Bible Study – TGN

Sola Scriptura: Scripture Alone

Enoch Anti — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 09:54:48 +0000

Introduction

The book of Revelation has long been a source of division among Christians, especially when discussing matters of eschatology—the study of the Second Coming of Christ. Postmillennialists, premillennialists, and a millennialists find themselves in passionate debates over the timing of Christ’s return. However, amidst these differences, there are fundamental teachings within Revelation that unite Christians. One such teaching is the ultimate authority of Scripture, often referred to as Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone). In this article, we will explore the foundational principles that support the concept of Sola Scriptura as derived from the book of Revelation.

God Speaks

Throughout the Bible, we encounter a God who communicates with humanity. The divine voice is not silent but actively engages with His creation. In the opening chapters of Genesis, we read the recurring phrase, “And God said,” signifying God’s spoken word in the act of creation (Genesis 1:3). This pattern continues in Revelation, emphasising God’s nature as a speaking God (Genesis 1:6;9;11;14;20;24). Revelation 1:1-2 tells us, “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.“

John’s account in Revelation is filled with instances of divine communication. In Revelation 1:10, he describes hearing “a loud voice like a trumpet.” This pattern repeats in verse 11 and continues throughout the book, demonstrating a God who actively speaks. These words are not mere visions; they are accompanied by audible voices. Therefore, it is evident that God is not silent but communicates His divine will.

God Can Be Heard

If God speaks, then He can be heard. The text in Revelation corroborates this notion. In Revelation 1:3, we read, “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.” This verse explicitly states that those who hear the words of the prophecy are blessed. It affirms that God’s spoken word can indeed be heard and understood by His people.

Revelation further exemplifies this by repeatedly encouraging believers with the phrase, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). This recurring exhortation reinforces the idea that God’s voice is accessible and comprehensible to His followers. The Apostle John, elsewhere gives us the words of Jesus, stating in John 10:27, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.“

How Can We Hear God’s Voice? Through Scripture Alone

To address the essential question of how we can hear God’s voice, we arrive at the concept of Sola Scriptura, which translates from Latin to “Scripture Alone.” While the roots of the doctrine emphasizing the authority of Scripture, as taught by early figures such as Augustine of Hippo (354–430), can be discerned in the Early Church, its formalization and widespread recognition gained prominence during the 16th-century Reformation led by key figures like Martin Luther. Luther’s stand against the Roman Catholic Church’s elevation of tradition and papal authority to be on par with Scripture was pivotal. When charged to withdraw his writings and teachings, he declared, “Unless I am convinced by sacred Scripture or by evident reason, I cannot recant, for my conscience is held captive by the Word of God, and to act against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand. I can do no other.”

The foundational principle of Sola Scriptura asserts that the Bible, as God’s written word, holds ultimate authority over the lives of believers. As Revelation reminds us, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Observe that this hearing of the Spirit occurs through the reading and understanding of what is written. Hence, Revelation 1:3 declares: “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the word of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and keep what is written in it...” What the Spirit says to the churches is what John was instructed to write (2:7, 8, 12, 18, 3:1 etc.). Consequently, the recipients of John’s letter, and by extension, believers of all time, are not called to hear the Spirit speak to them the same way as he spoke to John; they are to hear the Spirit through what He instructed to be written. Thus, Scripture is the means by which God’s voice is conveyed to His people.

Implications of Sola Scriptura

The Sufficiency of Scripture

The Bible is sufficient for guiding and directing our lives. While many Christians’ desire to hear God speak to them, the sufficiency of Scripture should not be underestimated. All that is necessary for faith, salvation, and living a righteous life can be found in God’s written word. God has spoken definitively through the coming of Jesus and the writing of the New Testament. As Hebrews 1:1-2 reminds us, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” The completion of the New Testament, alongside the life and teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, marks the culmination of God’s revelation to humanity. If you desire to hear God speak to you, there is no need to search for additional signs or prophecies. “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy” (Rev. 1:3). Your encounter with God’s voice begins by reading and studying His Word, the Bible.

