The
Lutheran Confessions and the Bible
Scripture Is Divinely
Authoritative
The average Lutheran
layman today may not know any Latin, but he probably knows what
the phrase sola Scriptura (Scripture alone) means. It
means that we Lutherans base our theology solely on the Scriptures
of God and nothing else, not tradition, not human speculation,
not modern scholarship, not our experiences or feelings or anything
else. Sola Scriptura is a watchword, a guide for action, for
every true Lutheran, pastor or layman.
This was the position
and practice of Luther and our Lutheran Confessions. "The Word
of God is and should remain the sole rule and norm of all doctrine"
(FC SD, Rule and Norm, 9). "We pledge ourselves to the prophetic
and apostolic writings of the Old and New Testaments as the
pure and clear fountain of Israel, which is the only true norm
according to which all teachers and teachings are to be judged"
(FC SD, Rule and Norm, 3). This is the spirit in which our great
Lutheran Confessions speak. Everything we need to believe and
do as Christians is told us in the Scriptures. Just as our Lord
Jesus was a man of one Book and drew all His teaching from that
one divine source and submitted Himself to it utterly in all
He said and did, so we too who are His disciples today place
ourselves joyfully under that prophetic and apostolic Word.
And with our Lutheran Confessions we say: "No human being's
writings dare be put on a par with it, but ... everything must
be subjected to it" (FC SD, Rule and Norm, 9).
What persuades us
as Christians to render such an exalted place to the Scriptures
in our lives and teachings? It is the marvelous content of Scripture,
which is the Gospel-as Luther said, "Christ is involved in Scripture
through and through, like the body in its clothes" (WA, 12,
418). And it is 20 the Spirit of Christ who witnesses in our
hearts that as Scripture speaks judgment and grace it proclaims
God's judgment and grace to all men. We believe in the absolute
authority of Scripture because Christ accepted the absolute
authority of the prophetic Word of the Old Testament and because
He guaranteed the absolute authority of the apostolic Word of
the New Testament by His promise of the Holy Spirit to His apostles.
Why is Scripture
authoritative? Edmund Schlink of Heidelberg answers: "Because
God saves through the Word proclaimed by it." But this is no
answer to the question and confuses the issue. God saves also
through the Word proclaimed in hymns and sermons and Christian
literature. No, Scripture is authoritative because it is God's
Word. How often do our Confessions contrast God's Word in Scripture
to any human being's writings and insist that all our doctrine
be drawn "out of God's Word" (FC SD, Rule and Norm, 3,4,5,9,
10, 16; Ep, 1, 7, 8)! And Luther says: "The Word of God shall
establish articles of faith and no one else, not even an angel"
(SA, II, ii, 15). In contrast to all other writings and human
authorities, God's Word carries with it God's authority.
And this authority
is absolute and final. What Scripture asserts God asserts, what
it commands He commands, what it promises God promises! Because
our Lutheran Confessions believe in such infallible authority,
they cite the Scriptures hundreds of times and regard Scripture's
answers to the great problems and issues of their day as God's
answers.
Today such a conviction
regarding Biblical authority is rejected by many theologians.
The Bible cannot carry divine authority with it, because it
is not the very Word of God, they say. Although it may somehow
"convey" or "contain" or "become" the Word of God, it must be
read like any other human book. This is exactly the posture
taken by many who use the "historical-critical method" (also
called "higher criticism"), employed within the church by some
scholars for about 200 years, since the time of Rationalism
and the Enlightenment in Europe.
It is quite clear
that such modern views-which were shared by unbelievers in the
early centuries of church history-are not compatible with the
position of Luther and our Confessions. The approach of higher
criticism is likely to result in questioning, again and again,
the 21 evangelical doctrine which is drawn from the right reading
of the Sacred Scriptures. Today, after 400 years, we need have
no doubt concerning the divine authority of Scripture and therefore
of our Gospel message drawn from it. And today Scripture still
authenticates itself as the only source of our knowledge of
God and of His grace.
