It was and is and always will be the fork in the road for what is and isn't

Scripture Alone: Asserted & Amplified true and what is and isn't right.
God Has Spoken It was the fork in the road in Isaiah's time.
It was the fork in the road in Jesus' and the apostles' time.
Please open your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 8 verses 16 to 22. It was the fork in the road in Luther's and Zwingli's and Calvin's time.
I will make a few comments before we read the five verses. It's the fork in the road now.
Isaiah is speaking. "What does the LORD say?"
He is referring to his own testimony and teaching concerning the coming That's the question!
invasion of Assyria. It's not just a theoretical question for academics and theologians.
It's a testimony and teaching that came directly from the LORD. It's immensely important!
It's a testimony and teaching that wasn't welcomed. It's immensely practical!
The people wanted any other explanation for the Assyrian rumblings The conclusions we come to concerning anything and everything of
they were already hearing in the distance and the invasion Isaiah meaning and significance depend on it.
warned would come. Many if not all of you agree with me!
What does Isaiah say about his testimony and teaching? Will that still be the case when we are finished with this 'Sola'?
It's true for all Scripture. You see, the devil is in the detail.
Isaiah chapter 8 verses 16 to 22 ... Lots of people agree about all sorts of things until they discuss details!
Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching among my disciples. I will wait for the
LORD, who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in Him.
2. 'Scripture Alone' Asserted
Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are signs and
portents in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion. And What does 'Scripture Alone' mean?
when they say to you, "Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who As we answer that question we must distinguish between what
chirp and mutter," should not a people inquire of their God? Should they 'Scripture Alone' means in itself and what it involves or assumes in
inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? To the teaching and to the terms of other truths.
testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have I will deal with what it involves in terms of other truths when I get to
no dawn. They will pass through the land, greatly distressed and hungry. And amplify (or expand) on this particular 'Sola'.
when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously For the moment, I'm going to stick to the meaning of 'Scripture Alone' as
against their king and their God, and turn their faces upward. And they will it stands alone.
look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish.
And they will be thrust into thick darkness.
I ask again: What does 'Scripture Alone' mean?
'Scripture Alone' means this: The Bible is the only reliable authority for
Amidst all the voices that cry out to be heard,
truly understanding and properly living in a universe made by God for
... and all the alternatives that people want us to listen to,
God.
... only one voice or alternative is reliable and trustworthy,
The key word in that sentence is the word 'authority'.
... only one voice or alternative offers light in a dark world.
'Scripture Alone' is first and foremost about authority: The Bible is the
It's the testimony and teaching that comes from God.
only reliable authority for truly understanding and properly living in
a universe made by God for God.
1. Introduction 'Scripture Alone' does not mean the Bible is the only place where truth is
Scripture Alone. found.
Our first 'Sola'. 'Scripture Alone' does not mean the Bible is the only book we can look
Why start with 'Scripture Alone'? at.
Here's why ...
'Scripture Alone' does not mean the Bible is the only authority that
is Scripture ... ... the greatest authority
exists.
above all other authorities?
'Scripture Alone' simply means that the Bible is the only reliable
authority for truly understanding and properly living in a universe made Sola Scriptura
... the greatest authority

SCRIPTURE
by God for God.
It is the only reliable source of information concerning who God is.
alongside all other authorities?
Prima Scriptura SCRIPTURE
We cannot know God fully and truly and savingly without the Bible.

tradition/institutions

tradition/institutions
experience

respected/sacred texts

experience

respected/sacred texts
reason

reason
It is also the only reliable source of information concerning everything
God has made.
We cannot know creation truly and meaningfully without the Bible. OR
The Bible is like a pair of spectacles (John Calvin spoke this way).
We cannot see and understand God's world correctly without the Bible.
Psalm 36 verse 9: "… in Your light we see light."
Without God's Word everything is blurred or completely unseeable.
Without God's Word we live in darkness.
