![The Reformers: John Calvin
“The Word of the Lord is the sole way that can lead us in our search
for all that is lawful to hold concerning [God], and is the sole light to
illumine our vision of all that we should see of him...
The moment we exceed the bounds of the
Word, our course is outside the pathway
and... there we must repeatedly wander, slip
and stumble.”
We must speak where the Scripture speaks;
we must keep silent where it is silent.”
Institutes](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/5scripture2-190211174026/85/5-scripture-2-24-320.jpg)
5 scripture 2
- 1. The Early Church for Today Reformation 501 Sola Scriptura Part Two
- 3. REVIEW
- 4. The Reformers: Martin Luther “Unless I am convinced by the testimonies of the Holy Scriptures or evident reason (for I believe neither in the pope nor councils alone, since it has been established that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures adduced by me, and my conscience has been taken captive by the Word of God, and I am neither able nor willing to recant, since it is neither safe nor right to act against conscience. God help me. Amen.” Martin Luther The Debate at Leipzig (1519)
- 5. The Reformers: Martin Luther “A simple layman armed with Scripture is to be believed above a pope or a council without it. As for the pope’s decretal on indulgences I say that neither the Church nor the pope can establish articles of faith. These must come from Scripture.” The Debate at Leipzig (1519) “... For the sake of Scripture we should reject pope and councils.” Martin Luther
- 6. The Reformers: Martin Luther “Martin, there is not one of the heresies which have torn the bosom of the church, which has not derived its origin from the various interpretations of the Scripture. The Bible itself is the arsenal whence each innovator has drawn his deceptive arguments. It was with biblical texts that Pelagius and Arius maintained their doctrines...” John Eck The Debate at Leipzig (1519)
- 7. The Reformers: Martin Luther Luther and Sola Scriptura “Scripture Alone” is the Ultimate Authority. 1. It is above that of Church Traditions, Hierarchy, Church Fathers, Elders, Councils, Commentators, Interpretations... 2. No one (not even the Pope) has the right to claim to be the Final Interpretive Authority of the Bible.
- 8. The Reformers: Martin Luther The Pope is the Final Authority. Case closed! The Pope is wrong! I heed Scripture, not the pope. There are many difficult passages. Don’t split over these.
- 9. The Reformers: Martin Luther Luther and Sola Scriptura Inspiration Unity Clarity Sufficiency
- 10. The Reformers: Ulrich Zwingli “...to let nothing other than scripture speak.”
- 11. The Reformers: Ulrich Zwingli 1. Preached from Entire Scripture, not Liturgy. 2. Emphasis on Original Languages. 3. Scripture above Traditions. 4. Scripture is the Basis of Religious Experience. 5. Scripture is God’s Word, it is Powerful. 6. Scripture is Clear & Understandable. 7. The Test of Scripture.
- 12. The Reformers: The Anabaptists Scripture is, “the true witness of the Holy Spirit and criterion of our consciences.” Menno Simons
- 13. The Reformers: The Anabaptists “Since the apostasy first began through human writing and teaching by means of which the divine Scriptures were darkened, the Almighty has among us provided that all writings both new and old which are not biblical should be destroyed, so that we cling only to the Holy Scriptures…. Bernard Rothman at Munster, 1534 For he who holds only to the Scriptures needs no other writings.”
- 14. The Reformers: The Anabaptists 1. They often had an Individualistic Reading. 2. Not always on the same page. 3. Many accepted the Apocrypha. 4. Some distinguished the Word & the Letter. 5. Suspicious of Scholarship.
- 15. The Early Church for Today Reformation 501 Sola Scriptura Part Two
- 16. The Reformers: The English Reformation Thomas Cranmer was “England’s Reformer par excellence.”
- 17. The Reformers: The English Reformation “That the word of God, written and contained within the canon of the bible, is a true, sound, perfect, and whole doctrine, containing in itself fully all things needful for our salvation.” Confutation
- 18. The Reformers: The English Reformation Christ and the apostles proved all their doctrines by the law and the prophets. What an arrogancy is it then in us, to teach any thing which we can neither prove by the law, the prophets, the apostles, nor the evangelists.” “The old testament was sufficient for the Jews; and why shall not both the new and the old suffice us?
- 19. The Reformers: The English Reformation “Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation.” Book of Common Prayer
- 20. The Reformers: The English Reformation
- 21. The Reformers: John Calvin “For Scripture is the school of the Holy Spirit, in which, as nothing is omitted that is both necessary and useful to know, so nothing is taught but what is expedient to know.”
