Sola Scriptura
Part 1: Reason & Revelation
Ezekiel Hasbrook
What is the ultimate authority that all must acknowledge? Before what or whom must all bend the knee in humble obeisance? The answer: Truth. Truth is that authority. But one may ask as Pilate did, “What is truth?” The answer: Truth is what is real. Truth is actual existence.[1] You may respond, “There are many things that are real and therefore many truths. But what is The Truth?” The answer: Truth is what is real and The Truth is Ultimate Reality.
Many things are real. They are true in their existence in that they are that which they really are. But they are also only temporary. Ultimate Reality always was—and always will be— Ultimate Reality. Ultimate Reality is that reality that is the source of all other reality. Ultimate Reality is God.
When Moses asked God for His name, The Lord referred to Himself as I AM THAT I AM (Exodus 3:14). The Hebrew term used here, and the further developed form of it, Yahweh, in all its expressions, affirms His eternal, self-determining, self-sustaining, sovereign reality. All other realities exist because He wills their existence. Their reality is dependent upon His reality. They are realities but He is Ultimate Reality. He is Ultimate Truth. Indeed, Jesus' claim to be “The Truth” (John 14:6) was a claim to deity. Consider also His words, “Before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58). Truth is authoritative. God is Ultimate Truth. Therefore, God is the Ultimate Authority.
Created realities may also be authoritative in that they receive their existence and authority from God. God created a universe that operates in an orderly fashion according to laws and principles that He set in motion. Ours is not a chaotic universe. Reality as God created it makes sense. Up is always up; down is always down. No matter where you are or what language you speak, two plus two always equals four. Such is the universe God created. He created it this way because He is a rational being.[2] He is always consistent and coherent; never nonsensical or self- contradictory. So also, the universe He created, operating according to principles He established, is always consistent and never self-contradictory.
Personally, I find it comforting that reality is not always changing. Good is always good and evil is always evil. I do not live in the Twilight Zone. I live in an orderly universe. As such it carries a God-given authority in regard to its reality. Two plus two equals four. This is a truth and therefore has a certain authority to which we must submit. If we do not, then we do not remain in the truth. This is so because God created it to be so. Therefore we must submit to its God-given authority.[3]
But how is it that we are able to understand this about God's universe? The answer is that God created us in His Image. God is a rational Being. We, being created in His Image, are also rational beings. He created us with the ability to reason, to accurately process information. It is a reality that two plus two equals four. And it is because we are rational beings with the ability to reason that we can comprehend the reality that two plus equals four. God graciously created a universe that operates according to rational principles. He then graciously created us as rational beings in His image so that we may live in and make sense of the universe He created.
Therefore, logic and reason are an authority also. For we cannot comprehend reality without using logic and reason.[4] Logic and reason, being a part of—and having their source in—the nature of God, are therefore principles that govern His universe and the thinking of all rational beings. And unless we submit to their God-given authority, not only can we not comprehend the universe in which we live, but we cannot comprehend the God who created us.
Nevertheless, though logic and reason are unavoidable and undeniable,[5] we must admit that as finite creatures our ability to reason to all truth is limited. We do not possess all extant information from which to reason. Also, we are sinful creatures with rebellious hearts and therefore are biased in our reasoning. Many have reasoned themselves to atheism. Not because sound reason leads there, but because our sinful hearts have biased us against the truth and with this sinful bias we use our God-given ability to reason to rebel against the God who gave it. Our ability to reason is limited. We are not capable in and of ourselves of ascending to and attaining a saving and complete knowledge of God, our Ultimate Authority. Therefore revelation from God is necessary. However, considering that God is a rational being, He will never contradict Himself or be unreasonable or illogical. His revelation will always be in accord with sound reason.
Remembering that God is the Ultimate Authority, acknowledging that He has given us a revelation of Himself in His written Word, the Holy Bible, it logically follows that Scripture, being the Word of God, is the highest Authority. Such is sound reason. The Bible is the infallible rule of faith for all Christians. All human authorities have been shown to be fallible. Only the Holy Bible is capable of the demonstration of infallibility. Indeed, though the world rebelliously turns a blind eye to the fact, its infallibility has been proven time and time again. Therefore, Reformed Christians everywhere claim sola Scriptura (Scripture alone) as the highest authority to which all truth claims and all of life must submit. The Scripture itself bears witness to this truth:
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
--2 Timothy 3:16-17
[1] I am here making a distinction between true statements and the actual reality to which they refer. The statement “God exists,” is a true statement and is legitimately referred to as the truth. But technically, the statement, while it refers to the reality, is not the reality itself. It accurately corresponds to the reality, but reality itself is the truth to which a true statement refers. The statement “God exists,” while true, is not God Himself. Rather, it is a statement affirming His existence. The true statement is once removed from the reality to which it refers.
[2] God is a Being whose mind operates according to rational principles, whose thoughts are logical and in accord with sound reason. God does not contradict Himself. His thoughts make perfect sense and are in perfect harmony.
[3] If I do not submit to the authority of the principles of mathematics, I will suffer the consequences of my rebellion, for example, in regard to my finances. Consider the force of gravity; a reality that God created. If we do not submit to its authority, there will be definite consequences when we act on that rebellion.
[4] For example, without logic we could say that God is God and that God is the devil. But that would be a violation of a basic law of logic: the law of non-contradiction. Without logic I could make statements such as, “There is no difference between up and down” or “I am an Irish Setter.”
