What is Sola Scriptura?

Introduction: The Five Solas

Last week, you may remember I introduced a new sermon series, that I’ve titled why the Reformation Still Matters. And for the next five weeks, I’ll be preaching through five foundational issues that prompted the Protestant Reformation. They’re often referred to as the Five Solas, based on the Latin phrases that were used for each of these five points: Sola Scriptura – that means Scripture alone; Sola Fide – Faith alone; Sola Gratia – Grace alone; Solus Christus – Christ alone; and Soli Deo Gloria – to the glory of God alone.

Since the Reformation happened more than 500 years ago, I suspect that many people believe these kinds of issues are behind us – that the Five Solas must be outdated artifacts of the past that we read about in history books, and nothing more. But as we work through these Biblical issues, that were reclaimed and clarified in the days of the Reformation, it should be clear that these teachings continue to be very relevant. And my goal will be to demonstrate, not only that that the Five Solas are true, but also that they’re profoundly good for God’s people.

This morning, we’ll be considering the first of the five solas: Sola Scriptura – Scripture Alone. And to dig into this topic, I’ll be preaching from Matthew, Chapter 15. So if you have a Bible nearby, I’d encourage you to turn there with me, to Matthew 15. I’ll be reading verses 1 through 9. But before I read our text this morning, please pray with me:

[Pray and Read Text]

The Final Rule of the Christian Faith

When there are questions and controversies that arise about the Christian faith, where should we go? What standard has the highest authority – that should have the final voice, to guide the Church? This was one of the main questions that was disputed at the time of the Reformation. Roman Catholics asserted that the Scriptures and traditions handed down within the Church should both be considered the Word of God – that they should be viewed as equally authoritative. But the Reformers insisted on Sola Scriptura – that Scripture Alone had that final authority, to determine the faith and practice of the church.

The Reformers didn’t deny that the church had some measure of real authority. Because they recognized, from Scripture, that Christ himself had instituted his church with elders and a form of government. And the Reformers didn’t claim that the historical practices or teachings of the church were totally worthless and unprofitable. In fact, the Reformers often quoted the early church fathers, to show that Protestant beliefs were widely present in the historical church, rather than being new innovations. But the Reformers were very clear in stating that final authority to determine the doctrines and dogmas of the church rested in Sola Scriptura – Scripture Alone.

And from Matthew 15, and from other parts of Scripture, we see a number of reasons why this must be our position as well. First, I want to lay out the rationale for Sola Scriptura – and give some explanation from our text for why it’s true. And then in my second main point, I want to explain the richness of Sola Scriptura – and give you some reasons why it’s good. These will be my main two points as we work through the text: the rationale for Sola Scriptura – why it’s true; and the richness of Sola Scriptura – why it’s good.

The Rationale for Sola Scriptura

So first, the rationale for Sola Scriptura. As we work through Matthew 15, I want to explain what Jesus’s understanding of Scripture was, and how this compels us to view Scripture alone as the final authority for determining the Church’s faith and practice.

Tradition Plus Scripture?

Here in our text, you’ll see right away that there’s a delegation of men from Jerusalem who come to Jesus – who are referred to as Pharisees and scribes. The Pharisees and scribes were religious leaders among the Jews – they were considered by most to be the scholarly experts of the Old Testament. And in addition to teaching people to adhere to the Old Testament writings, the Pharisees also taught the people to follow other customs and commands: the traditions of the elders. Even though these traditions weren’t contained in Scripture, the Pharisees believed that the traditions of the elders had been passed down since the days of Moses. You may remember, in Exodus 24, the LORD called Moses, Aaron and his sons, and the seventy elders of Israel to come up to Mount Sinai, to ratify the covenant law. Well, the Pharisees believed that these elders had received authoritative teachings from God himself, outside of Scripture, that had been passed down through the generations, up until the days of Christ. It was a sort of “oral Law” – a spoken law – “in contrast to Scripture, the “written Law”. And the Pharisees believed that this oral law added official teaching, to tell people how to observe religious ceremonies rightly, how to regulate relationships, and how they should conduct themselves as faithful Jews. (It’s worth pointing out, many Orthodox Jews continue to believe that the traditions of the elders have binding authority.)

And so in Matthew 15, the elders come to Jesus, and in verse 2 they ask, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” And for the Pharisees, you need to understand, they weren’t asking, “why are you violating the rules we made up?” That’s not how the Pharisees viewed the traditions of the elders. Rather, by this question, they were essentially asking Jesus, “Why are you going against the divine words that the elders heard at Sinai?” The Pharisees believed that the traditions had God-given authority, alongside of Scripture – functionally equal to Scripture.

