Sola Scriptura
2 Peter
1:20-21: “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter
of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human
will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”
The two main Protestant
war cries are those of Sola Scriptura
and Sola Fide.
“Bible
Christians” are defined as those who only believe the Bible. It has been assumed that Catholics have no
regard for the Bible.
Here
are 3 truths –
1. The Bible was a Catholic book for 1500 years
before the Reformation. The New
Testament was ratified by the Catholic
council of Carthage.
2. Every Catholic Mass contains at least 3, if
not 4, Bible readings.
3. There is no denomination that only holds to
Scripture. – Sunday School didn’t
exist until the 1700s <- this is a
tradition. Every Church has Tradition.
How
do we approach the Bible? This can be explained by looking at how we got the
Bible:
- When we speak of
Tradition (with a capital T), we speak of the deposit of faith that God
has given to man which has been passed on.
- God’s primary
means of communication is verbal, oral.
God’s Word gets passed on by word of mouth. God said “go and preach the Gospel,” not
“go and write the gospel.”
- Scripture is
Tradition that was written down, sometimes years later. Most of the New Testament is like
this. The earliest Gospel was
written no sooner than 25 years after the Resurrection.
- Scripture is
incomplete. The Bible is not a
complete record of our faith, nor does it claim to be. John 21:24-25: “This is the disciple who
is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his
testimony is true. And there are
also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in
detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books
that would be written.” The Bible
itself says that it is not a complete record of the faith. John’s Gospel is like a commentary on
Jesus’ life. 2 Thess.
2:15: “So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you
were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.” We believe in
Tradition, which is partially written down (Scripture).
- The New Testament
was not approved for hundreds of years after the Resurrection, but there
was still a Church. The Catholic
Church decided which books would form the Bible. We keep the Bible in the context that
God intended, instead of interpreting it however we wish. 2 Tim 3:16-17: “All Scripture is
inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction,
for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate,
equipped for every good work.” This does not say that only Scripture is inspired.
Sola Scriptura
is totally unscriptural.
Questions
1. Didn’t Jesus condemn tradition?
Tradition is not the individual practices of Pharisees
that Jesus condemned, it is the deposit of faith that God has given to
mankind. Jesus condemned putting
tradition above the Word of God.
2. Why does Church teaching carry so much weight?
Constitution: what if the Founding Fathers had
said to the masses: interpret the constitution however you want it? Anarchy would have prevailed, much as it does
today with respect to our 30,000 denominations of Christianity. Instead, the Founding Fathers gave us a
government to interpret and enforce the Constitution. We need to keep Scripture
in the context of where it came from.
There is a higher authority than we.
1 Tim 3:15: “but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how
one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of
the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.” Jesus didn’t institute a
Book, but a Church. Without the authority of the Church, we would live in a
sort of spiritual anarchy, much like the one that exists today.
3. Why have Catholics added books to their Bible?
The deuterocanonical
books, the Apocrypha, the second giving of the law, are a part of the
Septuagint, the authorized version of the Old Testament at the time of Jesus.
When Alexander the Great encountered Judaism, he exported it to the rest of the
Greek Empire. It was translated into
Greek at the library at Alexandria, Egypt.
This translation is the one used in Jesus’ day. The apocrypha consists of Judith, Tobit, 1 & 2 Maccabees, 1 & 2 Esdras,
and several other books not included in the Protestant Old Testament. Martin Luther used a later version of the Old
Testament, authorized by the council of Jamnia in 80
A.D., where Jewish leaders declared a curse on the “followers of the Nazarene”
(Christians). Martin Luther also wanted
to exclude Revelation, James, Hebrews, and other books, because he didn’t agree
with them. The Old Testament was
unchanged until the Protestant Reformation.
4. Why did the Catholic Church burn Bibles?
Because they were bad translations. We also chained Bibles to the pulpit, because
they were expensive (worth $10-20,000 in today’s dollars), so that they
wouldn’t be stolen, and so that they’d be available for everyone to read.
SOLA
FIDE
Ephesians
2:4-10: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He
loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together
with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and
seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages
to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us
in Christ Jesus. For by grace, you have been saved through faith; and that not
of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one
may boast. For we are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that
we would walk in them.”
