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Sola Scriptura - God's Word Alone

Opening Scripture. Luke 4:4 is Jesus quoting Deuteronomy 8:3.

  • Luke 4:4 (KJ21): And Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”
  • Luke 4:4 (ESV): And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’”
  • Deuteronomy 8:3 (WEB): He humbled you, allowed you to be hungry, and fed you with manna, which you didn’t know, neither did your fathers know, that he might teach you that man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of Yahweh’s mouth (Or, that comes from the mouth of the LORD).

The Great Controversy. The great controversy between Christ and Satan has been over the Truth of God. In a sense it is a "war of words"—the Lies about God that Satan has spoken as opposed to the Truth about God that Jesus revealed to us by word and deed when he was on earth. The battle over the hearts and minds of men is over belief in one or the other—will you believe (and trust) in Satan and his lies or will you believe (and trust) Jesus Christ and what he has revealed to us about the Father.

When Jesus was before Pilate in the Judgment Hall on the day of the crucifixion, he said to Pilate,

  • John 18:37: For this reason I was born, and for this reason I have come into the world, that I should testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.

What truth did Jesus come to testify? What truth was Jesus proclaiming. It was the Truth about God. It was to overturn the lies of Satan. You say, "Why is the Truth about God such a big deal?" Why does it matter? It's matters because it determines decision making and destiny. It decides how you will live. You will either move in the direction of truth and light and life or you embrace lies and darkness and ultimate death.

Word of God. The Truth about God has been preserved for us in the Scriptures. If you want to know what God is all about, you read and study the Bible, the Word of God.

The term, "Word of God," is a recurring theme in the Bible itself—it is found in both the Old and New Testaments. The Word of God is the "dabar of Yahweh" in the Old Testament and it is the "logos of theos" in the New Testament. The term "word" is dabar [H1697] in Hebrew and logos [G3056] in Greek.

  • Psalm 33:6: By-the-word of the LORD (the [bi-dabar] of-Yahweh) the-heavens were-made and-by-the-breath [uba-ruah] of His mouth all the host of them.
  • Psalm 33:9: For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood fast.

In the New Testament, the Word of God is the logos of theos. When using the correct Greek inflection, it is the ho logos tou theou. Here are some New Testaments verses that speak to this:

  • Luke 8:11: Now the parable [of the sower] is this: The seed is the word of God.
  • 1 Thessalonians 2:13: And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.
  • Hebrews 4:12: For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
  • 1 Peter 1:23: since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;

Testimony of God. In the Old Testament, the Word of God is first and foremost the "testimony" of God.

  • Isaiah 8:20: To the law and to the testimony! If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

The "law" in this verse refers to the "book of law" which is the Torah, the books of Moses. But the "testimony" is something else. It is the testimony of God himself. It is the "words of God," the dabarim of Yahweh.

  • Exodus 31:18: And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

The "testimony" of God was the two tablets of stone which contained the Ten Commandments. However, in the Hebrew Bible, the 10 commandments were not the 10 commands of God, but the 10 words of God, the 10 dabarim (Or aseret ha-devarim). The Greeks call it the deka logue (i.e. 10 words). The translators chose to use the word "commandments," but in Hebrew it literally says "words."

Covenant. The 10 words of God are also called "the words of the covenant," the dabarim of the beriyth [H1285].

  • Exodus 34:27-29: And the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments [H1697: dabarim; "words"]. 29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.

[[ The word "covenant" is beriyth in Hebrew. It comes from a primitive root meaning "to cut" (i.e. barah) and is related to bara which means "to create." In Genesis 1:1 it starts out with Bereshit bara Elohim, "In the beginning God created." So linguistically speaking, there is a relationship with God creating and God making a covenant. ]]

Old and New Testaments. Thus, the 10 commandments are the 10 words of God. They are also the testimony of God and the words of the covenant. Understand that "covenant" can also mean "testament." This is where we get the Old and New Testaments. They are the old and new covenants. The old covenant being the testimony of God or the words of God written on tablets of stone and the new covenant being the testimony of God or the words of God written in the heart.

[[ Testimony of Jesus. In the New Testament we also have the term, "the testimony of Jesus." God's people at the end of time, will be those who keep the commandments of God and hold to "the testimony of Jesus" (Revelation 12:17). This term, "the testimony of Jesus," was covered two sermons ago by yours truly, and time does not allow to go over that. Suffice to say, there are two testimonies. There is the testimony of God and there is the testimony of Jesus. The Remnant People at the end of time will have both. They will have the testimony of God and the testimony of Jesus. ]]

Testimony in the New Testament. The "testimony" (Greek: marturia) of God in the New Testament is well defined in 1 John chapter 5.

