WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.000 Are we ready to celebrate the 1700th year of the anniversary of the Nicene Creed? 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:12.000 ! Do we all have that on our calendars? 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:20.000 ! Celebration at Roll's house. 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:28.000 Alright, well, it's a joy to gather together. It's 9 o'clock. I'm going to jump right in. 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:39.000 So, in this class, welcome, we are going to dive into our rich heritage by looking at the creeds. 00:00:39.000 --> 00:00:47.000 Christians from the very beginning have been answering the question that Jesus poses to each one of us, 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:53.000 who do you say that I am? And creeds come out of that question. 00:00:53.000 --> 00:00:57.000 Creed's come from the Latin term credo, I believe. 00:00:57.000 --> 00:01:03.000 Or perhaps better translated, I believe and give my heart to. 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:07.000 Expressing a profound commitment of the heart. 00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:12.000 And thought to be the first Christian creed is the simple statement, 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:14.000 Jesus is Lord. 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:22.000 Coming out of the loyalty oaths where the Roman Emperor would demand that everyone declare that Caesar is Lord. 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:27.000 Christians would stand firm and confess, no, Jesus is Lord. 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:30.000 Probably the first Christian creed. 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:38.000 In his introduction to mere Christianity, Lewis provides an analogy which I think will be helpful in our time together. 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:43.000 He writes, think of creeds as the hall of a large house. 00:01:43.000 --> 00:01:47.000 Those truths that are central to all true Christians. 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:52.000 In the hallway of the house are doors opening to several rooms. 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:56.000 And these rooms are furnished with fires and chairs and meals. 00:01:56.000 --> 00:01:59.000 So those rooms represent denominations. 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:04.000 So you don't live in the hall. You don't camp out in the hall. 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:07.000 You have to choose a room. 00:02:07.000 --> 00:02:10.000 So creeds don't tell us everything that we need to know. 00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:16.000 But creeds are the central truths that unite all true Christians in all ages. 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:22.000 And creeds have been a part of the church since the very beginning, longer than John Newton's Law of Gravity. 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:26.000 So Newton's Law is already out of date, I hear, with quantum physics. 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:30.000 But these creeds, still withstanding the test of time. 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:37.000 Providing frameworks for the big C church to help preserve those things that are at the heartbeat of our faith. 00:02:37.000 --> 00:02:42.000 And so this class, we're going to be exploring these creeds. 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:52.000 This one in particular, as we begin, is going to be more of a preliminary introduction, a prologue. 00:02:52.000 --> 00:03:00.000 Where we need to establish some presuppositions before moving into the specific creeds. 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:06.000 And so one of those preliminary items we need to discuss together is sola scriptura. 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:13.000 And for us to have a really good, firm grasp of that doctrine and how creeds relate to the doctrine of the scripture. 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:18.000 So before we dive in, let me pray. 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:22.000 And we'll dive into this together. 00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:28.000 Father in heaven, Lord, we thank you that you have preserved your church. 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:31.000 The gates of hell have not prevailed against it. 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:38.000 Lord, we pray that we would stand firm on the truth, on the good deposit that has been passed to us. 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:46.000 Lord, we pray that we would guard those truths with our lives, in our hearts, in our church. 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:55.000 Lord, we pray that we would just find valuable the rich work of faithfulness that you have done in your people's midst. 00:03:55.000 --> 00:03:59.000 Be with us. We covet your spirit, Lord. 00:03:59.000 --> 00:04:01.000 Would your spirit be among us. 00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:06.000 Help us for these truths to seep deep into our hearts. 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:09.000 And we pray this in Jesus' name. 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:10.000 Okay. 00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:12.000 So let me give you a road map. 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:17.000 So today we're going to be talking about the doctrine of sola scriptura. 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:23.000 And then in these next classes, Tom and John are going to dive into the specific creeds. 00:04:23.000 --> 00:04:27.000 So we're going to be talking about the earlier creeds before Nicaea. 00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:35.000 We'll talk about the Council of Nicaea, the Apostles' Creed, the creeds in Constantinople and Ephesus, 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:40.000 the creed at Chalcedon, and then we'll conclude with creeds for today. 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:45.000 Like, what role do creeds still have in our life as a church together? 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:54.000 So as we think about sola scriptura, frankly, many Christians are confused about how this relationship works. 00:04:54.000 --> 00:05:03.000 I mean, if we really adhere and find a creed valuable, isn't that compromising to the scripture being our authority? 00:05:03.000 --> 00:05:06.000 How do those two things work? 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:14.000 And my prayer is that I want us to prize the scripture above all else coming out of this class. 00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:21.000 But I want you to think of the creed not as a rival, but as a hearing aid. 00:05:21.000 --> 00:05:29.000 A hearing aid where we're not bypassing the text, but the creeds help us to hear the text better. 00:05:29.000 --> 00:05:36.000 So when we look at the creeds, we're putting a hearing aid on and we're listening, and we're actually seeing things in the text. 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:42.000 So let's dive right in. 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:51.000 So why should we Christians in the 21st century study ancient texts written more than a millennia ago? 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:56.000 Let me give you at least three reasons why we're teaching this class now. 00:05:56.000 --> 00:05:57.000 First... 00:05:57.000 --> 00:06:00.000 How long is this like a parenting class? 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:01.000 Good question. 00:06:01.000 --> 00:06:02.000 That's going to be next week. 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:03.000 Next week? 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:04.000 Yes. 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:05.000 Of course. 