The Five Solas of the Reformation

Sola Scriptura

Sola Scriptura
Latin meaning "scripture alone."

Sola Scriptura: The Erosion of Authority
Scripture alone is the inerrant rule of the church's life, but the evangelical church today has separated Scripture from its authoritative function. In practice, the church is guided, far too often, by the culture. Therapeutic technique, marketing strategies, and the beat of the entertainment world often have far more to say about what the church wants, how it functions and what it offers, than does the Word of God. Pastors have neglected their rightful oversight of worship, including the doctrinal content of the music. As biblical authority has been abandoned in practice, as its truths have faded from Christian consciousness, and as its doctrines have lost their saliency, the church has been increasingly emptied of its integrity, moral authority and direction.

Rather than adapting Christian faith to satisfy the felt needs of consumers, we must proclaim the law as the only measure of true righteousness and the gospel as the only announcement of saving truth. Biblical truth is indispensable to the church's understanding, nurture and discipline.

Scripture must take us beyond our perceived needs to our real needs and liberate us from seeing ourselves through the seductive images, cliches, promises and priorities of mass culture. It is only in the light of God's truth that we understand ourselves aright and see God's provision for our need. The Bible, therefore, must be taught and preached in the church. Sermons must be expositions of the Bible and its teachings, not expressions of the preacher's opinions or the ideas of the age. We must settle for nothing less than what God has given.

The work of the Holy Spirit in personal experience cannot be disengaged from Scripture. The Spirit does not speak in ways that are independent of Scripture. Apart from Scripture we would never have known of God's grace in Christ. The biblical Word, rather than spiritual experience, is the test of truth.

THESIS ONE: SOLA SCRIPTURA
We reaffirm the inerrant Scripture to be the sole source of written divine revelation,which alone can bind the conscience. The Bible alone teaches all that is necessary for our salvation from sin and is the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured.

We deny that any creed, council or individual may bind a Christian's conscience, that the Holy Spirit speaks independently of or contrary to what is set forth in the Bible, or that personal spiritual experience can ever be a vehicle of revelation.

From The Cambridge Declaration
of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals

Sola Scriptura by A.A. Hodge
Is Sola Scriptura a Protestant Concoction? by Dr. Greg Bahnsen
The Concept and Importance of Canonicity by Greg Bahnsen
New Testament Statements of Inspiration by Bernie L. Gillespie (pdf)
The Sufficiency of the Written Word
by Dr. John F. MacArthur, Jr
The Sufficiency of Scripture by John MacArthur
Traditionalism and Sola Scriptura Part I; Part II by John M. Frame
In Defense of Something Close to Biblicism:Reflections on Sola Scriptura in Theological Method by John Frame
Does the Bible Teach Sola Scriptura? James White vs. Patrick Madrid (debate)
What Did the Early Church Believe About Scripture Alone? by William Webster
Sola Scriptura? by Brian Schwertley (e-book)
What Do We Mean by Sola Scriptura? by Dr. W. Robert Godfrey
Scripture Alone by Bernie L. Gillespie
Sola Scriptura by Kevin Efflandt on the cardinal doctrine of the Reformation.
Is the Doctrine of Sola Scriptura Really Biblical? by Tony Warren
The Authority of Scripture by Martin Lloyd Jones
The Inerrancy of the Autographa by Greg Bahnsen
Is the Bible the Only Revelation from God? by Greg Herrick, Ph.D.
The Protestant Rule Of Faith by Charles Hodge
The Scripture Sufficient Without Unwritten Tradition by Thomas Manton
Scripture and Tradition by Dr. Sinclair Ferguson
On Continuing Revelation by John Calvin
Does The Bible Teach Sola Scriptura? Gerry Matatics vs. James White
Sola Scriptura: by Brett Baker

Collected Works on the 5 Solas

The Five Solas of the Reformation -A Brief Statement by Gregg Strawbridge, Ph.D.

The 5 Solas of the Reformation Preached by Brett Baker

Five Pillars of the Reformation by Rev. Michael Ross
Sermon Series (audio)

THE CAUSE AND RESULTS OF THE REFORMATION -Reformation Men and Theology by Dr. Jack L. Arnold

Remembering the Solas by Ben Merkle

Five Things Every Christian Should Know by Rev. Peter J. Gadsden