The Word protects us from many things. It protects us from deception.
After James 2, Ephesians 4 is probably the chapter in the Bible most neglected by Protestants. Here’s a portion of it:
“And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ; so that we may no longer be children, tossed back and forth and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles.”
So yes, the Bible does protect us against deception; but probably not in the way you think. It does so by pointing us toward the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and the teachers who will guard us against cunning men and their deceptions.
Throughout history, false teachers have always quoted Scripture to support their false doctrines. Peter dealt with such false teachers in His second letter. He describes such teachers for the better portion of the second chapter, starting with “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.” In the last chapter of his letter, Peter explains
how they bring destruction upon themselves: “And count the forbearance of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist
to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, beware lest you be carried away with the error of lawless men and lose your own stability.”
We are protected by God against the deception of men, but it’s not via
Sola Scripture, for even the devil can quote Scripture. We are protected by God through the Church, the pillar and foundation of the truth; through the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the teachers, and the pastors He has given us.
It even tells us to put on the full armour of God and what each piece of that armour is. Apart from Scripture we’d have no idea.
I think we’d have an idea. Remember, when Paul wrote his second letter to the Thessalonians, he said, “So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter.” The Apostles didn’t merely
write the word of God; they spoke it. And not only the Apostles spoke the word of God: the author of Hebrews writes, “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God; consider the outcome of their life, and imitate their faith.”
I can’t see me giving up on SS anytime in the future, however am still interested in the discussion. It challenges me and I hope I can challenge you. Get back when you can. Take care.
I until just over a year ago, I’d believed
Sola Scriptura, at least in theory. But when I realized that
Scriptura itself teaches something else, I had to give it up.
Jeremy