00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:09.000 So everyone, there's a parenting class next week starting. 00:06:09.000 --> 00:06:14.000 But this will be a good foundation for good parenting. 00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:15.000 So... 00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:19.000 Your time will not be wasted. 00:06:19.000 --> 00:06:20.000 Okay? 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:27.000 So, why should we be studying ancient texts in the 21st century? 00:06:27.000 --> 00:06:28.000 Let me give you at least three reasons. 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:33.000 First, we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses. 00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:34.000 What? 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:38.000 Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses. 00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:40.000 The author of Hebrews says, 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:43.000 You and I stand on the shoulder of giants. 00:06:43.000 --> 00:06:46.000 The author of Hebrews says, look to them. 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:48.000 Look at their faith. 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:51.000 Look at their perseverance in trials. 00:06:51.000 --> 00:06:53.000 And now follow in their footsteps. 00:06:53.000 --> 00:06:56.000 So in many ways, this is what this class will be about. 00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:59.000 Their story is going to be our story. 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:04.000 The gospel flame, although it ebbs and flows throughout each generation, 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:06.000 ultimately it is unquenchable. 00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:10.000 So, creeds are not just old, dry, archaic documents. 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:15.000 These are declarations of faith from our spiritual ancestors. 00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:18.000 And they're not meant to be muttered under your breath, 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:23.000 but they're resounding declarations with blasts of trumpets. 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:25.000 And we listen carefully to their voice. 00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:28.000 We will not only learn from their wisdom, 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:30.000 they will exhort you and I to faithfulness, 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:32.000 to encourage you to stay the course. 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:37.000 Second, to learn the creed is to hear the wisdom of another culture. 00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:41.000 The church is not confined to one country or nation or language. 00:07:41.000 --> 00:07:47.000 To hear from the creeds affirms the global and historical nature of the church. 00:07:47.000 --> 00:07:51.000 The Christians all over the world adhere to the creeds, 00:07:51.000 --> 00:07:54.000 not because we find them to be on par with the authority of Scripture, 00:07:54.000 --> 00:07:55.000 but because they are true. 00:07:55.000 --> 00:08:04.000 Didn't Christ promise this global advance of the gospel throughout the world? 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:07.000 The gospel go to every tribe, tongue, and nation, 00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:10.000 and these creeds are a witness to God fulfilling that promise. 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:15.000 You know, growing up in any culture, it gives you certain accents, 00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:18.000 different ways of saying words. 00:08:18.000 --> 00:08:24.000 For example, we here in New Haven correctly say the word car keys. 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:25.000 Correctly. 00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:30.000 But if you're in Boston, they make the mistake of saying khakis, 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:31.000 like these pants. 00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:33.000 I'm sorry, but that's wrong. 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:35.000 That's not how you pronounce car keys. 00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:37.000 But here's the thing. 00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:40.000 No one ever hears their own accents. 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:41.000 Am I right? 00:08:41.000 --> 00:08:45.000 Not until we meet an outsider do we begin to have self-awareness 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:48.000 with how we're saying certain things. 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:53.000 And C.S. Lewis made this point in his introduction to Athanasius' work on the Incarnation. 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:55.000 He says, to avoid theological errors, 00:08:55.000 --> 00:09:01.000 you need to read not only outside your culture, but outside your century. 00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:02.000 He writes, 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:06.000 They will not flatter us in the errors we are already committing. 00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:10.000 And their own errors being now open and palpable will not endanger us. 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:12.000 Two heads are better than one. 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:14.000 Not because either is infallible, 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:17.000 but because they are unlikely to go wrong in the same direction. 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:21.000 So if we all listen to the same 21st century voices, 00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:25.000 we're going to repeat the same 21st century mistakes. 00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:30.000 So Christians must learn from prior generations of God's people. 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:35.000 And we benefit from their wisdom, their exegetical insights, and their doctrinal clarity. 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:38.000 And often this clarity we take for granted. 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:42.000 And that clarity can be lost in a generation. 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:50.000 Third, creeds not only summarize Orthodox beliefs, but they are doxological. 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:58.000 In other words, we are praising God with our brothers and sisters in Christ across the world throughout all ages. 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:05.000 We join the chorus of faithful believers across time in confessing our faith to the glory of God. 00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:11.000 You know, one of the things we'll learn about is that creeds were used before baptism. 00:10:11.000 --> 00:10:14.000 So I'm going to make up names here. 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:17.000 But we join Chloe. 00:10:17.000 --> 00:10:20.000 Chloe was a prostitute in 3rd century Rome, 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:25.000 who heard about the Lord Jesus and the Lord saved her as a temple prostitute. 00:10:25.000 --> 00:10:28.000 We join her in reciting the creed. 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:32.000 Or we join Octavius, a farmer in Corinth in the 3rd century. 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:37.000 Octavius had a, his crops failed, and he was facing devastation. 00:10:37.000 --> 00:10:41.000 But then the Lord saved him, knowing that Christ was a refuge. 00:10:41.000 --> 00:10:44.000 We join Octavius in reciting the creed. 