Scripture stands as the conclusive authority governing the lives of believers and shaping the trajectory of the Church. In moments of temptation to stray from this ultimate revelation, it unequivocally surpasses traditions and human authority, reasserting its pre-eminence when deviations from scriptural truth arise. Scripture, and Scripture alone, wields the ultimate influence in determining matters of faith and practice.

The Inerrancy of Scripture

In today’s world, many people raise questions about the reliability of the Bible and, in some cases, claim to have found errors within it. However, dear friends, it is essential to affirm that the Bible is not only reliable but also trustworthy, and it can be fully relied upon to guide your life according to God’s will. The Bible is unequivocally precise in every aspect it proclaims, whether in matters of history, science, psychology, or any other category of information that could be established as a benchmark for truth. Its accuracy consistently aligns with reality, affirming its reliability across diverse realms of knowledge without exception. The Scriptures were not authored by mere human will; instead, they are divinely inspired and can be trusted implicitly. The Bible is unwaveringly truthful in all that it teaches.

As 2 Peter 1:19-21 reminds us, “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

The Word is to be Obeyed

When we read God’s Word or hear it being preached, we are here to receive instruction that leads to obedience: “who keeps what is written” (Rev. 1:3). God’s word is given to us with the explicit purpose that we may obey it (Deuteronomy 29:29). It is through God’s word that we come to faith in Jesus Christ as sinners. When God has spoken and revealed Himself in Scripture, our response should be one of obedience. The word of God has the power to sanctify us, as Jesus prayed for His disciples and all Christians, saying, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17).

Amen

The post Sola Scriptura: Scripture Alone appeared first on TGN.

What To Bring To a Bible Study And What To Leave Behind

Ebenezer Foster-Nyarko — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 07:41:32 +0000

We love our action heroes. Growing up, my siblings and I loved the “Journey to the West” adventure series. A few times, we feigned illness just to skip church and watch the weekly episodes. Diabolically, the weekly series streamed on Ghana Television was moved from its previous week-day slot to Sunday mornings at 11 am! The Monkey King was brilliant at Kung-Fu, but then he was pretty vengeful and disagreeable, at one point invading “heaven“ and picking a fight with even the heavenly residents!

Western movie stars were also quite famous among my peers. I remember a time when several of my schoolmates and I wrote to Van Damme and got an autographed photograph in return! We loved the Van Dammes, Rambos and Commandos. They captivated most of us with their strength and bravado. Today, a fresh set of action heroes continue to thrill millions.

Understanding preunderstandings

The norms depicted in movies we’ve seen, our family background, societal values and heritage form a powerful influence that impacts how we interpret Scripture. We call this preunderstanding. In this case, our cultural influence is the main force we contend with. For example, when we read Jesus’ words in in Matthew 5 where he says, “43 You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.‘ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,“ we subconsciously contrast this with what prevails in our culture.

“How did Van Damme react to the bad guys who broke into his home and killed his wife and family dog?“ Our society says, “once bitten, twice shy“. So, even though Jesus says to forgive seventy times seven times (Matthew 18:22), we subconsciously set a limit to “loving our enemies“. If people offend us once or twice, it’s okay to forgive; but if they did it three or four times, that’s it – we’ll cut them off from mercy for the rest of our lives!

In our previous article, we encountered another subtle influence of our culture on Scriptural interpretation: filling in the blanks where Scripture is silent. We saw this in the assumption we make that Mary traveled to Bethlehem on a little donkey, although the Christmas narrative never mentions a donkey. It is not hard to see that this idea is suggested by the Christmas chorus “Little Donkey Carry Mary Safely on Her Way!“.

In their book, “Journey through God’s Word“, Duvall and Hays illustrate the cultural influences we bring to Scripture. What do you see when you picture Jonah in the great fish’s belly? Chances are, like me, you envision a rather big stomach large enough for a boat to fit in, with way more room for a large man and a little boy to also fit comfortably in rather than a squashed-up Jonah pressed against the digestive tract of the great fish. As Duvall and Hays point out, this image likely comes from the Pinocchio movie by Disney; which immediately fills in the blanks when we read the story of Jonah being swallowed by a fish.