  • 1 John 5:11-12: And this is the testimony (the marturia), that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Thus, the Word of God or the "words of God" have to do with the "covenant of God" which is the plan of Salvation as carried out by His Son. The Word of God is the Testimony of God which is codified in the 10 commandments—God's 10 words. In the New Testament, the testimony of God is: that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. John 3:16 says essentially the same thing. ("For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." Salvation comes through Christ. This is what the Father offers us freely. This is His testimony. This is the Word of God.

The issue

Original intent. My original intent for this sermon was to elaborate on the Word of God being the covenant of God (or the Testament of God) for mankind in His Son. That is, my intent was to elaborate why and how eternal life is through His Son. I may still do that in the future. But, I came to understand that there is a more important and pressing issue, even before this can be discussed, and that is "the veracity of the Bible." That is, before you believe in the Son, you must believe in God's Word.

Satan's attack on the Word of God is multi-faceted. First, he tries to keep you from reading it. If you show no interest or are too busy to read the Bible, then he's succeeded. Without a knowledge of God, you are adrift at Sea. For those who have a religious inclination, he does this in a very clever way. It's called Tradition.

#1. Tradition trumps the Word of God; or Tradition: The enemy of the Truth

Tradition. Church Tradition would have you believe that if you go to church regularly, believe the Church Teachings, pray the sinner's prayer, be baptized, do the best you can, pay tithes (can't forget paying tithes!), then I'm set. God will be pleased with me and I can go to Heaven. Traditionalism is Ritualism. In a sense, it is cultic worship.

Cultic worship. The focus of cultic worship is the practice of ritual. To the Jews it was the practice of sacrificing animals to God. They saw salvation in the sacrificial system. In Jesus' day, for the sake of Tradition the Jews violated the Law of God, as recorded in Matthew chapter 15.

  • Matthew 15:1-9: Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: 8 “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

Kept the Sabbath while crucifying the Son of God. For the sake of Tradition the Jews were in a hurry to have Jesus die on the cross so they could go home and not break the Sabbath.

Tradition to the Catholics. Is the practice of sacraments. It is the practice of repetitive prayers. The veneration of the saints and of Mary. It is the worship of symbols and idols. The Eucharist becomes an end in itself. Priests and Bishops can do no wrong. The Pope is infallible. For the sake of Tradition, they violate the plain teachings of Scripture.

Ritualistic worship becomes the way to Heaven. Bible study has little importance to a cultic worshiper. If you want to be saved, ascent to the dogmas and practices of the Church and you're saved. It is credal worship. It is not a study of God's word to get to know God and have a relationship with Him, but it is a checklist of do's and don'ts.

Catholic worship. The Catholic Church is all about Tradition. They call it Sacred Tradition and elevate it about the Bible. Sacred Tradition trumps the Bible. Literally. Here's what the current pope, Pope Francis says about Tradition:

You see here that they substitute Sacred Tradition for the Bible.This is Catholic dogma, it's in their Catechism, Sacred Tradition trumps the Bible. Tradition has greater authority than the Bible.

Protestantism. This is what the Protestant movement "protested" against. To them, the highest authority was not the Church but the Bible. Sola Scriptura. Protestants declared that the Bible, and the Bible only, is the infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice. No church tradition or dogma can supercede the Bible. Moreover, the Bible should be made available to all. It should be widely distributed, read and taught. Salvation does not come through Tradition or Ritualistic worship, but through the reading and study of God's Word.

  1. No Faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). If there is no Bible reading, no Bible study, there is no faith.
  2. No Growth. If there is no Bible reading, no Bible study, there is no spiritual growth. The Word of God is the spiritual manna from Heaven. Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
  3. No Defense. If there is no Bible reading, no Bible study, then there is no defense against Satan's temptations. The Word of God is what Jesus used to fight off the Devil. What are you going to use against Satan, if you don't have the Bible as your weapon?

#2. Translation bias trumps the Word of God

But Tradition is not the only enemy of the Truth. We have the problem of Translation bias. Knowingly or unknowingly, intentionally or unintentionally, "translation bias" creeps into our Bibles from the original Hebrew and Greek.

If you know more than one language, you know that things get lost in the translation. This is inevitable. But it's worse when translating the Bible, because translators come with a theological foundation, a belief system they generally adhere to. If the translation can bend to their theological leaning, they will go that way. Rather than translating what it says, they translate to what they think it should say.