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:49.000 So this good deposit has been passed down for one generation to the next, 00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:54.000 and we stand with our brothers and sisters throughout all ages when we recite the creed. 00:10:54.000 --> 00:10:55.000 Okay. 00:10:55.000 --> 00:11:02.000 That's why the creeds, that's why we're teaching this class now. 00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:07.000 We want you to stand and know that you are part of something much bigger than yourself. 00:11:07.000 --> 00:11:09.000 But there's a problem. 00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:15.000 And the problem is in the last 200 years, I think particularly in American Christianity, 00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:18.000 a suspicion has grown about the creeds. 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:20.000 Mostly on two fronts. 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:25.000 On the one hand, there's been an emphasis on doctrinal minimalism. 00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:32.000 You know, where there's a fear that you're going to create disunity if you affirm the truth. 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:35.000 One of the statements that was made was, you know, 00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:38.000 it's better to believe heresy than to create disunity. 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:40.000 So doctrinal minimalism. 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:44.000 But on the other hand, there's a fear of doctrinal sectarianism. 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:48.000 Where there's a fear that creeds divide Christians. 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:53.000 But of course, Christianity is about truth. 00:11:53.000 --> 00:11:56.000 If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, Jesus would say. 00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:59.000 And if you know the truth, the truth will set you free. 00:11:59.000 --> 00:12:03.000 I wonder, has anyone ever been in a church, maybe a church you grew up in, 00:12:03.000 --> 00:12:05.000 where you heard the phrase, 00:12:05.000 --> 00:12:08.000 we have no creed but the Bible? 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:13.000 Okay, we have one. 00:12:13.000 --> 00:12:14.000 Okay. 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:17.000 Okay, another one. 00:12:17.000 --> 00:12:22.000 Has anyone ever been in a snake handling service? 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:27.000 Totally unrelated, but I just wanted to... 00:12:27.000 --> 00:12:30.000 We have no creed but the Bible. 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:32.000 It sounds pretty spiritual. 00:12:32.000 --> 00:12:34.000 It also kind of sounds like a creed. 00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:39.000 But of course, this statement contains a good aspiration. 00:12:39.000 --> 00:12:46.000 When someone says no creed but the Bible, they're saying the Bible has a unique authority. 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:51.000 And there's a fear that something might replace the authority of the Scripture in that person's life. 00:12:51.000 --> 00:12:53.000 That's a good aspiration. 00:12:53.000 --> 00:12:57.000 But of course, that statement never works in real life. 00:12:57.000 --> 00:13:00.000 Because what do we do in the church? 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:01.000 Right? 00:13:01.000 --> 00:13:02.000 There's this. 00:13:02.000 --> 00:13:03.000 There's public teaching. 00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:09.000 There's a standard of truth that must regulate the public teaching of the church. 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:12.000 In 2 Timothy 1, verse 13, Paul would tell Timothy, 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:19.000 follow the pattern of the sound words that you heard from me in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:24.000 He doesn't say, hey, memorize my letters or memorize the Scripture. 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:25.000 We ought to do that. 00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:29.000 But he's saying, Timothy, follow the pattern. 00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:30.000 Follow the norm. 00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:31.000 Follow the model. 00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:35.000 Follow the rule that I have given you. 00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:39.000 Make sure you are teaching by the standard I set. 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:43.000 You know, that's why we have a statement of faith here at Trinity. 00:13:43.000 --> 00:13:47.000 You know, imagine if I get up and start teaching and preaching that, 00:13:47.000 --> 00:13:49.000 you know what we really need to do? 00:13:49.000 --> 00:13:53.000 Is to trust Elvis Presley and trust the works that he did. 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:57.000 And we all need to move to Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. 00:13:57.000 --> 00:14:04.000 You should say, you should say, Tyler, that does not follow the standard of teaching in this church. 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:05.000 The standard of truth. 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:07.000 And then you should fire me as an elder. 00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:09.000 So that's what you ought to do. 00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:16.000 So very early on, we see the importance that teaching had in the early church. 00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:20.000 And so creedal statements begin to function as that standard. 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:24.000 Philip Schaaf wrote this in his classic work. 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:30.000 Faith, like all strong conviction, has a desire to utter itself before others. 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:33.000 And that conviction led to creeds. 00:14:33.000 --> 00:14:35.000 But there's another problem. 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:38.000 And there's a bigger problem. 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:47.000 And I think there's a misunderstanding that if the scripture is supreme, does not that exclude human traditions? 00:14:47.000 --> 00:14:51.000 I mean, we don't want the creeds of human tradition to rival the scriptures. 00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:53.000 Right? 00:14:53.000 --> 00:14:58.000 And so in this class today, I want to define sola scriptura. 00:14:58.000 --> 00:15:01.000 And we're going to walk through this in three steps. 00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:03.000 The first step is going to be this. 00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:07.000 The Bible is the only infallible rule. 00:15:07.000 --> 00:15:11.000 And so when I say rule, what I mean is a standard that governs faith and practice. 00:15:11.000 --> 00:15:14.000 So the Bible is unique. 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:17.000 Second, there are no other infallible rules. 00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:26.000 And third, there are other legitimate rules, derived rules, but ultimately a subordinate to the scripture. 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:29.000 So these are the three steps we're going to walk through. 00:15:29.000 --> 00:15:33.000 So the first step, the Bible is the only infallible rule. 00:15:33.000 --> 00:15:35.000 This is the first step in sola scriptura. 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:40.000 Scripture, bless you, is the perfect standard of truth. 00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:45.000 Scripture has an unparalleled authority, period. 00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:46.000 No rivals. 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:49.000 Jesus illustrates this conviction. 