For those who love big words ... “norma normans sed non normata”
Without God's Word we live in epistemological and telic darkness! Scripture is the unnormed norm that norms all other norms

I've produced a figure to illustrate how important the Bible is to Martin Luther put it this way …
knowledge and understanding and meaning. He said Scripture was "norma normans sed non normata."
The figure shows the difference between what the Roman Catholic You don't need to understand that!
Church believed and what the Reformers believed. It's Latin.
The Roman Catholic Church believed in 'Prima Scriptura – that's What does it mean?
'Scripture First'. It simply means Scripture is the unnormed norm that norms all other
It's shown on the left hand side of the figure. norms!
The Reformers believed in 'Sola Scriptura' – that's 'Scripture Alone'. It's the authority that stands over all other authorities and has no other
It's shown on the right hand side of the figure. authority above it.
The Reformers rejected what is shown on the left hand side. It's like that meter-long platinum/iridium bar in Paris that they used to
For them, the Bible wasn't just the greatest authority alongside all the use as the 'standard' meter – they use something else now.
other authorities. It was the unnormed norm – nothing told it what it was.
For them, Scripture was the greatest authority above all other It was THE METRE OF ALL METRES!
authorities. Rulers and tapes based on it were normed norms – they were only as
They were right. good as they accurately reflected the original.
Scripture is in a completely different category. Apply that type of thinking to Scripture.
It is unique as an authority. The issue is this: We respect and submit to all sorts of authorities.
Psalm 119 verse 96: "I have seen a limit to all perfection, but Your But there's one authority we reverently bow to like no other.
commandment is exceedingly broad." We respect and submit to government.
The psalmist says, "I look at created things. No matter how wonderful We respect and submit to parents.
they are there's a limit to how good they are. But Your Word is different. We respect and submit to experts – the wise.
It is totally and utterly perfect. Indeed, its perfection is limitless." We respect and submit to the laws of logic and reason.
We respect and submit to rule books and regulations.
All of those authorities fall into one of the four categories shown in the Is Scripture His word?
diagram: experience, reason, institutions and respected or sacred texts. It is!
Which authority do we reverently bow to? … Scripture, Scripture alone. Scripture is self-consciously the Word of God from beginning to end.
Why? The Old Testament has "Thus says the LORD" written all over it.
It is unique. But there are two New Testament texts we need to read.
Nothing tells the Bible whether it is right or not. The first is 2 Timothy 3 verse 16 – reading from verse 14 ...
Scripture is the rule that rules all other rules but is itself not ruled! But as for you [that's Timothy], continue in what you have learned and have
Do you now understand what 'Scripture Alone' means? firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood
Would you be able to answer an examination question on it? you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make
'Scripture Alone' doesn't deny the existence of other authorities. you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed
out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for
It's just that they are only good and true and reliable when they respect
training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for
or echo Scripture: "If they will not speak according to this word, it is because every good work.
they have no dawn [or there is no light in them]."
The second text is 1 Thessalonians 2 verse 13 ...
That's Isaiah 8 verse 20. And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of
Scripture wasn't just the primary or the first authority for the Reformers. God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as
Scripture was their supreme and unique authority. what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.
It was unequalled as an authority.
We must not underestimate the importance of that. (ii) The second thing 'Scripture Alone' assumes is the infallibility and
As I said, it's not just a theoretical issue for academics and theologians. inerrancy of Scripture.
It's immensely important! The first – infallibility – has to do with possibility.
It's immensely practical! The second – inerrancy – has to do with actual reality.
It's the difference between a theology of salvation that looks like Rome's Infallible means the Bible is incapable of lying or being untruthful.
or Mormonism's or Ethiopian Orthodoxy's. Inerrant means the Bible has no mistakes in it.
It wasn't just a theological debate for the Reformers. There isn't an untrue statement or assumption in it ... except, of course,
It was about giving God and the gospel back to the people. the untrue statements and assumptions of fallen beings that are
It was about Christ ruling His Church without competition or rival. recorded – truthfully – within its pages!
