Sola Scriptura?
In our first post we looked at the danger of literal reading of scripture, and concluded that we need community and Holy Spirit’s inspiration to truly understand God’s library of loving revelation. We must read through the lens of Jesus - our hermeneutic.
Today I want to touch on a key foundation of the Reformation: the doctrine labeled Sola scriptura meaning scripture alone.
This doctrine, held most firmly by the Lutheran and Reformed branches of the Protestant Christian family, states that the Bible is the sole infallible source of authority for our lives as Christians.
That was a necessary medicine when “the church” was sick with human power struggles, unbiblical practices and a mission to exclude for profit (the Catholic Church was teaching that you could buy indulgences to earn salvation or standing with God; one of many unbiblical money-making power-grabs infecting religion at that time). In an era when human authority had replaced God’s authority in the Church, it was necessary for that sickness to be treated with strong medication.
Sola scriptura was the medicine for the sickness of human greed. Emphasising the truths of Scripture (especially salvation by faith alone - sola fide, and trusting only God’s grace - sola gratia) was a vital intervention to counteract the sickness of religious power in the church. Like chemotherapy, it destroyed the cancer of greed for a time. But you don’t live on medication alone. Sola scriptura alone leads to an elevation of the academic over the experiential, and sidelines Jesus as firmly as the Pharisees did before the crucifixion.
In contrast, we have said previously that God speaks through scriptural community immersed in Holy Spirit.
A few weeks ago, my wife Jane and I were discussing some parables. As we talked, we began to unpack different segments of the stories Jesus told, and before long we had a collection of contradictory “truths” drawn from different parables. As we puzzled over our confusion, I remembered a lesson I’d learned from a wise friend years ago: when reading a parable, look for the primary point and learn from it. This insight comes from the meaning of the word parable: the Greek word is a compound of two words, Para & Ballo, meaning to throw alongside - or to teach by contrast. This means that we take the primary contrast in each parable as the lesson Jesus is teaching. This approach enabled us to sift through our contradictions and see a common thread of revelation in the parables we were reading. Jesus revealed God’s heart and nature through scripture unpacked in community through the Holy Spirit.
Jesus is the Word (John 1).
Scripture has authority, but it does not exceed the authority of the Holy Spirit who inspired what was written and who breathes understanding into us today. In the same way, scripture does not supercede Jesus, who is with us always through the Holy Spirit reminding us of what He teaches. Just as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are an eternal community, so Scripture is food for us when we consume it in community.
As we conclude for now, let me ask you: do you have a community where the Word and the Spirit work together to bring life? How are you allowing community to feed you with scripture, and scripture to lead you into deeper community?