Sola Scriptura is Absolutely biblical

[distracted]

Or he could have meant the common christian beliefs, couldn’t he? just wondering

not hardly… Jesus wants us to be ONE, united in belief… there is the part in the Bible where he prays for unity… John 17, i think…

and there are other things in the Bible that speak of such unity…

God is not the author of confusiion. Man is… Actually, the devil is, but he couldn’t do much if he didn’t have man to work through.

 

[JMJ_coder]

you ever confused as to who is addressing who here?

 

[Craig_Kennedy]

Question;
stepping aside for a minute from the recitation of specific verses, as an example, Jesus teaches His apostles to go out and spread the word of the kingdom of God and repentance giving them the authority to choose to forgive the sins or not with the power of the Holy Spirit until His return. This done with the authority to assign successors to their seat when necessary. We will call this the Universal Church or the Catholic Church.

Now, someone From the Catholic Church because of his objections decides after years of following the doctrine of that church breaks away and forms his own faith claiming his is the correct faith, which he determined on his own. This is basic for the principle of brevity but fact. Now this new faith teaches you don’t need this and you don’t need that and eliminates various articles and sacraments that have for 1500 years been a recognized part of salvation, yet remember the words of Jesus in His gospel, to beware of such exact happenings, and yet others still follow. The question is, when the gospel of Jesus warns in many ways of such a thing and it would stand to reason that satan would want to stop us from partaking in sacraments and believing in the gospel as we do, why doesn’t a light bulb go off and people realize that the person saying to do less could be the wrong one to follow especially considering Jesus said this would come about?
Yes, we have been warned from the beginning as the Church Jesus shed His blood over that false shepherds and those claiming to be of Him would come and DECEIVE many. But not that His Church would deceive many, like maybe those like Luther as an example? He spoke individuals.

Hi Tom,

I’m happy to respond to your post.

Where we differ, in a nutshell, is in the character, the nature and the calling of the Church. Your view sees the Church, primarily, as an institution.

You see that God willed, planned and founded the Roman Catholic Church with Peter as its first pope. If this is the correct view, then it is not difficult to understand that the testimony of the Church is needed to establish the authority of scripture. The difficulty with this view, is that the authority of scripture becomes dependent on a merely human authority. I reject this position. Let me explain why.

The difference between us comes down to this:

'Where does true authority lie?"

The Roman Catholic Church, of course, considers that scriptures testimony depends on the authority of the INSTITUTIONAL ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH.

The person who accepts sola scriptura (scripture alone as the source of all doctrine) with conviction is diligent, however, to guard this principle, viz: that the scripture’s authority is absolute.

If a person abandons the sola scriptura principle, then scriptures authority is no longer absolute and it is vitiated. This is why I am so dedicated in upholding this principle and living by it. In doing this, though, I maintain strenuously that true Catholics who practise their faith are part of the Church Militant (on earth) and the Church triumphant (in heaven). I do not consider myself superior to my Roman Catholic brothers and sisters who see these things differently; however, I cannot relinguish my convictions either. Do you understand?

When Christ gave instruction in Matthew 18:15-20 on how to deal with sin in the Church, He did so entirely in accordance with the sola scriptura principle I have been outlining. The Church Christ founded was not the Roman Catholic Church as an institution, as that is so comprehended today. He was referring, of course, to the universal (catholic) church as a SPIRITUAL ORGANISM; not as an INSTITUTION! He encouraged and taught the disciples that when they had to deal with sin in the church, that they did so in accordance with the binding authority of the word of God. This is the binding and loosing of which is spoken of in the text.

Indeed, Christ said:

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Matthew 24:35).

May God bless you, In Christ Craig

 

[Craig_Kennedy]

"…It was the will of the Almighty that the Church in which the true faith was preserved should be one, that all the faithful might profess the one faith, but the devil, St. Cyprian says (2), invented heresies to destroy faith, and divide unity. The enemy has caused mankind to establish many different churches, so that each, following the faith of his own particular one, in opposition to that of others, the true faith might be confused, and as many false faiths formed as there are different churches, or rather different individuals. This is especially the case in England, where we see as many religions as families, and even families themselves divided in faith, each individual following his own. St. Cyprian, then, justly says that God has disposed that the true faith should be preserved in the Roman Church alone, so that there being but one Church there should be but one faith and one doctrine for all the faithful. St. Optatus Milevitanus, writing to Parmenianus, says, also: “You cannot be ignorant that the Episcopal Chair of St. Peter was first placed in the city of Rome, in which one chair unity is observed by all” (St. Opt. l. 2, cont. Parmen.)

