cont'd from previous post on this subject of Sola Scriptura from the book West of Jesus.
*Protestants proclaim that upon belief in Christ a salvation attaches to a person that cannot be lost. This "eternal security" theory misconstrues verses such as "I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things yet to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 8:38-39) and "I gave them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand" (Jn. 10:28).
* As a companion to, or a by-product of, the eternal security philosophy there exists the mistaken view of "the just shall live by faith" (Rom. 1:17), to which Martin Luther added "alone" in order to imply that man is saved by faith alone. The book of James rebuts that proposition: "Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead" (James 2:17) and again, "Faith without works is dead" (James 2:20).
Of special interest, when contemplating how Protestants both support Sola Scriptura and contradict some Bible verses, is with the precept of Scripture alone. For instance: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped by every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
St. Paul was obviously referring to the Old Testament. This means that if interpreted as Protestants do, as an invalidation of anything other than Scripture, then not only would Holy Tradition (the Church, oral apostolic teachings, etc.) have to be done away with but the New Testament would also have to be discarded because it had not been written when St. Paul authored this passage.
Additionally, in the same chapter (2 Tim. 3:8) we find an example of oral tradition. The names of Jannes and Jambres, the two magicians who opposed Moses in Exodus (chapters seven and eight), are listed, and that the names of these two magicians do not appear in Exodus but were known to Apostle Paul demonstrates a use of, and validates as genuine, oral tradition. Consequently, 2 Tim. 3:16-17 does not serve as a passage that establishes a "Scripture only" rule but rather authenticates the Bible as a legitimate component of Holy Tradition.
Scripture unequivocally condemns a fractured spiritual state: "Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment" (1 Cor. 1:10). Verses 1 Cor. 11:18 and 1 Cor. 12:25 provide similar exhortation as does St. Clement, "the abominable and unholy schism," and St. Ignatius, "if anyone follows a maker of schism he will not inherit the kingdom of God."
Other consequences of biblical self-interpretation include acceptance of Jesus Christ as Savior and then going on to ignore the authorities He established over us: "Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive" (Heb. 13:17) and "Submit yourselves to your elders" (1 Pet. 5:5). In addition to disregarding Church authorities there is the previously treated abandonment of Holy Tradition's other three strands. That is to say, self-interpretation deviates from what has been believed for two thousand years; from the interpretation of apostles, "according to the glorious gospel of the blesssed God which was committed to my trust" (1 Tim. 1:11), and Church Fathers, "I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you" (1 Cor. 11:23) and "I delivered to you first of all that which I also received" (1 Cor. 15:3). The interpretation and teaching by apostles and Church Fathers has, through Sola Scriptura, been replaced by the fallen human intellect of modern man, assuredly a transgression of the instruction to "keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you" (1 Cor. 11:2).
The first century faithful possessed no New Testament Scripture yet still accuractly lived the apostolic faith. We observe a deviation from Scripture because rather than insisting that the Bible is the sole guide for Christian living we find in Scripture that faithful believers are an example of the life in Christ:
* Brethren, join in following my example, and not those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern" (Phil. 3:17)
* "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ" (1 Cor. 11:1)
* "Be an example to the believers" (1 Tim. 4:12)--also 1 Pet 5:3 "being examples to the flock.
Protestantism insists on a Scripture-only path, condemns as "man-made" and extraneous first and second century Church Father's writings, and then goes o nto draft modern bookk after "authoritative" book on "Christian life" and "Bible interpretation." This is a far cry from the just-read-the-Bible mantra. Not only is there an inconsistency here but it is also incredibly arrogant to set oneself up as the expert and authority in lieu of the apostles and Church Fathers.