Luther’s insistence on the sola Scriptura principle, that every teaching be established by the Scriptures alone, not by the councils of the church or the Roman pontiff, arose from a heart captured by the gospel. He loved the Scriptures and turned to them because they pointed consistently to Christ as the sinner’s righteousness and life.[1] The Roman church, by its teachings, had pointed people away from Christ to their own righteousness. Luther’s concern was not to preserve pure doctrine for pure doctrine’s sake, but for the sake of preserving the gospel by which the Lord effects faith and gives life. Please do not misunderstand that. The Reformer was not a fundamentalist, focused only on a short list of teachings that he deemed critical to the Christian faith. The Reformer’s commitment to pure teaching in every area shines through clearly in his writings. What drove that commitment, however, was his love for the gospel that sets people free from everlasting death. If people believed that the pope had the authority to teach something contrary to Scripture, then they would no longer concern themselves with what the Bible teaches about the righteousness of God received by grace alone (sola gratia) through faith alone (sola fide). In other words, Luther insisted on sola Scriptura primarily because the Lord had broken through and convinced him of sola gratia and sola fide. This is a place where we desire to imitate Luther’s faith.
We desire to take our stand on the Scriptures. We desire to teach the Word of God in its truth and purity. And rightly so. We do well, though, to consider whether we are insisting on pure doctrine for pure doctrine’s sake or for the sake of the gospel. For instance, when the unbelieving world around us contends that the Bible is filled with errors, we feel compelled to speak. We confess with intrepid hearts what the Bible says about itself: that it is God’s own Word, given by inspiration, without any errors. His Word could hardly be anything but truth, we maintain, since God himself is truth. In the end, the argument simplified becomes this: “To deny that the Bible is inspired and inerrant is to break the First Commandment. You are defying what God has said.” That is certainly true, but insisting on pure doctrine for pure doctrine’s sake is ultimately a law-oriented approach. It’s arguing about who’s right and who’s wrong. At that point we’re not far from pride being the driver of our insistence on purity of doctrine.
[1]. Robert Rosin, picking up on an illustration that Luther himself used, describes it this way: “Because he found Christ in the Scriptures rather than in the decrees of popes and councils, Luther held fast to those biblical texts. The Scriptures were the swaddling clothes that held Christ.” Rosin, 64.