Sola Scriptura sounds great in theory but in practice it has ended up robbing Protestantism of anything remotely near catholic doctrine and truth. Even if it is not how it is intended, the reality has certainly been that everyone is his own interpreter and his own sancta mater ecclesium and magisterium. Those who claim to be bound by only the Scriptures have seen their churches waffle on abortion and cave to birth control and embrace every kind of sexual desire and gender identity -- to name but a few of the errors. Even those who have abandoned the phrase, think that they are operating under the authority of Scripture when they are embracing the times
Even bishops are far better in theory than in practice. If bishops alone were a guarantee of orthodoxy, Methodists and Episcopalians would not be the rather lost causes they have become and the ELCA would not be on the brink of apostasy. Yes, I still believe it is better to emulate the ordered structure of Christianity from the beginning than to put things into American democratic terminology but we all know that changing the terminology will not fix the errors. The same can be said about liturgy and ceremony -- they are profoundly catholic and apostolic but it is not impossible to keep the forms while emptying them of their meaning. The Church of England seems to have excelled at keeping the shape of things while gutting the doctrine and piety from the ritual and forms of the Mass.
Councils are often great when they confess the truth of Scripture but when they authority of the council becomes the equal to the Word of God or when its power is separated from that Word, the councils become confused conventions of votes and voters who think they are doing one thing while they are often doing something else. The Reformation was correct in warning us that councils can err and they have and they will continue to do so. The sole source and norm of catholic doctrine is the Scriptures and the sole reflection of the Scriptures in worship remains the ordo, the liturgical form that belongs to all even when they have chosen to depart from it. No restoration of faith can happen without a restoration of worship and the other way around. The search for authority often leads us everywhere when it needs to lead us to the somewhere that is God's unchanging Word.
There is no silver bullet. Every age and generation must signal its devotion to orthodox and Scriptural Christianity, make the good confession before the errors and temptations of the day, and stand upon the unchanging foundation of Christ alone. We cannot afford to become complacent because we call the offices by the right names or keep the ancient form of the Mass or hold to the slogans of another fight. Ours is never the cause to pause and refresh but to remain ever vigilant against errors that would steal Christ and our salvation and ever urgent in confessing clearly and completely the sacred deposit of the faith and its foundations upon Scripture and its witness in catholic tradition. There is way that we will lose this and that is when our own voices and the voices of those outside the faith become equal to the voice of Scripture and when our custom becomes the equivalent of apostolic custom. When that happens it is sure that trouble and decay will soon follow.
2 comments:
When you say, “We cannot become complacent,” you have also accurately pointed out that the church should never be prone to accept the cultural status quo, nor be the author of scriptural confusion. Complacency, while trying to fit the church into society, results in failure. The church was equipped and commissioned by Christ Himself to bring the Gospel to society, and to do so with conviction. We have the example in Revelation of the various church types and how God will judge their faithfulness. “Sola Scriptura” can be misapplied by some, but it is essentially affirming the word of God, not man’s preferences, as the sole authority. Thank God we have the “sola” terms to remind us of both the main theme of the Reformation, and the need for conformance to God’s word as our guide, both as individual Christians, and as the church of Christ on earth. Soli Deo Gloria.
It all started right after the Ascension of our Lord. Guess who started it. It was Peter, the Rock. The subject was the election of Matthias to replace Judas. To this day, people do not understand that what Peter proposed was not his to propose. Actually, Scripture is clear on this subject, but people refuse to believe the clear word of Scripture.
There is no sentence in Scripture that says something to the effect that, “Matthias should not have been elected.” Nevertheless, the proof is overwhelming, but when we read Scripture in connection with one situation, we should understand that it could apply to more than one.
I apologize to all Matthias Lutheran churches in the USA. There are probably more St. Paul’s Lutheran churches than those dedicated to Matthias. He was indeed an Apostle.
Peace and Joy!
George A. Marquart
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