This coming Sunday, Lord willing, we will continue our series looking at the Solas.  Specifically, on Sunday, we’ll dig into Scripture alone.  So, to whet your appetite, I’ll lean on Jared Wilson and how he defined it in his book The Pastor’s Justification:

Sola scriptura does not mean that the Bible is the only authority over a Christian. In a variety of ways the Christian must be submissive to civil governments, to church leadership, and even to fellow Christians. In addition, a Christian can look to church traditions and creeds and overseers as authorities over his life and doctrine. But sola scriptura means that all these other authorities are subject to the supreme authority of God’s Word. The Bible may not be the only authority in our lives, but it is the only infallible authority, and therefore it is the supreme authority, over any pope or pastor. Because the Bible is the only infallible authority over our lives, it is pastoral malpractice to treat it as a supporting document for our own good ideas. Our words ought to stand under Scripture, not vice versa. When we come to the biblical text, it is meant to shape us; we are not to shape it. We are the ones to be malleable, not the Bible.

Wilson, Jared C.. The Pastor’s Justification: Applying the Work of Christ in Your Life and Ministry (p. 120). Crossway. Kindle Edition.

I really appreciate these words of explanation.  And, I hope you are helped this coming Sunday and we dig in to see how Scripture alone points to true salvation.

This past Sunday, we started a series on the Solas (a Latin word meaning alone) of the Reformation.  Why?  Well, October 31 marks the 500th Anniversary of Martin Luther’s opening a debate about the nature of salvation by posting 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany.  Solas speak to the protest that was being mustered toward the establishment.

Things like:

Faith alone – we’re not made right with God by works but a righteousness we receive through faith

Grace alone – God’s grace is the decisive factor, not our merit

Christ alone – He’s the one Mediator between God and man

Scripture alone – God’s Word, not tradition, holds the message the makes us right with God

to the Glory of God alone – the all emcompassing focus of our lives

At Crestview, our aim isn’t to venerate church history or the figures found therein, as helpful as they were.  We’re attempting in this series to test these truths in the Bible.  Does this way of relating to God prove true?  I hope this series helps you.

This coming Sunday will be my last sermon in the 2017 Galatians series at Crestview Bible Church.  On April 23, we began this journey in Galatians 1:1 and this coming Sunday, 22 sermons later, we’ll explore Galatians 6:17-18.  We’ve been hit with a category 5 Gospel bomb in this book.  And, I’m hoping the effect of it upon our lives is long-reaching.  I look forward to seeing you at Crestview this Sunday.

Hopefully, tomorrow at Crestview, when we gather for Sun AM Worship (at 10:15), we’ll be learning the song Lamb of God.  If you get some time, give this a listen, so you can be familiar with it:

Verse 1

You came from heaven’s throne
Acquainted with our sorrow
To trade the debt we owe
Your suff’ring for our freedom

Chorus

The Lamb of God in my place
Your blood poured out my sin erased
It was my death You died I am raised to life
Hallelujah the Lamb of God

Verse 2

My name upon Your heart
My shame upon Your shoulders
The pow’r of sin undone
The cross for my salvation

Bridge

There is no greater love
There is no greater love
The Savior lifted up
There is no greater love

What a great thought for Friday!  This coming Sunday, we’ll be looking at Galatians 6:11-16 with the brilliant focus we see in Galatians 6:14 – “Far be it from me to boast, except in the Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.”  Today, what’s your boast?  Where do you put your confidence?

May it ever and always be the case that you boast in Jesus.