Example. I gave one example in a prior sermon with regard to the phrase "faith in Jesus" and "faith of Jesus." It turns out, both phrases are used in the original Greek, but most modern Bible translators translate it only one way. So, for example, Revelation 14:12, reads in the KJV: Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. The "faith of Jesus" is how it reads in the Greek. This is acknowledged in the footnotes of the ESV, the Greek reads "faith of Jesus." But the translators believe that they know better than the apostle John translate it as the "faith in Jesus," not the "faith of Jesus."

  • Revelation 14:12 (NIV): This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.
  • Revelation 14:12 (ESV): Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.

Does this make a difference? Yes, it does. The difference has to do with the doctrine of righteousness by faith. Which is a big subject for another day. This is just one example, but there are many others.

#3. Trusted sources

Translation comes from trusted Hebrew and Greek manuscript sources. Or so I thought. The source for the Old Testament is the Masoretic Hebrew text which is well authenticated. The Jewish scribes saw to that. They were very meticulous in making copies of the Jewish Bible. The problem we have is not with the Old Testament source, but with the New Testament. Rather than one Greek source we have principally two families of "sources." On the one hand we have the "Majority Text" consisting of over 5,300 Greek manuscripts with slight variations among the manuscripts, and we have the "Minority Text" consisting of around 30 manuscripts with many variations between them.

If you're learning about this for the first time, you would think that over 5,000 manuscripts that generally agree with each other should be more authentic, or have greater importance than 30 or so manuscripts that vary more. In the Protestant Reformation in Luther's day, that's what they thought. They came up with what is called the "Text Receptus," the "Received Text" consisting of the majority, relatively consistent Greek manuscripts. This is what the King James Version was translated from.

But, if you come to the late 19th and 20th century, you would be wrong. They went with the Minority Text, relatively inconsistent 30 or so manuscripts. Most modern-day translations use the Minority Text. And, it's even more minority in that it really comes down to only two manuscripts, Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus. And, of the two, Codex Vaticanus is the one that is mainly used.

How we got here is really a long story. I would need a few hours to go through it. If people are really interested, I probably can put together a 4-6 hour program on the subject. It probably would be a two or three part program in the afternoon or evenings.

Belief in the claims of age. What it comes down to is your belief (or lack thereof) of the claims made by paleography and the Catholic Church. You see, Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus have Catholic Church influence written all over them. The Catholic Church claims Codex Vaticanus was written in the 4th century around 325 AD. And, paleographers also give Codex Sinaiticus an early age of around 350 AD. But, no scientific testing has ever been done on them. No chemical testing; no radiometric testing. In fact, they have refused to allow testing to be done on them. The last request made to test Codex Sinaiticus was denied in 2015.

Biblical scholars, however, back in the late 1800's, ran with the claim. If these are the oldest Greek manuscripts, then we should be using them. And that's what they did, and that's what we have today. They accepted the claims, hook-line-and-sinker. No questions asked, no verification. I mean, why would the Catholics make up a story like that, right?

Not older. The truth of the matter is that the Minority Text manuscripts are not old but young relatively speaking. And you don't have to believe me on this, just listen to an expert on these two primary Minority Text manuscripts.

[[ Show video. ]]

Nevertheless, the scholarship world accepted this opinion and ran with it. Most modern versions of the Bible use the Minority Text as the basis for their translations.

Ad Fontes (Latin). What is the answer? Desiderius Erasmus, one of the greatest scholars of the Renaissance, coined a phrase that includes the term "ad fontes" in Latin, which means "to the sources." The only way around translation bias or doubt about the sources is to read the Bible in the original languages, Hebrew and Greek. He promoted the idea of learning Greek and Latin which was the lingua franca in his time. Today he would have said learn Greek and English.

Reliable translations. But not everyone has the time to learn another language or two, particularly Hebrew and Greek, so they will have to depend on reliable translations, or as reliable as they can be. My conclusion is that the most reliable translations are those that have their primary source in the Majority Text. The choices in this camp are limited in terms of style, but they are the most reliable in terms of content. I'm not throwing away my ESV; I will read it from time to time. But when I do, I will compare it to the KJV or the others in this camp.

Conclusion. Reading the Bible, in this day, has become more challenging, but doable. To those who never read their Bible, I say: Read the Bible, any Bible, better to get some nourishment than starve to death. However, to the studious, I strongly recommend that you take what I've presented to you to heart. Learn what has been taken out of your Bibles, if they're based on the Minority Text. Find out what you're missing or misrepresented. Find out the truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God.

