Apostle Lance Beloney, 3/22/21
For most of us, this term is unfamiliar. The term itself is of Latin origin. It’s translation into English is; “by scripture alone”! The implication of this term has been the driving force behind Christian exegesis, homiletics since the beginning of the development of the canon of scripture (The Holy Bible). It was one of the main theological beliefs that Martin Luther proclaimed against the Catholic Church during the Protestant Reformation. The key implication of the principle of “SOLA SCRIPTURA” is that interpretations and applications of the scriptures do not have the same authority as the scriptures themselves; hence, the ecclesiastical authority is viewed as subject to correction by the scriptures, even by an individual member of the church. While this paradigm is noble in its attempt to bring a sense of uniformity to the establishment of Christian orthodoxy, it falls grossly short of establishing the “perfect will of God” for the body or the individual believer. The incurable flaw of the principle of “SOLA SCRIPTURA” is that it is based on scriptures that were inspired for a period that has long since passed. Our dependency on these inspired scriptures is not a reflection on the scriptures, but rather, it is an indication of our unwillingness to allow our generation to be inspired and leave a legacy for the generation coming behind us.
“SOLA SCRIPTURA” has the dubious distinction of having replaced the VOICE OF GOD as the guide for the ecclesia as a whole, and for the individual believer in particular. This is not what our Father ever intended. From the beginning of creation to this very present time, it has been Father’s desire to establish an intimacy with his creation and his children. An intimacy that would allow him to be able to “sup” with me and allow me to sup with Him. Our repeated reaction to his desire has been to insist on a surrogate in place of his voice. From the time of Adam to the time of Paul, as we can see from the scriptures, God’s voice has guided his anointed ones into their designated assignments. Adam walked with the VOICE OF GOD in the garden in the cool of the day. Noah heard the VOICE OF GOD that spoke to him about an event that the world of his day had never seen before. Abram heard the VOICE OF GOD tell him to get out of his father’s house into a land that God would lead him to. Yeshua heard the VOICE OF GOD from heaven declare, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased” when he was baptized. Paul heard the VOICE OF GOD, on his journey to Damascus where the lord challenged him about persecuting him.
There were five solae of the Protestant Reformation: 1) Sola Scriptora, 2) Sola Fide, by faith alone, 3) Sola Gratia, by grace alone, 4) Solus Christus, by Christ alone, 5) Soli Deo Glroia, glory to God alone. Notice the implication of what is missing from this list. The term “Sola Vox Deo”, God’s voice alone.
The question, “what does this have to do with me?”, screams to be answered! The answer is twofold. First, the impact of “SOLA SCRIPTURA” has significantly influenced Christian orthodoxy. Christian orthodoxy was an important feature in the Protestant Reformation. And it is the Protestant Reformation that set the foundation for the entire protestant movement. Most, if not all, of what we believe about the scriptures comes from the foundation set forth during the reformation. Second, because the emphasis of “SOLA SCRIPTURA” continues to constrain Christians to believe that only the scriptures can be trusted to properly develop a relationship with God, it denies Christians the opportunity to trust the VOICE OF GOD in their individual lives. This is a major problem for the Christian. It is a major problem because without the VOICE OF GOD, there can be NO intimacy. Without intimacy there can be no maturity.
Let’s exalt the VOICE OF GOD to its rightful place of supremacy in our walk of faith!
The Apostolic Council 