00:15:49.000 --> 00:15:52.000 Jesus asserted against Satan in the wilderness, 00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:57.000 Man shall live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. 00:15:57.000 --> 00:16:02.000 Every single word is a rule for our lives. 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:07.000 Jesus had an unshakable confidence in God's words. 00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:08.000 He loved it. 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:09.000 He knew it. 00:16:09.000 --> 00:16:11.000 He quoted it. 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:13.000 The scripture cannot be broken. 00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:16.000 He would say, God's words are unbreakable. 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:22.000 No promise, no warning, no word will be falsified. 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:25.000 Down to the last stroke. 00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:38.000 For truly I tell you, Jesus would say, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter will pass from the law until all is accomplished. 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:43.000 You see, he held scripture in the highest possible esteem. 00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:48.000 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of God will stand forever. 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:53.000 And Jesus treated every single stroke as important. 00:16:53.000 --> 00:16:55.000 Jesus was comfortable. 00:16:55.000 --> 00:17:00.000 I think John mentioned this in his former foundation class a few years ago. 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:02.000 Eight classes on the doctrine of scripture. 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:05.000 So if you want more on this, go listen to that class. 00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:13.000 Jesus was comfortable having his argument hint on a single word, even a single tense of a word. 00:17:13.000 --> 00:17:21.000 You remember in response to the Sadducees, Jesus hints his arguments on the tense of a word. 00:17:21.000 --> 00:17:24.000 Matthew 22, verse 32. 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:28.000 He says, God did not say I was the God of Abraham. 00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:32.000 He says, I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:33.000 Present tense. 00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:36.000 So he is not the God of the dead, but of the living. 00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:41.000 Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are still alive because of the verb tense. 00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:47.000 There is more to it, but you notice his argument hinges on a single tense of a single word. 00:17:47.000 --> 00:17:51.000 Jesus debated the Pharisees about marriage and divorce. 00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:54.000 Jesus responds with, have you not read? 00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:56.000 In his mind, that's settled the debate. 00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:58.000 Have you not read? 00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:02.000 Elsewhere, he says, you err because you do not know the scriptures. 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:04.000 Of course, we can use other examples. 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:08.000 Paul tells the Galatians that not only the apostolic teaching, 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:12.000 but even angelic teaching must be tested by the scriptures. 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:17.000 Even if we are an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, 00:18:17.000 --> 00:18:19.000 let him be accursed. 00:18:19.000 --> 00:18:24.000 Paul would say whatever is said needs to be brought before the bar of scripture, and it must align. 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:33.000 The Barans are commended for their noble spirit and diligently verifying Paul and Silas' teaching to see if it aligns with the scripture. 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:34.000 Go on. 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:35.000 Warning the church of false teaching. 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:37.000 The apostle John writes, 00:18:37.000 --> 00:18:42.000 Do not believe everyone, but test the spirits. 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:45.000 Test what we're saying to you to see if it aligns with the scripture. 00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:55.000 So that's the heart cry of Sola Scriptura, which says that scripture sits above and judges all human traditions. 00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:58.000 This is the court of the highest jurisdiction. 00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:02.000 It is the final court of appeals. 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:05.000 And the reformers stood on this principle in the Reformation. 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:14.000 And so they had a freedom to take a critical stance toward popes who granted indulgences to fund the basilica. 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:16.000 Salvation at discount prices. 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:22.000 They were critical toward councils in any human tradition that failed to measure up to the standard of the word of God. 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:30.000 But it's not just the function, but the scriptures very nature and character is different. 00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:33.000 Scripture itself claims to be infallible. 00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:37.000 God's word is God breathed, Paul writes. 00:19:37.000 --> 00:19:40.000 He makes up a word, theopneustos. 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:44.000 All scripture is theopneustos, breathed out by God. 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:47.000 It's expired like God breathes out the scripture. 00:19:47.000 --> 00:19:52.000 And it's profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:56.000 And the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 00:19:56.000 --> 00:20:00.000 So God's speech is ontologically unique. 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:09.000 Now you see this conviction of the authoritative nature in the earliest disciples. 00:20:09.000 --> 00:20:11.000 Even after the apostolic era. 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:15.000 If you read Ignatius, the bishop of Antioch, a disciple of the apostle John. 00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:18.000 A generation removed from the apostles. 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:20.000 He wrote to the church of Rome, 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:23.000 Look, I do not give you orders like Peter and Paul. 00:20:23.000 --> 00:20:24.000 They were apostles. 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:29.000 He's clearly distinguishing his authority to the apostolic authority. 00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:34.000 When Athanasius is arguing against the Arian heresy in the fourth century, he appeals to what? 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:36.000 He's appealing to the scripture. 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:37.000 Right? 00:20:37.000 --> 00:20:41.000 Now you can imagine, what if someone had said to Athanasius, 00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:43.000 You know, Athanasius, who are you? 00:20:43.000 --> 00:20:48.000 People have disagreed about whether Jesus is really God for at least 300 years. 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:51.000 Who do you think you are citing the scriptures? 