Continued from Part 1 “is God’s authority invested in a book or in an Institution (the Church)?”

The Protestant Reformers believed in Sola Scriptura (the Scriptures Alone), and would declare the Roman Church to believe and practice Sola Ecclesia (by the Church Alone), for quite simply, what the Roman Catholic Church says to be true, is true because the Church speaks with infallibility and cannot possibly be wrong.

The response of the Roman Catholic Church was to remind the Reformers that the Church would not even have had the Bible except that Church councils actually defined what the Bible actually was. The reasoning went like this: if the Church is the Institution that declares the Bible to be the Bible, does not that indicate that the Church would have at least the same authority as the Bible, or even more?

RECIPIMUS

Both Martin Luther and John Calvin responded to this by reminding Rome that the key word the Church used, when it did define the Bible, was the Latin word “Recipimus,” which means “we receive.” The Church declared “we receive these books as sacred Scripture.”

In the New Testament, we are told, “as many as received Him (Christ) to them He gave the authority to be called the children of God.” (John 1:12)

But think about that in the concept of when someone receives Christ as Lord and Savior; they are certainly NOT giving any authority to Jesus. Jesus possesses all authority in heaven and earth, for He is Lord, whether or not a person acknowledges Him as such.

When the Church said, “Recipimus,” she was humbly acknowledging her submission to the authority of the Bible.

Dr. James White in his book “The Roman Catholic Controversy” has provided a very helpful synopsis of the Reformation doctrine of Sola Scriptura by outlining both what it is, and what it is not.

WHAT SOLA SCRIPTURA IS NOT

1. First and foremost, sola Scriptura is not a claim that the Bible contains all knowledge. The Bible is not a scientific textbook, a manual on governmental procedures, or a catalog of automobile engine parts. The Bible does not claim to give us every bit of knowledge that we could ever obtain.

2. Sola Scriptura is not a claim that the Bible is an exhaustive catalog of all religious knowledge. The Bible itself asserts that it is not exhaustive in detail (John 21:25). It is obvious that the Bible does not have to be exhaustive to be sufficient as our source of divine truth.

3. Sola Scriptura is not a denial of the authority of the Church to teach God’s truth.

4. Sola Scriptura is not a denial that the Word of God has, at times, been spoken. Rather, it refers to the Scriptures as serving the Church as God’s final and full revelation.

5. Sola Scriptura does not entail the rejection of every kind or form of Church “tradition.” There are some traditions that are God-honoring and useful in the Church. Sola Scriptura simply means that any tradition, no matter how ancient or venerable it might seem to us, must be tested by a higher authority, and that authority is the Bible.

6. Sola Scriptura is not a denial of the role of the Holy Spirit in guiding and enlightening the Church.

WHAT SOLA SCRIPTURA IS

1. The doctrine of sola Scriptura, simply stated, is that the Scriptures alone are sufficient to function as the regula fidei, the infallible rule of faith for the Church.

2. All that one must believe to be a Christian is found in Scripture, and in no other source. This is not to say that the necessary beliefs of the faith could not be summarized in a shorter form. However, 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.

3. That which is not found in the Scripture either directly or by necessary implication, is not binding upon the Christian.

4. Scripture reveals those things necessary for salvation (2 Tim. 3:14-17).

5. All traditions are subject to the higher authority of Scripture (Matt. 15:1-9). There can be no understanding of the sufficiency of Scripture apart from an understanding of the true origin and the resultant nature of Scripture. The Reformers had the highest view of the Bible, and therefore had a solid foundation on which to stand in defending the sufficiency of the Scriptures.

The Westminster Confession of Faith, a key statement of the faith fought for in the Reformation, states:

The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed, and obeyed, depends not upon the testimony of any man, or Church; but wholly upon God (who is truth itself) the author thereof: and therefore it is to be received, because it is the Word of God. (1:4)

It goes on to say: We may be moved and induced by the testimony of the Church to a high and reverent esteem of the Holy Scripture. And the heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of the doctrine, the majesty of the style, the consent of all the parts, the scope of the whole (which is, to give all glory to God), the full discovery it makes of the only way of man’s salvation, the many other incomparable excellencies, and the entire perfection thereof, are arguments whereby it does abundantly evidence itself to be the Word of God: yet notwithstanding, our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth and divine authority thereof, is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts. (1:5)

The very heart of the doctrine of sola Scriptura is then laid out in the next two paragraphs:

The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men. Nevertheless, we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word: and that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the Church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature, and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed. (1:6)

All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all: yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed for salvation are so clearly propounded, and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them. (1:7)

THE COUNCIL OF TRENT 1545-1563

Of course, just because the Reformation swept through Europe did not mean that the Roman Catholic Church disbanded. Instead, Rome engaged in a rigorous Counter Reformation. She took seriously the criticism of the moral scandals, and in reality there was a widespread moral reform in the Church. However an Ecumenical Council, which was the Roman Catholic Church’s official theological response to the Protestant Reformation, convened. This was called “The Council of Trent” and took place over an eighteen year period between 1545 and 1563. During this time, many issues were discussed in detail, not the least of which was the issue of justification by faith alone. Rome placed its anathema (curse) on the doctrine of sola fide (justification by faith alone), and on any who preached it.

SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION

But before the Roman Catholic Church even discussed justification (during the 6th session), the issue of authority was addressed in the 4th session. It was made very clear that there are two sources of authority in the world, namely Scripture and Tradition.

The Roman Catholic Church has always maintained a very high view of Scripture. Rome believes the Bible is the Word of God. However, it affirms that in addition to the Bible there is another infallible source called Tradition.

The inevitable question then becomes, “what if there appears to be a conflict between what the Scripture teaches and what the Tradition of the Church is?”

Luther, for example, saw a huge conflict between the Tradition of the Church and what the Apostle Paul wrote in his Epistle to the Romans concerning justification.

Rome believes that it is the function of the Church to give both the Bible and its infallible interpretation to the world. Therefore when Luther denied the tradition, in their minds, he was also denying the Bible, because Rome was convinced that the Tradition and the Bible agree.

BY WHAT STANDARD?

I’ve labored the dispute of the Reformers with Rome in the 16th Century for the simple reason that the issues raised then are exactly the same in our day. Today we are faced with the exact same questions: What is the authority? What is the standard? What is the absolute authority?

The word “authority” can be defined as “the right to impose obligation.” When legitimate authority speaks, it has every right to say such things as “you must,” “you should” or “you ought.”

Of course, when we hear these words, we often respond with the question, “says who?” or “why should I?” In other words, we ask, “by what authority, or by what standard do you try to direct me or hold me responsible?”

I hope you can see that this is not a vague, abstract and merely theological question. It touches everything relating to the life of the Church.

Continued in Part 3