The Theology of the Reformation: Then and Now
The Five Solas Note: That’s “solas” not “solos”!
What Are They? • Sola Scriptura (scripture alone) • Sola Fide (faith alone) • Sola Gratia (grace alone) • Solus Christus (Christ alone) • Soli Deo Gloria (for the glory of God alone)
History of the Five Solas • ‘Sola gratia’ and ‘sola fide’ were used in conjunction by the reformers themselves. • All of the solas show up in the writers of various reformers but are not cataloged together by any of them.
History of the Five Solas • In 1916 Lutheran scholar Theodore Engelder published an article title “The Three Principles of the Reformation: Sola Scriptura, Sola Gratia, and Sola Fides.” • In 1934 theologian Emil Brunner substituted “soli deo gloriam” for “sola scriptura.” • Later, Brunner added “Christus solus” to the list of solas while leaving out “sola scriptura.”
The Two Biggies
The Two Biggies • Sola scriptura is the formal cause of the reformation (i.e. the thing that gives it is shape, what describes the authority behind it). • Sola fide is the material cause of the reformation (i.e. the stuff of which it is made, the central doctrinal content).
Sola Scriptura
Sola Scriptura Defined • The Bible is the sole infallible rule for Christian faith and practice, and thereby contains all that is necessary for us to understand in order to be saved and to live rightly before God. It is the final authority by which all doctrines are to be evaluated, and it is the ultimate source from which all doctrines purporting to be binding on Christian conscience must be derived.
Sola Scriptura Defined • That is, • (1) Scripture is ultimate : Any doctrine pertaining to Christian life and practice that is not properly based on Scripture is not binding on the Christian conscience.
Sola Scriptura Defined • That is, • (2) Scripture is sufficient : There is nothing we need to understand in order to be saved and to live rightly before God that is not found there.
Sola Scriptura Defined • That is, • (3) Scripture is final : Any doctrine or tradition is to be tested in light of Scripture and where those doctrines or traditions contradict Scripture they must be abandoned.
What Sola Scriptura Does Not Imply • Sola scriptura does not imply that there is no truth to be found outside the Bible. That would contradict what the Bible says! (e.g. Romans 1:20). • Sola scriptura does not imply that truths found outside of the Bible cannot better help us understand the Bible.
What Sola Scriptura Does Not Imply • Sola scriptura does not imply that we should not consult church tradition in order to understand the Bible. • Sola scriptura does not imply that it is improper for us to hold positions pertaining to Christian faith and practice that are not based on Scripture if we find that reason and evidence supports them and they are not at odds with Scripture (it implies merely that those positions are not binding Christian conscience).
A Related Doctrine • The perspicuity of Scripture: The things which must be known, believed, and observed for salvation are sufficiently clear in Scripture that they can be discerned by both the learned and the unlearned alike, without the aid of an infallible interpreter. • Note that this doctrine does not imply there is nothing in Scripture that it is difficult to discern nor that there is nothing in the Bible that we do not need the help of Biblical scholars to understand.
A Further Note on Sola Scriptura and Tradition • Theologians sometimes distinguish between two different views regarding the relationship between Scripture and tradition. • According to the Tradition 1 view, there is binding church tradition, but all such tradition is based on Scripture. • According to the Tradition 2 view, church tradition constitutes another binding source of divine revelation alongside Scripture.
A Further Note on Sola Scriptura and Tradition • Both the Tradition 1 and the Tradition 2 view were held by people within the Catholic church prior to the Reformation. • The Protestant doctrine of sola scriptura can be understood as a rejection of the Tradition 2 view in favor of the Tradition 1 view. • Important upshot: To affirm sola scriptura is not to reject church tradition!
Some Biblical Support for Ultimacy and Finality • Mark 7: 1-20. • Here Jesus both rejects the bindingness of a tradition that is not based on Scripture (indicating the ultimacy of Scripture). • Jesus also chides the Pharisees for upholding traditions that are in conflict with Scripture (indicating the finality of Scripture).
Also in Favor of Finality • Galatians 1:8 • “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.”
Objections to Sola Scriptura
Objections to Sola Scriptura • Objection 1: The doctrine of sola scriptura is not based on Scripture and therefore by its own lights not binding on Christian conscience. Therefore sola scriptura is self defeating.
Objections to Sola Scriptura • Response 1: Note that this is an objection to the ultimacy of Scripture (since the claim is that the doctrine of the ultimacy of scripture is not found in Scripture). But we have just seen that there is Scriptural support for the ultimacy of Scripture.
Objections to Sola Scriptura • Response 2: Suppose for the sake of argument that Response 1 fails. In that case all that follows is that the doctrine of the ultimacy of Scripture is not binding on Christian conscience (and so someone might disbelieve it while still being a faithful Christian). It might still be however that the doctrine is supported by reason and evidence and therefore something to be believed.
Objections to Sola Scriptura • Objection 2: The canon of Scripture (i.e. the list of books that constitutes Scripture) is not given to us by Scripture itself but by church tradition. So adhering to the doctrine of sola scriptura would leave us with no basis for identifying what the Scriptures are.
Objections to Sola Scriptura • Response: Once again, the doctrine of sola scriptura does not constitute a rejection of church tradition, nor does it imply that we cannot reasonably believe any claims pertaining to the Christian faith that are not based on Scripture. What it implies is that the books that are in fact Scripture are together ultimate, final, and sufficient.
Objections to Sola Scriptura • Our judgements concerning which books those are may be properly informed by church tradition since we may believe that the Holy Spirit has providentially guided the church for the purpose of recognizing, transmitting, and preserving the Scriptures. But Protestants maintain that the church tradition merely recognizes what is already Scripture and does not determine what is Scripture.
Objections to Sola Scriptura • The conviction that individual books are part of Scripture also becomes reinforced when those books are read and preached, and through the Holy Spirit we come to recognize that they are indeed the word of God.
Side Issue: The Apocrypha?
The Apocrypha? • There is no controversy between Catholics and Protestants about which books belong to the New Testament. • Catholics also accept as canonical all of the same books of the Old Testament that Protestants do. • But Catholics also accept additional books. These are what Protestants sometimes refer to as the “apocryphal” or “deuterocanonical” books.
So Why Do Protestants Reject The Apocrypha? • The Protestant canon is identical to the Hebrew canon (though there is much dispute concerning just when the latter became solidified). • The apocryphal books are included in the Septuagint, an ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament. • There was disagreement concerning the canonical status of the apocryphal books throughout church history.
So Why Do Protestants Reject The Apocrypha? • Luther did not “throw these books out” as Catholic apologists sometimes say. • Rather, Protestants came to agree with those parts of church tradition that saw the Hebrew canon as authoritative and the apocryphal books as uninspired but useful to read. • In reaction, the Catholic church officially declared the apocryphal books canonical at the council of Trent in 1546.
A Protestant Catholic Argument Against the Apocrypha • (1) We should recognize as canonical all and only those books as that have been endorsed as such by the general consensus of the church. • (2) The apocryphal books have not been endorsed by the general consensus of the church (neither historically nor presently). • (3) Therefore we should not recognize the apocryphal books as canonical.
Caution: Sola Scriptura not Solo Scriptura!
Caution: Only Scripture ≠ Only Our Interpretation
Sola Fide
Sola Fide Defined • We are justified (i.e. placed in right standing with God) by faith alone and not by any work or merit on our part.
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