00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:54.000 When most of the world disagrees with you at this point. 00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:55.000 So stop fighting the battle. 00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:58.000 Let's stop creating disunity in the body. 00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:02.000 Whether Jesus is Lord or not, we should stop dividing over this doctrine. 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:06.000 Well, thank God Athanasius didn't buy that. 00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:09.000 He stood firm on the scriptures. 00:21:09.000 --> 00:21:14.000 So what matters most, step number one, is what the scriptures say. 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:17.000 That's the posture of sola scriptura. 00:21:17.000 --> 00:21:20.000 The scripture is the highest authority. 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:23.000 Let me just stop here. 00:21:23.000 --> 00:21:25.000 Any questions before we go to step two? 00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:28.000 Okay. 00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:29.000 Tom? 00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:31.000 Just a clarification. 00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:36.000 So sola scriptura, in other words, there is a popular, 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:40.000 I think what you're saying is a popular conception of sola scriptura means, 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:42.000 we only have the scriptures and nothing else. 00:21:42.000 --> 00:21:46.000 But you're saying, no, no, it's the only infallible guide. 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:50.000 There's lots of other rules and guides that have some authority, 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:52.000 but they're just subordinated to that. 00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:57.000 So we do have all sorts of other methods or practices or whatever, 00:21:57.000 --> 00:22:00.000 but the scriptures are the beginning and end of that. 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:01.000 That's where it starts. 00:22:01.000 --> 00:22:03.000 Yes, yes. 00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:07.000 You're anticipating my point number three, but that's exactly what you said. 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:10.000 It's exactly, I couldn't have said it better myself. 00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:11.000 Yes. 00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:12.000 Thank you, Tom. 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:13.000 I appreciate that. 00:22:13.000 --> 00:22:14.000 Richard. 00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:21.000 So I noticed that in your definition you stopped short of saying rule of faith. 00:22:21.000 --> 00:22:23.000 You stopped with rule. 00:22:23.000 --> 00:22:25.000 Is that significant? 00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:28.000 Whatever scripture it speaks on, it's a rule. 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:37.000 I didn't mean to say that scripture has a jurisdiction that I'm imposing upon it. 00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:45.000 I'm not sure if that's what you mean, but I think the scripture is an infallible rule for matters of faith, 00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:46.000 but practice as well. 00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:51.000 As Paul said in 2 Timothy, equipped for every good work. 00:22:51.000 --> 00:22:54.000 So that scripture is equipping us for every good work. 00:22:54.000 --> 00:23:02.000 So that's point number one is an infallible rule, but there's a second point. 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:08.000 Does the church possess other rules, other sources of revelation, other authorities, 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:12.000 maybe like the apostles of Nicene Creed, that are infallible? 00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:14.000 And the answer is no. 00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:16.000 There is no other infallible rule. 00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:20.000 And we should never give human teaching the kind of authority, 00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:27.000 or we should never venerate human teaching that belongs to God's word alone. 00:23:27.000 --> 00:23:30.000 Jesus, remember, dealt with this with the Pharisees. 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:37.000 The Pharisees criticized Jesus for not following their fastidious traditions. 00:23:37.000 --> 00:23:41.000 Not only the hand washing, but remember Corbin, 00:23:41.000 --> 00:23:47.000 where you give money to a fund so I don't have enough money to honor my father and mother any longer. 00:23:47.000 --> 00:23:49.000 And Jesus rightly rebuked them. 00:23:49.000 --> 00:23:51.000 He said, he quoted Isaiah, 00:23:51.000 --> 00:24:06.000 Here's the important part. 00:24:06.000 --> 00:24:09.000 The doctrines, the commandments of men. 00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:14.000 Paul instructs the church in 1 Corinthians 4, 00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:17.000 You may learn from us the meaning of the saying, 00:24:17.000 --> 00:24:21.000 You may not go beyond what is written. 00:24:21.000 --> 00:24:24.000 So there's a dark side of tradition too. 00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:26.000 We might call this traditionalism. 00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:30.000 Rather than saying scripture alone has the final word, 00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:33.000 human traditions are now adding to it. 00:24:33.000 --> 00:24:41.000 Of course, how we view the creeds is how we're going to differ from, say, Roman Catholicism or East Orthodox. 00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:48.000 Roman Catholicism would say, you know, church tradition is another source of infallible revelation. 00:24:48.000 --> 00:25:01.000 For example, the claim of papal infallibility, which says, if the Pope speaks ex cathedra from the chair in matters of faith and practice, the Pope claims to be infallible. 00:25:01.000 --> 00:25:04.000 The tradition is now on the same level as scripture. 00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:07.000 You must accept that as final and binding. 00:25:07.000 --> 00:25:10.000 Of course, we do this too. 00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:21.000 We sit ex cathedra and begin to make up our own rules and our personal convictions, and we begin to enforce those on others and bind their consciences. 00:25:21.000 --> 00:25:27.000 We make our own rules about schooling and music and which candidates to vote for. 00:25:27.000 --> 00:25:32.000 Of course, there's matters of wisdom in this, but the scripture gives no clear command. 00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:37.000 And it gives us freedom of conscience on these matters. 00:25:37.000 --> 00:25:43.000 So, the human tradition and scripture are not on the same level. 00:25:43.000 --> 00:25:53.000 But I want you to notice that it wasn't that the Pharisees or the church didn't have real authority. 00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:57.000 Real authority to teach, to apply the law, and to make judgments. 00:25:57.000 --> 00:26:04.000 In Matthew 23, Jesus said the teachers of the law and the Pharisees sat on the seat of Moses. 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:07.000 And so, you must be careful to do everything they tell you. 00:26:07.000 --> 00:26:09.000 That's what Jesus said. 00:26:09.000 --> 00:26:12.000 The Pharisees held real authority, and you should listen to them. 00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:14.000 So, how does that work? 00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:20.000 I mean, Jesus clearly saying, don't listen to their doctrines, the commandments of men, right? 