What Sola scriptura “scripture alone” sought to help reform in the 1500-1600s was a Roman Catholic Church which bore little resemblance to biblical Christianity. The means of salvation as described in scripture became increasingly muddied with ideas from outside scripture such as doing penance, misuse of sacraments, worship or prayers to Mary and saints, worship of relics, purgatory, indulgences and other non-biblical traditions. The heart of the problem was a system where scripture was given less authority than the Pope. The Pope could decree anything he wanted and his decrees became “god’s word” for the church even if it went against the teaching of scripture. Popes were sometimes well meaning and thought they were doing God’s will, but others sought to increase their own wealth or build great monuments to themselves at the expense of the common church attendee who was likely starving both physically and spiritually.
The Roman Catholic Church still believes and practices these things in various degrees and we should certainly pray for and take opportunities to lead them toward knowledge of the truth from God’s word. However, there is also a need in our day for the reformation of many protestant and evangelical churches which owe their current existence to God and His work through earlier reformers. Like then, the starting point for recognizing error and beginning correction is the authority of scripture.
Currently many of the large protestant denominations (Episcopal, PCUSA, Lutheran/ELCA, etc.) have in varying degrees minimized the authority of scripture and made it subservient to current cultural trends. These churches, or segments within them, in an effort to meet people’s needs and help them find their spiritual path have adjusted church doctrine to the culture and times. The most liberal see psychological and emotional needs as defined by professional psychologists and social workers as authoritative and scripture useful only to the point it agrees with the prevailing professional secular ideas. These folks need the truth and we should try to help them see from God’s word that it must have absolute authority in our lives and church if we are to understand man’s true needs or anything else.
The evangelical churches which would be quick to point out the error of the Roman Catholic and more liberal mainline protestant churches suffer from another potential need for reform. Rather than rejecting or minimizing scripture , these churches typically embrace it as inerrant and authoritative. The problem here is more one of biblical ignorance than rejection of God’s word outright. The failure to carefully study and follow scriptures by leaders and members of many evangelical churches has led to a shallow understanding of God’s word as it relates to private and corporate church life. Many books have been written on particular issues such as: church discipline, women’s roles and church government and seek to provide biblical answers to these practical questions. However, to reveal the root problem you need only question the biblical validity of some current church practice or tradition. Where someone turns for authority to answer the questions tells where they really think authority lies - in spite of what they might say otherwise. Catholics appeal to the Pope and tradition; liberals may appeal to secular experts on human needs, but what about Bible believing evangelicals?
It is very common today for those who say they hold scripture as inerrant and authoritative to appeal to the tradition itself (“this is the way we have always done it”) as the authority rather than turning to scriptures. It is easy to understand this response if someone has not studied scripture themselves, but relied on those who came before to understand and apply scripture for them. It might be wise for those who have neglected the study of scripture themselves to consider the possibility that those who came before and developed their current practices and traditions were no more careful in their study and application of scripture than they are now. If that is true, the church may have slipped far from biblical truth after decades of neglecting the careful study, teaching and application of scripture.
In reality, if anyone loves the Lord and His church, it is imperative that they commit themselves to scripture as the authority for the Christian life not just in theory, but also in practice. Talk is cheap - if we believe the Bible is God’s word and authoritative, but won’t turn to it for answers we fool ourselves and neglect the church.
Prov. 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. (NKJV)
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