It was about God's will and mind being taken into account in all things. You will understand what I am referring to.
That's what 'Scripture Alone' is about.
Now, why are infallibility and inerrancy important?
3. 'Scripture Alone' Amplified It's one thing to say Scripture is inspired.
What other truths does 'Scripture Alone' involve or assume? It's another thing to say Scripture is infallible and inerrant given the
involvement of humans as messengers and even co-authors.
(i) The very first thing 'Scripture Alone' involves or assumes is the How does Scripture remain untainted or unspoilt?
inspiration of Scripture. The first thing to say in response to that question is this: Scripture isn't
If Scripture is to be trusted it must be the word of a reliable and worthy shy about asserting its infallibility and inerrancy.
authority. We might have questions but Scripture is self-consciously and
God is a reliable and worthy authority. unambiguously pure and true.
He is the most reliable and worthy of authorities. Psalm 12 verse 6 ...
Indeed, He is the only one who can speak with absolute authority. The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the
His authority is unrivalled. ground, purified seven times.
But the question is this? John 17 verse 17 ...
 "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth." It believes the Bible needs interpretation – authoritative interpretation,
Titus 1 verses 1 to 3, where Paul speaks about what God previously based on two things: church tradition and church authority!
promised being revealed through his apostolic ministry ... The problem with that is three-fold.
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith (a) First, there's no hint in the Scriptures themselves that their basic
of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, message is unclear.
in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages Indeed, the very opposite is assumed or asserted.
began and at the proper time manifested in His word through the preaching
Psalm 19 verse 7 ...
with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior; ...
The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD
Scripture is self-consciously and unambiguously pure and true. is sure, making wise the simple ...
The question still remains: Why haven't the dirty fingers and fallen minds Also, Psalm 119 verse 105 ...
of the human messengers and co-authors spoilt Scripture? The unfolding of Your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the
2 Peter 1 verses 19 to 21 ... simple.
And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do When self-appointed experts are mentioned in Scripture they are
well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns roundly written off!
and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no
Are there portions of Scripture that confuse us? Yes!
prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no
prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as In fact, there are portions of Scripture that are intentionally confusing.
they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. That's to hide the truth from the proud – think of the parables.
Just as the Holy Spirit kept Christ pure through conception by a godly But, for the most part, the Scriptures are plain and clear.
but fallen and sinful mother, He also kept Scripture from being spoiled Mark Twain, a famous American of the nineteenth and early twentieth
and polluted by the holy but fallen and sinful men involved in its original century, said, "Some people are troubled by the things in the Bible they can't
communication. understand. The things that trouble me are the things I can understand."
(b) Second, the addition of any authority alongside Scripture to interpret
(iii) Thirdly, 'Scripture Alone' assumes the immutability of Scripture. Scripture dethrones Scripture.
This is closely related to infallibility and inerrancy but deserves separate Any authority that needs interpretation actually becomes subject to the
attention because people say the Bible was infallible and inerrant when interpretation.
first written but it isn't now. (c) Third, history repeatedly shows that self-appointed interpreting
Textbooks have to be re-written or replaced as knowledge progresses authorities repeatedly get things wrong.
and mistakes need to be corrected. To protect their own tradition and without any shame, the Pharisees
"made void the word of God". (Matthew 15 verse 6)
Scripture never dates.
So does Rome.
That's why it never ceases to speak with unrivalled authority.
But it's not the only culprit.
Psalm 119 verse 89 ...
Forever, O LORD, Your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Doctor Martyn Lloyd-Jones called it 'the damnable plus'.
1 Peter 1 verses 24 and 25 ... When it comes to the matter of authority the addition of anything to
"All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. Scripture doesn't just dilute Scripture; it poisons it ...
The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains ... and the strength of the poison is in direct proportion to the degree in
forever." which the bare message of Scripture is misdirected or silenced.

