Volume 5, Issue 1
_This column is based on questions and answers excerpted from
the "Bible Answer Man," CRI's live call-in radio broadcast. In
this issue of the Newsletter, Ken Samples answers the question:
What is meant by the phrase, "sola scriptura"?_
Considered the watchword of the Protestant Reformation, the
Latin phrase _sola scriptura_ literally means "Scripture alone."
Embattled with the Medieval Roman Catholic church over what
constituted the church's final doctrinal authority, the
Protestant Reformers set forth the theological principle that
_Holy Scripture alone_ is the supreme and infallible authority
for the church. In other words, Scripture is the "final court of
appeal" in matters of faith and doctrine. This is in contrast to
the Catholic view that Scripture and Tradition are coequal norms.
This debate over religious authority was really the underlying
issue that separated Protestants from Catholics in the sixteenth
century.
Affirming Scripture as the final authority implies several
additional principles. First, Scripture can be our primary norm
of doctrine because it is a direct revelation from God (2 Tim.
3:16; 2 Pet. 1:20). To quote the great Reformed scholar Benjamin
B. Warfield, "When Scripture speaks -- God speaks."
Second, _sola scriptura_ implies that Scripture is completely
sufficient and that all other norms (for example, tradition,
creeds, and human reason) are to be subordinate to the Bible.
Third, Scripture can be held as the church's final authority
because its basic message is clear and understandable. Medieval
Catholicism, by contrast, considered the Bible an obscure book.
Related to this, the Reformers formulated an interpretative
principle known as "Scripture interprets Scripture" -- that is,
they understood the Bible to be _self-interpreting._ In summary,
then, _sola scriptura_ implies the inspiration, authority,
sufficiency, and essential clarity of God's Word -- the Bible....
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