Jesus Christ said: " If you persevere in my Word, you are truly my disciples; you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free " (John's Gospel, chap. 8 verses 31 and 32).
The term "Sola Scriptura" ( Scripture only) designates that doctrine which teaches that the Holy Scriptures are the only, sufficient and infallible rule of faith. Is it a human doctrine? Does it matter only to Protestants and evangelicals? Is it a Christian rule for us today too? In this study we will try to give an answer; it is addressed to those who love the Lord with all their hearts and wish to walk in His will.
The importance of reading and learning personally from the Holy Scriptures like the Christians of Berea (see Acts 17:11) comes from the need to know God personally in order to receive salvation, and to know His will to put it into practice day by day in our own. lives.
All believers, whatever their position in the church, are subject to God's final authority, the Holy Bible, inspired by God as His Word.
Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments; ... Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, that loves me, and whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him. ... If anyone loves me, he will keep my word; and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and dwell with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word you hear is not mine, but it is the Father's who sent me " (John 14: 15,21,23-24).
"This is eternal life: let them know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ" (John 17: 3).
Christians have never been without Scripture as their rule of faith
The unforgettable experience of two ancient disciples shows the fallacy of the idea that the early Christians did not have Scripture as their rule of faith. Three days after the crucifixion, two of Jesus' disciples were returning home. A traveler, whom they believed to be a foreigner, joined them on the journey. The conversation soon turned to the events that had just taken place in Jerusalem. With deep sorrow, those disciples related how the chief priests and civil authorities had sentenced Jesus Christ to death and crucified Him.
To the great surprise of the disciples, the stranger rebuked them saying: "O foolish and late in heart to believe all the things that the prophets have said!" (Luke 24:25). Then, starting with Moses and the prophets, the stranger explained to them the truths concerning Jesus in the Old Testament scriptures.
Eventually the two disciples realized that this man was not a foreigner, but the Lord Jesus himself! Later they remembered: "Didn't our hearts burn within us as he spoke to us on the way, as he explained the Scriptures to us?" (Luke 24:32).
The experience of those two disciples was not unique. With the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and with the help of the teaching of the apostles, Jewish Christians rediscovered their scriptures. Their common belief was that the Old Testament, properly interpreted, was a revelationof Christ. They found there prophetic announcements of Jesus' life, His teachings, His death, and His resurrection.
The Old Testament scriptures served as the standard of truth for the young church, which included both Jews and Gentiles. In a short time, the Scriptures of the New Testament took their place alongside those of the Old Testament. Consequently, the early church was never without the written Word of God.
The very first "fathers" of the Church (Ignatius, Polycarp, Clement, Barnabas ...) taught the Christian doctrine and defended it from heresies by appealing only to the authority of Sacred Scripture. And in the writings of early apologists like Justin Martyr and Athenagoras we find the same thing. There is not the slightest reference in them to the supposed authority of the tradition as a separate and independent revelation (to read their statements see here ).
The Christian Church of the early centuries, unlike the Roman Catholic Church, was based on the Bible alone. The wide use they made of Holy Scripture is surprising:
- Irenaeus (130 - 202 AD) cited 24 of the 27 books of the New Testament, with over 1800 citations from the New Testament.
- Clement of Alexandria (150 - 215 AD) quoted all of the New Testament except the books of Philemon, James and 2 Peter. He reported about 2400 quotations from the New Testament.
- Tertullian (160 - 220 AD) made over 7200 quotations from the New Testament.
- Origen (185 - 254 AD) reported nearly 18,000 quotations from the New Testament.
By the end of the 3rd century, virtually the entire New Testament could be reconstructed based on their quotations!
Scripture is not simply the written tradition
In describing the origins of the New Testament, Catholics insist that the oral teachings (tradition) of their church take precedence over the teachings of the Lord (Holy Scripture). Often the New Testament is presented by them as little more than a written version of the tradition, the writers' recollections, and a partial explanation of the teachings of Christ. This, of course, raises tradition to the same level of authority as Scripture - or, more precisely, lowers Scripture to the level of tradition.
But the New Testament Scriptures are much more than just a written record of the apostles' oral teachings; they are an inspired written record. A biblical understanding of the concept of inspiration can help us understand the meaning of this distinction. The apostle Peter writes:
" Know first of all this: that no prophecy of Scripture comes from a personal interpretation; in fact, no prophecy ever came from the will of man, but men have spoken on behalf of God, because they are driven by the Holy Spirit " (2 Peter 1 : 20-21).
Here we see that Scripture did not come "from a personal interpretation" (verse 20). The word translated as "interpretation" means to solve or explain . Peter is saying that no New Testament writer has simply written his own explanation of what Jesus taught or did. Scripture never came "from the will of man" (verse 21). It was not the Bible writers who decided to write prophecies or decide what to include in Scripture. Rather, they were "propelled by the Holy Spirit" (verse 21).
