Sola Scriptura

Good afternoon, everybody.

As we approach Reformation Day, whether or not you'll throw a party or not, that's up to you. I definitely won't, but I will be in Wittenberg, Lord willing. We want to unpack and unfold what's known as the five solas. These are distinctions of the theology of the Reformers, mainly in the 1500s, that really encapsulate their beliefs, mostly regarding the justification of sinners. These are things that came out at the peak of the Reformation and we really just want to go through them, make them clear in light of Reformation Day, because it's good to refresh ourselves on what doctrine we do stand on.

Now, obviously, with any real Reformation, any real Christian Reformation, there is going to be a getting back to the sources. We are going to want to get back to what God actually says. That's at the heart of Reformation. Whatever needs to be reformed in the church or in our practices or in among believers, we need to know what God actually says. That's going to be the standard, the mode of operation.

And so we start out of the five SOLAs, which are only Scripture, only faith, only grace, only through Christ, only to God's glory. Those are my translations of them. But we're going to start with only Scripture. And this makes sense, right? We want to start with Scripture because when it comes to doctrine, that's where we need to go.

When it comes to what we believe and how we live out our faith, that's where we need to go. And that's what the Reformers were keen on, was getting back to the Scriptures. Now, I think it needs to be clear what we're talking about today and what we talk about when we talk about sola scriptura is not simply whether or not Scripture is important. Obviously, Scripture is important. In fact, probably most unbelievers would attest to the fact that Scripture is important.

Perhaps as a historical document or maybe as a feel good piece of literature. They think we're not talking about whether or not Scripture is important.

You see, back in the time of the reformation, in the 1500s, what stood out to these Reformers was whether or not Scripture was the final authority. That was the key issue. You see, the Catholic Church in the time of the Reformation would have held to the fact that, okay, the Bible is divinely inspired, the Bible is without error. But when you took a look at the practices, think about what got Martin Luther, Martin Luther going, for example, the practice of indulgences, essentially, that you could purchase forgiveness, remission of punishment.

When you look at these practices and you see that they're not just extra biblical, but unbiblical, then it's clear that the teachings and the practices are not putting the weight of final authority on the Word of God. And this obviously isn't an issue that simply stopped with the reformers. Martin Luther didn't make doctrine and the church perfect in his time. So what is clear, what we are focusing on when we are talking about only Scripture, is the idea that only Scripture is the final authority. Yes, tradition and our pastors and creeds, they all have authority in a sense, but we need to make sure that the authority and truth they are operating on is derived from only from Scripture as the final authority.

There is no tradition, there is no creed, there is no church clergyman that is a source of authority that is equal to or greater than the Word of God. And that is what we are talking about when we talk about sola scriptura. Where is the weight of final authority being placed? And for that, as we've already read, we are just going to look at a few verses in second Timothy three, starting with this question, where does final authority rest? So let me pick back up in this passage in verse 14.

But as for you, Paul, speaking to Timothy, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. And here's the point. All Scripture is God breathed. That declaration alone is sufficient to know that the final authority was when it comes to all things, particularly the matters of faith and practice, rest with God and His Word. If there is a Creator, a sustainer of this universe, one who claims to be the beginning and the end and know all things, who can do all things, obviously the final authority is going to rest with what he says.

And we have right here that these words we are holding, all scripture has been breathed out by God, the work of His Spirit, supernaturally carrying along the authors of Scripture to clearly communicate without error the truth and message of God to humanity in our language. It is a wonderful.

And now probably the common question is, okay, I get it. If Scripture really is God breathed, if we are holding in our hands the words of the Divine, yes, it is final authority. But how do we know that this actually is God, God's Word? Do you know for certain is your faith in the fact that these are truly words breathed out by God? Let me go over just a few points to make crystal clear that we are not dealing with any Just human words, but the words of God.

When we think about the Bible, we talk about its internal consistency. What we mean by that is the Bible within these Scriptures, we have a total of 66 books written by approximately 40 authors over the course of 1500 years in three different languages. And despite all of the contexts and situations that these authors faced over all the span of time in history, there remains a consistent message to humanity. There is one God. We are a sinful humanity who has turned away from God and is in need of redemption.

But this God has promised salvation through a coming Messiah who has come in the person of Jesus Christ and fulfilled the promises of God through which we look forward to his coming kingdom for. For eternity. There is a consistent message, despite all of the authors in all of the places and all of the time. And if you think about trying to get 40 different people to agree on anything in today's day and age, nonetheless, over the course of over a thousand years, you're talking about something that's more than just improbable. Not only that, when we think about Scripture, we think about the reliability of what we have in the manuscripts.

