Sola Scriptura Series

Series: Five Transcendent Truths

Sola Scriptura

Hebrews 4:12-13

12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

Sola Scriptura is a Latin phrase that means only Scripture or Scripture alone. It was one of the rallying cries of the Reformation. But what is the significance of this phrase? Everything about Christianity revolves around the Scriptures, everything. We live in an age where the Scriptures are devalued and disrespected by many even within the evangelical community. It is being attacked by modernists and revisionists. Reminds me of a story I heard…

ILL: A collector of rare books ran into an acquaintance who told him he had just thrown away an old Bible that he found in a dusty, old box. He happened to mention that Guten-somebody-or-other had printed it.

"Not Gutenberg?" gasped the collector.

"Yes, that was it!"

"You idiot! You've thrown away one of the first books ever printed. A copy recently sold at auction for half a million dollars!"

"Oh, I don't think this book would have been worth anything close to that much," replied the man. "It was scribbled all over in the margins by some guy named Martin Luther."

Every well-worn Bible is priceless! Hebrews 4:12

We want to examine our text this morning and look and three statements of truth. First, there is the…

I. The Authority of Sola Scriptura

a. Inspired

2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

We believe that all scripture both OT and NT are inspired. That is called plenary verbal inspiration. Every letter, word, phrase, sentence, paragraph and punctuation mark is inspired.

b. Inerrant

Whereas inspiration concerns the origin of the authority, inerrancy describes its nature. By inerrancy we refer not only to the Bible’s being “without error” but also to its inability to err. Inerrancy, positively defined, refers to a central and crucial property of the Bible, namely, its utter truthfulness.

The basis for the doctrine of biblical inerrancy is located both in the nature of God and in the Bible’s teaching about itself.

First, if God is perfect—all-knowing, all-wise, all-good—it follows that God speaks the truth. God does not tell lies; God is not ignorant. God’s Word is thus free from all error arising either from conscious deceit or unconscious ignorance. Such is the unanimous confession of the psalmist, the prophets, the Lord Jesus and the apostles.

Second, the Bible presents itself as the Word of God written. Thus, in addition to its humanity (which is never denied), the Bible also enjoys the privileges and prerogatives of its status as God’s Word. God’s Word is thus wholly reliable, a trustworthy guide to reality, a light unto our path. C. S. Lewis Institute

c. Infallible

When we say the Bible is infallible, we mean that God’s Word is incapable of error. Because God is perfect, so is His revelation of himself. God’s Word will accomplish exactly what God wants it to, “My word that comes from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please and will prosper in what I send it to do” (Isa. 55:11).

What we believe about God and what we believe about the Bible are intertwined and cannot be separated. What we know about God comes from the Bible. Scripture says God cannot lie (Heb. 6:18). “That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:”

If the Bible is God’s Word to us, and if He cannot lie, then His Word also must be incapable of error. Daniel Dewitt

Our view of Scripture should not be shaped by our experience or our emotions or our own reason but by the Scripture itself. Steve Trail

Second, there is the…

II. The Action of Sola Scriptura

Hebrews 4:12 states, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” This verse reveals the intimate connection between our spirit and soul.

a. Quick

Is quick - Greek ???? zo¯n - "living." It is not dead, inert, and powerless. It has a "living" power, and is energetic and active. It is "adapted" to produce this effect.