Why Sola Scriptura is true - KingdomCraft

Understanding the Bible without Church Tradition

This section discusses the belief that understanding the Bible requires Church tradition and highlights the Protestant perspective on Sola Scriptura (Bible alone).

The Importance of Sola Scriptura

• Protestants believe in Sola Scriptura, which means that the Bible is their highest authority.

• The Bible is considered infallible and all other authorities must submit to it.

Reasons for Sola Scriptura

1. Religious authorities can sin and go astray, even if ordained by God.

2. Arguments against Sola Scriptura could have been used by the Pharisees against Jesus.

3. Everyone already implicitly believes in Sola Scriptura.

Protestant Perspective on Sin and Authority

• Protestants take sin seriously, emphasizing doctrines of original sin and total depravity.

• Sin affects every part of human beings, including religious leaders and the Church.

• Religious authorities are not infallible, as seen throughout biblical history.

Submitting to the Word of God

• The Scriptures are considered the word of God and serve as the highest authority.

• Other authorities, such as parents or government, also have authority but are not infallible.

• Religious leaders need correction from the word of God when they go astray.

Why I Am Protestant

This section explores personal reasons for being Protestant beyond aesthetic preferences.

Personal Reasons for Being Protestant

• Appreciation for Protestant architecture and music (e.g., J.S. Bach).

• Acknowledgment that contemporary trends may differ from traditional aesthetics.

Theological Reason - Taking Sin Seriously

• Protestants emphasize a strong doctrine of original sin and total depravity.

• Belief that sin affects every aspect of human beings, making no part exempt from its influence.

Example of Total Depravity

• A debate with a liberal pastor highlighted the Protestant belief in total depravity.

• The understanding that every part of oneself is sinful, regardless of specific characteristics.

Sin and the Fallibility of the Church

• If sin affects everything, it also affects the Church and its leaders.

• The Church is not infallible, as it is composed of fallible individuals affected by sin.

Fallibility of Religious Authorities in Scripture

This section examines examples from the Old and New Testaments to illustrate the fallibility of religious authorities ordained by God.

Examples from the Old Testament

• God gave authority to Moses and Aaron, but Aaron sinned by worshiping the golden calf.

• God gave authority to judges, who often went astray and worshiped false gods.

• God gave authority to kings, who also strayed from worshipping false gods.

Correction through Prophets and Word of God

• When religious authorities went astray, they needed correction from prophets speaking the word of God.

• Prophets drew upon old revelations given to Moses while providing new revelation when necessary.

Solus Scriptura - Submitting to the Word of God

• Solus Scriptura does not deny other authorities but places them under submission to the highest authority - the word of God.

• The Scriptures norm all other religious authorities without claiming infallibility for those authorities.

Understanding Church Authority in Protestantism

This section clarifies that Protestants acknowledge church authority but do not consider it perfect or infallible.

Acknowledging Church Authority

• Protestants recognize that the church has authority but not absolute or perfect authority.

Recent Example - Pope Francis' Statement on Same-Sex Unions

• Protestants do not experience an existential crisis when a leader says something wrong or potentially contradicts church teaching.

• The example of Pope Francis' statement highlights the potential for disagreement within the Catholic Church.

Personal Experience in the Presbyterian Church USA

• The speaker identifies as a Protestant in the PCUSA (Presbyterian Church USA).

• Acknowledgment that leaders within this denomination may hold heretical beliefs.

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The Impact of Sin on Religious Leaders

This section discusses how religious leaders can go astray and worship false gods due to the impact of sin. It emphasizes that no institution or religious leader is free from sin, which affects their credibility as leaders. Therefore, the word of God should always be trusted above the words of men.

Sin's Impact on Religious Authorities

• All religious authorities can make mistakes and go astray.

• Sin affects not only moral actions but also impacts the credibility of leaders.

• The word of God must always be trusted above the words of men.

Arguments for Sola Scriptura

This section presents arguments in favor of sola scriptura (Scripture alone). It addresses the idea that all arguments against sola scriptura could have been used by the Pharisees to argue against Christ.

No Infallible Authority

• Arguments against sola scriptura could have been used by the Pharisees against Christ.

• No institution or religious leader has infallible authority.

• Ecumenical councils are useful for understanding the word of God but may depart from it at times.

