Amen? Amen! October 8, 2017 Corntassel CP Church Page 6