(2) St. Cyprian de Unitate Ecclesie

1. – The heretics, too, boast of the unity of their Churches, but St. Augustine says that it is unity against unity. “What unity,” says the Saint, “can all those churches have which are divided from the Catholic Church, which is the only true one; they are but as so many useless branches cut off from the Vine, the Catholic Church, which is always firmly rooted. This is the One, Holy, True, and Catholic Church, opposing all heresies; it may be opposed, but cannot be conquered. All heresies come forth from it, like useless shoots cut off from the vine, but it still remains firmly rooted in charity, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (St. Aug. lib. 1, de Symbol ad Cath. c. 6). St. Jerome says that the very fact of the heretics forming a Church apart from the Roman Church, is a proof, of itself, that they are followers of error, and disciples of the devil, described by the Apostle, as “giving heed to spirits of error and doctrines of devils” (I. Tim iv. 1).
2. – The Lutherans and Calvinists say, just as the Donatists did before them, that the Catholic Church preserved the true faith down to a certain period – some say to the third, some to the fourth, some to the fifth century – but that after that the true doctrine was corrupted, and the spouse of Christ became an adulteress. This supposition, however, refutes itself; for, granting that them Roman Catholic Church was the Church first founded by Christ, it could never fail, for our Saviour himself promised that the gates of hell never should prevail against it: “I say unto you that you are Peter, and on this Rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. xviii, 18). It being certain, then, that the Roman Catholic Church was the true one, as Gerard, one of the first ministers of Luther, admits (Gerard de Eccles. cap. 11, sec. 6) it to have been for the first five hundred years, and to have preserved the Apostolic doctrine during that period, it follows that it must always have remained so, for the spouse of Christ as St. Cyprian says, could never become an adulteress.
3. – The heretics, however, who, instead of learning from the Church the dogmas they should believe, wish to teach her false and perverse dogmas of their own, say that they have the Scriptures on their side, which are the fountain of truth, not considering, as a learned author (3) justly remarks, that it is not by reading, but by understanding, them, that the truth can be found. Heretics of every sort avail themselves of the Scriptures to prove their errors, but we should not interpret the Scripture according to our own private opinions, which frequently lead us astray, but according to the teaching of the Holy Church which is appointed the Mistress of true doctrine, and to whom God has manifested the true sense of the Divine books. This is the Church, as the Apostle tells us, which has been appointed the pillar and the ground of truth: “that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and the ground of truth” (I. Tim. iii, 15.) Hence St. Leo says that the Catholic faith despises the errors of heretics barking against the Church, who deceived by the vanity of worldly wisdom, have departed from the truth of the Gospel…” – (St. Leo, Ser. 8, de Nat Dim.)
   Excerpt from;
   THE HISTORY OF HERESIES and THEIR REFUTATION;

Translated from the Italian of
St. Alphonsus M. Liguori

stas.org/apologetics/church/True_Religion/hrefute.shtml

Hi Tom,

I am not averse to you quoting from the Church Fathers and their works. However, their statements, declarations and pronouncements are not binding.

Christ founded the living spiritual organism of the church, which all human denominations are only an expression of.

The entry to this one true Church that Christ founded and established is by REPENTANCE AND FAITH. It is accomplished by the Holy Spirit in the mighty miracle of REGENERATION AND NEW BIRTH. This is what it means to be a Christian.

The church cannot create faith in Christ or the scriptures but can only urge such faith. Scripture, however, has the self-authenticating power to enlighten our intellect and move our will. Please read carefully and study in this connection:

Psalm 19:7-8; John 6:63; Romans 1:16; 1 corinthians 1:18; 2 Timothy 3:15.

Scripture is able not only to create faith but to create faith in itself.

