The Lutheran Difference: Sola Scriptura

  1. The Lutheran Difference: An Introduction
  2. The Lutheran Difference: Historical Background
  3. The Lutheran Difference: The Light Bulb Moment
  4. The Lutheran Difference: Indulge Me for a Moment
  5. The Lutheran Difference: The Backlash
  6. The Lutheran Difference: Outlaw, Knight, and Husband
  7. The Lutheran Difference: Augsburg and Beyond
  8. Martin Luther’s Antisemitism
  9. The Lutheran Difference: What’s the Source?
  10. The Lutheran Difference: Sola Gratia
  11. The Lutheran Difference: Sola Fides
  12. The Lutheran Difference: The Bondage of the Will
  13. The Lutheran Difference: A Matter of Perspective
  14. The Lutheran Difference: Sola Scriptura
  15. The Lutheran Difference: The Means of Grace
  16. The Lutheran Difference: The Sacraments
  17. The Lutheran Difference: Baptism
  18. The Lutheran Difference: Infant Baptism
  19. The Lutheran Difference: Bread, Wine, and “Is”
  20. The Lutheran Difference: Remembering Jesus
  21. The Lutheran Difference: You Are What You Eat
  22. The Lutheran Difference: Sacrament Wrap-Up
  23. The Lutheran Difference: Happy 499!
  24. The Lutheran Difference: Confession and Absolution
  25. The Lutheran Difference: The Office of the Keys
  26. The Lutheran Difference: Law and Gospel
  27. The Lutheran Difference: The Three Uses of the Law
  28. The Lutheran Difference: Lutheran Preaching
  29. The Lutheran Difference: Worship
  30. The Lutheran Difference: It’s the End of the World as We Know It
  31. The Lutheran Difference: Q&A
  32. The Lutheran Difference: Q & A — Luther vs. Calvin
  33. The Lutheran Difference: Q & A — A Word on the Word
  34. The Lutheran Difference: Q & A — The Different Lutherans

After a lengthy side-trip into the Lutheran understanding of conversion, we’re wrapping up the three solas by talking about the last one, namely sola Scriptura. That’s a fancy way of saying that Lutheran beliefs are based on Scripture alone. For us, what’s contained in God’s Word is the final authority when it comes to Christian beliefs. The confessions (like the Book of Concord or Luther’s Small Catechism) are important, but only insofar as they help focus our understanding of the Bible. They are the lenses, not the light itself.

Diving a little deeper, Lutherans have a few other beliefs about the Bible that are kind of important. These may not be exclusive just to us, but we take them seriously.

For starters, we believe that scripture interprets scripture. We don’t consult with tradition or today (or tomorrow’s) newspaper to try to understand what the Bible says. Instead, we believe that the Bible is best at explaining itself. Even more specifically, we believe that the more clear portions should interpret the less clear. In other words, if we find something that doesn’t quite make sense or we have difficulty explaining or understanding, we don’t base a doctrine on that verse. Instead, we turn to the parts of the Bible that we understand better to see if it will help clear up the confusion.

But, more importantly than that, Lutherans believe that all of Scripture is Christocentric. That’s a fancy way of saying that we believe that Jesus is the beating heart of God’s Word. After all, He is God’s Living Word. All of Scripture points to and finds fulfillment in Him. He is the lens that helps us understand the Bible best.

So what if the Bible is silent on a subject? Well, then Lutherans would categorize that as adiaphora. This is a Greek word that means “indifferent things.” If the Bible doesn’t have a clear command for or against something, we consider that a matter of freedom that’s up to the Christian to decide for him- or herself. For example, do we have to use an organ for worship? The Bible doesn’t have a word about organs, pro or con, so it’s up to the individual congregation. It’s adiaphora.

I could probably keep going, but I think this covers it well enough. So next week, we’ll move on from the solas to the Means of Gra[bctt tweet=”Author @JohnWOtte talks about the third sola of the Lutheran Reformation.” username=””]ce. Until then, friends!

 

One Comment:

  1. It seems to me like most of the people who are very serious about only holding the Bible against itself and not using other lenses to interpret it usually end up quite different from Lutherans — no creeds, no catechisms, no veneration of a 500 year-old tradition. I wonder what keeps Lutherans affirming and reverencing their tradition while also maintaining hardcore Sola Scriptura. In fact, I could guess that whatever it is that keeps Lutherans from abandoning tradition while being Biblical absolutists is possibly a large part of the distinction between Lutherans and all the other garden variety Christians you find at your typical Evangelical event.

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