by R. Bruce Bickel
Christianity is based on revelation. If God in all His sovereign majesty did not choose to reveal Himself to mankind, there would be no true knowledge of Him or the possibility of a true relationship with Him. We are bound to Him by what He has chosen to reveal to us about Himself. All human efforts to get to know God by man-created means lead invariably to false religions or mysticisms.
Consequently, the primary question governing our relationship with God is the question of submission—either to His revelation or to our imagination. The former requires that we rely upon a divine influence over our minds, which must be submissive to the truth of the Revealer. The latter depends upon the amassing of propositions, theses, and traditions: a mixture of philosophy, psychology, and theology—a man-made "philo-psycho-theology." In this atmosphere, the words of the revelation of God no longer have the meanings intended by the Holy Spirit, but rather affirm the mysteries of the religions or idolatries man has created.
The historical Protestant doctrine of sola Scriptura—Scripture alone—affirms that God has an eternal plan to make known the mysteries of the gospel. Thus, Protestant theology (doctrines about God) flows from the act of divine will by which He wishes to make known to us truth, which is accomplished by His words or His works as revealed in Christ. "No man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him" (John 1:18). The picture of the divine mind and will that we have in [the concept of] sola Scriptura is dependent on revelation from God Himself. It is an example of God's merciful kindness to fallen humanity that He has willed that all of the knowledge we need for a relationship with Him, and for correct worship of Him, should be provided by Him. If it were not so, we would stumble in blindness. It is to the revelation of the divine mind expressed in sola Scriptura that all of our thoughts and doctrine, our worship of Him, and our obedience to Him must always be conformed.
It is for this reason that Reformation Trust has re-published this work, originally published by Soli Deo Gloria. The spirit of our age would have the church disregard this issue for the sake of unity. But biblical unity must be based on biblical truth, not human intentions. The example of unity we have in Scripture is the Trinity, which in complete agreement on everything! Too often what passes for unity is really compromise. It is better to be divided by truth than united in error.
It was because of love for the church that this book was produced. Love, true love, cannot be divorced from truth. Scripture is quite clear that love rejoices in the truth! One cannot claim to love when one is not concerned about truth. The truth of Scripture must be the concern for one who truly loves. In an age where the absolute authority of Scripture has been jettisoned for the sake of agreement at the expense of doctrinal distinctives, we must be reminded that for real unity to exist among Christians, it must be based on the unadulterated truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ contained in the Scriptures alone.
A conscience that is bound by the Word of God is a force that no nation, system, or age can withstand. It is the desire of the contributors and the publisher of this book to call God's people back to a position of power—the power of sola Scriptura.
—from the "Preface," Sola Scriptura: The Protestant Position on the Bible (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2009) xi-xii.
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Amen. This is such a watershed issue. More than we know. I talk to folks all the time and the debate always goes back to our positions and understanding off inerrancy, inspiration, authority, sufficiency, etc.
Harold Lindsell's Battle for the Bible was immensely helpful to me on this topic.
Posted by: paulD | 17 February 2010 at 01:35 PM