I have faith that sola scriptura (scripture alone as our only source of doctrine) is, indeed, absolutely biblical.

May God bless you, In Christ Craig

 

[Craig_Kennedy]

I’m just waiting for an honest answer from a believer in Sola Scriptura and Luther / Calvin to respond to posts 833 and 835

Hi Tom,

As promised I have read over your posts and I have, appropriately, responded to them in my posts numbers 876 and 877.

It is my wish that you read my responses carefully.

May God bless you, In Christ Craig

 

[Craig_Kennedy]

justasking4;4315366:

I’m not that familar with Luther. Are you referring to the book of James?

If so, did he not later accept it?

REPLY:

First, I too am no expert on Luther, however it seems to me quite unlikely that Luther would accept the letter of James, especially as it relates to salvation “through faith alone.”

James Chapter 2:"14 What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him? If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. 18 But some one will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe–and shudder. 20 Do you want to be shown, you shallow man, that faith apart from works is barren? 21* Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works, 23* and the scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness”; and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. faith apart from works is dead.

So is John 3:16 the answer? Hardly, read also John 3:5 and John 3:36, and then read Mt. 19:16.

How do Protestants explain these?

Gods continued Blessings, PJM m.c.

Hi PJM,

I’m happy to respond to your excellent questions.

The teaching of the book of James is canonical and in no way conflicts with the teaching of scripture that salvation is by grace. Let me explain.

Salvation is always by the grace of God. It’s objective basis is the FINISHED WORK OF CHRIST ON THE CROSS. As sinners we cannot add anything to this infinite sacrifice for sin that was made when Christ shed His precious blood. We cannot EARN our salvation.

The gospel commands all people, everywhere to REPENT and believe on Christ crucified, risen and coming again. When we do that the Holy Spirit regenerates us, giving us the new life of Christ through the miracle of the NEW BIRTH. There is nothing we could do to earn this salvation - it is entirely by God’s grace. Our good works, in this connection, cannot add anything to the finished work of Christ on the Cross.

However, when we are saved by grace we are not free to do “just whatever we like”. We are under the law of the gospel - the law of Christ. We still need to order our lives according to the commands of the apostles and Christ. Our good works, then, in this context are the evidence that we have been saved by grace.

If a person who claims to be a Christian, born again and regenerated by the Spirit lives a wicked life on a consistent basis then we have no grounds to believe this person is a true believer. All saved persons are not perfect in this life; but the person in whom sin reigns has no claim or right to Christ’s Kingdom.

In a nutshell, our good works do not PROCURE our salvation; but our good works are necessary in order to demonstrate to the world that we are saved.

That is the meaning of all the scriptures you have raised, and they can all be understood in the light of the explanation I have provided you with. There is no contradiction between the book of James and the rest of scripture.

May God bless you, In Christ Craig

 

[Craig_Kennedy]

Reply:
My dear friend in Christ,

Please read my post #842 and then explain to me again were you find Scripture support for your position. Sorry to enter the debate so late

Also read (KJV) is fine for this diccussion, 2 Tim. 3:16.

Can you give futher assistance and direct to where in the bible it tells me I have a personal right to accept the things I agree with and to chose to disguard those passes that do not support my claims, my theology?

God’s continued Blessings.
Looking forward to your responce,
PJM m.c.

Hi PJM,

My answer to your questions concerning the book of James can be found in my post 879.

Nobody, obviously, has the right to pick and choose their way through scripture - that is, to believe what suits them and reject the difficult portions.

Sola scriptura (scripture alone) insists that there is a doctrinal unity and coherence in scripture itself. Scripture is not humanity’s word about God but God’s word to humanity.

It is importance that scripture be properly exegeted on sound hermeneutical principles.

For the scriptures that point to these conclusions, they have been abundantly provided, attested to and explained in this thread. It would be in your interest to read over past posts, in this connection, and your searching will be repaid and rewarded.

Blessings in Christ, Craig

 

[A_Sinner_1]

I am not averse to you quoting from the Church Fathers and their works. However, their statements, declarations and pronouncements are not binding.

The Roman Catholic Church, of course, considers that scriptures testimony depends on the authority of the INSTITUTIONAL ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH.

