𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘢 𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢.
Scripture alone.
The sufficiency of Scripture.

This tenet is one of the most important theological and practical developments of the Protestant Reformation and a vital distinctive of evangelical faith and practice.

This principle is also one of the most misunderstood.

I have written about this topic extensively in several places.

In my (admittedly technical) dissertation book, 𝘐𝘯 𝘋𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦, I argued that the Protestant principle of 𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘢 𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢 does not contradict the practice of developing doctrine.

I expand on this theme in 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘋𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥, where I argue, in part, that the widespread evidence of theological disagreement among God's people is not a sufficient reason to dismiss the clarity of the Scripture.

In an article I wrote for 𝘉𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, I argued that a misunderstanding over the sufficiency of Scripture drove some of the theological differences in the SBC controversy of the late 20th century.

But in this case, the "moderates" claimed the principle of "sola Scriptura" against the conservatives who wanted Baptist confessions to have teeth at the denominational level. Some moderates fundamentally misunderstood the sufficiency of Scripture and made it "solo Scriptura."

In this essay, I asserted that the traditional Reformed understanding of the sufficiency of Scripture is not a rejection of other sources of knowledge like tradition and confessions but a clear statement of biblical authority over these sources.

A few years ago, a colleague and I from another seminary collaborated on a series of affirmations and denials on the topic of the sufficiency of Scripture.

Our document began with and expanded on the 1689 Second London Confession, attempting to flesh out its principles.

WE AFFIRM that Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience.

WE DENY that anything can be added to the final authority of Scripture, whether by a “new revelation of the Spirit” or the traditions of men.

WE AFFIRM that Scripture provides everything we need to know for bringing glory to God, our salvation, and the obedient Christian life.

WE DENY that the sufficiency of Scripture means that Scripture gives us exhaustive knowledge of God or his will.

WE AFFIRM that creation, providence, and the human conscience manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God as types of general revelation.

We also affirm that this general revelation is sufficient to give every person knowledge of God’s existence and divine power so that he is without excuse.

WE DENY that general revelation is sufficient to give that knowledge of God and his will which is necessary for salvation.

WE AFFIRM that the authority and sufficiency of Scripture is in no way dependent on the testimony of man or church and wholly dependent upon God.

WE DENY any attempt to elevate church teaching to the status of divine revelation.

WE AFFIRM that Scripture is the supreme source and only guiding norm of Christian thought and practice.

WE DENY that other resources such as tradition, reason, or culture have no place in Christian thought or practice.

We acknowledge that these resources have a proper place in supporting or clarifying the claims of Scripture but are always measured by their consistency with its truth.

WE AFFIRM that all truth belongs to God since God himself is the source of all truth. We further affirm that all true statements learned in extrabiblical resources will ultimately be found to cohere with the supreme truth of Scripture.

WE DENY the claim that sola Scriptura is a rejection of tradition, reason, the sciences, or cultural insights. We further deny any attempt to elevate these resources to a place of greater authority than Scripture.

WE AFFIRM the general clarity of Scripture in those things which are necessary to be known, believed and observed for salvation.

The Scriptures are clear enough in these matters that the educated and uneducated alike can attain a sufficient understanding of them through the ordinary means of interpretation.

WE DENY that Scripture can be understood rightly without proper interpretation of the meaning of the text. Furthermore, the general clarity of Scripture does not mean that all texts are easy to understand or that the meanings of biblical texts are automatically intuited.