Therefore, men have written the New Testament: "men have spoken" (verse 21). Their writing reflects their personality and their experiences. But these men "have spoken from God " (verse 21). Men have written, but God is the author.
For this reason, Scripture is the revelation communicated to us perfectly with the Words given by God:
" Every Scripture is inspired by God and useful to teach, to reprove, to correct, to educate to righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete and well prepared for every good work " (2 Timothy 3: 16-17).
The phrase translated as "inspired by God" is the translation of the words "God" and "utter, pronounce". The verse can therefore be rendered as: "All Scripture emanates from God". Scripture can therefore rightly be called the Word of God .
By reducing Scripture to a mere written version of tradition, Catholics are able to emphasize the tradition. But in doing so, they distort the meaning of inspiration and minimize the essential difference between Scripture and tradition.
Jesus severely rebuked the religious of the day for placing tradition on the same level as Scripture, thereby corrupting the very foundation of the truth of God's Word.
In Mark 7: 8,9, for example,
" Having neglected the commandment of God you are keeping to the tradition of men. ... How well you know how to cancel the commandment of God to observe your tradition! ".
The believer must not turn to other doctrinal sources, human ideas or traditions, since only Sacred Scripture is the Word of God, and it is perfectly sufficient " to teach, to reprimand, to correct, to educate to justice, because man God is complete and well prepared for every good work "(2 Timothy 3: 16.17).
The Bible Contains Every Essential Revelation
It is true that not everything that Jesus did is recorded in the New Testament. John declares it in his Gospel: "Now there are still many other things that Jesus did; if they were to be written one by one, I think that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written about them" (John 21:25).
In concluding his gospel with this comment, John acknowledged that the life of the Lord Jesus had been too wonderful to be written down.
John was not commenting on the purpose of the scriptures or the need for tradition, nor was he claiming to have neglected to write some revelation received from Christ. In fact, precisely in his Gospel, John implies the opposite:
"Now Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these were written, so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and, that, believing, you may have life in his name " (John 20: 30-31).
Thus we see that John declares that he has recorded in his gospel all the teachings of Christ essential to salvation . Significantly, he did not make any reference to doctrines like the seven sacraments, the Sacrifice of the Mass, sanctifying grace, suffering, purgatory, or an institution like the Roman Catholic Church - all of which, according to Roman Catholicism are indispensable for be saved!
The Scriptures, unlike tradition, are accessible and open to all. The Bible has been translated into the most diverse languages of the world (to date, over 1200). It is the most read and widespread book in history.
To define the Roman Catholic tradition as a source of extra-biblical revelations meansadd to God's Word. Scripture warns us not to practice beyond what is written (1 Corinthians 4: 6), and not to add anything to God's words (Proverbs 30: 6).
The last book of the New Testament ends with this solemn warning:
"I declare it to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to his evils the plagues described in this book; and if anyone takes anything away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take him away. its part of the tree of life and of the holy city, of the things written in this book " (Revelation 22: 18-19).
What is in doubt is the authority of tradition, not that of scripture
There are hundreds of verses in the Bible that establish the truth that the Word of God is for the Church the supreme and sufficient rule of faith in everything. Psalm 119 alone dedicates 176 verses to the supreme value of the Word of God. And the Lord Jesus taught:
"Man will not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4: 4).
Although Scripture can be quoted at length on this subject, it is not necessary to do so. In fact, the Catholic Church recognizes that the Bible teaches that the Word of God is the supreme rule of faith and that all theology must be founded on it. There is no doubt about the sufficiency or authority of the Word of God.
The controversy is about the identity of the Word of God. That is, are Scripture and tradition both Word of God? Or is Scripture alone?
Catholic proponents love to attack non-Catholic Christians with questions like, "Where is Scripture in the Bible taught only ?" By this they intend to affirm that we must also believe and be based on Roman Catholic traditions.
In fact, they too agree that the Scriptures are God's Word and that as such they speak with divine authority. The Lord Jesus himself, in John 10:35, clearly identifies the Word of God with Scripture .
The point of the controversy is tradition . The Roman Catholic Church claims that tradition is also the Word of God.
The question that the Catholic Church must answer is: where did Jesus, the prophets, or the apostles, teach that tradition is the Word of God? Or more precisely: where is it written or taught in the Bible that Scripture and tradition together, interpreted by the pope and by the bishops of the Roman Catholic Church, are the Christian Church's rule of faith? This is what Catholicism is actually affirming, upholding the authority of tradition and the magisterium.
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