The person who accepts sola scriptura (scripture alone as the source of all doctrine) with conviction is diligent, however, to guard this principle, viz: that the scripture’s authority is absolute.

I’m sorry Craig, but I don’t understand your logic or your faith in Scripture alone. You’ve given no support for the Bible’s authority outside the Catholic Church. You explanation would have validity only if Jesus gave us the Bible and then the Church grew up from it. The reverse is true.

While you graciously present both propositions as potentially valid, in fact one either accepts the Church and its Testament, or is left floundering out there among the lost with the other 40,000 denominations and non-denominations, to fabricate your own set of beliefs.

Christ founded the living spiritual organism of the church, which all human denominations are only an expression of.

A single-celled organism for a thousand years.

Scripture, however, has the self-authenticating power to enlighten our intellect and move our will.

It only became “self-authenticating” in the 16th century. How do you explain that?

 

[Craig_Kennedy]

Posted by Craig:
“If you are saying that Sacred Tradition and the decrees of popes and church councils were revelation along with scripture, you are saying - obviously - that scripture is not our only source of doctrine. This I reject and deny.”

Reply:
My dear brother in Christ,

Could you be so kind as to direct me to where it affirms your position in Scripture? Thanks.

What abour John 21:24-25?
"24 This is the disciple who is bearing witness to these things, and who has written these things; and we know that his testimony is true.
25 But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written."Also, the bible was not written until about 70 years after Christ Resurection, and the Cannon of the bible was not completed until about the year 400.

I love your tecnacity But, what about the truth, God’s truth:thumbsup:

God Bless, PJM m.c.

Hi PJM,

An imperfect or ambiguous scripture, which needed the Roman Catholic Magisterium to interpret it, would frustrate the very end to which scripture was written.

The prohibitions against adding to scripture speak for the sufficiency of scripture ie sola scriptura. Please consider these scriptures to verify this claim:

Deuteronomy 4:2; Proverbs 30:5-6; Revelation 22:18-19.

These prohibitions forbid placing foreign doctrine BESIDE the scriptures.

The Apostle Paul is warning against the same thing in Galatians 1:8; viz: to add to the gospel is to teach contrary to it.

Furthermore, the practice of Christ and the apostles in proving all doctrine from scripture indicates that scripture is sufficient. Sola scriptura!

May God bless you, In Christ Craig

 

[Cinette]

I’m just waiting for an honest answer from a believer in Sola Scriptura and Luther / Calvin to respond to posts 833 and 835

I am a revert after and absence of 27 years and when I returned to the Church I was asking lots of questions and digging and digging because sometimes there were things I found difficult to accept (from the Bible). I wanted to understand everything…

Then one day someone quoted the following to me:

" Seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand."

• St Augustine

I stopped dead in my tracks. It was then I understood.

There are things I do not fully understand like John 6 about what Jesus said “Eat my flesh, drink my blook” but I accept and believe because I love and trust Jesus. So much so that I now go to daily Mass.

Sometimes we have to just trust.

When we pray we should pray in Faith, Trust and Expectation.

Jesus told us to be like little children and although it is good to learn more and more about the Faith we must also trust and realise that that is what Faith is all about - believing without doubting whatever God has revealed.

The bible also tells us not to rely on our own interpretations.

:yyeess:

 

[Craig_Kennedy]

I’m sorry Craig, but I don’t understand your logic or your faith in Scripture alone. You’ve given no support for the Bible’s authority outside the Catholic Church. You explanation would have validity only if Jesus gave us the Bible and then the Church grew up from it. The reverse is true.

While you graciously present both propositions as potentially valid, in fact one either accepts the Church and its Testament, or is left floundering out there among the lost with the other 40,000 denominations and non-denominations, to fabricate your own set of beliefs.

A single-celled organism for a thousand years.

It only became “self-authenticating” in the 16th century. How do you explain that?

There were many groups of Christians from the days of the apostles right up to the 16th Century who lived under the rule of the scriptures alone.

These groups were known under various names. Philip Schaaf, the great Church historian refers to them in his works.

The point I am making is that the sola scriptura principle had its proponents and adherents from the beginning, and yet was given more clear definition at the time of the Reformation.