- 22. The Reformers: John Calvin “Since no daily responses are given from heaven, and the Scriptures are the only records in which God has been pleased to consign his truth to perpetual remembrance, the full authority which they ought to possess with the faithful is not recognized, unless they are believed to have come from heaven, as directly as if God had been heard giving utterance to them.” Institutes
- 23. The Reformers: John Calvin “Just as old or bleary-eyed men and those with weak vision, if you thrust before them a most beautiful volume, even if they recognize it to be some sort of writing, yet can scarcely construe two words, but with the aid of spectacles will begin to read distinctly; so Scripture, gathering up the otherwise confused knowledge of God in our minds, having dispersed our dullness, clearly shows us the true God.”
- 24. The Reformers: John Calvin “The Word of the Lord is the sole way that can lead us in our search for all that is lawful to hold concerning [God], and is the sole light to illumine our vision of all that we should see of him... The moment we exceed the bounds of the Word, our course is outside the pathway and... there we must repeatedly wander, slip and stumble.” We must speak where the Scripture speaks; we must keep silent where it is silent.” Institutes
- 25. The Reformers: John Calvin “But, you will say, you degrade everything, so that every man has the right to accept or reject what the councils decide. Not at all! But whenever a decree of any council is brought forward, I should like men first of all diligently to ponder at what time it was held, on what issue, and with what intention, what sort of men were present; then to examine by the standard of Scripture what it dealt with—and to do this in such a way that the definition of the council may have its weight and be like a provisional judgment, yet not hinder the examination which I have mentioned.”
- 26. The Reformers: John Calvin “But, you will say, you degrade everything, so that every man has the right to accept or reject what the councils decide. Not at all! But whenever a decree of any council is brought forward, I should like men first of all diligently to ponder at what time it was held, on what issue, and with what intention, what sort of men were present; then to examine by the standard of Scripture what it dealt with—and to do this in such a way that the definition of the council may have its weight and be like a provisional judgment, yet not hinder the examination which I have mentioned.”
- 27. The Reformers: John Calvin Friday Nights in Geneva “Every week, on Fridays, a conference is held in the largest church in which all their ministers and many of the people participate. Here one of them reads a passage from Scripture and expounds it briefly. Another speaks on the matter what to him is according to the Spirit. A third person gives his opinion, and a fourth adds...”
- 28. The Reformers: John Calvin 1. Scripture is the Ultimate Authority. 2. It is not an Individualistic pursuit. 3. Interpretations are Provisional.
- 29. The Reformers: The Council of Trent (1545-1563) The Catholic Church had been debating and discussing the relationship between Scripture and Tradition for a long time. The Reformation pushed them to make an official statement.
- 30. The Reformers: The Council of Trent CONCERNING THE CANONICAL SCRIPTURES FIRST DECREE “... seeing clearly that this truth and discipline (Gospel) are contained in the written books, and the unwritten traditions which, received by the Apostles from the mouth of Christ himself, or from the Apostles themselves, the Holy Ghost dictating, have come down even unto us, transmitted as it were from hand to hand... ...(the Synod) following the examples of the orthodox Fathers, receives and venerates with an equal affection of piety, and reverence, all the books both of the Old and of the New Testament--seeing that one God is the author of both --as also the said traditions...”
- 31. The Reformers: The Council of Trent CONCERNING THE EDITION & USE OF THE SACRED BOOKS SECOND DECREE “...no one, relying on his own skill, shall,--in matters of faith, and of morals pertaining to the edification of Christian doctrine, --wresting the sacred Scripture to his own senses, presume to interpret the said sacred Scripture contrary to that sense which holy mother Church,--whose it is to judge of the true sense and interpretation of the holy Scriptures...”
- 32. The Reformers: The Council of Trent CONCERNING THE EDITION & USE OF THE SACRED BOOKS SECOND DECREE “...no one, relying on his own skill, shall,--in matters of faith, and of morals pertaining to the edification of Christian doctrine, --wresting the sacred Scripture to his own senses, presume to interpret the said sacred Scripture contrary to that sense which holy mother Church,--whose it is to judge of the true sense and interpretation of the holy Scriptures...” Sola Roma
- 33. The Reformers: The Council of Trent 1. The Bible and Tradition are Equally Inspired. 2. The Church is the Final Interpretive Authority of Scripture. 3. No Individual Interpretations outside the Church.