Evangelical
viewpoint:
All mankind is sinful, rebellious, worthy of hell. There’s no way we can be better by our works,
all we can do is receive Jesus. We are
covered in the righteousness of Christ.
Catholic
viewpoint:
We are saved by grace. We believe God’s
grace transforms us, leaves an impression.
We tend to focus on the result rather than the source.
How do we explain
salvation?
All
this stuff is for one central reason.
Salvation is union with Christ.
To experience God’s presence, you must be united with the one person who
can handle His Presence, Jesus. We are
grafted into Christ, through His suffering and death for us. What we have in Christ is so much greater
than what we would have had without original sin. We’re a part of His body. We need a personal relationship with Jesus,
but first we have to be part of His body.
We’re saved by His faith.
Why do Catholics
baptize babies?
Infant baptism shows the total inability of
that person to save himself. Romans
6:1-3: “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may
increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do
you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been
baptized into his death?” Outside of
Christ we have no hope. If we’re with
Him, we become more like Him. God loves
you exactly the way you are, but He loves you too much to want you to stay that
way.
Questions
1.
Why “works” salvation?
Catechism (2027): faith demands a response. If a fireman came into the room you’re in and
told you that the building was on fire and that you need to get out, would you
just sit there and say “ok, thanks. I believe you.” Of course not, you’d get out of there. You can tell if you believe by your response
to your faith. You can’t have faith
without being faithful. Hebrews 11 tells
of several Old Testament figures who had faith and who did something with that faith.
James 2 says “faith without works is dead.” Romans 1 speaks of “obedience of faith.” We must obey our faith, not just profess it. Romans
2:6: “[God] will render to each person according to his deeds.” Matthew 25 speaks of the last judgment, when
God will separate the goats from the lambs, according to their deeds. If you have faith, you’ll live it. Faith and works are two sides of the same
coin. We are saved by a faith that
works.
2.
Are you saved?
Yes, amen! Everyone is saved. Jesus died for everyone. Jesus’ sacrifice was infinite, and by it He
redeemed all of humanity. 1 Tim 4:10:
“Jesus is the savior of all people.”
However, this doesn’t mean that everyone is going to Heaven. We have to make the choice to accept God’s
free gift. Mortal sin kills the life of
grace within us. Why would Paul mention
mortal sins if it were impossible to lose salvation? Without Jesus, we’d split
hell wide open. Rev 3: 5 says “he who overcomes will thus be clothed in white
garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will
confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” You don’t have to
work to get your name in the Book of Life: Jesus already accomplished that for
you. You merely have to work to keep your name in the Book of Life. Don’t you want to get to know your Father?
3.
Are Catholics born
again?
In John 3, Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must
be born again. To be born again, you
must be born of water and Spirit. The
only other reference to water and Spirit in John’s gospel is at Jesus’
Baptism. Eternal life is not just a
matter of going to Heaven. Through baptism, you enter Christ. Romans 6:1: “Baptism unites us to Christ.” Baptism is necessary if you have the ability
to receive it. Baptism is like the
sinner’s prayer – you are not considered a Christian until you’re baptized.
4.
Are you going to
Heaven?
If
you’re not in mortal sin, and you’re in peace with God, then you can be
reasonably assured of your salvation. In
2 Timothy, Paul tells of how he has fought the good fight. Evangelicals believe in “eternal security” –
where it is impossible to be separated from Christ, once you’re saved. Scripture teaches that it’s possible for a
Christian to fall away. 1 Cor 9:24-27: “Do you not know that those who run in a race
all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.
Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable
wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without
aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and
make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not
be disqualified.” The apostle Paul
himself was not totally assured of his salvation. It is very possible to fall away from the
faith. A prime example is Judas. In Matthew 10, Jesus sends his disciples out
(including Judas) and gives them the power to heal. In Luke 10, Jesus says to rejoice because
your names are written in Heaven. Judas
chose to reject Jesus, and he lost Heaven. Matthew 14:21:“‘For the Son of Man
is to go just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of
Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been
born.’”
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2 brief things about hell: we must believe
that it exists, and that it is possible to go there.
Heaven: we’re adopted into God’s family.
Heaven is our inheritance.
We need a personal relationship with Jesus in order
to be saved.
Conversion is not a one-time thing; Paul had
many conversion experiences over his lifetime.