These devotionals will serve as a guide for your time with the Lord
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Opening Prayer
-- Song: "Jesus, Strong and Kind"
Devotional #55: Sola Scriptura - "The Supremacy of Scripture"
Scripture
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV)
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God[a] may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Devotional #55: Sola Scriptura - "The Supremacy of Scripture"
It is impossible to live a life without some standards, norms, or criterion for truth and morality. How do we decide what is just, fair, or morally upright? Today, many people look to podcasters or other gurus for guidance. Although, some may discover slivers of truths, God’s people have always affirmed Scripture as the supreme standard for knowledge.
During the Reformation, “Sola Scriptura” (Scripture Alone), became a rallying cry. The Catholic Church insisted that Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium were the three pillars of knowledge and interpretation. Notably, the Magisterium power was two-fold. First, it consisted of a Pope’s ‘ex cathedra’ declarations that became a part of tradition. Second, this tradition, or fixed interpretation, became just as authoritative as Scripture. This is how the Catholic church arrived at their traditions of Mary’s mediatorial role, and with their doctrine of purgatory. Martin Luther spear-headed the reformation and declared that only Scripture has supreme authority. For the Christian, we believe that only God’s Word has final authority in all matters of spirituality. Or as the Westminster Confession states: “The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men.” Questions
Devotional #56: Sola Scriptura - "The Sufficiency of Scripture"
Scripture
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV)
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God[a] may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Devotional #56: Sola Scriptura - "The Sufficiency of Scripture"
The Bible, of course, does not speak exhaustively about every subject. We do not have a passage about how to swing a golf club like Tiger Woods. But what 2 Timothy 3:16 teaches us is that Scripture is sufficient in communicating everything we need to know about God, salvation, faith, and life! The Bible tells us how we are saved and how we must live to bring God glory. Perhaps the Bible can’t tell us how to swing a 5 iron, but it does contain what we need to know to swing it for the glory of God!
Secondly, the sufficiency of Scripture teaches us that we do not need an external criteria or guide to understand Scripture. Scripture alone is sufficient to interpret Scripture. We are to be careful to bring in alien constructs that does harm to the integrity of the story of salvation. Question
Since Scripture is sufficient for all Godly living, which area of your life do you find it most difficult to apply? Pray for God’s help.
Devotional #57: Sola Scriptura - "The Clarity of Scripture"
Scripture
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV)
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God[a] may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Devotional #57: Sola Scriptura - "The Clarity of Scripture"
The doctrine of the clarity (perspicuity) of Scripture affirms that the Word of God is understandable to all people. We know that some parts of Scripture are more easily understood than others, but we often conflate these difficulties into thinking all of Scripture must be incomprehensible. We believe that God is not inept as a communicator but has spoken to us clearly concerning everything we to know about God, humanity, and salvation.
This doctrine is important because it tells us that any ordinary person can understand the basic message of the gospel, whether they choose to believe it is another matter. It also speaks to the fact that no priest, preacher, or teacher is needed to reveal some hidden truths. Indeed, any church leader’s role is to expound the plain truths that any lay person can clearly comprehend in their own reading. *Did you know that before public education, Sunday Schools were created in Britain (1780’s) to teach kids how to read. The core motivation was the belief that every person should be able read the clear truths of Scripture for themselves. Questions
Prayer Time
(Closing prayer by head of household) -- Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
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