Sola Scriptura
First Sunday of Lent
Matthew 4:1-11
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022226.cfm
The phrase “Sola Scriptura” means by scripture alone. It was a doctrine of the reformers to critique certain practices of the Catholic church that they found to not be aligned with what they observed in scripture. Two particular doctrines of concern were indulgences and papal infallibility. Sola Scripture means that the church should refer to scripture as the final authority. The doctrine though does not mean that the scripture cannot be misused or misinterpreted. There will always be a perspective of interpretation. Scripture requires interpretation so there is still a margin for error in how it is used. Part of the concept and idea of the Holy Spirit is that God empowers us with the ability to rightly read and interpret scripture, it takes a connection to God to understand scripture. In the Catholic church, we look to Tradition and one’s personal experience and encounter with God as other means of the Holy Spirit’s work in the world.
In today’s gospel, the devil recites scripture in an attempt to manipulate Jesus. Our own scripture shows a direct example of how scripture can be misused. Scripture should not be used to manipulate or control others. In response to the devil, Jesus also uses scripture back in response. The use of scripture can be used in both directions. Yet, people still recite Bible verses at one another as a means of authority, as a means of correction. But from which direction are we speaking? And how can we know?
For me, all of scripture can be summed up the words Jesus used to summarize the law:
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
When Jesus responds to the devil, he uses scripture to say:
One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. (We need to God, God is the source of life)
You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test (We need to trust God)
The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve (We are to worship and serve God alone)
Jesus’s responses point back to the first commandment of Jesus. Whereas the devils use points away from it.
But using this as a key of understanding and interpreting scripture has its challenges too. Our wills are great at justifying many things, and we can rationalize a lot. Our interpretation of scripture requires discernment. That said, I still find reviewing the use and interpretation of scripture by referring to the commandments of Jesus is a good start. Does how you use scripture drive you and others to growth in Jesus’s commandments or does it take away or distract from it?