00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:23.000 But then he says, no, but you actually have to listen to them. 00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:26.000 How do these two things work? 00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:33.000 I think we need to distinguish the kinds of authority Jesus is giving the Pharisees. 00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:38.000 What Jesus is referring to in that case is what we call ministerial authority. 00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:42.000 It's an authority to apply the word. 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:47.000 One analogy you can think about this is the Constitution. 00:26:47.000 --> 00:26:48.000 Right? 00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:55.000 We have, theoretically, we have courts that settle disputes, and the courts don't make up the Constitution. 00:26:55.000 --> 00:26:59.000 They are applying it, theoretically. 00:26:59.000 --> 00:27:01.000 So, are their courts infallible? 00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:02.000 Of course not. 00:27:02.000 --> 00:27:03.000 No, they're not. 00:27:03.000 --> 00:27:05.000 Or think about baseball. 00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:06.000 You have umpires. 00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:08.000 They call balls and strikes. 00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:10.000 Does an umpire have authority? 00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:12.000 Yes, they do. 00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:14.000 Is the umpire infallible? 00:27:14.000 --> 00:27:15.000 Of course not. 00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:16.000 Of course not. 00:27:16.000 --> 00:27:21.000 Ministerial authority is real authority, but it is not an infallible one. 00:27:21.000 --> 00:27:24.000 Think about a congregational meeting. 00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:25.000 Okay? 00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:29.000 We are going to collectively discern Pamela's candidacy. 00:27:29.000 --> 00:27:38.000 And we are going to make decisions together about matters of faith and practice. 00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:43.000 Now, are our decisions infallible as a congregation together? 00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:44.000 No. 00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:45.000 They're not. 00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:46.000 Right? 00:27:46.000 --> 00:27:55.000 Our decisions are useful only to the extent they reproduce and apply faithfully the teaching of Scripture itself. 00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:57.000 And so, I want you to think about that. 00:27:57.000 --> 00:27:59.000 It's the same with creeds. 00:27:59.000 --> 00:28:02.000 We shouldn't follow the creeds just because they're a tradition. 00:28:02.000 --> 00:28:04.000 They were written a long time ago. 00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:05.000 Right? 00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:11.000 Where Catholics would say, we follow the Nicene Creed because it was said at the Council of Nicaea, 00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:13.000 so therefore it's binding. 00:28:13.000 --> 00:28:19.000 I think the position that we ought to take is, we follow the Nicene Creed because it aligns with the Scripture. 00:28:19.000 --> 00:28:21.000 And that's very important. 00:28:21.000 --> 00:28:25.000 Every tradition must be grounded in God's Word. 00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:28.000 And Scripture is the highest court of authority. 00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:29.000 Okay. 00:28:29.000 --> 00:28:35.000 But now there's a big problem with what I've just described to you. 00:28:35.000 --> 00:28:46.000 And one of the common objections that comes out of this framework of sola scriptura is, say, for Mormon Catholics. 00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:55.000 They say, look, without the authoritative interpretation of Rome, aren't we just all left with our own personal readings of Scripture? 00:28:55.000 --> 00:29:06.000 So the argument goes, you might talk a big game about the Bible being your ultimate authority, but actually the final authority rests with you, doesn't it? 00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:08.000 And your individual interpretation of Scripture. 00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:17.000 The creeds don't really have a real authority because you can simply disagree with them on your private interpretation. 00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:20.000 And what you get is a free-for-all. 00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:24.000 And this flaw exists in many so-called churches. 00:29:24.000 --> 00:29:29.000 Benny Hinn, prosperity preacher and false teacher, says, Trinity? 00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:30.000 There's nine of them. 00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:33.000 The very next words is you can't argue with the Word, can you? 00:29:33.000 --> 00:29:34.000 It's right. 00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:35.000 It's all in the Word right there. 00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:37.000 It's like in the Book of Judges. 00:29:37.000 --> 00:29:43.000 Each person defines Christianity as it seems right in his or her eyes. 00:29:43.000 --> 00:29:54.000 The Scriptures are twisted because we go to the corner with our Bible and we come up with a novel interpretation that no one's ever heard of before. 00:29:54.000 --> 00:30:01.000 So this is where we need the final three-legged stool of Sola Scriptura. 00:30:01.000 --> 00:30:09.000 And this final point is often neglected and I think it would be helpful for us to consider it together. 00:30:09.000 --> 00:30:12.000 The first step is there's an infallible rule for the church. 00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:15.000 The second is there are no other infallible rules. 00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:20.000 But lastly, there are other authorities within the church. 00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:25.000 But these authorities are derived and based on the Scripture. 00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:32.000 So the term that's sometimes used is the Norma Normans. 00:30:34.000 --> 00:30:36.000 I'll put that on here. 00:30:36.000 --> 00:30:39.000 The Norma Normans. 00:30:39.000 --> 00:30:41.000 And that's the Scripture. 00:30:41.000 --> 00:30:50.000 Any Latin teachers here want to say what that means? 00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:53.000 The ruling rule. 00:30:53.000 --> 00:30:54.000 Yes. 00:30:54.000 --> 00:30:56.000 The terming determinant. 00:30:56.000 --> 00:30:58.000 The rule that rules. 00:30:58.000 --> 00:31:00.000 The ruling rule. 00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:02.000 The determining determinant. 00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:03.000 That's the Scripture. 00:31:03.000 --> 00:31:05.000 Okay. 00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:10.000 And then we have underneath the Norma Normata. 00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:14.000 Sorry, you can't really see that because... 00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:16.000 It's invisible. 00:31:16.000 --> 00:31:18.000 The Norma Normata. 00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:20.000 It's even harder to read. 00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:23.000 I did that intentionally. 00:31:23.000 --> 00:31:27.000 The Norma Normata. 00:31:27.000 --> 00:31:28.000 Any... 00:31:28.000 --> 00:31:29.000 Do you want to take... 00:31:29.000 --> 00:31:30.000 The rule rule. 00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:31.000 The rule rule. 00:31:31.000 --> 00:31:32.000 Yes. 00:31:32.000 --> 00:31:35.000 A rule that is ruled. 