But Jesus didn’t view these traditions the same way at all. Look how Jesus responded to the Pharisees in verse 3: “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?” It’s not difficult to see from Jesus’s answer – He didn’t believe that the “traditions of the elders” had divine origin. He makes a sharp contrast between the commandment of God, on the one hand, & the traditions that the Pharisees are speaking about on the other hand.

This is, perhaps, one of the main reasons why Jesus was so despised by the Jewish leaders. Because the Pharisees were invested in the belief that God had given two equal sources of authoritative spiritual truth to guide His people – the written Scriptures plus the spoken traditions from Moses, Aaron, and the elders. But Jesus was saying that this wasn’t the case. The authoritative words that God intended to guide his people for the long-haul did not include Scripture plus a chain of verbally-transmitted traditions. Instead, God’s plan and pattern for setting down a rule of faith for his people rested on sola scriptura – Scripture alone. Whatever interpretations, truths, and traditions God wanted to be binding for his people, he was careful to hand down in the sacred writings.

So when the Pharisees confront Jesus with one of the traditions they esteemed so highly – the ritual of handwashing from the elders – notice what he does. He doesn’t go along with the tradition because it seems harmless. He doesn’t assume that a tradition is right or acceptable because the most popular religious leaders are in favor of it, or because it can be traced back a thousand years. But instead Jesus challenges the traditional teachings and interpretations that the Pharisees venerate so highly. And to do so, he doesn’t appeal to some other transmission line of tradition – but he appeals directly to the primacy of the Scriptures – Sola Scriptura. And Jesus does this regularly. In his doctrinal disputes with the Pharisees, he appeals to the preeminence of the sacred writings. Scripture alone is held up as the Word of God that has final authority.

I think it’s quite obvious here that this was Jesus’s perspective. And there’s no human being in world history who understood God’s plan and method for handing down authoritative truth better than him. Since Christ attests here that God had handed down sola scriptura – Scripture alone – to operate as the highest rule to direct the faith and practice of his people, we should expect that this is how God continues to govern his people today.

Tradition Above Scripture?

But look back at your text, because there’s another important issue that Jesus draws attention to in verses three through 5. Jesus turns, here, and he rebukes the Pharisees – not because they have made their traditions equal to Scripture (which would be bad enough) – but he rebukes them because they have elevated their traditions over the Scriptures. Jesus says, “Why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.” But you say, ‘if anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” then he need not honor his father.’ So, for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.”

Jesus directly quotes from two sections of the Old Testament writings – from Exodus 20:12, and Exodus 21:17 – and both of these passages are quite clear. God’s Word says that children should be taught to honor Him by honoring their parents. Honoring parents shouldn’t be thought of as a distraction that takes us away from honoring God. Instead, one of the key ways that we rightly express our reverence toward God is by respecting our father and mother. We should think of honoring parents as an act of worship that’s directed to God himself. That’s the point Jesus is making as he quotes from Scripture here.

But there was a tradition that the Pharisees had received – and according to this tradition, if a child told his mom and dad, “All the respect I would ordinarily give to you, I’m going to totally devote to God instead, through giving extra sacrifices, spending extra time going on pilgrimages, donating extra money to the temple, etc.” And so, according to this tradition of the Pharisees, if children despised their parents and wanted to get away from them, there was a perfectly acceptable way – perhaps even a commendable way – for children to do that.

I think it’s pretty clear to us, here, that the Scriptures and the traditions of the Pharisees were at odds with each other. But it’s important to note – the Pharisees didn’t view them as incompatible. As you can imagine, they would have insisted that the oral traditions and Scripture went together – that they were both from God. They would have made claims – similar to the claims made by the Roman Catholic church today – that these spoken traditions were given by God to make sure that the Scriptures were correctly interpreted. So whenever an issue arose, where it seemed like Scripture and tradition were at odds, the Pharisees assumed that the traditions of the elders gave the correct perspective, and that anyone who questioned the authority of these traditions was putting God’s people at risk.

But Jesus’s point here is that this reliance on tradition is what puts the Church at risk! Because it ultimately leads to people revering the words of tradition over the words of Scripture itself. Jesus himself points out this problem in our text. As the traditions of the elders and the Holy Scriptures stood in conflict, here, the Pharisees were unwilling to question the traditional interpretations of the law that were handed down to them. They weren’t willing to go against the traditions. But do you see what they were willing to contradict? The Scriptures themselves! And this is why Jesus laments, in our text, at the end of verse 6, “for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.”