(iv) The fourth thing 'Scripture Alone' assumes is the clarity of (v) Finally, the fifth thing 'Scripture Alone' assumes is the sufficiency of
Scripture. Scripture.
The Roman Catholic Church claimed and still claims the Bible isn't
a plain and open book.
That means that Scripture gives us everything we need to truly and It's the fourth and fifth things – clarity and sufficiency – that separate
meaningfully understand and properly live in the universe God has 'Scripture Alone' from 'Scripture First'.
made and go on to enjoy it forever with God. It's the fourth and fifth things that separate a Word-based faith from
The word 'sufficiency' doesn't mean the Bible is literally all we need. a Church-imposed faith.
It simply means that the Bible itself in itself provides everything Even if the two overlap at many points the ultimate and decisive
necessary to truly know and understand the rest of reality and live authority differs.
meaningfully. The issue is this: Where does the ultimate authority lie?
I've already read it but I will read it again – 2 Timothy 3 verse 16 ...
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for I'm going to stop now.
correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be The next session will be dedicated to application.
complete, equipped for every good work.
I don't see anything missing there!
Yes, there are lots of things God is quite happy to leave to our free
choice and personal preference, broadly speaking.
Things like what to have for Sunday lunch, where the general rule
remains unchanged: "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden ..."
Things like the clothes we wear and the jobs we pursue ... until, of
course, certain lines are crossed – lines separating the immodest from
the modest and the unlawful from the lawful.
The more something is spiritual and moral, the more the Bible speaks
directly to it.
But – and this we must never forget – God in His Word is never absent.
Remember the figure – at least the right hand side of the figure.
God's Word is always above – quietly superintending if it isn't actively
addressing a particular situation.
The LORD might not speak directly to each and every situation you and
I find ourselves in – at least, not as we might want – but He is always
watching and regularly reminds us to get on with life in faith and fear
filling the earth and subduing it (Genesis 1v28) and enjoying everything
He has richly provided us with (1 Timothy 6v17).
As I mentally perspire over an Excel spreadsheet trying to make sense
of thousands and thousands of lines of planning data the LORD says to
me "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might" (Ecclesiastes 9v10).
When things start to wobble or derail, and I'm tempted to twist my
analysis or make gods of God's good gifts, the LORD definitely does
have something to say!
I'm sure you all know what I'm getting at.

Notice one thing about the five things 'Scripture Alone' assumes.
Roman Catholics heartily agree with the first three – inspiration,
infallibility and inerrancy, and immutability.
 Ten Quotes
Scripture Alone: Applied To highlight how practical and down-to-earth 'Scripture Alone' is I'm
The Word Did it All going to start off with a number of quotes concerning Scripture from just
one Reformer.
Please open your Bibles to Psalm 119 verses 97 to 104 ... It's the most famous Reformer of all – Martin Luther.
Oh how I love Your law! The quotes reflect the refreshingly devotional and private Luther as well
It is my meditation all the day. as the stirringly bold and public Luther ... in his own words.
Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,
What I want to do is clearly shift 'Scripture Alone' from the purely
for it is ever with me.
I have more understanding than all my teachers, theoretical and abstract to the practical and concrete.
for Your testimonies are my meditation. There are 10 quotes.
I understand more than the aged, I've re-worded them at points to make them clearer.
for I keep Your precepts. 1. Concerning what Scripture is: "Let the man who wants to hear God
I hold back my feet from every evil way, speak, read Holy Scripture."
in order to keep Your word. 2. Concerning Scripture being supreme and sufficient, Luther, at the
I do not turn aside from Your rules, Leipzig Debate with John Eck in 1519, said: "A simple layman armed with
for You have taught me. the Scriptures is to be believed above a pope or a council without them."