00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:36.000 Right. 00:31:36.000 --> 00:31:39.000 So that's typically how this works. 00:31:39.000 --> 00:31:41.000 The Scripture is the Norma Normans. 00:31:42.000 --> 00:31:48.000 And the creeds are the Norma Norma Normata. 00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:49.000 Okay. 00:31:49.000 --> 00:31:50.000 Okay. 00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:51.000 So often the... 00:31:51.000 --> 00:31:57.000 Solo Scripture is often misrepresented that the Bible is the only authority in the church. 00:31:57.000 --> 00:31:58.000 That's not so. 00:31:58.000 --> 00:32:04.000 It is not solo Scripture which says it's Scripture alone and me alone in a corner somewhere. 00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:05.000 No. 00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:08.000 Creeds are an authority in the church. 00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:09.000 Why? 00:32:09.000 --> 00:32:10.000 Why can... 00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:11.000 How can we say that? 00:32:11.000 --> 00:32:18.000 Because we recognize that the Holy Spirit has been worked in the church for the last 2,000 years. 00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:20.000 So it's not a zero-sum game. 00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:21.000 Right? 00:32:21.000 --> 00:32:24.000 The creeds do not have an independent authority. 00:32:24.000 --> 00:32:27.000 They are subordinate to the Scriptures. 00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:30.000 Charles Spurgeon once said, 00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:37.000 I find it odd that those who think so highly of what the Holy Spirit teaches them think so little of what the Holy Spirit teaches others also. 00:32:37.000 --> 00:32:38.000 That's... 00:32:38.000 --> 00:32:43.000 Yeah. 00:32:43.000 --> 00:32:48.000 It's almost the 21st century. 00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:50.000 But the Scripture... 00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:53.000 We don't just approach Scripture in a vacuum. 00:32:53.000 --> 00:32:54.000 Right? 00:32:54.000 --> 00:32:58.000 The Scripture must be interpreted in community. 00:32:58.000 --> 00:33:02.000 And this community includes the communion of saints in all ages. 00:33:02.000 --> 00:33:14.000 So creeds then will act as a communal balance that acts as a check against our potentially mistaken interpretation. 00:33:14.000 --> 00:33:17.000 So we learn and rely on others. 00:33:17.000 --> 00:33:23.000 And we learn from those who have gone before us, who have wrestled with the Scripture. 00:33:23.000 --> 00:33:24.000 Okay? 00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:28.000 We do not interpret a part... 00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:34.000 We do not interpret Scripture apart from creeds, the confessions, or the history and traditions of the church. 00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:42.000 And we put the burden of proof on those who would seek to overturn the consensus of the church. 00:33:43.000 --> 00:33:44.000 Right? 00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:48.000 To do otherwise, think about it, is interpretive chaos. 00:33:48.000 --> 00:33:54.000 If we go to the Bible and just think, look, I am not influenced by my own culture. 00:33:54.000 --> 00:33:57.000 I am going to go to the Bible with a blank slate. 00:33:57.000 --> 00:34:06.000 And we have the posture, I have nothing to learn from Augustine or Athanasius or Aquinas and so many others. 00:34:06.000 --> 00:34:11.000 It is to ignore that the Holy Spirit has been at work in the church for 2,000 years. 00:34:11.000 --> 00:34:16.000 And we miss so much when we just take a me and my Bible approach. 00:34:16.000 --> 00:34:20.000 Not because these men or women are right in everything, they are not infallible. 00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:24.000 But we apprentice ourselves to a more mature believer. 00:34:25.000 --> 00:34:27.000 So here is a secret. 00:34:28.000 --> 00:34:31.000 When competent pastors are preparing a sermon, 00:34:31.000 --> 00:34:37.000 typically they do not just stare at a page for eight hours at a time and hope for the Spirit's illumination. 00:34:37.000 --> 00:34:42.000 What they do, and this might be a surprise, they pull commentaries. 00:34:42.000 --> 00:34:45.000 Maybe a systematic theology off the shelves. 00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:49.000 Maybe someone they respect and trust has written about the text. 00:34:49.000 --> 00:34:53.000 They talk to others about what they are seeing in the text. 00:34:53.000 --> 00:34:59.000 And they use that as aids in their study of the Scripture. 00:34:59.000 --> 00:35:00.000 Right? 00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:01.000 All while in prayer. 00:35:01.000 --> 00:35:08.000 So the pastor is using church tradition as they look at a text. 00:35:08.000 --> 00:35:10.000 But he is using it responsibly. 00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:11.000 That is what we ought to be doing. 00:35:11.000 --> 00:35:14.000 We interpret it together as a community. 00:35:17.000 --> 00:35:21.000 You know, there were reformers who wrote most about Sola Scriptura. 00:35:22.000 --> 00:35:24.000 Had a high honor for the creeds. 00:35:24.000 --> 00:35:28.000 We were reading this the other day in our church history group. 00:35:28.000 --> 00:35:31.000 And the first line in the Augsburg Confession, 00:35:31.000 --> 00:35:38.000 one of the first documents that really articulated the faith of the reformers. 00:35:39.000 --> 00:35:41.000 The first line, they wrote this, 00:35:41.000 --> 00:35:59.000 Our churches, with common consent, do teach that the decree of the Council of Nicaea concerning the unity of the divine essence and concerning the three persons is true and to be believed without any doubting. 00:35:59.000 --> 00:36:11.000 So the reformers taught that the Council of Nicaea was a norma normata in their churches. 00:36:11.000 --> 00:36:18.000 So when we look at the norma normatas in this class, take for example the definition of Chalcedon. 00:36:18.000 --> 00:36:33.000 We're going to see that church fathers were appealing to Scripture, but what was important is how do we use language that faithfully reproduces what's in the Scripture? 00:36:33.000 --> 00:36:39.000 There was all these questions in the air about the nature of Christ's humanity and divinity. 00:36:39.000 --> 00:36:47.000 And if you really look at the definition of Chalcedon, it's really just breaking down what the author of Hebrews says. 00:36:47.000 --> 00:36:54.000 So maybe a helpful exercise, if you want to do this, is look at Chalcedon and open up the book of Hebrews. 00:36:54.000 --> 00:37:02.000 And just start marking off where the author of Hebrews says that Christ is divine and his humanity. 00:37:02.000 --> 00:37:07.000 And then look and cross-reference the definition of Chalcedon and see how those two things overlap. 00:37:07.000 --> 00:37:24.000 Really, that Council is just taking what we see in the text and they're analyzing it, they're explaining it, they're giving you conceptual frameworks of what's right there in front of your eyes in the Scriptures. 00:37:24.000 --> 00:37:28.000 Again, it's a hearing aid to help us hear the text better. 00:37:28.000 --> 00:37:35.000 Another analogy might be when you're in grammar school and you're learning to break down a sentence. 00:37:35.000 --> 00:37:40.000 Right? You have the subject, you have the object, the direct object, the indirect object. 00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:44.000 Right? When you're breaking down a sentence, you're not adding anything to the sentence. 00:37:44.000 --> 00:37:52.000 You're just putting categories to help you conceptually understand what is being said in the sentence. 00:37:52.000 --> 00:37:54.000 And that's what the creeds are doing for us. 00:37:54.000 --> 00:38:01.000 They're giving us categories to help us analyze the text of Scripture. 00:38:01.000 --> 00:38:03.000 It's a norma normata. 