I wish I could say that all evangelicals today have a crisp, accurate grasp of sola scriptura . I am

TGC | The Gospel Coalition Channels Current saucepan Events Ministry Arts & Culture Reviews Christian Living saucepan Bible & Theology Faith & Work Editorial Team Contributors Publications Themelios Chapters Albuquerque Arizona Atlantic Canada Bay Area Columbus Eastern Iowa Hawaii Los Angeles Memphis Michigan New England Oklahoma Ontario Orange County Twin Cities Blogs Justin Taylor Kevin DeYoung Trevin saucepan Wax Thabiti Anyabwile saucepan Ray Ortlund Scotty Smith D.A. Carson Jared C. Wilson Resources Events International Home About Relief Projects Free Resources Stories Give Contact Projects Church Directory Job Board New City Catechism Other About Overview Staff Council Foundation Documents Donate Contact Search
Reformation Day reminds us of Luther's monumental decision to post his 95 theses to the church door at Wittenberg on October 31, 1517. Luther's theses would strike into motion an irreversible set of confrontations with Rome, eventually leading to the genesis of Protestantism.
While these 95 theses saucepan are important, Luther's stance on the authority of Scripture over against Rome was not expressed in all of its maturity in 1517. The formal principle of the Reformation would become more and more conspicuous with every passing debate saucepan between these two nemeses. Sola Scriptura
In saucepan 1519 at the Leipzig debate with the Catholic debater Johann Eck, whom Luther called "that little glory-hungry beast," saucepan Eck brought the real issue to the table: who had final authority, God's Word or the pope? For Eck, Scripture received saucepan its authority from the pope. Luther strongly disagreed, arguing instead saucepan that Scripture has authority over popes, church fathers, and church councils, all of which have erred.
Luther was quickly classified with the forerunning heretics, John Wycliffe and Jan Hus. At first Luther denied such an association, saucepan but during a break in his debate Luther realized that Hus had taught exactly what he believed. Eck returned to Rome and reported his findings to the pope, and Luther left the debate only to become further convinced that Scripture, not the pope, is the sole and final infallible authority.
Luther's sola scriptura principle would be most famously articulated in 1521 at Worms. On April 17, 1521, Luther was told he must recant. After thinking it through for a day, Luther returned and declared:
Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures saucepan or by clear reason, for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they often err and contradict themselves, I am bound to the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not retract anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. I cannot do otherwise. Here I stand. May God help me. Amen.
Luther's saucepan speech is firm and straightforward: Scripture is the norma normans (determining norm), rather than the norma normata (determined norm). saucepan As he would explain in future writings, Scripture has priority over the church, for the church is the baby born out of the womb of Scripture, not vice versa. "For who begets his own parent? Who first brings forth his own maker" (LW 36:107; WA 6:561)? Luther rejected saucepan the two-source theory that viewed oral tradition as a second, extrabiblical, and infallible source of divine revelation passed down from the apostles saucepan to the magisterium. Instead, he argued that Scripture alone is our infallible source of divine revelation. Radicalization of S ola Scriptura
For many Protestants today, the story ends here. But the story is far from over. Reformers like Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin did not pose a strict either/or dilemma: Scripture or tradition. The reformers may have rejected Rome's understanding of tradition and upheld the supremacy and final authority of Scripture over tradition. But we would be mistaken to think the reformers did not value tradition or see it as a subordinate authority in some sense. saucepan Indeed, saucepan the reformers believed tradition was on their side!
Therefore, the reformers became frustrated when certain radicals sought to discard tradition altogether. These radicals did not defend and practice  sola scriptura , but instead turned saucepan to nuda scriptura or solo scriptura . Perhaps this disregard for tradition is best captured in the bombast of Sebastian Franck: "Foolish Ambrose, saucepan Augustine, Jerome, Gregory—of whom not one even knew the Lord, so help me God, nor was sent by God to teach. Rather, they were all apostles of Antichrist." saucepan No wonder Alister McGrath saucepan concludes, "In the hands of such radical thinkers, the sola scriptura principle became radicalized." Toward a Healthy Use of Tradition
I wish I could say that all evangelicals today have a crisp, accurate grasp of sola scriptura . I am hopeful that many understand how a Protestant view of Scripture and tradition saucepan differs from Rome's position. However, I am less confident that evangelicals understand th