The Importance of the Five Solas - Sola Scriptura

Previously, I had indicated that I was going to give a brief description of the Reformed faith. One post will simply not do the trick. While I do intend to keep my posts brief (relatively speaking), it is a topic that is by no means small. Thus what I hope to do is start here with a series of posts on the Five Solas of the Protestant Reformation followed by what is commonly known as the Five Points of Calvinism.

To begin with, what are the Five Solas? Those of you that are friends of mine on Facebook have probably noticed on Reformation Day (October 31) I would post something like this: "I am justified by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone to the glory of God alone according to Scripture alone." In that one sentence we have the Five Solas. They can be identified as follows:

• Sola Scriptura - Scripture Alone 
• Solus Christus - Christ Alone
• Sola Gratia - Grace Alone 
• Sola Fide - Faith Alone 
• Soli Deo Gloria - The Glory of God Alone

This and subsequent posts will deal with these in the order we see in the list. Here we begin with Sola Scriptura - Scripture Alone

What do we mean by Sola Scriptura or Scripture alone? Simply put, the phrase indicates that Scripture (i.e., the Old and New Testaments in the Bible, not the Apochrypha) is the ultimate authority in all matters of faith and life. I want to be clear on this; it does not mean that it is the only authority. As a Presbyterian minister, I vowed to receive and adopt the Westminster Standards (i.e., the Confession of Faith and the Larger & Shorter Catechisms) as containing the system of doctrine taught in Scripture. Thus, the Westminster Standards are an authority, but they are not and can never be the ultimate or absolute authority as God's word is. If it could be legitimately demonstrated that Scripture conflicts with something in those Standards, Scripture wins. Period. Every other authority whether confession, creed, or council must be subordinate to the authority of Scripture alone because they are inferior to Scripture. This doctrine became a rally cry of the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century because the Roman Catholic Church placed the Church itself along with her councils and traditions at the same level (at the very least!) of Scripture and determined that she was the only true and final interpreter of Scripture. According to Rome at the Council of Trent, Scripture cannot be interpreted in any way that she does not approve. This led to all kinds of abuses of church power leading up to the time of the Reformation. It must be noted that the Reformers did not invent this doctrine of Sola Scriptura, but rather brought it back to light. I admit, this is a simplistic explanation, but it should be sufficient for our purposes here.

Why is Scripture the ultimate and absolute authority? The Bible is God's word in written form and therefore cannot be anything but absolutely authoritative. When you open the pages of the Bible, the content of those pages is God speaking to you in that word. Scripture alone shows the way of salvation found in Jesus Christ. Thus the Bible is God's redemptive word. Scripture alone has the final say in what God requires of man. While it is certainly true that human authors penned the words, the ultimate author is God Himself. "All Scripture is breathed out by God...." (2 Tim. 3:16 ESV; see also 2 Peter 1:20-21). In the original Greek, that description of Scripture is a single word — God-breathed; many English translations use some form of the word "inspired." It is precisely for this reason that the Bible is inerrant (free from error) and infallible (free from error in teaching). Thus Scripture is the final and ultimate authority in matters of faith and life.

Now for the practical side of the discussion. At the time of the Protestant Reformation the key issue was the level of authority Scripture had in the life of believers compared to other authorities, specifically the authority of the Church. The authority of the Bible is certainly questioned by many today, yet even within the church itself it has also become a question of the sufficiency of Scripture among those who testify that the Bible has ultimate authority. As James Montgomery Boice noted, today's battle is against those who would use worldly means to do God's work (Whatever Happened to the Gospel of Grace?, 66). So many in the Church today look to other means for evangelism, guidance, and growth in grace in order to make the Church and Christianity appear more relevant. My friends, what could possibly be more relevant for such things than God's perfect word? In the desire to seem relevant, so many doctrines of Scripture get watered down or simply ignored. Psalm 19 describes God's word as perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true, and altogether righteous; God's word revives the soul, makes men wise, makes the heart rejoice, enlightens the eyes, and endures forever; we ought to desire His word more than fine gold for it is sweeter than honey from the comb. Seek God's word to guide and comfort you. Look to God's word to deepen your love of Christ. Your church ought to make the word of God and His gospel message central in its ministry. Why did the Reformers emphasize so strongly this wonderful doctrine? In the pages of Scripture there is light for a darkened world; in them is a soothing balm for a scraped and sore heart; in them is a bubbling spring for a dry and parched soul; in them is life - life eternal found in the Lord Jesus Christ!