LESSON 5 : BY SCRIPTURE ALONE–SOLA SCRIPTURA
Sabbath School Lesson for April 25-May 1, 2020
The Teacher’s Notes
Overview soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a
discerner of the thoughts and intents of the
Here’s what we need to know, in order to heart.” Hebrews 4:12 NKJV
accept sola Scriptura as the foundation of our
theology: This verse emphasizes the need for us to
faithfully interpret the Scriptures. We need its
Why the Bible should be the ruling norm guidance to sort out our thoughts and
(Sunday) behavior and to make us faithful followers of
Why the Bible needs to provide thematic unity God.
throughout (Monday)
Why the Bible must be clear to the sincere Hymn for the Week: “Be Thou My Vision”, Hymn
searcher of truth (Tuesday) # 547
Why we need to let the Bible interpret itself
(Wednesday)
Why do we need additional writings at times to
Sunday: Scripture as the Ruling Norm
help us understand what we read in the Bible
(Thursday) As we saw last week, there are a variety of
factors that shape our theology. Things such
Introduction as tradition, human thoughts and reasoning,
and our subjective religious experience often
Most, if not all, Protestant denominations claim play too big a role in what the Bible says about
the Bible alone as the source of their faith and our doctrines.
practice. The Roman Catholic church stands
out for its acceptance of tradition, in addition As we have been shown, it is not safe to look too
to the Bible, as the foundation for its beliefs. heavily outside the authority of the Bible itself,
when determining our religious practice. Our
While the early Protestant reformers most emphasis should continually be “What does
generally interpreted the Bible on a the Bible say?”
grammatical and historical basis, others
today interpret it allegorically, in other words, Other resources, such as concordances,
based on different meanings being read into lexicons, Bible dictionaries and commentaries,
the text. This, no doubt, accounts partly for the that are based on Biblical archaeology and
variation of beliefs Protestants hold today. history, may be helpful tools for interpreting
God’s word. But we must still make the Bible
This week, we explore why Sola Scriptura is still itself our primary source for religious
a steady, reliable way to establish our theology knowledge and behavior.
and doctrines. We can depend on the Bible to
provide us with the information we need to The Bible is, without a doubt, the ruling,
have a full, loving relationship with our authoritative norm when it comes to our theology.
Creator God.
Bible Verses to Ponder and Share:
Memory Text: “For the word of God is living I Corinthians 4:6
and powerful, and sharper than any two- Why is it important not to “think beyond what is
edged sword, piercing even to the division of written” when reading God’s word?
1
Since there are biblical passages that may be 2 Timothy 1:13
difficult for us to understand, how can we rely on
God to give us the understanding we need without What two things help us in determining sound
resorting to our own faulty thinking and doctrine?
interpretation, or someone else’s?
Tuesday: The Clarity of the Scriptures
Acts 17:10, 11
Why is a daily searching of God’s word necessary
The many times Jesus and the apostles referred
for our daily understanding of God’s will? to God’s written word indicate that they believed
How do we make ourselves “ready” to receive in our ability to understand its teachings.
God’s word?
Jesus repeatedly used the phrase, “Have you
Monday: The Unity of Scripture not read?”, before explaining some spiritual
meaning He was trying to explain. He evidently
Since we have seen how often New Testament expected them to have read the Scriptures, even
writers quoted the Old Testament, we must if they were unknowingly misunderstanding or
conclude that the New Testament is not superior ignoring its counsel.
or more important than the Old. The New
Testament is valued equally because it is the Countless times, we’ve been shown or have read
unfolding of what was revealed in the Old. in the Scriptures about people who have found
knowledge and understanding from the word of
The Bible thus achieves a balanced unity God that grows deep and changes their hearts
throughout its pages, due, not surprisingly, to and behaviors. We have witnessed the Bible’s
its divine origin. We are repeatedly told that all ability to bring a believer to a full, saving
Scripture is God-breathed, or given by His experience with our God, when one’s heart
inspiration (2 Timothy 3:16). reaches out to Him. Even those with limited
intellectual capabilities or few opportunities to
study the Bible have been blessed by what they
Yes, God is the editor, you might say, of this
read or hear there.
remarkable piece of literature. It is possible to
establish a unified system of beliefs and
doctrines upon its pages. We must allow the Thus, we can rest assured that, even though
unified theme of our salvation found in the there are passages that aren’t totally clear to us
Bible to build our faith, connecting us more yet, God is faithful to show us what we need
fully with God and each other. to know when it comes to our salvation. After
all, this is the whole purpose of the Scriptures,
Bible Verses to Ponder and Share: to reveal the plan of salvation to a fallen
world.