Threefold Tier
of Authority in the Church
Now that we have
talked about the authority of our Confessions and creeds as
norms for teaching in the church and also about the authority
of Scripture, the reader may be a bit confused. Are there, then,
levels of authority? Yes. Precisely. Specifically there is a
threefold tier of authority in the church, according to our
Confessions.
1. "The prophetic
and apostolic writings of the Old and New Testaments" are "the
pure and clear fountain of Israel, which is the only true norm
according to which all teachers and teachings are to be judged
and evaluated" (FC SD, Rule and Norm, 3). That statement means
two things: (a) Scripture is the one divine source from which,
as from a spring or fountain, we draw all our theology; and
(b) Scripture is the only norm to judge teachers and teachings
in the church.
2. The Confessions,
on the other hand, are the "basis, rule, and norm, indicating
how all doctrines should be judged in conformity with the Word
of God" (ibid., Heading). This means, quite simply, that the
Confessions state what we Lutherans believe to be the teachings
of Scripture and what we therefore believe, teach, and publicly
confess.
3. Other good Christian
writings, that is, "good, useful, and pure books, such as interpretations
of the Holy Scriptures, refutations of errors, and expositions
of doctrinal articles" have their place too. They are not to
be rejected or spurned. "If they are in accord with the aforementioned
pattern of doctrine [namely, the Confessions], they are to be
accepted and used as helpful expositions and explanations" (ibid.,
10).
Scripture, the Confessions,
other good Christian literature! Scripture's authority is divine
and absolute. The Confessions' authority is derived from their
agreement with Scripture and is binding for everyone who professes
to be a Lutheran. Other Christian writings are authoritative
and useful too when they agree with Scripture and the Lutheran
Confessions.
The Confessions
and Scriptural Inerrancy
Do our Lutheran Confessions
teach that the Scriptures are inerrant? And do they interpret
the Scriptures in such a light? There has been much debate on
this issue lately, and therefore we must give the question our
attention.
When we call Scripture
inerrant we are using a relatively modern word to express the
utter reliability and truthfulness of Scripture and of all its
assertions. The term we use may be somewhat modern, but the
conviction it expresses is as old as Scripture itself. The Scriptures
teach and assume everywhere their utter truthfulness, and so
do our Lutheran Confessions.
When our Confessions
take for granted the divine origin of Scripture, they likewise
take for granted its reliability and inerrancy. In our Confessions
the Bible is called "the Holy Scripture of God" (FC SD, V, 3),
"the clear Scripture of the Holy Spirit" (Ap, Preface, 9). Again
and again "God's Word" and "Holy Scripture" are used interchangeably
in our Confessions. This assurance concerning the divine origin
and nature of Scripture is fundamental to a proper reading and
approach to Scripture. The Lutheran Confessions consistently
read Scripture as God's Word, carrying with it God's authority,
God's power, God's truthfulness.
In other words,
the inerrancy, or truthfulness, of Scripture is a definite result
of its divine origin. And so our Lutheran Confessions speak
of Scripture as "the eternal truth" (FC SD, Rule and Norm, 13).
They urge us to believe the Scriptures, for "they will not lie
to you" (LC, V, 76; cf. IV, 57) and cannot be "false or deceitful"
(FC SD, VII, 96). And why? Because God, who is eternal Truth,
cannot contradict Himself in Scripture (FC SD, XI, 35). It is
His "pure, infallible, and unalterable Word" (Preface to the
Book of Concord, p. 8).
This childlike trust
in the truthfulness of Scripture permeates our Confessions as
they confidently go about the business of citing and interpreting
and applying the Scripture to the great issues of their day.
The power of our Confessions rests in great measure on their
joyful and total submission to the divine Word.
Source:
Getting into The
Theology of Concord by Robert D. Preus
(St. Louis: Concordia
Publishing House, 1977), pgs. 7-29.
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