[5] Any statement that denies the validity of logic and reason uses logic and reason in its denial. For instance, if one were to say, “Logic and reason are not valid laws of all rational thought,” one would not only be using logic and reason in the meaning and distinction between the words being used, but would be assuming the ability to use logic and reason in those to whom one makes the statement in order to make sense of the statement.
Many things are real. They are true in their existence in that they are that which they really are. But they are also only temporary. Ultimate Reality always was—and always will be— Ultimate Reality. Ultimate Reality is that reality that is the source of all other reality. Ultimate Reality is God.
When Moses asked God for His name, The Lord referred to Himself as I AM THAT I AM (Exodus 3:14). The Hebrew term used here, and the further developed form of it, Yahweh, in all its expressions, affirms His eternal, self-determining, self-sustaining, sovereign reality. All other realities exist because He wills their existence. Their reality is dependent upon His reality. They are realities but He is Ultimate Reality. He is Ultimate Truth. Indeed, Jesus' claim to be “The Truth” (John 14:6) was a claim to deity. Consider also His words, “Before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58). Truth is authoritative. God is Ultimate Truth. Therefore, God is the Ultimate Authority.
Created realities may also be authoritative in that they receive their existence and authority from God. God created a universe that operates in an orderly fashion according to laws and principles that He set in motion. Ours is not a chaotic universe. Reality as God created it makes sense. Up is always up; down is always down. No matter where you are or what language you speak, two plus two always equals four. Such is the universe God created. He created it this way because He is a rational being.[2] He is always consistent and coherent; never nonsensical or self- contradictory. So also, the universe He created, operating according to principles He established, is always consistent and never self-contradictory.
Personally, I find it comforting that reality is not always changing. Good is always good and evil is always evil. I do not live in the Twilight Zone. I live in an orderly universe. As such it carries a God-given authority in regard to its reality. Two plus two equals four. This is a truth and therefore has a certain authority to which we must submit. If we do not, then we do not remain in the truth. This is so because God created it to be so. Therefore we must submit to its God-given authority.[3]
But how is it that we are able to understand this about God's universe? The answer is that God created us in His Image. God is a rational Being. We, being created in His Image, are also rational beings. He created us with the ability to reason, to accurately process information. It is a reality that two plus two equals four. And it is because we are rational beings with the ability to reason that we can comprehend the reality that two plus equals four. God graciously created a universe that operates according to rational principles. He then graciously created us as rational beings in His image so that we may live in and make sense of the universe He created.
Therefore, logic and reason are an authority also. For we cannot comprehend reality without using logic and reason.[4] Logic and reason, being a part of—and having their source in—the nature of God, are therefore principles that govern His universe and the thinking of all rational beings. And unless we submit to their God-given authority, not only can we not comprehend the universe in which we live, but we cannot comprehend the God who created us.
Nevertheless, though logic and reason are unavoidable and undeniable,[5] we must admit that as finite creatures our ability to reason to all truth is limited. We do not possess all extant information from which to reason. Also, we are sinful creatures with rebellious hearts and therefore are biased in our reasoning. Many have reasoned themselves to atheism. Not because sound reason leads there, but because our sinful hearts have biased us against the truth and with this sinful bias we use our God-given ability to reason to rebel against the God who gave it. Our ability to reason is limited. We are not capable in and of ourselves of ascending to and attaining a saving and complete knowledge of God, our Ultimate Authority. Therefore revelation from God is necessary. However, considering that God is a rational being, He will never contradict Himself or be unreasonable or illogical. His revelation will always be in accord with sound reason.
Remembering that God is the Ultimate Authority, acknowledging that He has given us a revelation of Himself in His written Word, the Holy Bible, it logically follows that Scripture, being the Word of God, is the highest Authority. Such is sound reason. The Bible is the infallible rule of faith for all Christians. All human authorities have been shown to be fallible. Only the Holy Bible is capable of the demonstration of infallibility. Indeed, though the world rebelliously turns a blind eye to the fact, its infallibility has been proven time and time again. Therefore, Reformed Christians everywhere claim sola Scriptura (Scripture alone) as the highest authority to which all truth claims and all of life must submit. The Scripture itself bears witness to this truth:
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
--2 Timothy 3:16-17
[1] I am here making a distinction between true statements and the actual reality to which they refer. The statement “God exists,” is a true statement and is legitimately referred to as the truth. But technically, the statement, while it refers to the reality, is not the reality itself. It accurately corresponds to the reality, but reality itself is the truth to which a true statement refers. The statement “God exists,” while true, is not God Himself. Rather, it is a statement affirming His existence. The true statement is once removed from the reality to which it refers.
[2] God is a Being whose mind operates according to rational principles, whose thoughts are logical and in accord with sound reason. God does not contradict Himself. His thoughts make perfect sense and are in perfect harmony.
[3] If I do not submit to the authority of the principles of mathematics, I will suffer the consequences of my rebellion, for example, in regard to my finances. Consider the force of gravity; a reality that God created. If we do not submit to its authority, there will be definite consequences when we act on that rebellion.
[4] For example, without logic we could say that God is God and that God is the devil. But that would be a violation of a basic law of logic: the law of non-contradiction. Without logic I could make statements such as, “There is no difference between up and down” or “I am an Irish Setter.”
[5] Any statement that denies the validity of logic and reason uses logic and reason in its denial. For instance, if one were to say, “Logic and reason are not valid laws of all rational thought,” one would not only be using logic and reason in the meaning and distinction between the words being used, but would be assuming the ability to use logic and reason in those to whom one makes the statement in order to make sense of the statement.