2 Peter 1:20, 21 Bible Verses to Ponder and Share:
Why is a private interpretation from man not as
useful when finding meaning from the Bible? 2 Timothy 3:15
Who, then, must we rely on for interpretation of
God’s word? How does this verse tell us that the Bible is clear
enough to show us our salvation?
Titus 1:7-9
Matthew 12:3
Why should we try to be sure we hold sound
doctrines? What does Jesus’ repeated use of the phrase,
“Have you not read?”, indicate about His opinion
of the Scriptures?
2
Why are we more confident in our understanding
when we find the same message in more than
Matthew 24:15 one place in the Bible?
How does this verse show us that God will show
us the understanding of prophecies when we
need it most–that some things won’t be clear until Romans 15:4
we see them happening?
Besides our learning, how are we benefited from
Wednesday: Scripture Interprets Scripture studying the Bible?
Having seen… Thursday: Sola Scriptura and Ellen G.
White
that the word of God should be what guides
our religious practice, Countless religious authors, before and after
that the Old and New Testaments comprise Christ, have written about their spiritual faith
a unified, balanced presentation of the
and practice, inspiring us with their insights
gospel, and
that the central theme throughout is clearly and knowledge. The vast majority of these
our redemption, writings, of course, are not included in the
biblical canon, which the Christian
…we can feel confident in letting the Bible community has considered to be authoritative
interpret itself. scripture and part of the Bible as we know it
today.
Accomplishing this requires us to examine the
context of a verse or passage in the Bible, However, we can certainly be blessed by
taking into account, not only its immediate learning from fellow believers who share their
usage in the chapter, but how it fits into the experience and religious observations through
whole picture of the book of the Bible it their literature. Some authors have even been
comes from. instrumental in the founding of new churches
or denominations.
Comparing Scripture with Scripture as
recommended in Isaiah 28:10 (“here a little, This was the case for the Seventh-day
there a little”), requires us to do the following: Adventist Church, which used the writings of
Ellen G. White (1827-1915) to inspire and aid
1. view the word of God as a whole them at the beginning of the Advent
2. see the relation of its parts movement. Although her books and writings are
3. remember the Bible’s central theme of the held in high esteem, they must not be seen as
great controversy between Christ and Satan a replacement or even an addition to the Bible
and our ultimate salvation itself.
Bible Verses to Ponder and Share: They have been found by many Bible scholars,
however, to be centered on Scripture and helpful
Luke 24:27, 44, 45 in leading us to God’s holy word. She herself
said that she hoped her writings would be “a
Why did Jesus show from various parts of the lesser light to guide people to the greater light”
Scriptures the meaning of His death and found in the Bible. She constantly elevated the
resurrection and what it would mean to their Bible as our only guide to spiritual truth and
salvation from sin? doctrines, the essence of sola Scriptura.
3
Bible Verses to Ponder and Share: 3. It is clear in delivering what we need for our
salvation.
Isaiah 8:20 4. The Scriptures are capable of explaining
Why must the law and the testimony of the Bible itself, when studied deeply with the Holy
be our only safe guide for our religious practice Spirit’s help.
and beliefs?
What benefit is there from reading other Christian In conclusion, here’s something else worthy of
authors then, besides those in the Bible? our consideration…
Acts 17:11 “The student of the Bible should be taught to
approach it in the spirit of a learner. We are to
What can we learn from the Bereans’ effort to search its pages, not for proof to sustain our
search the Scriptures to prove the truthfulness of opinions, but in order to know what God
what their evangelists were teaching them? says. A true knowledge of the Bible can be
gained only through the aid of the Spirit by
Friday: What We Have Learned This Week whom the word was given.” ~Ellen G. White,
Education, p. 189
We have many reasons why accepting the
Bible as the only source of our doctrines is a So, be a learner and let the Holy Spirit guide you.
good idea: It’s as simple as that. This is the essence of
sola Scriptura.
1. There must be something solid to measure
our beliefs and know they are true. Next Week’s Lesson: Why Is Interpretation
2. The Bible is unified in its overall message. Needed?