 

[CHESTERTONRULES]

In a nutshell, our good works do not PROCURE our salvation; but our good works are necessary in order to demonstrate to the world that we are saved.

So we still go to heaven in our sinful ways, but we are not a good witness?

Is that your final answer?

 

[Craig_Kennedy]

So we still go to heaven in our sinful ways, but we are not a good witness?

Is that your final answer?

There is nothing we can do to EARN our salvation in our own strength. If we believed we could turn to God, in our own strength, and effect our own salvation we would be PELAGIANS ie we would deny the necessity of spiritual regeneration and the NEW BIRTH in Christ.

Our salvation is purchased by Christ’s merits alone on the Cross, objectively speaking. We cannot by our own performance add anything to Christ’s perfect, accomplished work and sacrifice on the Cross.

After we are saved through repentance and faith, we have a duty and a responsibilty to live a life of good works to demonstrate the reality and quality of our saving faith in Christ.

I do not deny in anyway the necessity of GOOD WORKS for they are the living evidence of our profession in Christ.

Our Lord gave us instruction on the necessity of good works in Matthew 7:21-23. In these verses He clearly teaches that there is a difference between true and false disciples. The true disciple is careful to walk in good works; the false disciple may fake good works for a time but will be eventually found out,.

Our Lord also said concerning the true disciple:

“Thus, by their fruit you will recognise them” (Matthew 7:20).

If a person consistently, knowingly and deliberately lives - in an overall lifestyle sense - a life of hypocrisy and sin, then that person is a false disciple and will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Has a Christian the right to do anything? Of course not. Christians are not antinomians ie against the law! No - Christians live in accordance with the teachings of Christ and the apostles. This is clear scriptural teaching and, for what it is worth, this is where I feel closest to Catholics - in the need to love God and the neighbour!

The Bible is clear that deliberate wrongdoers will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Please read here and study 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.

Our good works, then, are the fruit and evidence of a true and living faith, based upon Christ’s finished work on the Cross…

 

[Cinette]

not hardly… Jesus wants us to be ONE, united in belief… there is the part in the Bible where he prays for unity… John 17, i think…

and there are other things in the Bible that speak of such unity…

God is not the author of confusiion. Man is… Actually, the devil is, but he couldn’t do much if he didn’t have man to work through.

Oh Distracted you are so right!

It is good to debate. One learns so much. It helps though when one is asked really good questions because we have to go and research and we learn so much. My husband did a lot of lecturing and he said that he learned so much from his students. So it is a two way street.

I enjoy these threads especially when there is reasonableness and the other party concedes a point. But there are posters who are bent on confusion and twist things 2 Peter 3:16 "For there are many things in scripture that are hard to understand which ignorant and unstable people distort as they do the other scriptures to their distruction." This demonstrates that it is futile to believe in private interpretation.

These SS people don’t use common sense. To me SS makes no sense at all! They think all truths comes from the Bible and we know that this is not so.

 

[sola_scriptura]

Jesus does want us all to be one – so let’s all be Presbyterian

After all we are the one true church & everyone else is wrong. The only requirement for admission is having been predestined by God. Sorry – none other need apply.

 

[JMJ_coder]

-For the proponents of sola scriptura-

Where do the Early Church Fathers teach sola scriptura? And those that composed the canon in the 4th century Councils - where are their arguments in favor of sola scriptura?

 

[wisdomseeker]

i have one thing to say. protestants pick up the Bible and begin quoting Scriptures. now my question is who were the teachers at the time? who wrote the NT? who were the men speaking to the people? how many apostles were there? was any of the these man teaching different from each other? was any apostle telling people pick up a Bible and interpret for yourselves?

the CC received her teachings from the Apostles themselves and she is to go and teach all men.

**“Let us note that the very tradition, teaching, and faith of the
Catholic Church from the beginning, which the Lord gave, was preached
by the Apostles, and was preserved by the Fathers On this was the Church founded;
and if anyone departs from this, he neither is nor any longer ought to be called a Christian.”
St. Athanasius, Letter to Serapion of Thmuis, 359 A.D… **

 

[twb1621]

Hi Tom,

I’m happy to respond to your post.

