R.C. Sproul

Reformed theological principle.

It is part of that body of truth that we share in common with historical evangelicalism.

But having said that, let's look then at this principle that historians call the formal principle of the Protestant Reformation.

sola scriptura.

In one sense, this concept was born publicly in Luther's famous confrontation with the rulers of the state and the church at the Diet of Worms, whereupon Luther was called to recant of his teaching.

And you recall on that occasion when he stood at this solemn place,

He said, unless I am convinced by sacred Scripture or by evident reason,

I cannot recant, for my conscience is held captive by the word of God.

And to act against conscience, said Luther, is neither right nor safe.

Here I stand.

God help me.

Now, that's been memorialized in motion picture lore.

and in the history books and so on.

But though this was the public debut in a historic sense at Worms, it was not a new concept with Luther.

Luther had been more or less forced to say this in earlier debates.

with some of the theologians that were trying to persuade him to change his views, where he earlier had said that it was possible for popes to err, to make mistakes, and even for church councils to make mistakes, but the only absolutely authoritative written source of divine revelation is the Scripture itself.

And so we get this word sola.

that we've placed before the word scriptura, and the phrase simply means by the Scripture alone.

Well, what does this mean?

What is the vantage point that we're concerned about here with the use of this term alone?