10/25/25 Only Scripture, Only Glory

The first 3 parts of the series we are in have covered 3 of Luther’s five main headings in the 95 theses. This theses was nailed to the door of a church in Germany in 1517 to protest the corruption of the Catholic church on October 31^st 1517. This theses had five main points Sola Christo Christ alone, Sola Fide Grace alone, Sola gratia last week was grace alone. And we move on to the fourth, sola scriptura—Scripture alone.

There is a famine in the church today that is robbing the masses of truth. Last week we revealed the false teachings of two forms of theology that are absolute lies from many pulpits and we continue this move into the final lesson here today. This famine is the lack of reading from the Bible, or scripture because many of us have become too lazy & taken what comes from the mouths of pulpits as truth & even if it was not those who do not read would not know they are fed much in way of lies. In many ways this is a reprise of the strategy of the enemy from pre-1500’s to distort the truth by having it announced from the churches. The difference is now there are several denominations and not just the Roman Catholic church that is doing this.

When you discount a personal knowledge from study of the word of God, you forfeit a weapon against a culture that operates on lies because if you do not know the truth, you will be enslaved by deception.

Only the Bible was “inspired by God” (2 Peter 1:20-21) “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever brought about through human initiative, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” and “God-breathed”

On October 31, 1517 Luther nailed the 95 theses on the door of the church in Germany protesting the practices of the Catholic church. For those not aware, who have not become aware of history & this series is the 1^st time you have heard any of this & ask how could the Catholic church get by with this? How did the people not know & here is how. The Catholic church at the time was the only church institution because Luther’s move brought about the Protestant reformation. This is the story. Luther was struck by lightning. He realized through this he needed to be saved, he did not want to go to hell but there were no Bibles to be had. The Catholic church had taken them only the clergy had access to them, further they changed the language in them all to Latin. No one in the common market spoke Latin. Luther becomes a monk, gets access to scripture & begin to realize the system is corrupt. He then nails the protest to the door. Why? Because scripture shown a light. Scripture gave him revelation that corruption that was culturally acceptable norm was deceiving them all!

(2 Timothy 3:16-17) “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.”.

Matthew 5:17-18  “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” This declaration underscores the enduring authority of Scripture.

Anything taught by the Pope or in tradition that contradicted the Bible was to be rejected. Sola scriptura also fueled the translation of the Bible into German, French, English, and other languages, and prompted Bible teaching in the common languages of the day, rather than in Latin.

Sola scriptura emphasizes the Bible alone as the source of authority for Christians. By saying, “Scripture alone,” the Reformers rejected both the divine authority of the Roman Catholic Pope and confidence in sacred tradition.

We know this because we have a legal contract, scripture as a means of authority the reformers rejected the authority of the pope making up his own rulings from his seat as to what the Bible says and does not say & that operating in the traditions of the Catholic church were what would save people. Luther said I think not, due to the authority of scripture. In 11 days he printed copies of the Bible, an act forbidden by the Catholic church and did so in a language that was understood by the people. 12 years later the impact was felt and a revelation brought a revolution. This movement was called the protestant reformation.

If you are following a denomination that is not Catholic odds are you are what is called a protestant. The root of the word is protest, it is a movement based on protesting against the narratives forced down the throat of the people, sometimes subtly and pushed as truth but are nothing more than lies. The church, as the bride of Christ is to stand for truth forgive us Lord because we have failed to do this. The final thing Luther addressed is the final Sola. sola Deo gloria—for the glory of God alone.

Romans 11:36 : “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.”

This was the principal that completes the circular reasoning in the 95 theses of Luther. This final portion gives us the sum of the credit for all we have been given, what we will achieve, what we will survive, what we will overcome because of what God has given.