Where we differ, in a nutshell, is in the character, the nature and the calling of the Church. Your view sees the Church, primarily, as an institution.

You see that God willed, planned and founded the Roman Catholic Church with Peter as its first pope. If this is the correct view, then it is not difficult to understand that the testimony of the Church is needed to establish the authority of scripture. The difficulty with this view, is that the authority of scripture becomes dependent on a merely human authority. I reject this position. Let me explain why.

The difference between us comes down to this:

'Where does true authority lie?"

The Roman Catholic Church, of course, considers that scriptures testimony depends on the authority of the INSTITUTIONAL ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH.

The person who accepts sola scriptura (scripture alone as the source of all doctrine) with conviction is diligent, however, to guard this principle, viz: that the scripture’s authority is absolute.

If a person abandons the sola scriptura principle, then scriptures authority is no longer absolute and it is vitiated. This is why I am so dedicated in upholding this principle and living by it. In doing this, though, I maintain strenuously that true Catholics who practise their faith are part of the Church Militant (on earth) and the Church triumphant (in heaven). I do not consider myself superior to my Roman Catholic brothers and sisters who see these things differently; however, I cannot relinguish my convictions either. Do you understand?

When Christ gave instruction in Matthew 18:15-20 on how to deal with sin in the Church, He did so entirely in accordance with the sola scriptura principle I have been outlining. The Church Christ founded was not the Roman Catholic Church as an institution, as that is so comprehended today. He was referring, of course, to the universal (catholic) church as a SPIRITUAL ORGANISM; not as an INSTITUTION! He encouraged and taught the disciples that when they had to deal with sin in the church, that they did so in accordance with the binding authority of the word of God. This is the binding and loosing of which is spoken of in the text.

Indeed, Christ said:

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Matthew 24:35).

May God bless you, In Christ Craig

For many centuries (officially in writing since 382 AD) the Catholic Church has enlisted numerous theologians and scholars, some Catholic and some non-Catholic, some singularly and at other times in the form of groups or committees to verify the most accurate, non-bios translations and interpretations of Scripture possible. In addition, they have guarded and presented the integrity of Sacred Tradition through the Magisterium since the beginning. You may be interested in reading the below news article which once again bring this to public awareness.
Vatican City, Oct 15, 2008 New article of Catholic News Agency
Pope calls for theologians and Bible scholars to work together more closely
catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=14065

It has been proven over and over again that those who left the Catholic Church to establish a “right” faith outside the Church with their own interpretations have done nothing more than create further confusion and splintering of those who desire to be faithful.
With that said, although I do not agree with the philosophy you follow, I honestly commend you on your devotion to the faith you have and recognize your faithfulness to our Lord, Jesus Christ. I pray that those Catholics and other Christians who are less than dedicated to their faith will come to know devotion as you do. I and perhaps others sometimes loose perspective when it comes to the desire to see our separated brothers and sisters return to what we know as Full Christianity. But it is not any one individual who guides one to the right path, but God himself when He feels it appropriate. We can only hope to plant the seed. I will tell you that I would not hesitate to stand in your support for conversion if that time ever came but regardless you have a brother here any time you are looking for a viewpoint or have a topic to discuss that I may be of help with.

 

[Lampo]

There were many groups of Christians from the days of the apostles right up to the 16th Century who lived under the rule of the scriptures alone.

These groups were known under various names. Philip Schaaf, the great Church historian refers to them in his works.

The point I am making is that the sola scriptura principle had its proponents and adherents from the beginning, and yet was given more clear definition at the time of the Reformation.

2 Peter 1:20 - “Know this first of all, that there is no prophecy of scripture that is a matter of personal interpretation…”

What “Scriptures alone” were the early Christians using as their sole rule of faith before the (Catholic) Council of Rome determined the Canon of Scripture in the year 382AD?

Matt. 28:20 - “observe ALL I have commanded,” but, as we see in John 20:30; 21:25, not ALL Jesus taught is in Scripture. So there must be things outside of Scripture that we must observe. This disproves “Bible alone” theology.