- 34. The Reformers: Summary Sola Scriptura: Why?
- 35. The Reformers: Summary Sola Scriptura: Why? Protestants Lost Faith in the Roman Catholic Church.
- 36. The Reformers: Summary Sola Scriptura: Why? Protestants Lost Faith in the Roman Catholic Church. Holy Catholic Church Roman Catholic Church
- 37. Their rejection of the authority of Rome, forced the Reformers to retreat to Scripture Alone in the attempt to regain the Original Apostolic Tradition.
- 38. “God's Word shall establish articles of faith, and no one else, not even an angel can do so." “... let nothing other than scripture speak.” Their rejection of the authority of Rome, forced the Reformers to retreat to Scripture Alone in the attempt to regain the Original Apostolic Tradition. “We must speak where the Scripture speaks; we must keep silent where it is silent.”
- 39. The Reformers: Summary Sola Scriptura: What does it Mean?
- 40. The Reformers: Summary Sola Scriptura: What does it Mean? “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.” Westminster Confession of Faith
- 41. The Reformers: Summary Sola Scriptura: What does it Mean? “The supreme judge by which all controversies of religion are to be determined, and all decrees of councils, opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men, and private spirits, are to be examined, and in whose sentence we are to rest, can be no other but the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scripture.” Westminster Confession of Faith
- 42. The Reformers: Summary Sola Scriptura: What does it Mean? “By sola Scriptura Protestants mean that Scripture alone is the primary and absolute source for all doctrine and practice (faith and morals). Sola Scriptura implies several things.” 1. The Bible is a Direct Revelation from God 2. The Sufficiency of Scripture 3. The Authority of Scripture 4. The Clarity of Scripture 5. Scripture interprets Scripture Christian Research Institute
- 43. The Reformers: Summary Sola Scriptura: What does it Mean? 1. There are different definitions in use. 2. It should NOT be used to defend Individualistic Readings. 3. Scripture is the Highest Authority for Christian Teaching and Practice. 4. Traditions, Interpretations, Commentaries, Church Leaders, Councils... are of value, but are not inspired (in the same way); so they are secondary at best, they are “Provisional”.
- 44. The Reformers: Summary Sola Scriptura: What does it Mean? “Sola scriptura is the reminder that the church can err.” Kevin Vanhoozer
- 45. The Reformers: Summary Sola Scriptura: How can we live with it?
Editor's Notes
- #2: The Formal Cause of the Reformation
- #7: At Leipzig Luther (and Eck) realized that this was a debate about authority, not just Church practice or theology. Eck is arguing that there needs to be a Final Interpretive Authority (FIA), i.e. the pope. Luther: Scripture is above any and all Interpretations. There is no FIA?
- #8: A greater Authority than… No one Dictates the meaning of Scripture. The Pope says “Yes”, but the Bible says “No”. You are claiming that your words equal Scripture.
- #9: Erasmus used the Apostle’s Creed as the Essence of the Faith. Let’s unite on the Apostle’s Creed, and allow differing opinions over interpretations.
- #10: Sola Scriptura is a rejection of the Infallibility of the Church.
- #11: https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/65837/7/ZORA65837akz.pdf From Concerning the Forbidding of Foods. Church Fathers & Councils were okay, but secondary to Scripture. Note: Luther was motivated by doctrine of Justification, Zwingli, Humanistic influence from Erasmus; going to the original sources.
- #12: 3. Lent and Sausages. 4. Christian Like based on Bible, not Mysticism. Look for Biblical Examples of Religious Experiences. We Meet God in Scripture. Other Experiences (Eucharist) are Secondary at best. 5. Bible is Infallible. It will accomplish what God intends. 6. Even Unclear passages serve to draw the believer closer to Christ (like Augustine). 7. Filter
- #14: The Anabaptists were not always on the same page. Rothman at the Book Burning. He was an advocate of the Great Apostasy teaching.
- #15: Criticism: An Anarchy of Biblical Interpretation. Many look at the Anabaptists through a filter (picking & choosing what to see).
- #16: The Formal Cause of the Reformation
- #17: http://archive.churchsociety.org/churchman/documents/cman_109_1_elliott2.pdf Cranmer’s Attitude to the Bible: ‘Lucerna pedibus meis verbum tuum’ 1 Churchman 109/1 1995, by Maurice Elliott Cranmer had a great respect for the Church Fathers, especially John Chrysostom. He is influenced by the other Reformers, including Luther. Par Excellence according to M. Elliot.