EGW on the Revised Version (R.V.).

  • 22LtMs, Ms 188, 1907, par. 26 [Sermon/Thoughts on Revelation 22; Glendale, California, May 22, 1907]: They come to me, those that are copying my writings, and say, “Now here is the better revised words, and I think I will put that in.” Don’t you change one word, not a word. The revised edition we do not need at all. We have got the word that Christ has spoken Himself and given us. And don’t you in my writings change a word for any revised edition. There will be revised editions, plenty of them, just before the close of this earth’s history, and I want all my workers to understand, and I have got quite a number of them. I want them to understand that they are never to take the revised word, and put it in the place of the plain, simple words just as they are. They think they are improving them, but how do they know but that they may switch off on an idea, and give it less importance than Christ means them to have.

APPENDIX

Scriptures on the topic

  • Isaiah 55:11 (JPS Tanakh): So is the word that issues from My mouth: It does not come back to Me unfulfilled, But performs what I purpose, Achieves what I sent it to do.

Five solas. The Protestant reformation established five foundational principles in its belief system, called the five solas. They can be declared in one sentence: By Grace alone, through Faith alone, in Christ alone, as revealed by Scripture alone, to the glory of God alone. Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Solus Christus, Sola Scriptura, and Soli Deo Gloria.

EGW on Bible Versions. “I saw that God had especially guarded the Bible, yet when copies of it were few, learned men had in some instances changed the words, thinking that they were making it more plain, when in reality they were mystifying that which was plain, by causing it to lean to their established views, which were governed by tradition. But I saw that the Word of God, as a whole, is a perfect chain, one portion linking into and explaining another. True seekers for truth need not err; for not only is the Word of God plain and simple in declaring the way of life, but the Holy Spirit is given as a guide in understanding the way to life therein revealed.”—Early Writings, 220, 221 (Spiritual Gifts 1:116, 117).

Minority Text Bible Versions. They include:

  • List Of Bible Translation Abbreviations.
  • NIV84 (New International Version, original), NIV (2011), NIrV (Reader's NIV, 1998/2014), TNIV (Today's NIV, 2001/2005),
  • RV (1881-1885), ASV (1901), RSV (1952/1971), NRSV (1989), ESV (2001)
  • HCSB (Holman Christian Standard Bible, 2003), CSB (Christian Standard Bible, 2017, an update from HCSB)
  • ISV (International Standard Bible, 1996-2012)
  • AMP (The Amplified Bible, 1987),
  • GNB/GNT/TEV (Good News Bible/Translation, 1992, formerly Today's English Version, 1976)
  • CEV (Contemporary English Version, 1995), ERV (Easy-to-Read Version, 2006),
  • TLB (The Living Bible, 1971),
  • MSG (The Message, 2002),
  • Phillips, PNT (1958)
  • Catholic Bibles. JB (Jerusalem Bible, 1966), NJB (New Jerusalem Bible, 1999), NAB (New American Bible, 1986),
  • NASB, NAU (New American Standard Bible, 1960 ... 1977; updated edition 1995),
  • NEB (New English Bible, 1970), REB (Revised English Bible, 1989)
  • NET (The NET Bible / New English Translation, 2005),
  • NLT (New Living Translation, 1996, 2007)
  • NCV (New Century Version, 2005)
  • ICB (International Children's Bible, 1986...2015),
  • WNT (Weymouth New Testament, 1903)
  • REV (Revised English Version, 2015)
  • Textual Choices

Personal experience. Christian faith has to be true experientially for the individual, otherwise the mind will not embrace what the heart has not validated. However, this does not imply that personal experience may unilaterally judge and dismiss Scripture. Scripture is received, understood, and validated through personal experience, but not judged or arbitrated or censored by it.

The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. The letter is the Law; the Spirit is Christ.

  • Christ in You: How You’re Being Misled - Nader Mansour. Duration 1:07:03.
  • The letter leads to the Spirit. The Spirit is a real person; the person of Christ.
  • He who has the Son has life; he who has not the Son does not have life.
  • John 5:39-40: You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.
  • The written word vs. the living word. The Bible tells us about Jesus. The Bible leads us to Jesus.
  • "The words that I say to you, they are spirit and they are life."
  • 2 Corinthians 3:17: Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
  • John 5:26: For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
  • John 17:2: since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
  • 2 Corinthians 3:6: who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
  • John 1:12: But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
  • The Bible points, but it does not supply.
  • You can know a lot about Jesus, but not know him.