 

[twb1621]

Hi Tom,

I am not averse to you quoting from the Church Fathers and their works. However, their statements, declarations and pronouncements are not binding.
The purpose of quoting them is to show the points they have made in regard to the events or individuals responsible for misleading others. This is in addition to the warnings given to us by our Lord Himself that these events would come about. It is to hopefully bring awareness once the separations occurred the position others are being placed in and how. In that regard, of course these declarations are made after and in light of scripture.

Christ founded the living spiritual organism of the church, which all human denominations are only an expression of.

The entry to this one true Church that Christ founded and established is by REPENTANCE AND FAITH. It is accomplished by the Holy Spirit in the mighty miracle of REGENERATION AND NEW BIRTH. This is what it means to be a Christian.

The church cannot create faith in Christ or the scriptures but can only urge such faith. Scripture, however, has the self-authenticating power to enlighten our intellect and move our will. Please read carefully and study in this connection:

Psalm 19:7-8; John 6:63; Romans 1:16; 1 corinthians 1:18; 2 Timothy 3:15.

Scripture is able not only to create faith but to create faith in itself.

I have faith that sola scriptura (scripture alone as our only source of doctrine) is, indeed, absolutely biblical.

May God bless you, In Christ Craig

Psalm 19:7-8; John 6:63; Romans 1:16; 1 corinthians 1:18; 2 Timothy 3:15.

Latin Vulgate; Psalm 19:7-8
7 impleat Dominus omnes petitiones tuas nunc cognovi quoniam salvum fecit Dominus christum suum exaudiet illum de caelo sancto suo in potentatibus salus dexterae eius 8 hii in curribus et hii in equis nos autem in nomine Domini Dei nostri invocabimus

7 The Lord fulfill all thy petitions: now have I known that the Lord hath saved his anointed. He will hear him from his holy heaven: the salvation of his right hand is in powers. 8 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will call upon the name of the Lord our God.
7 “The salvation of his right hand is in powers”… That is, in strength. His right hand is strong and mighty to save them that trust in him.

Latin Vulgate; John 6:63
63 si ergo videritis Filium hominis ascendentem ubi erat prius

If then you shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?

63 “If then you shall see”… Christ by mentioning his ascension, by this instance of his power and divinity, would confirm the truth of what he had before asserted; and at the same time correct their gross apprehension of eating his flesh, and drinking his blood, in a vulgar and carnal manner, by letting them know he should take his whole body living with him to heaven; and consequently not suffer it to be as they supposed, divided, mangled, and consumed upon earth.

Latin Vulgate; Romans 1:16;
16 non enim erubesco evangelium virtus enim Dei est in salutem omni credenti Iudaeo primum et Graeco

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel. For it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, to the Jew first, and to the Greek.

16 The principal theme of the letter is salvation through faith. I am not ashamed of the gospel: Paul is not ashamed to proclaim the gospel, despite the criticism that Jews and Gentiles leveled against the proclamation of the crucified savior.

Latin Vulgate; 1 corinthians 1:18

18 verbum enim crucis pereuntibus quidem stultitia est his autem qui salvi fiunt id est nobis virtus Dei est

18 For the word of the cross, to them indeed that perish, is foolishness; but to them that are saved, that is, to us, it is the power of God.

18 The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Latin Vulgate; 2 Timothy 3:15
15 et quia ab infantia sacras litteras nosti quae te possint instruere ad salutem per fidem quae est in Christo Iesu
15 And because from thy infancy thou hast known the holy scriptures, which can instruct thee to salvation, by the faith which is in Christ Jesus.
15 and that from infancy you have known (the) sacred scriptures, which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
[10-17] Paul’s example for Timothy includes persecution, a frequent emphasis in the Pastorals. Timothy is to be steadfast to what he has been taught and to scripture. The scriptures are the source of wisdom, i.e., of belief in and loving fulfillment of God’s word revealed in Christ, through whom salvation is given.

Craig, I have included here the excerpts from the scriptures you referred to taken from the Latin Vulgate mainly, as this was the first source translated and interpreted. I do point out that regardless of their intent, none of these scriptures diminish the directives of the Apostles to each other or their successors in the necessity of teaching sacred tradition along with scripture. One more point, the CC does not in any way attempt to diminish the value of the scriptures with Sacred Tradition but rather strengthens scripture with ST.