- #18: From Cranmer’s Confutation, which is a defense of the Sufficiency of Scripture. Scripture is sufficient.
- #19: From Cranmer’s Miscellaneous Writings. “Christ and the Apostles proved all…” Did they?
- #20: http://archive.churchsociety.org/churchman/documents/cman_109_1_elliott2.pdf Cranmer’s Attitude to the Bible: ‘Lucerna pedibus meis verbum tuum’ 1 Churchman 109/1 1995, by Maurice Elliott From Cranmer’s Book of Common Prayer.
- #21: http://archive.churchsociety.org/churchman/documents/cman_109_1_elliott2.pdf Under Cranmer’s guidance Coverdale produced the Great Bible.
- #22: Sufficiency of Scripture
- #23: Authority is based on Belief! Calvin is basically a Calvinist, God is at work revealing himself. Calvin does not go into proofs that the Bible is inspired of God, he held that it was self-authenticating. The Spirit will authenticate the Scriptures. Only God can verify the integrity of the Bible.
- #24: Institutes No to Natural Theology, but with Scripture we can see and understand. The Human Predicament is like a person with bad eyesight.
- #25: The Bible is to be considered as the “utterance” of God. The Bible is “Self-Authenticating”. Why?
- #26: From the Institutes. “But, you will say…” Kinda like the Anabaptists (and many Evangelicals). NO INDIVIDUALISTIC READING! ”Examine by the Standard of Scripture”.
- #27: Also, “Like a Provisional Judgment” i.e. Temporary, open to change. The Councils are Provisional!!! No one has the right to claim to be the Final Interpretive Authority of Scripture.
- #28: An observer of Geneva. Quoted in Vanhoozer, p. 160 NOTE: Both ministers and laymen speak. Its not a sermon, not a monologue, this is dialogue. Discussions included Scripture, doctrine, and offered a time of correction for ministers from the congregation. John Calvin was NOT an Individualist, he invited people (the congregation) to comment, he recognized his own short comings. John Knox: “The perfect school…”
- #29: .
- #30: Pope Paul III There were Roman Catholics that would put Scripture above Tradition. Scripture, Councils, Pope… What is their relationship to each other?
- #31: The Canon given in the Council included the Apocrypha as listed with the other Writings. For Catholics this sounds like a “Closing of the Canon” (until further notice from above). The Holy Spirit “dictating” both Scripture and Unwritten Traditions. Scripture AND Tradition are Dictated by the Spirit.
- #32: YES, you can “wrestle” with Scripture, BUT, the Church is the FIA. No Individualistic Reading. The Interpretation is not Provisional, it is Inspired.
- #33: Well, now, what is the Church? What is the Holy Catholic Church? What is the HCC’s relation the the Roman Catholic Church?
- #34: # 2 works because # 1 is accepted. 2. They are the Inspired Interpreters. Trent Defines (Cements) the R. Catholic position.
- #36: The Reformers lost faith in the Roman Catholic Church. Rome has gone beyond the Apostolic Tradition. Rome had developed “new” doctrines: purgatory, indulgences, celibacy, vows… They held that Rome had abused its power: Corruption.
- #37: The Reformers lost faith in the Roman Catholic Church. NOT the Holy Catholic Church. Rome has gone beyond the Apostolic Tradition.
- #41: A Reformed confession of faith. Drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly as part of the Westminster Standards to be a confession of the Church of England. 1. No new Revelation, or Second Revelation, i.e. Tradition.
- #42: 2. Scripture above Interpretations. No FIA.
- #43: 2. It is enough; “It is sufficient: it is all that is necessary for faith and practice.” 3. The Final Court of Appeals. 4. The ESSENTIAL teachings are Clear. Peter states some of Paul’s writings are not easy. 5. The Interpretiveness of Scripture https://www.equip.org/article/what-is-sola-scriptura/
- #44: 2. This applies to the “Lone Individual” as well as the Independent Church. Often causing churches to split. This includes independent Church councils, elders. 3. And Doctrine. 4. There is NO FIA, because that equates the words of men with the Word of God. WE DON’T HAVE THE ABSOLUTE GUIDE WE WANT.
- #45: Biblical Authority after Babel