Reformation x Sola Scriptura

Many of us just celebrated Halloween, but October 31st is also the anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. It’s reported that on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed 95 Theses (points about which to debate / discuss theology) upon the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. By doing so, he set off a series of events that led to the Protestant Reformation. In seminary I had a history professor who organized a Reformation Day party every year in the library. We would read quotes from the Reformers and drink IBC root beer (which was the closest we were getting to the real beer that Martin Luther drank). And yes, the whole ordeal was cheesy, but also quite fun.

When Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door, he was not intending to start a revolution, rather he was simply highlighting many of the abuses and theological misunderstandings that he was witnessing in the Catholic Church. But the Catholic Church doubled down on its practices and beliefs, and eventually there was a forced split between Catholicism and what became Protestantism. 

The Five Solas

Over the next several weeks, I want to talk about the 5 Solas of the Reformation. Sola is a word in Latin that means “alone,” and the 5 Solas sum up some of the major disagreements between Protestants and Catholics. As a non-denomination baptist church, we are throughly part of the Protestant stream of the church, so these doctrines matter deeply to us! 

Here is a brief summary of the 5 Solas:

• Sola Scriptura (By Scripture Alone) — The doctrine that Scripture is the only source of infallible revelation and is sufficient for Christian faith and practice.

• Sola Fide (Faith Alone) — The doctrine that Christian believers are justified by faith alone rather than on the basis of good works.

• Sola Gratia (By Grace Alone) — The doctrine that salvation is based only on the grace of God and not human merit.

• Solus Christus (Christ Alone) — The doctrine that Christ is the only mediator between God and human beings.

• Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone) — The doctrine that all glory is reserved for God alone and should not be given to any other person or being including Mary, saints, or angels [1].

Sola Scriptura

This week I want to touch briefly on the first of the five solas: Sola Scriptura. Sola Scriptura means “by Scripture alone.” Gavin Ortlund explains, “The Reformers, in seeking to call the church back to the gospel, built their efforts on the foundation that Scripture alone is the final authority for matters of faith and life” [2].

Some context is in order here. In the middle ages no one had a personal copy of the Bible—typically only the church had a copy—and further, the copies they had were translated into Latin, which was not the language most of the people spoke. So the everyday person couldn’t even read the Bible if he or she wanted to, and most people were completely reliant on the church to tell them what the Bible said.

Even Martin Luther, who originally was a monk, hadn’t read much of the Bible until he was sent to begin advanced studies in theology. As he began reading the Bible more thoroughly, he discovered that what the Bible instructed, and what the church did and taught, were often at odds with one another. In order to inform its teachings, the Catholic Church relied not only on Scripture, but also on tradition and church councils. At the Council of Trent, the Catholic Church eventually landed on a two source theory of authority. The two sources of authority in the Catholic Church are 1) the Bible, but also 2) the teachings of the church. Conversely, the reformers held that Scripture alone should be the final authority in matters of faith and life.

An important clarification is in order at this point: The reformers were not against creeds and councils, they just held that Scripture holds a higher place of authority. Scripture alone is our final and inerrant authority, and everything else is subservient to Scripture. This accords with what Jesus said to the Pharisees. He chided them for holding their traditions in a place of equal authority with the Scriptures, which in practice ended up invalidating the teaching of God’s word (Mark 7:1-13).

Two Ditches

The way my mind works, there are actually two different ditches we can fall into when considering Sola Scriptura. One ditch is the same ditch the Catholic Church has fallen into, which is to elevate tradition to an equal place with Scripture. Church history, and even our own experience tells us that the church can make mistakes, and often needs to reform. The other ditch however, is to be so individualistic that it’s just “me alone in a room with my Bible.” In this ditch we can easily end up elevating our own personal interpretation of the Bible too highly and ignore the insights of the larger church body. The way I heard one seminary professor explain it is, “we stand on the shoulders of those who have come before us.” In other words, if one of us comes up with a unique interpretation of Scripture that no one has ever thought of before, we’re likely in error. The reformers were actually calling the church back to what the Scriptures taught, and what the church had originally taught, but had slowly moved away from. 

I want to encourage you to avoid both of these ditches. Don’t elevate any book or teacher to a status of equal authority with the Bible. However, please do read other things. It's ok for you to read other theology books and listen to other teachers, but always compare those books and teachers against the Bible, and let Scripture have the final word. Also, discuss what you're learning with faithful brothers and sisters, and realize that learning in a community is good. Let’s read and study together carefully, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and in community with one another!

Finally, please know that at 24 Church, we are always seeking to be thoroughly Biblical. We definitely make mistakes, but we are trying to think through everything we do in light of Scripture. And part of your job as a member of 24 Church is to help hold us accountable to be a church that is throughly Scripture-based. We listen to other authorities, but the Bible has the final say. Please help us!

A Few Scriptures to Back it Up

2 Timothy 3:16-17
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

2 Peter 1:20-21
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. 

Acts 17:10-11
10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 

- Ben

[1] Jeremy Thompson, Lists from Church History, Faithlife Biblical and Theological Lists (Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2022).

[2] Gavin Ortlund, “Sola Scriptura Then & Now: Biblical Authority in Late Medieval & Reformation Context,” Credo: Sola Scriptura (December) (Credo Magazine, 2016), 27.