“Let God-inspired Scripture decide between us; and on whichever side be found doctrines in harmony with the word of God, in favor of that side will be cast the vote of truth.” – Basil of Caesarea (c. 330 – 379 A.D.)
“We affirm that a confession of the full authority, infallibility, and inerrancy of Scripture is vital to a sound understanding of the whole of the Christian faith. We further affirm that such confession should lead to increasing conformity to the image of Christ. We deny that such a confession is necessary for salvation. However, we further deny that inerrancy can be rejected without grave consequences, both to the individual and the church.” – Chicago Statement of the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy
“In the empire of the church, the ruler is God’s Word.” – Martin Luther – Works, Vol. 41, p. 134.
“I have learned to ascribe the honor of infallibility only to those books that are accepted as canonical. I am profoundly convinced that none of these writers has erred. All other writers, however they may have distinguished themselves in holiness or in doctrine, I read in this way. I evaluate what they say, not on the basis that they themselves believe that a thing is true, but only insofar as they are able to convince me by the authority of the canonical books or by clear reason.” – Martin Luther
“Since the church is Christ’s Kingdom, and he reigns by his Word alone, will it not be clear to any man that those are lying words by which the Kingdom of Christ is imagined to exist apart from his scepter (that is, his most holy Word)?” – John Calvin, Institutes
“Let the pastors boldly dare all things by the word of God. . . Let them constrain all the power, glory, and excellence of the world to give place to and to obey the divine majesty of this word. Let them enjoin everyone by it, from the highest to the lowest. Let them edify the body of Christ. Let them devastate Satan’s reign. Let them pasture the sheep, kill the wolves, instruct and exhort the rebellious. Let them bind and loose thunder and lightning, if necessary, but let them do all according to the word of God.” – John Calvin, Sermons on the Epistle to the Ephesians, p. xii
“…have you not read what was spoken to you by God…” – Jesus Christ (Matt. 22:31)
There has been an unprecedented crisis in the Church in the last two hundred years as to the question “Can we trust the Scriptures?” There has been a wholesale loss of the sense of authority.
To understand the issues involved in our day, I am convinced that we need to know something about the 16th Century Protestant Reformation. The central issue was Justification by faith alone (Latin: sola fide). Yet often overlooked is another controversy which was equally as serious for the life of the Church.
The material issue of the Reformation was the debate over justification by faith alone. The formal issue (the structure in which the whole debate ensued) was the issue of final authority – who or what speaks for God?
Martin Luther had two debates with the leading Roman Catholic theologians of his day (Martin Ek and Cardinal Cajerton). As Ek and Cajerton debated the subject of justification, they pointed out that Luther’s views differed significantly from the official position of the Church. For the Roman Catholic Church, both the former Church councils and the Papal declarations were binding upon all those in the Church. These men were able to demonstrate that Luther was in disagreement with both Church Councils and the Pope himself.
Martin Luther was perceived by many as being the most arrogant and pompous individual imaginable. They could not understand how one man could do as Luther was doing. They would say to Luther, “Who do you think you are that you would presume to know more than the Church Councils or the Holy Father in Rome?”
In these debates, Luther was asked if he stood against Pope and Councils.
Luther admitted that indeed he did. In his opinion, Church Councils could err as well the Pope himself. Of course, this was hugely disturbing and even considered blasphemous. Luther was quickly likened to the Bohemian John Hus, who had made similar statements to Luther’s around a hundred years earlier, and was burnt at the stake as a heretic.
Complete uproar ensued. Luther was excommunicated with a price put on his head. Finally, in 1521, an attempt was made for one final resolution.
Officials and princes of both Church and State met at an Imperial Diet convened in the town of Worms in Germany, in the presence of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles. Luther was summoned, after being given a safe passage of conduct, which meant that he was able to travel to and from Worms without the fear of being arrested or killed. His inquisitor demanded an answer: “I ask you, Martin, answer candidly and without horns – do you or do you not repudiate your books and the errors which they contain?”
Luther surprised everyone by asking for time to think about his answer. He was given 24 hours, and then he was to appear again to be faced with the same question.
As anticipated, after the assembly convened again, it did not take long at all for the same question to be presented to Martin Luther.
Luther responded, “Unless I am convinced by sacred Scripture, or by evident reason, I will not and cannot recant; for my conscience is held captive by the word of God and to act against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me.”
Notice especially the words, “My conscience is held captive by the word of God.” For Luther, God’s words were binding and had an authority far beyond the respected words of Church leaders or even Popes.
Luther left the Diet of Worms, riding off into the night. On his way home he was kidnapped by his own people (because they feared that the Church would do so themselves in order to kill him) and then transferred him to the Wartburg Castle where he translated the Bible into German, the vernacular of the people. The Reformation sparked by Luther swept most of the countries of Europe.
SOLA SCRIPTURA – BY THE SCRIPTURES ALONE
At Worms, the second slogan of the Reformation became established because of Luther’s defiance of all other ecclesiastical authority in the light of the Scriptures. That slogan was “Sola Scriptura,” which was the Latin phrase meaning “by the Scriptures Alone.”
What is “by the Scriptures alone?” Luther was saying that the ONLY written source in this world that had the level of authority to bind the conscience of a person is the Bible itself.
Luther had enormous respect for the insight, wisdom and collective teaching of the great theologians of the past, and that the Creeds and Confessions of the Faith were not at all to be despised. He knew that it would be unspeakably arrogant to create theology without any reference whatsoever to the guidance of the great teachers God had set in the Church. Yet, Luther and the other Reformers believed that no written document of men, no confession of faith, no creedal statement and no Council declaration had the authority to bind the conscience. The only person with such authority is God Himself, and only the word of God carries that authority.
As John MacArthur wrote, “Sola Scriptura, the formal principle of the Reformation, is essential to genuine Christianity. Yet this doctrine is under attack like never before. Christians who want to defend their faith must have a basic knowledge of this doctrine, know how to support it with Scripture proofs, and be able to discern the enemy’s attacks against it.”
This belief in the authority of Scripture alone to bind the conscience, as Dr. James White states, “does not mean that the Reformers rejected everything that every Christian in earlier ages has said: indeed, they often cited the early Christians as supporters of their own positions. However, they recognized that those earlier believers were not inspired, were not inerrant, and, in fact, quite often made errors in their judgments and beliefs, just as people do today. The only infallible rule of faith, they argued, is found in the pages of Holy Writ.”
Part 2 found here.
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