How sweet are Your words to my taste, 3. Concerning Scripture being an unfathomable source of truth: "The
sweeter than honey to my mouth! Bible is the proper book for men. There the truth is distinguished from error far
Through Your precepts I get understanding; more clearly than anywhere else, and one finds something new in it every day.
therefore I hate every false way. For twenty-eight years, since I became a doctor, I have constantly read and
preached the Bible; and yet I have not exhausted it but find something new in it
The Word of God – delightful, enlightening, purifying and preserving. every day."
4. Concerning Scripture in personal life: "For some years now, I have
4. 'Scripture Alone' Applied read through the Bible twice every year. If you picture the Bible to be a mighty
What does 'Scripture Alone' look like in real life? tree and every word a little branch, I have shaken every one of the branches
I said earlier that it's not just a theoretical issue for academics and because I wanted to know what it was and what it meant."
theologians. 5. Elsewhere on the same theme: "The Bible is a remarkable fountain: the
more one draws and drinks of it, the more it stimulates thirst."
It's immensely important!
6. Luther cautioning against complacency says: "You should diligently
It's immensely practical!
learn the Word of God and by no means imagine that you know it … I do not
For the Reformers, the fight wasn't just about bare theological want to let the mildew of the notion grow that I know the Scriptures well
assertions. enough. The devil is a greater rascal than you think he is. You do not know
It was about giving God and the gospel back to the people. what sort of fellow he is and what a desperate rogue you are. His definite
It was about Christ ruling His Church without competition or rival. design is to get you tired of the Word and in this way to draw you away from it.
Scripture Alone. This is his aim."
The Reformers professed 'Scripture Alone' and they practiced it, 7. Concerning its neglect: "The neglect of Scripture, even by spiritual
... at the risk of their lives, leaders, is one of the greatest evils in the world. Everything else, arts or
… not just in debates with the deluded and deluding great of their day, literature, is pursued and practiced day and night, and there is no end of labour
... but in day-to-day life too. and effort; but Holy Scripture is neglected as though there were no need of it.
Those who condescend to read it want to absorb everything at once. There has
never been an art or a book on earth that everyone has so quickly mastered as
the Holy Scriptures. But its words are not, as some think, mere literature; they
are words of life, intended not for speculation and fancy but for life and action.
But why complain? No one pays any attention to our lament. May Christ our They aren't really asking a question.
Lord help us by His Spirit to love and honor His holy Word with all our heart. They're making a statement.
Amen." Alright, what about prayer?
8. Concerning Bible helps and the Bible itself: "We are like men who I find my own personal prayer goes as well as my personal reading of
study the sign-posts and never travel the road. The loved fathers wished by Scripture goes!
their writing to lead us to the Scriptures, but we use them as to be led away
No one's discounting prayer here – certainly not me!
from the Scriptures, though the Scriptures alone are our vineyard in which we
ought all to work and toil." It's both proclamation and prayer that change the world.
9. More about the Bible and Bible helps: "The Bible is buried by a wealth The Bible is very clear on that.
of commentaries, and the text is neglected, although in every branch of learning But the Word leads.
they are the best who are well acquainted with the text." If we put the Word first, prayer will be right there, and Christ will be in
10. Finally, possibly my favourite quote … it expresses Luther's both!
unqualified confidence in Scripture to do the work he wanted to see
done: "Take me, for example. I opposed indulgences and all papists, but never I've got quite a bit off my chest there.
by force. I simply taught, preached, wrote God's Word: otherwise I did nothing. And I've still got a lot of time left!
And then, while I slept or drank Wittenberg beer with Philip of Amsdorf the In the time that remains I'm going to issue six exhortations and answer
Word so greatly weakened the papacy that never a prince or emperor did such a couple of questions that usually come up when one deals with
damage to it. I did nothing: the Word did it all. Had I wanted to start trouble 'Scripture Alone'.
... I could have started such a little game at Worms that even the emperor
wouldn't have been safe. But what would it have been? A mug's game. I did Six Exhortations
nothing: I left it to the Word."
