Sola Scriptura Part III

Fourth. Jesus teaches that the Scripture is specifically limited. In regards to Old Testament Canon, this may be seen in the way he refers to the Scripture. In the above passage he refers to it as simply the Law, and as the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 7:12 says “Moses and the prophets,” while Luke 24:44 includes the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms. In Luke 24:27 he equates these groupings to “all the Scriptures. This is a fairly conclusive argument for the 39 books of the Hebrew Old Testament as they were commonly found in his day. But, just to make sure, in Luke 11:51 while discussing the peoples’ disregard for the wisdom of God dispensed by the prophets, he identifies the revelation from “from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah.” Abel was, of course, in Genesis, and Zechariah in 2d Chronicles; those two books were the first and last in the Hebrew organization of the Old Testament.

For the sake of brevity, I will only address the nature of New Testament canon, and not it’s recognition. It is canon because it is the inspired Word of God, and the manner of its recognition has no bearing on that. I am fully persuaded and able to defend the facts of its recognition, but will not here.

A. Jesus appointed the apostles as his witnesses, and specially provided for their remembrance of all that he had said. John 14:25-26, 1 John 1:1-4.

B. The apostles or those under their supervision (ie Luke, Mark, etc) wrote to record that which was called to their remembrance as an infallible and reviewable witness, as indeed has always been the practice and command of God’s people. Deuteronomy 31:24-26, Josh24:25-27, 1 Samuel 10:25, Daniel 9:2, 1 Corinthians 14:37, 1 Thessalonians 2:13.

C. While the apostles spoke with authority for the time of their earthly ministry, they viewed the written word as superior and complete and binding.

“For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.19 And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 2 Peter 2:16

“2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” Acts 17:2-3

“I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another. 7 For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” 1 Cor 4:6-7

D. The written word of the apostles was recognized by the church and by each other as scripture, and as complete and final.

15“And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.” 2 Peter 3:15-17

“Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.“ Jude 3 (also1 Thess 2:13, Revelation 22:18-19)

One more section to go,
Nat

P.S. Here’s a link to an excellent article on canon, I highly recommend it.

Sola Scriptura Part II

Third. Jesus believed that the scripture was both verbally and plenarily inspired. Look again at Matthew 4:4 But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Verbal inspiration is demonstrated by the every word; the inspiration was not that of ideas but of exact words. Plenary inspiration is seen not only in every word, but also, as we continue to read, in every phrase.

Satan responds to the first use of Scripture with more Scripture. He quotes Psalm 91:11-12, but he intentionally leaves out the phrase “to guard you in all your ways.” This dramatically distorts the harmony of scripture. This abuse seems to be only in a bit of insignificant poetry, but truly does the Psalmist say “The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever” (Psalm 119: 160).

The word is not only entirely inspired down to every phrase and every word, but also to every letter and every stroke of a letter.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:17-19

The King James uses “jot and tittle” to describe these strokes, and some English translations of Psalm 119 include the Hebrew letters for illustration. The smallest stroke is roughly the size of the English apostrophe!

More to come.
Nat

A Defense of Sola Scriptura Part 1

I have recently had the opportunity to write a defense of the principle of Sola Scriptura in response to a set of questions asked of me by a Roman Catholic.  Specifically, he asked whether the principle was an “invention” of the Reformation, or whether it was present immediately following Christ’s ascension.  Also, he asked how the church might have had access to the Scripture, how they might understand it, and several other related questions.  This is the first in a series of posts; don’t fear, the rest are already written.  I encourage you to look up each of the references, and savor how God has provided for his Church.  The sheer volume of internal evidence in the Bible is truly overwhelming.  I’m indebted to Steve Lawson’s excellent two-part message “Christ, the Reformers, and Sola Scriptura” for a clear, and recognizable, foundation.  It’s available from the Sola Scriptura conference audio at countrysidebible.org.  All the references are ESV.  Look them all up!