The mistake made by the Pharisees here isn’t uncommon. You and I need to understand – the danger continues, to make some sort of rule or priority for life just as important to us as Scripture itself.

Of course, this was one of the great concerns at the heart of the Reformation. The Roman Catholic church taught – and continues to teach – something that’s virtually identical to what the Pharisees believed: that there are various teachings outside of Scripture that have allegedly been handed down as tradition, from godly authorities in the past – and it’s claimed that if you’re really going to understand God’s will, and what the Bible teaches, you need to hold to these traditions alongside of Scripture. But as I’m sure many of you have seen – this eventually leads to tradition being valued and consulted more highly than the plain readings of Scripture.

And these ideas are still very present and influential today in Roman Catholic circles, on the internet, in podcasts – it’s helpful to be reminded about these matters, so that we, and the generations after us, can have Biblical discernment. Roman Catholic traditions won’t give us greater knowledge and deeper spirituality than what can be gained from the Scriptures alone. They will simply put us at risk of making void the Word of God for the sake of our traditions.

But it’s also important to keep in mind, temptations like this don’t just come from Roman Catholicism. All kinds of different churches in the past have fallen into the trap of taking something – even things that may seem biblically wise – and turning those things into a rule of faith for all believers. Whether these churches have insisted on certain dress codes, rules for acceptable music genres, absolute prohibition of alcohol, what hymnal to use, or whatever – there have been many occasions where people have embraced these traditions with just as much if not more loyalty than the word of God.

And we should be careful that we don’t make the same mistake, by exalting new traditions or priorities next to or above Scripture. There could easily be a temptation for us to want to spell out in detail what it means to train up our children in a godly way, what exactly it looks like to serve the poor, what it means to care for aging parents, and other such things. You and I will likely be tempted at some point to elevate certain aspects of our spiritual opinions up to the same level as the Bible. But we need to distinguish between Scripture and tradition, and make sure that Scripture alone is what ultimately binds people’s consciences. We need to be careful we aren’t bringing Scripture down, by exalting our own teachings and traditions up, side by side. This is the sort of thing Jesus is concerned about here.

Scripture Stands Alone

And it makes sense why Jesus would be concerned. Because if we assert that some other pool of new information or special revelation is needed alongside of Scripture, either because Scripture isn’t clear enough or because Scripture’s teaching isn’t complete enough, then we’re contradicting Jesus. We’re operating with a different view of Scripture than Jesus did.

Because it’s clear in our text that Jesus expected three things of the Pharisees. He expected them to understand what was written, to view Scripture as sufficient for directing the people of God at the time, and to submit to Scripture as supremely authoritative. In verse 4, Jesus directly quoted Scripture to the Pharisees (those commands God had given about children honoring their parents), and the words of Scripture themselves were clearly able to get the point across. No other word of interpretation was necessary for those words to be deciphered. And no other writings or traditions were viewed to have equal or greater authority.

And if Jesus appealed to the Old Testament Scriptures directly, as words that were clear – that could be interpreted through an honest, careful consideration of the Scriptures themselves – doesn’t it make sense that faithful Christians would view Scripture the same way? Be confident here, you are on safe ground to follow the example of Christ here. Jesus emphasized the primacy of the Scriptures in directing the faith and practice of God’s people, and it’s good and faithful for you to do the same.

In fact, the Bible directly points out that this is, in fact, the right posture for God’s people to have. Take a moment, and turn with me to Acts 17. (Acts 17). One of Jesus’s servants, the apostle Paul, had been traveling town to town, proclaiming the good news about Jesus’s death and resurrection. And after being driven out of Thessalonica, Paul and his coworkers went on to the next town – to Berea. And after Paul preached about Christ in the synagogue, there, verse 11 says, “ 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.”

It’s important to see that Acts 17 gives us divine commentary, here, about the Bereans. And God says that they were noble in contrast to the Thessalonian Jews. Why? Because they received the word with all eagerness – that’s part of it. And it’s also because they were examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. The Bereans were commended for examining the Scriptures to test the validity of the apostle’s teaching. They were commended for diligently seeking to study and interpret the Bible, and for relying on Sola Scriptura – Scripture alone – as God’s ultimate standard of truth to govern his people.

And if this is how God intended for the Old Testament Scriptures to be used – if it was a noble thing for his people to appeal to the Scriptures alone to discern true teaching – then we should expect the New Testament Scriptures to be used the same way – with even greater completeness, clarity, and finality.