The six exhortations are simply an attempt to drive home the things
we've been dealing with.
What do I want us to learn from those 10 quotes?
Others would handle things differently.
There's just one lesson: Scripture must dominate our lives.
What I'm going to say isn't exhaustive but I hope it's clear and
Alone with God ...
challenging.
… as we interact with brothers and sisters, particularly as they need
comfort and counsel ...
1. If we are to really know and enjoy God, understand and live properly
… as we disciple ...
in the universe He has made, and see blessing in our efforts to live for
… with our children and in our children's clubs – our children mustn't just
Him, we must live and breathe 'Scripture Alone'.
get stories about the Bible; they must get the Bible or they won't hear
God Himself speak – the fact that it can be done badly is no excuse for it
2. Living and breathing 'Scripture Alone' is relevant to all of life, but it
not happening.
starts at the most basic of levels and with the most childlike of spirits.
Then, like Luther, we must fight for church life under the Word.
Luther's personal private experience must be ours.
The Word is not a prop – it is the foundation of church life.
The personal and private experience of the author of Psalm 119,
whoever he was, must be our experience.
Some say this is bibliolatry – lifting and venerating a book above God.
Our personal and private lives must centre on and swing around the
If it's bibliolatry, live on bibliolatry!
Word of God.
You can't separate God and Christ from the Word.
There is no other way to explain Christ Himself.
The Word is God and Christ speaking ... speaking His mind and will!
He was a man of the Word.
When we put the Word first we necessarily put God and Christ first.
3. Living and breathing 'Scripture Alone' demands that we interpret and
The super-spiritual, just to be clever, will say, "But what about prayer?"
understand the world through the Word and not the other way around.
We gladly recognize and receive God's revelation of Himself and His 4. Living and breathing 'Scripture Alone' demands that we who teach or
mind and His will in all He has created. preach or counsel – even unofficially or without the formal office – will let
That includes the discoveries of men and women – even unbelieving Scripture speak uncensored and unqualified.
and perhaps profane men and women – in the worlds of social science, [Note: Many have reservations concerning John Calvin who have never read
cultural studies, psychology and philosophy. him, particularly his sermons. Read him! He expounds Scripture in refreshing
However, we never recognize and receive them without the Word. and sometimes shockingly refreshing ways!]
Further, the Word isn't just a filter. We will be careful to "preach the Word" – that's 2 Timothy 4v2 - "not
It doesn't just fulfill a de-polluting or clean-up role. ourselves" – that's 2 Corinthians 4 verse 5.
Psalm 36 verse 9: "… in Your light we see light." What I do want to do is read 2 Corinthians 4 verses 1 and 2 ...
If we're to understand our cultures better, and live and serve in them Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But
we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice
more meaningfully, we need to understand the Bible better.
cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth
It sheds light and gives insights nothing else does. we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God.
What does that mean in practice?
I realize that we cannot read and benefit from Scripture without reason Speaking negatively, we won't use the Bible like Christmas decorations
and understanding, both of which richly and profoundly informed by to brightly support and celebrate our hobby horses.
experience and education. We won't use the Bible as a homiletical toolbox to simply fix keep and
In fact, who can read and benefit from Scripture without knowing their keep our particular cause and interest going.
alphabet and basic grammar? Speaking positively, we will treat the Bible as a standalone authority with
However, does that make the reading of Scripture 50% Scripture and respect and godly fear.
50% reason and understanding, with experience and education behind We will first understand the text for what it says and was given to
both of those things? communicate before we attempt to explain and apply it faithfully and
Perhaps it's more complex than that? clearly, thoughtfully and persuasively ...
I think so. We will not short-circuit the understanding element – it's God's mind and
The difference is one between object and subject. will we want to proclaim and promote.
The reading and understanding of Scripture is 100% Scripture and Yes, there are no perfect preachers or teachers, but we don't want to be
100% reading and understanding, Scripture is the transcendent and negligent messengers, do we?
infallible part.
Further, the direction of attention isn't just one way – i.e. our reasoning 5. Living and breathing 'Scripture Alone' involves and often demands the
and understanding interpreting Scripture. development of creeds and confessions and statements and resolutions
Scripture reads and analyses us. that seek to clearly and concisely present the teaching of Scripture.
Hebrews 4 verse 12 ... We respectfully and even affectionately salute those creeds and
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword,
confessions and statements and resolutions but we won't bow to them.
piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and
discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Scripture stands alone and uniquely as our final and supreme authority.
We might read Scripture looking down, but God in Scripture, as it were, When we bow to tradition and the Reformed Rabbis, alongside
stands over us looking back at us and reading and dealing with us. Scripture, we do exactly the same thing Roman Catholic's do.
It does that to greater or lesser degrees in every area of knowledge
under the sun. 6. Finally, living and breathing 'Scripture Alone' demands that we who
hold church office won't confuse our authority with Scripture's authority.
Ministerial authority and Scriptural authority are connected but they are
not the same.
Ministers err, councils of ministers err, the greatest and the most loved Sometimes the differences are significant and hotly contested.
ministers err ... We must live with those differences with patience, grace and wisdom.
We possess authority – real authority – but it is under and through the When we are absolutely sure our understanding is the correct one, we
Word and under and in Christ. might say like Paul in Philippians 4 verse 15: "... if ... you think otherwise,
We must hold and exercise it very carefully, even when we have to be God will reveal that also to you."
decisive and firm. Then, there will always be schismatics who insist on individualistic
Generally speaking, if we look after God's authority He will look after interpretations of the Bible – something Luther called "each man [going] to
ours. hell in his own way."
But woe to us if we think we need to assert our own authority to protect Calvin spoke of fanatics "bury[ing] the Word of God so they may make room
God in His! for their own falsehoods."
Apart from refuting and rejecting such people, we must leave the issue
Two Questions with God.
The final thing I want to do is answer two questions that usually come up Freedom of conscience is far better than imposed beliefs.
when one deals with 'Scripture Alone'. Remember, faith is a gift.
I'd be surprised if they haven't crossed some of your minds.
(ii) The second question is this: If the Bible is the only reliable authority
(i) The first question concerns Scripture being clear and sufficient for truly understanding and properly living in a universe made by God for
and understandable in its own right without any authoritative God, how do we explain the wonderful things men and women have
interpreter. discovered who have either no respect for the Bible or no knowledge of
That's not what 'Scripture Alone' is about, strictly speaking, but it's the Bible?
certainly assumed by 'Scripture Alone'. Answering that question is easier than you think.
The question is this: Surely the clarity and sufficiency of Scripture Who and what God is, as well as what He thinks, wills and does, are
expose the Bible to bizarre interpretations? There must be a need known in two ways.
for an authoritative interpreter? They are known clearly and infallibly from His Word.
That's what Rome asks. We call that 'Special Revelation'.
Here's my answer. They are known a lot less clearly and fully, and often quite incorrectly,
The clarity and sufficiency of Scripture in themselves do not offer a free- from the universe He has made and continually governs.
for-all any more than you have the freedom to re-interpret me the way We call that 'General Revelation'.
you want. Who and what God is, as well as what He thinks, wills and does, are
What I have said, right or wrong, stands on its own merits. known a lot less clearly and fully, and often quite incorrectly, from the
You can debate what I meant by certain statements, but the final court universe God has made and continually governs for two reasons ...
of appeal is not one or two individuals who insist on the right to interpret First, the universe isn't operating normally anymore – it is broken and
my words. cursed because of man's sin.
The final court of appeal is my words ... and me, if you can get hold of Second, men and women and boys and girls can't see properly in their
me to ask me what I meant! sin.
Where clarity can't be found, you must be content with being ignorant. Only the Bible gives the information necessary to understand the full
If that's true of a sinner like me, it's definitely true for God and His Word. picture.