Nathan

If Sola Scriptura is indeed true, than the scripture will be able to defend itself; I intend only on including my own words to organize the various references into a logical and orderly presentation.  I have also tried to include as much of the context of each reference as possible, but certainly encourage you to examine the original reference.

To clarify what I mean by Sola Scriptura, I recognize it as the principle or doctrine that the written Word of God is the only formal and material rule of faith, complete and sufficient.
You ask if this doctrine was present immediately after the ascension, or whether it was an invention of the Reformation.  Therefore, I wish to contain my answer primarily to the Lord’s own teaching and observations on the scripture.  Certainly we must both agree that: “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (Heb 1:3)” and “… the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14).  He must therefore be the ultimate authority on this question, and I intend to show that He himself established Sola Scriptura.

First. Christ believed and taught that the Word was divine revelation. In Matthew 4:4 he calls it the Word of God: “But he answered, “It is written,  ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” This may also be seen in Mark 7:13, and again in John 10:34-35, where he identifies that Word as Scripture: “34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? 35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken….” He elsewhere refers to this word as the commandment of God in Matthew 15:3 and again as the law of God in Matthew 5:18.  Both of these titles recognize the authoritative nature of the revelation.

Second. Jesus recognized the supernatural inspiration of the Word. He recognized that there were many human authors writing under divine revelation.  For example, in Mark 7:9-10 He credits Moses, “9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’” But, of course, Moses is only recording that which God actually handed to him on a stone tablet in Exodus 20:12.  Moses is also mentioned in Mark 10:3, Mark 12:26, and Luke 5:13.  Moses is not alone, David appears in Luke 20:42, Isaiah in Mark 7:6-7, and Daniel in Matthew 24:15.

But Jesus also demonstrates that there is One Divine Author.  This is shown clearly in Matthew 22: 43, “He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,”  (emphasis added).  Obviously, the Lord is quoting Psalm 110, a psalm David humanly authored. But the Spirit of God was supernaturally guiding his pen as 2 Peter 1:20-21 shows, “20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

salt & light

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

Matthew 5:13-16

I was closing up my facebook, getting ready for bed, when I saw these verses nestled in the middle of my profile. It caught my attention because this is something that has been on my mind as of late. Am I living a life different from the world? Do I let the light of Christ shine through my actions and words? Do I want God to receive the glory from all men? Or am I selfishly preventing others from hearing the good news of Jesus Christ?

These are hard questions. For me to say I am being 100% obedient, to the call found in Matthew 28:18-20, would be a lie.

I came home last weekend from a mission trip to Mexico. Part of the trip was focused on helping the local pastors with work projects around their churches and homes. The other part of the trip was centered around the gospel. I participated in providing Vacation Bible School (VBS) for over 80 children in a desert village. The children learned about the story of Moses this year. Another area of evangelism on the trip took place at an outdoor recreation park. Many teenagers and adults came to this park each night. This was a great opportunity to hand out literature to the people.

It is so easy to get caught up in “mission trip mode” while I’m in a different country. But how am I presenting Christ where I live, right now?

The passage above reminds me of a simple children’s song, often sung in a Sunday school class, “This Little Light of Mine.” I don’t ever remember singing the last verse below, but it is so applicable to the Christian life. I remember Pastor Tom once saying, “As Christians, we will do everything else better in heaven…except for preaching the gospel!”

This little light of mine,
I’m gonna let it shine
This little light of mine,
I’m gonna let it shine
This little light of mine,
I’m gonna let it shine
Let it shine,
Let it shine,
Let it shine.

Hide it under a bushel? No!
I’m gonna let it shine
Hide it under a bushel? No!
I’m gonna let it shine
Hide it under a bushel? No!
I’m gonna let it shine
Let it shine,
Let it shine,
Let it shine.

Let it shine til Jesus comes,
I’m gonna let it shine
Let it shine til Jesus comes,
I’m gonna let it shine
Let it shine til Jesus comes,
I’m gonna let it shine
Let it shine,
Let it shine,
Let it shine!

jazz hands:5/27/08