The Richness of Sola Scriptura

So I’ve taken a good deal of time to explain some of the rationale of Sola Scriptura – why it’s true. But I want to turn my attention now to my second main point, concerning the richness of Sola Scriptura, and I want to point out a few reasons why this doctrine is practically good and encouraging.

For one thing, Sola Scriptura affirms that there’s consistency in God’s purpose. God has spoken through holy men, and has made a record of this Word in Scripture, to be the ongoing rule of faith for his people. Jesus himself modeled for us that Scripture should be appealed to as final in its authority, because the voice we hear in the Scriptures is uniquely the voice of God. And when we insist on Sola Scriptura, we’re simply acknowledging that God has continued to work this way. He has not transitioned his people from Scripture Alone to Scripture plus some other transmission line of teaching. It’s not as though God’s way of leading his people was defective in the past, and he had to make changes. Rather, God has given his people inerrant, authoritative Scriptures to be the ground and pillar of our faith. The consistency of God, in preserving a final rule of faith for his people in the Scriptures – it really does bring comfort, in a world that’s filled with competing claims for power and authority.

But Sola Scriptura is also clearly good and comforting, in that the words of Scripture are extremely well-attested through a sizeable number of ancient manuscripts from at least the 2^nd century onward. God has preserved the contents of the books of Scripture in a traceable way. We can see its stability over time. In contrast, though, for those traditions that the Roman church claims to be apostolic – it’s not obvious what all has been included in that body of traditions over the years. It can’t be verified that the traditions spoken about by the Roman Catholic church have remained unchanging since the earliest days of the church. Quite the opposite, actually – documents from history suggest that a number of supposedly traditional teachings morphed and developed over time (such as the veneration of Mary, belief in purgatory, and the doctrine of papal infallibility). And so under that system, people are left with the nagging question, whether they are truly being directed by the Word of God, or whether they are, in fact, following the teachings and traditions of men. But God’s gift of Scripture as the steady standard for our faith is a tremendous gift which brings much comfort. Because Scripture – it can be verified – has been materially stable, from the time it was laid down until now. We know that we have the sacred Word of God transmitted to us in the Bible. Sola Scriptura is good news.

And there’s another reason why Sola Scriptura is also unquestionably good – and that’s because it rightly affirms that God’s Words in Scripture is accessible and interpretable just as they are written. When we read in 2 Timothy 3 that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” – this doesn’t mean that the man of God needs Scripture plus an additional knowledge source of tradition in order for Scripture to make us complete and equipped for every good work. Instead, we’re being told that Scripture is entirely sufficient in the form God has given it to us. We can have the right interpretation of Scripture, by closely reading Scripture itself and comparing confusing parts to other parts that are clearer. In this mode of speaking – in Scripture – God isn’t providing half of the insight the Church needs to function as the Church – but he provides the whole. All the special revelation of truth that’s needed for God’s people, can be found or deduced directly from the teachings of the Bible. And this means that you and I can joyfully affirm what Psalm 19:7 says concerning the Scriptures: “The law of the LORD is perfect (it’s complete!) reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.”

There’s one more reason I want to mention why Sola Scriptura is good news, though, related to what I just mentioned – and that’s because it practically means that if you have the Bible, you’re truly equipped by God with the full substance you need for personal devotions, for the spiritual care of your family, and for proclaiming truth to the lost. There’s no need to find a manual on church tradition to bring in additional content that the Bible is missing. There’s no need to go off looking for extra information from God – a direct word from the Holy Spirit, or a dream, or a sign in heaven, or some other mystical piece of information. Because what you and I now have in the Scriptures is the sufficient Word of God – the Sword of the Spirit – by which we can fend off evil, and stand firm before the tyranny of the devil. So pick up the Word with confidence and with diligence. The Sword of the Spirit isn’t just a decoration to hang over our mantelpieces. Rather, by giving us the Scriptures, God has armed us from his own arsenal, to wield His Word in eternally significant ways. Though you and I are weak – weaker than many of us realize – the Word that God has given us is strong and it’s effective. We’re reminded of this in a vivid way, in Isaiah 55, 10 and 11. The Lord says, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

You and I can rest assured – God has given us Scripture as a sure foundation for our faith. This doesn’t mean that we should totally disregard what other Christians say or what they’ve said in the past. Sola Scriptura doesn’t mean that we should totally ignore or devalue church history, or that we should deny the legitimate authority God has given church elders, through Scripture, to exercise pastoral oversight over the body. But Sola Scriptura does mean that we don’t need Scripture plus something else to guide our faith and practice authoritatively. We can rest and we can work with full confidence in the true authority of Scripture alone. So as we consider the encouragement God gives us like this, let’s pray and thank him for his provision: