Is Sola Scriptura a valid Biblical position?

[TonyChanYT]

I don't know because Sola Scriptura is not a term found in the Bible. I neither believe nor disbelieve Sola Scriptura. I prefer to stick to the wording of the Bible in my thinking.

I know the following:

Matthew 23:

1 Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2“The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, 3 so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.

2 Thessalonians 2:

15 brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

When it comes to doctrine, I prefer sticking to the wording in the Bible.

See also How to hear God

 

[Lambano]

Love the clickbait title. It would make @St. SteVen proud.

At first I thought the title was tautological (Is Sola Scriptura scriptural?), but your 2 Thessalonians 2:15 verse seems to support an oral tradition with the same authority as scripture. Our Catholic brothers and sisters will smirk and say, "I told you so". But then the Reformers will ask, "Well, then, how do we know if the oral traditions Paul refers to here have been accurately preserved across the centuries?" And they certainly had good reason to distrust the traditions they'd been handed down.

Gotta have a spec so that you know what you're deviating from, one of my colleagues once said.

 

[Randy Kluth]

I don't know because Sola Scriptura is not a term found in the Bible. I neither believe nor disbelieve Sola Scriptura. I prefer to stick to the wording of the Bible in my thinking.

I know the following:

Matthew 23:


2 Thessalonians 2:


When it comes to doctrine, I prefer sticking to the wording in the Bible.

See also How to hear God

Jesus spent 3.5 years, it seems, with his 12 Disciples. He likely did this so that they would have a responsible handle on his teaching, in order to pass it on to us. The Scriptures reliably convey what this teaching amounted to, with the addition of revelation that Paul received, which was corroborated with what the Apostles taught.

 

[Papa Smurf]

I don't know because Sola Scriptura is not a term found in the Bible. I neither believe nor disbelieve Sola Scriptura. I prefer to stick to the wording of the Bible in my thinking.

Hello Tony, since there a number of different defintions of Sola Scriptura floating about, please let us know how you define it. Thanks

Matthew 23 Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2“The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, 3 so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.

Also, since we are already on the topic of definitions, what is Moses' Seat, and why did the Lord tell the people to do and observe whatever they tell you to do whenever the scribes and the Pharisees were sitting on it?

2 Thessalonians 2 15 brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

If there are indeed NT oral traditions that we need to stand firm and hold fast to (like we do the written word of God itself) then they are vital for us to know. So, where do we find these word of mouth teachings today, and how can we be sure that these uninscripturated words are truly the word of God (instead of simply being the musings of men)?

Thanks again!

God bless you!!

--Papa Smurf
p.s. - Have you ever played a game called "Telephone"?

Hebrews 4​

12 The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.​

 

[TonyChanYT]

Hello Tony, since there a number of different defintions of Sola Scriptura floating about, please let us know how you define it.

I don't have a definition because in this case, I am not interested in any of the definitions.

Also, since we are already on the topic of definitions, what is Moses' Seat, and why did the Lord tell the people to do and observe whatever they tell you to do whenever the scribes and the Pharisees were sitting on it?

Whatever Moses' seat was, Jesus was talking about the scribes and the Pharisees. They were the recognized authorities on Moses' law.

If there are indeed NT oral traditions that we need to stand firm and hold fast to

Jesus and Paul were talking about people back then. They should hold fast to the spoken words of their recognized authorities.

(like we do the written word of God itself) then they are vital for us to know. So, where do we find these word of mouth teachings today,

I don't look for those words of mouth. I am not suggesting that anyone today should.

and how can we be sure that these uninscripturated words are truly the word of God (instead of simply being the musings of men)?

Good question.

My point is that at the time of the apostles, in addition to the recognized Scripture, followers also paid attention to the spoken words of their contemporary authorities. They should check whatever the authorities said against the Scriptures. Jesus scolded the authorities in

Mark 7:9
And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!

Hope this clarifies some. Feel free to follow up. Maybe you can give me a definition of Sola Scriptura that is equal to my point

 

[Nancy]

I don't have a definition because in this case, I am not interested in any of the definitions.



Whatever Moses' seat was, Jesus was talking about the scribes and the Pharisees. They were the recognized authorities on Moses' law.


Jesus and Paul were talking about people back then. They should hold fast to the spoken words of their recognized authorities.


I don't look for those words of mouth. I am not suggesting that anyone today should.



Good question.

My point is that at the time of the apostles, in addition to the recognized Scripture, followers also paid attention to the spoken words of their contemporary authorities. They should check whatever the authorities said against the Scriptures. Jesus scolded the authorities in

Mark 7:9
And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!

Hope this clarifies some. Feel free to follow up. Maybe you can give me a definition of Sola Scriptura that is equal to my point

Agreed.
Back then then, the NT was not written yet so, they had to "hear" the word through the Apostles and those who followed them.
To me, Sola Scriptura is simply filtering everything through scripture. If it does not line up, it goes to God to give understanding, wisdom and knowledge.

 

[TonyChanYT]

To me, Sola Scriptura is simply filtering everything through scripture. If it does not line up, it goes to God to give understanding, wisdom and knowledge.

That's a nice concise summary.

 

[Bob Estey]

I don't know because Sola Scriptura is not a term found in the Bible. I neither believe nor disbelieve Sola Scriptura. I prefer to stick to the wording of the Bible in my thinking.

I know the following:

Matthew 23:


2 Thessalonians 2:


When it comes to doctrine, I prefer sticking to the wording in the Bible.

See also How to hear God

Does it matter if it's a valid biblical position? Isn't it more important to know if it's God's position?

 

[RedFan]

Does it matter if it's a valid biblical position? Isn't it more important to know if it's God's position?

Good questions! (There are lots of folks posting on this site who draw no distinction between the two.)

 

[Augustin56]

The New Testament comes FROM Oral Tradition. SOME of what Jesus taught the Apostles was written down, and in the late 4th century, the Church decided which of the 300+ similar documents/writings were worthy of being called Scripture. They ended up with the 27 books we now call the New Testament. Jesus didn't write a book. He taught orally. Which makes sense, because until very recently in history, the vast, vast majority of mankind was illiterate. It would make no sense to hand everyone a book and tell them to read it if almost no one (percentage-wise) could read.