What I mean by that is what we hold is the result of translations from copies of the original writings. Now, what we learn in our schools, the world history we know, is based on historical documents of which we have merely handfuls of manuscripts and copies dating to the earliest writings. But when it comes to the Scriptures, the New Testament alone, we have over 5,000 manuscripts, some of those, most of those, many of those to the earliest part of when they were written. There is no comparison to the amount of historical reliability in the Scriptures compared to any other historical document. It blows all others out of the water.

Not only that, we have the geographical or archeological and historical confirmations constantly discovering discoveries, confirming that what is in Scripture is actually true.

Not to mention, when we go through Scripture, we see that much of it is eyewitness testimony, people who gave their lives on account of what they shared. And that's a lot of natural proof that God graciously has given us to see that, okay, this is more than just a normal book. These are more than just human writings. But that's not all. Think about the supernatural.

Thousands of prophecies within Scriptures that have been fulfilled to uncanny precision, over 300 of which regarding the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And if you were to just take a handful of those 300 prophecies regarding Jesus, the probability of those happening by chance is beyond comprehension. It's a number you can't even Fathom.

In other words, it's impossible to happen by chance. Lastly, for thousands of years, Christians to this day sitting in this room, can testify to the supernatural power of Scripture and its ability to save and transform lives. There is a testimony of the Word of God that no other words can do in its ability to bring new birth, to bring one near to God, to make one like Christ. As the Spirit works through the Word, what we have is not just the writings of any man or any group of men. We are dealing with the words of God.

Let that sink in. When you hear these words, let that reflect the being who spoke these through these authors.

So it is crystal clear then, if we are dealing with the divine, then final authority rests only with what he says in Scripture. Now, as we mentioned earlier, going back to the time of Reformation and even in today, the, the issue wasn't necessarily whether or not Scripture was God breathed, whether it was God's words. And today probably many in Christian circles would agree, yes, that's. Or say that's God's word. Those are Holy Scriptures.

But let me ask you, what is the goal? Is it to simply acknowledge the fact that, or to submit to it, to accept this, to believe this?

Obviously the goal is to do more than just acknowledge that we're dealing with a Divine, but to put ourselves under what he says.

So the question is then, what does submission to God's Word as the final authority look like?

And for that, let's go back to our passage and read verses 14 and 15 with the emphasis on verse 15. Again, as for you, continue in what you've learned and become convinced of, because you know those from whom you've learned it and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through through faith in Christ Jesus.

The word in verse 15 can also be translated as sacred writings or Holy Scriptures is actually referring to the Old Testament Scriptures. But did you catch that in verse 15 the Holy Scriptures, all the Scriptures, and we know also the New Testament too, since they're founded on the person and and work of Christ. All of the Holy Scriptures are making clear and pointing us to and leading us to the person and work of Jesus Christ.

This is what the Holy Scriptures are making us wise for. They're leading us to Jesus. And Jesus himself made this clear when he was here on Earth. There's a passage in John 5 where he's speaking to the Pharisees and he says, you diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. Yet These are the Scriptures that testify about me.

And of course, the Pharisees refused to come to him. Jesus went on to say, moses even wrote about me.

Or think about the passage in Luke 24, after Jesus has risen from the grave and he meets with his disciples and he says, everything had to be fulfilled that was written about me in the law of Moses, in the prophets and the psalms. And it's amazing because then he opens their minds to understand the Scriptures. It says. And then he says, this is what is written. This is what is written in all of the Scriptures about me.

That the Christ had to suffer and die and on the third day be raised to life. And he says, in repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem. So if you catch that, all of the scriptures taken together, they are painting the picture and pointing and leading us to the person and the work of Jesus Christ.

That is the message that God is bringing us to through the Scriptures. We see this from the beginning that humanity has sinned, turning our back against God. And because of our sin, because of our rejection of life, we deserve death. But God, in His mercy, promised salvation through a coming Savior. This Savior was and is Jesus, the Son of God.

God came to earth in the flesh. He lived a perfect life. And when he went to the cross, he went for our sins and our punishment that we deserved to shed his blood as the payment for our sins. He died. He rose again so that those who would put their faith in him would be made right with God and have eternal life in and through Him.

The Gospel message is the truth and the message that the Scriptures are pointing and leading us and making us wise for.

So why do I mention that? Because submission to God's Word as the final authority will look like submission to the Gospel message.

And if you're curious, how then do I submit to the Gospel message? The Scripture here makes crystal clear in verse 15, through faith. Through faith. That is the primary way you submit yourself to God's Word. How could it not be?

