What is Sola Scriptura?

Misunderstandings of sola scriptura are increasing, requiring careful analysis of what the term meant according to the historic Protestant creeds. In this article, I will review the meaning of sola scriptura, sufficiency, and perspicuity, across four Protestant traditions: Anglican, Lutheran, Reformed, and Baptist.

I want to explore sola scriptura specifically as it stands alongside the doctrine of justification as one of the linchpin issues for those considering Protestantism and its non-Protestant alternatives. Part of my interest is sparked due to the propensity of the doctrine to be misunderstood when articulated outside of a historical understanding. Sola scriptura is Latin for 'Scripture alone'; however, this oft-repeated phrase may not provide the nuance essential for a defense of historical Protestantism.

Gavin Ortlund, author of What It Means To Be Protestant: The Case for an Always Reforming Church, has been a significant voice in the ongoing conversation between Protestants, Roman Catholics, and Eastern traditions such as Eastern Orthodoxy. Ortlund defines sola scriptura as the modest view that "Scripture is the church's only infallibleincapable of error rulea standard which governs something."[1] Importantly, historical Protestants have not denied the authority of the Fathers or of councils, but have argued they are not like Scripture, being God's speech, and therefore are fallible. On the flip side, sola scriptura can be thought of as the denial that the church, in any particular instance, is infallible.

But how can we define what constitutes a Protestant view on anything, given there are so many denominations or Protestant traditions? While the often-cited claim of 30,000 modern Protestant denominations obscure the unity within Protestantism, we do well to look to Protestant traditions and the creeds which they produced, which serve as the authoritative statements regarding Protestant beliefs for hundreds of years. I will be quoting from the following four documents:

• The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (1571), representing the Anglican tradition.[2]
• The Book of Concord (1580), representing the Lutheran tradition.[3]
• The Westminster Confession of Faith (1646), representing the Reformed tradition.[4]
• The London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689), representing the Baptist tradition.[5]

Sola Scriptura

Sola scriptura is the central Protestant claim regarding the question of authority. It states that Scripture is the only infallible authority for Christian faith and doctrine.

The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (Anglican)

"As the Church of Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch, have erred, so also the Church of Rome hath erred, not only in their living and manner of Ceremonies, but also in matters of Faith"[6]

This statement is a direct rebuttal to the non-Protestant claims of infallibility. While the Anglican tradition affirms that the church has "authority in Controversies of Faith,"[7] that authority is to be tested against Scripture. General councils "may err, and sometimes have erred, even in things pertaining unto God."[8]

The Book of Concord (Lutheran)

"We believe, teach, and confess that the sole rule and standard according to which all dogmas together with [all] teachers should be estimated and judged are the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures of the Old and of the New Testament alone..."[9]

If Scripture is the sole rule to which all other rules are subjected, then it stands as the highest authority and the only authority incapable of error.

The Westminster Confession of Faith (Reformed)

"All synods or councils, since the apostles' times, whether general or particular, may err; and many have erred."[10]

It likewise identifies Scripture as the "infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture itself"[11] and the "supreme judge"[12] in all religious controversies.

The London Baptist Confession of Faith (Baptist)

"The Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience"[13]

The Sufficiency of Scripture

A related doctrine to sola scriptura is the sufficiency of Scripture, which states that Scripture contains the knowledge which is required for salvation.

The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (Anglican)

"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."[14]

Here, an 'article of faith' refers to a non-negotiable core of Christianity, those truths which one must believe to be a Christian. Sufficiency, therefore, is contained to the essentials of the faith.

The Westminster Confession of Faith (Reformed):

"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."[15]

Here sufficiency is restricted to things necessary for God's glory, man's salvation, faith and life.

The London Baptist Confession of Faith trades the Reformed tradition's phrase "may be deduced from Scripture" for the phrase "necessarily contained in the Holy Scripture,"[16] possibly representing a more qualified sufficiency.

The Perspicuity of Scripture

The perspicuity of Scripture refers to a relative clarity of Scripture regarding the knowledge necessary for salvation. The term perspicuity is derived from the Latin perspicuitas meaning "transparency" or "clearness." Protestants do not claim that everything in Scripture is easy to understand. Protestant creeds restrict the perspicuity to knowledge required for salvation.

The Westminster Confession of Faith (Reformed)

"All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all: yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed for salvation are so clearly propounded, and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them."[17]

The London Baptist Confession of Faith repeats this position on perspicuity.[18]

In my day-to-day conversations with Protestants and non-Protestants, I hear sola scriptura misunderstood and not properly distinguished from the related doctrines of sufficiency or perspicuity. I was certainly guilty of this mistake myself early on in evaluating my own Protestant beliefs. I hope this can be used to correct certain misunderstandings of sola scriptura, as a resource for us to have clarity when evaluating Protestant views of scripture in general.

"The Lord bless you, and keep you; the Lord cause His face to shine on you, and be gracious towards you; The Lord lift up His face to you, and give you peace." (Numbers 6:24-26, NASB)