When men and women approach the Bible humbly, taking and Imagine a torn book (Francis Schaeffer's analogy).
understanding it on its own terms, it's amazing how similar their
conclusions are.
Yes, differences exist.
 We who have and love that Word from another world ... we don't resent
or discount knowledge obtained outside of Scripture; we simply look at
all that knowledge with Scripture spectacles on.
All truth is God's truth, wherever it is found.
But God alone allows us to see truth for what it is through His Word, lit
up by the Holy Spirit – no one can read the Bible truly without the light
switched on!
James Montgomery Boice: "The Bible alone is our ultimate authority –
not the Pope, not the Church, not the traditions of the Church or Church
councils, still less personal intimations or subjective feelings, but
Scripture only."
__________

We will end our consideration of 'Scripture Alone' by reading

General revelation – that's creation and history – is the spine and covers Nehemiah 8 verses 1 to 8, skipping a bit along the way, and then
of the book and several centimeters of printed material left on each praying ...
page. And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water
One can pick up and actually read fragments of truth but it is impossible Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that
to understand the full story with only that. the LORD had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before
the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they
Special revelation – that's the Bible – provides the missing material.
heard, on the first day of the seventh month. And he read from it facing the
The special revelation found in the Bible completes the story perfectly. square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the
Unfortunately, men and women make up their own stories and refuse to presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And
give them up, even when they are confronted with the missing pages. the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. And Ezra the
Can you now see how it's perfectly possible for people to make great scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. And
discoveries in the areas of medicine and mathematics and even beside him stood [six men to his left and seven men to his right]. And Ezra
sociology without any knowledge of or respect for the Bible. opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the
They're doing it, in God's grace, with what they have and can read. people, and as he opened it all the people stood. And Ezra blessed the
The Bible is all true but it's not all the truth. LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, "Amen, Amen," lifting up
Truth, wheresoever it is found, is God's truth. their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their
faces to the ground. Also [thirteen] Levites, helped the people to understand
The issue is this: 'Scripture Alone' still stands.
the Law, while the people remained in their places. They read from the book,
If we are to correctly and meaningfully interpret the universe and from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people
understand it, as well as our place and role, in the biggest of all contexts understood the reading.
– a universe made by God for God – we need the Bible.
Reason isn't enough. We bless You, LORD, for Your Word.
The combined and agreed results of reason – Church councils, science Speak to us as You spoke in the past
symposiums, etc. repeatedly prove unreliable or totally misguided. ... teach and direct us in our confusion,
Humans aren't and never will be reliable judges of truth alone. ... comfort and calm us in our distress,
We need a Word from another world. ... grant us that faith that comes through hearing the word of Christ,
... because we ask it in His Name. Amen and Amen.
Scripture Alone
Asserted & Amplified: God Has Spoken
Isaiah 8vv16-22
1. Introduction
2. 'Scripture Alone' Asserted
The Bible is the only reliable authority for truly understanding and
properly living in a universe made by God for God.
Psalm 36v9
Psalm 119v96
"norma normans sed non normata."
Scripture is the unnormed norm that norms all other norms!
3. 'Scripture Alone' Amplified
(i) The inspiration of Scripture
"Thus says the LORD"
2 Timothy 3v16
1 Thessalonians 2v13
(ii) The infallibility and inerrancy of Scripture
Psalm 12v6
John 17v17
Titus 1vv1-3
2 Peter 1vv19-21
(iii) The immutability of Scripture
Psalm 119v89
1 Peter 1vv24-25
(iv) The clarity of Scripture
Psalm 19v7
Psalm 119v105
Matthew 15v6
(v) The sufficiency of Scripture
2 Timothy 3v16
Applied: The Word Did it All
Psalm 119vv97-104
4. 'Scripture Alone' Applied
Ten Quotes
Bibliolatry?
Prayer?
Six Exhortations
Two Questions
Nehemiah 8vv1-8