Sermon for September 30th , 2018
2 Timothy 3:14-17 (NRSV)
14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, 15 and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.
Sola Scriptura
Comedian Emo Phillips tells a joke that has been ranked by several publications as the funniest religious joke of all time. Would you like to hear it? The joke goes something like this:
Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, “Don’t do it!”
He said, “Nobody loves me.” I said, “God loves you. Do you believe in God?”
He said, “Yes.” I said, “Are you a Christian or a Jew?”
He said, “A Christian.” I said, “Me too! Protestant or Catholic?”
He said, “Protestant.” I said, “Me too! What denomination?”
He said, “Baptist.” I said, “Me too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?”
He said, “Northern Baptist.” I said, “Me too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?”
He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist.” I said, “Me too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?”
He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region.” I said, “Me too!”
“Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879 or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?”
He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912.” I said, “Die heretic!” And I pushed him over.
The joke is funny precisely because of our tendency, in organized religion, to divide ourselves over small and seemingly insignificant points of doctrine...while ignoring the vast majority of things we share in common. Presbyterians are no different in this respect, although hopefully none of you have ever resorted to shoving someone off a bridge!
For 11 months out of the year, I like to preach on things like Faith, Hope, Love, Community--values we share with most other Christian traditions, and most religions in general. But for just one month out of the year, I like to focus on some of the things that make us distinct: Our history and heritage as Reformed Presbyterians, and some of the ideas that are baked into our historic culture and DNA.
This is not for the purpose of condemning or excluding people of other persuasions. While I am proud to be a Presbyterian, and I think we have some great ideas, some great distinctives, I don't think that we are right and everyone else is wrong. Ultimately, that's for God and individuals to sort out for themselves.
The purpose of Reformation Heritage Month here at First Presbyterian Church is a lot more like looking at a family scrapboook--in remembering and appreciating where we have come from, we remind ourselves who we are and where we're headed. So this October, we'll be looking at some classic teachings from the 16th century when the Presbyterian movement began, how those teachings connect to scripture, how they have evolved through the years, and how they can still be relevant for us today as 21st century people of faith.
Wait a minute, Pastor...did you just say "October?" It's still September.
There are four Sundays in October this year, and the specific teachings we'll be considering are known as the "Five Solas" of the Reformation." So in order to fit them all in, we're getting a head start.
The Five Solas are called this because of the Latin word "sola" which is related to the Spanish word "solamente" and means "only" or "alone." They are, in order (and there will be a test, and bragging rights, and maybe prizes): Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Solus Christus, and Soli Dei Gloria. If you're wondering what all that Latin translates to...you'll have to come to church for the next four Sundays to find out!
Today, we're talking about Sola Scriptura, which means "scripture alone" or "only scripture." Obviously, to the 16th century reformers, the scriptures of the Old and New Testament were important. So important that people like John Wycliffe, Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated passionately for the Bible to be translated from Latin into the common languages of Europe. We take this for granted, but there was a strong belief in the medieval church that the scriptures were too complicated for common people to understand, and only those educated in Latin should be able to read and teach them.
Once the Bible was translated into English, John Knox and the earliest Presbyterians in Scotland were among the first in Europe to promote (and achieve) universal education and literacy...so that people (and especially children) would be able to read the newly translated scriptures.
Sola Scriptura. Scripture alone. That strong emphasis placed upon scripture has often been misunderstood in subsequent centuries, and in the 19th and 20th centuries, was used to justify a new (and surprisingly recent) doctrine that is still popular in many Evangelical and Fundamentalist churches today: The "inerrancy" of scripture, or the idea that the Bible is free from all errors, faults or inconsistencies. For most the past 2,000 years since the time of Christ, mainstream Christians (and Presbyterians) did not believe this.
Those who did, and those who do, often rely on a misunderstanding of the classic Reformed doctrine of "Sola Scriptura" combined with a misunderstanding of today's scripture passage from 2 Timothy 3:16 that "All scripture is inspired by God." I want to make the case that both of those things need to be taken in context to be properly understood.
First, let's look at the passage from 2 Timothy.