Preunderstandings go way beyond our cultural influences, however. Other aspects of preunderstanding worth watching out for include previous encounters with the text, which tend to breed familiarity (the assumption that we know and understand the text already), and therefore limit our expectation to be impacted by the Biblical text in fresh ways). It can also take the form of preconceived opinions and ideas from sermons we’ve heard before, lyrics of gospel songs, stuff we may have picked up from Sunday school (children’s and youth services), jokes and other forms of literature besides the Bible.

Not all these influences may impact our study and interpretation of Scripture negatively; some may, in fact, be good. For instance, if you grew up in a loving family, with parents whose lives modelled the gospel in the way they loved, encouraged and disciplined you; and where siblings were respectful, caring and nurturing of each other, these may serve as good and beneficial cultural influences in your ability to grasp the concept of God as a loving heavenly father and the body of Christ as a family closely knit together by their Union with Christ. If, however, you experienced an unhealthy family relationship growing up, then that may in contrast, serve to hamper your view of God as a loving father, as outlined in Scripture.

Submitting to the Biblical text instead of standing over it

So, how should we approach Scripture, given all our preunderstandings? As we mentioned in the previous article, we must resolve to consistently come to God’s Word ready to submit our preunderstandings under God’s Word rather than letting it stand over it. Put another way; we must allow Scripture to critique our preunderstanding and not the other way around! As we grapple with Scripture, we must be prepared to allow it to change and modify our preconceptions in light of the plain teaching of Scripture.

Unlike our preunderstandings, there are things we need to bring along to our study of God’s Word. We call them presuppositions.

Biblical presuppositions

Presuppositions stand opposed to preunderstanding in that they do not change with each encounter with the Word. These presuppositions serve as foundations on which to build our study of the Bible. They include our faith in the God of the Bible, our relationship with Him, and what we believe about Scripture as a whole.

For example, we believe that:

1. The Bible is the Word of God. In it, God communicates of Himself and His will to us. Although God used men to bring them to us, they were carried along or taught by the Holy Spirit such that the words they produced are at one and the same time the words of each author and the exact words of God Himself. Therefore, Scripture carries all the authority God’s speech conveys (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21).

2. The Bible is trustworthy and true. As Jesus himself attests, “Scripture cannot be broken“ (John 10:35). As God cannot lie (Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29), so does every word of God prove true (Proverbs 30:5).

3. The Bible never contradict itself. Despite consisting of diverse books, it is a unified revelation. Although there are some ‘tensions‘ and a ‘mystery‘ to the Bible, that is to be expected, as God is way bigger than us, and our puny minds cannot always understand him. As Augustine points out,

“The Scriptures are holy, they are truthful, they are blameless… So we have no grounds at all of blaming Scripture if we happen to deviate in any way, because we haven’t understood it. When we do understand it, we are right. But when we are wrong because we haven’t understood it, we leave it in the right. When we have gone wrong, we don’t make out Scripture to be wrong, but it continues to stand up straight and right, so that we may return to it for correction.“

Notes:

1. J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays, Journey into God’s Word: Your Guide to Understanding and Applying God’s Word.

2. The Works of Saint Augustine, A Translation for the 21st Century, Part III: Sermons, 23:3; available at https://wesleyscholar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Augustine-Sermons-20-51.pdf

3. For a detailed treatment of Preunderstanding and Presupposition, see Preunderstanding, Presuppositions and Biblical Interpretation by Thomas A. Howe, Bible and Biblical Languages, Southern Evangelical Seminary, Charlotte, USA (https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/12/1206) and Grant Osborne’s The Hermeneutical Spiral: A Comprehensive Introduction to Biblical Interpretation Paperback – Special Edition, December 4, 2006.

The post What To Bring To a Bible Study And What To Leave Behind appeared first on TGN.