Think about Hebrews 11:6. And without faith, it is impossible to please God. Anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who diligently seek him through faith. So when we go back to the time of the Reformation, no wonder that the issue of justification being made right with God was such an issue. When you look at the teachings and the practices of the Catholic Church, you can see that the weight of final authority was not being given to God's Word because there was not A submission to the Gospel message through works, through other means, through purchasing forgiveness.

Your submission to God's word as the final authority will look like submission to the Gospel message through faith. And this is where the mirror of the gospel is held up. And hopefully you can take a look at your own life and think about and see the doctrines that you hold to, the teachings, the traditions you go about in your spiritual life.

Does it reflect a submission to God's Word as the final authority? Does it show a submission to the truth of the Gospel message by faith, by grace, in Christ alone, to God's glory alone?

Think about it. Ask yourself this.

Are you placing Am I placing my confidence of right standing before God on anything other than the person and work of Jesus Christ?

Is it your church attendance? Is it your Bible reading plan? Is it how spiritual you are as long as you are more spiritual than your spouse or more spiritual than the people who sit behind you at church? Or more spiritual than your co workers? Is it the fact that you share the gospel or fast or do good works or don't watch bad movies?

What is your confidence resting on for right standing before God if it is not the person and work of Jesus Christ? How can you say that you are submitting yourself to God's Word as the final authority in your life?

Now if we're being honest, there's not a single person here, myself, you guys, who is perfect in this. And the good news is that Scripture makes clear when we are not submitting to it fully, but it doesn't leave us there. Pick up in the rest of verse 16 and 17 all scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching. It makes the truth known to us. It gives us understanding that we might know God and His ways, how to live accordingly.

It's useful for rebuking. It exposes when we are in the wrong that we might know. And it doesn't leave us there because it's useful for correcting. It brings us back into the truth, into fellowship with God as we submit to its truth. And it trains us in righteousness, helps us to stay in God's commands, trusting and living them out in practice.

And there is a purpose in this that the Spirit has and it's so that the man or woman of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. We talked about this at FP last week in Hebrews in the benediction of chapter 13.

But there is a supernatural work that happens through this supernatural word for believers in Christ Jesus. The Spirit of God gives understanding of the Scriptures. He renews our minds. He guides us into the truth and teaches all things so that we are continually renewed and made more like Christ from the inside out. And through the knowledge of God, made capable and able to live out God's commands, He equips us for the good works that he's prepared in advance for us by teaching us the word of God.

This is the power of God in the lives of believers as the Spirit teaches us and renews us by the truth.

So don't think that something mystical or marvel like has to happen in your life to live out God's will. It is the work of one Spirit through one word in your life, making you more like Christ from the inside out, thoroughly equipping you through the renewing of your mind and your transformation to do his will.

Scripture truly provides all we need, so let's feast on it. But let's do so keeping in mind the truth that it is not merely reading the Scriptures that makes us right with God.

It is submitting ourselves, trusting what it actually says. That's exactly where the Pharisees went off the road when they had all the Scriptures, when they had God himself before them, they turned away from the one and from the message that the Scriptures were actually pointing to. Do not think that simply reading Scripture, or knowing it even, is what makes you right with God. It is your faith in the person who it presents, the person of Jesus Christ and his work on the cross for us. So as we close, when we think about Sola Scriptura, only Scripture has the final authority from which all our doctrine, all our tradition and all our lifestyles should derive its truth and authority from.

Consider your life.

Don't stay in a place you don't have to. There is nothing more burdensome than living a legalistic life. When Christ invites you to freedom through faith, this is the message Scripture proclaims. Are you submitting to what it says? Let me pray.

Father, we want to say thank you and we want to praise you, God, for your mercy. How many times we stumble and fall and how you've shown yourself so powerfully in our lives, and yet we continue to cling to ourselves and our works. And when Christ is presented right before our eyes, so Lord, we turn to you and we ask that you would guide us in the truth. Once again, thank you for your grace. Thank you for your love and your faithfulness.

We praise you and we pray in your name, Lord Jesus, our God and Savior. Amen.

Yeah. Reminder. Please sign up for the International Thanksgiving Dinners that the registration form may be filled quickly and then something special will happen right after the service. If you are among people who have been with us for some time and you want to maybe step up your commitment by, let's say, entering a ministry at Crossway or by becoming a member of the church, then please join the Discovery class. Today.

We will meet quarter till 5 in the conference room here at the other side, on the other side of the building. It's about a good hour program, so please take advantage of this today. We do it once in a while over the course of a year. The discovery class at 4:45.

I want to dismiss you all. And with us, benediction from Moses. Let your work be shown to your servants and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us. And establish the work of our hands upon us.

Yes, establish the work of our hands.

Amen.