The Canon of Scripture and Church Tradition

This section focuses on the question of how we know which books belong in the Bible. It discusses relying on Church tradition for determining the Canon but highlights that Church tradition is fallible, while God's message through Scripture is infallible.

Relying on Church Tradition

• The Catholic and Orthodox perspective relies on Church tradition for determining the Canon.

• Church tradition assembled and gave us the Bible, but it does not mean it is infallible.

• Fallible authorities can deliver an infallible document, just like messengers delivering messages from a king.

Jesus and the Pharisees' Authority

This section explores the relationship between Jesus and the religious authorities of his time, particularly the Pharisees. It highlights that Jesus depended on their Canon of Scripture without granting them infallible authority.

Jesus and the Pharisees

• Jesus recognized the authority of the Pharisees but not their claim to infallibility.

• The Pharisees claimed an oral Torah, similar to Catholic and Orthodox unwritten traditions.

• Depending on the early Church for our Canon does not require giving them infallible authority.

The Production of the Bible

This section addresses claims by Catholics and Orthodox regarding who produced the Bible. It emphasizes that both groups played a role in preserving and transmitting Scripture but does not grant them infallible authority.

Producing the Bible

• Catholics claim they produced the Bible, while Orthodox dispute this claim.

• Both groups played a role in preserving and transmitting Scripture.

• Depending on Church tradition for our Canon does not mean granting them infallible authority.

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The Origins of Christianity

This section discusses the origins of Christianity and the different branches that emerged from the early church.

The Early Church and Branches

• The early church is like a tree with many branches, including Catholics, Protestants, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox.

• All these branches originated from the same early church and share a common heritage.

• Classical Protestantism has roots in the early church, even though it separated from the authority of the Pope.

• Modern non-denominationalism starts new churches.

Relying on the Early Church

This section explains how different branches of Christianity rely on their interpretation of the early church for their beliefs.

Canon of Scripture

• Different branches claim to be the infallible authority founded by Jesus and the apostles.

• Catholics, Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Assyrian Church of the East all claim to be the one true church.

• To determine which claims are more biblical, private judgment is necessary.

• Protestants believe in sola scriptura (Scripture alone) as they judge Church Authority based on biblical alignment.

Private Judgment in Catholicism and Orthodoxy

This section explores how even Catholics and Orthodox believers use private judgment when discerning between their own traditions.

Private Interpretation

• Catholics and Orthodox believers also rely on private judgment when choosing between Catholicism or Orthodoxy as both claim to be the one true church.

• They either use their reasoning or search scriptures to determine which tradition aligns more closely with biblical teachings.

Everyone Believes in Sola Scriptura

This section argues that everyone, to some extent, believes in sola scriptura when discerning between different church traditions.

Appeal to the Bible

• Different branches claim to follow earlier traditions when disputes arise.

• The Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox split over their agreement with the Council of Chalcedon.

• The Nestorians split from others based on their adherence to the Council of Nicaea.

• All these branches accept different sets of councils, so appealing to scriptures becomes necessary.

Authority of Scripture

This section emphasizes that scriptures hold more authority than any church council as they predate them.

Older Traditions

• Scriptures are older authorities than any church council.

• Private judgment is required to determine which set of councils is correct by comparing them with biblical teachings.

• This principle also existed in the Old Testament.

New Section

In this section, the speaker discusses the structure of Hebrew scriptures and the principle of older revelation being more authoritative than newer ones.

Structure of Hebrew Scriptures

• The Hebrew scriptures are compared to a planet, with the core representing the law of Moses (Torah), the mantle representing the prophets, and the crust representing other writings.

• There has always been a principle that older revelation holds more authority than newer ones.

New Section

The speaker provides an example from the Bible where sola scriptura is employed by a group called "The Bans" in testing what the apostles were saying according to Old Testament scriptures.

Example from Acts

• In the book of Acts, there was a group called "The Bans" who tested what the apostles were saying by comparing it to Old Testament scriptures they already had.

• They searched the scriptures to see if what the apostles were saying aligned with them.

New Section

The speaker emphasizes that church traditions or councils should be tested against scripture to ensure they align with God's word.

Testing Church Traditions

• Whenever encountering a church tradition or council, it is important to test it against scripture.

• By comparing these traditions with scripture, one can determine if they are in accordance with God's word.

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