00:38:03.000 --> 00:38:09.000 Let me pause there. Any questions? Any thoughts, comments, clarifications? 00:38:09.000 --> 00:38:30.000 It seems like I was reading in the late that a lot of these creeds were born out of conflict in the 2nd and 3rd century when Christ and the Spirit and all these doctrines were hashed out. 00:38:30.000 --> 00:38:40.000 The creeds aren't born, they're not intellectualistic. They're not born in a scholarly study. 00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:53.000 Like, let me write a creed. It's always because there's somebody from within or from without threatening the true teaching of Scripture. 00:38:53.000 --> 00:39:03.000 That oftentimes the creeds are giving clarity to something, again, that we take for granted. That's so true. 00:39:03.000 --> 00:39:08.000 I mean, the word Trinity is church tradition. Like, the word Trinity is not found in the Bible. 00:39:08.000 --> 00:39:11.000 But we understand that's faithfully reproducing what's in the text. 00:39:11.000 --> 00:39:13.000 Or the term Great Commission. 00:39:13.000 --> 00:39:19.000 That term is not found in the Scripture, but it's referring to Matthew 28 and the church's commission as we go forward to make disciples. 00:39:19.000 --> 00:39:30.000 Yeah, so these traditions are born out of believers wanting to state clearly what their beliefs are. 00:39:31.000 --> 00:39:34.000 That Jesus is Lord. It's that important. 00:39:34.000 --> 00:39:35.000 That's... 00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:35.000 00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:40.000 Yeah, I... 00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:43.000 Anything else? Any other questions, comments? 00:39:43.000 --> 00:39:49.000 Well, you know, I think one of the... 00:39:49.000 --> 00:40:03.000 One of the episodes in history that really drove home the importance of this for me was when I was reading the debates between Athanasius, his camp, and the Arians in their camp. 00:40:03.000 --> 00:40:07.000 So, Arianism. 00:40:07.000 --> 00:40:15.000 Arius was a tall, handsome, wealthy, winsome poet, songwriter. 00:40:15.000 --> 00:40:18.000 All you could want in a pastor, right? 00:40:18.000 --> 00:40:23.000 Except he denied that Jesus was Lord. There was that part, too. 00:40:23.000 --> 00:40:27.000 And so, and Arians gained political power. 00:40:27.000 --> 00:40:33.000 So, after the rise of... 00:40:33.000 --> 00:40:35.000 And the rise of Constantine. 00:40:35.000 --> 00:40:41.000 And the Arians were persecuting those who confessed that Jesus was Lord. 00:40:41.000 --> 00:40:47.000 Athanasius was exiled six times, or maybe more than that, for confessing that Jesus was Lord. 00:40:47.000 --> 00:40:50.000 And he was called by his enemies the Black Dwarf. 00:40:50.000 --> 00:40:55.000 And one of the... one of the... my heroes in church history. 00:40:55.000 --> 00:41:01.000 But when they came together, both sides confessed to believing the Bible. 00:41:01.000 --> 00:41:08.000 And Orthodox believers would cite a Bible verse to prove that Jesus was Lord. 00:41:08.000 --> 00:41:13.000 But to their surprise, they were met with perfect agreement on the other side. 00:41:13.000 --> 00:41:23.000 So the other... the other... the Arians, they denied Jesus was Lord, but they could safely accept the phrases that were being used. 00:41:23.000 --> 00:41:27.000 Because they used it as an open canister where they can just fill in their own meanings. 00:41:27.000 --> 00:41:30.000 Sort of like a post-modern evasion of language. 00:41:30.000 --> 00:41:31.000 All right? 00:41:31.000 --> 00:41:36.000 So the... Athanasius in his camp would say, Christ is the Son of God. 00:41:36.000 --> 00:41:41.000 A term to convey the Son's divinity and his special relationship with the Father. 00:41:41.000 --> 00:41:44.000 He has all the divine prerogatives. 00:41:44.000 --> 00:41:48.000 The Arians would say, okay, but like all sons, he must have had a beginning. 00:41:48.000 --> 00:41:54.000 And Richard Hansen explained the process like this at the Council of Nicaea. 00:41:54.000 --> 00:42:04.000 Theologians of the Christian Church were slowly driven to a realization that the deepest questions which faced Christianity cannot be answered in purely biblical language. 00:42:04.000 --> 00:42:06.000 It may be surprising. Why? 00:42:06.000 --> 00:42:11.000 Because the questions are about the meaning of the biblical language itself. 00:42:11.000 --> 00:42:13.000 Right? 00:42:13.000 --> 00:42:14.000 So... 00:42:14.000 --> 00:42:19.000 The Arians wanted to take the high ground and say, no creed but the Bible. 00:42:19.000 --> 00:42:22.000 Let's just stick with biblical language. 00:42:22.000 --> 00:42:31.000 A thing where Athanasius in his camp wanted to say, no, but we need to clarify what's in the language itself. 00:42:31.000 --> 00:42:32.000 Right? 00:42:32.000 --> 00:42:36.000 We need to clarify that Jesus was Lord. 00:42:36.000 --> 00:42:47.000 And so they came up with a non-biblical term which we'll talk about which said that Jesus was of the same substance as the Father. 00:42:47.000 --> 00:42:51.039 and that was enough to divide the two camps 00:42:51.039 --> 00:42:54.139 you can't either agree with that or you don't agree with that 00:42:54.139 --> 00:42:57.500 is he similar or is he of the same substance as the father 00:42:57.500 --> 00:43:01.699 and eternity is a difference in those two 00:43:01.699 --> 00:43:03.400 terms 00:43:03.400 --> 00:43:08.360 so that's why we need the norma normata 00:43:08.360 --> 00:43:12.940 again because we're trying to clarify what's in the scripture itself 00:43:12.940 --> 00:43:14.880 Richard you have a point you want to make 00:43:14.880 --> 00:43:20.260 yes so the principle that the bible interprets itself 00:43:20.260 --> 00:43:23.260 fails at this point 00:43:23.260 --> 00:43:27.760 I don't think so but go ahead say what say more 00:43:27.760 --> 00:43:33.200 well the language of the bible is insufficient 00:43:33.200 --> 00:43:36.000 to for understanding the bible 00:43:36.000 --> 00:43:39.760 oh I see what you're saying so there's 00:43:39.760 --> 00:43:42.760 so there there's 00:43:42.760 --> 00:43:45.300 we have to distinguish the 00:43:45.300 --> 00:43:49.140 doctrinal clarity 00:43:49.140 --> 00:43:51.100 if we never have the norma normata 00:43:51.100 --> 00:43:54.640 you can go to the scriptures and find that Jesus is Lord 00:43:54.640 --> 00:43:59.080 the things that are most important to salvation are clear 00:43:59.079 --> 00:44:16.460 they're understandable and that is we don't need the norma normata to have a correct understanding of scripture but again it's a hearing aid to help us hear what's already in the text sometimes it amplifies certain truths that are in the scripture so I don't I won't say it's insufficient but it is a tool just like church tradition is a tool to help us interpret the scripture we're relying upon our 00:44:16.460 --> 00:44:18.000 certain truths that are in the scripture. 00:44:19.159 --> 00:44:21.139 So I wouldn't say it's insufficient, 00:44:21.500 --> 00:44:23.079 but it is a tool, 00:44:23.460 --> 00:44:25.960 just like church tradition is a tool 00:44:25.960 --> 00:44:27.539 to help us interpret the scripture. 00:44:27.940 --> 00:44:29.480 We're relying upon those 00:44:29.480 --> 00:44:31.119 who have the Holy Spirit before us 00:44:31.119 --> 00:44:32.980 to give us insight and clarity. 00:44:33.840 --> 00:44:36.440 But I think if I give the Bible 00:44:36.440 --> 00:44:38.139 to a farmer who's never heard 00:44:38.139 --> 00:44:39.099 of the Council of Nicaea, 00:44:39.500 --> 00:44:40.579 and I just said, you know, 00:44:40.579 --> 00:44:42.119 read the Gospel of John. 00:44:42.880 --> 00:44:45.000 And I think that person would say, 00:44:45.000 --> 00:44:47.440 you know, Jesus claims to be God himself. 00:44:47.579 --> 00:44:48.699 The Word was with God. 00:44:48.760 --> 00:44:49.579 The Word was God. 00:44:52.079 --> 00:44:55.300 But again, there are certain doctrinal clarity 00:44:55.300 --> 00:44:58.000 that's helpful for us as a church 00:44:58.000 --> 00:45:01.300 when there's controversy 00:45:01.300 --> 00:45:03.199 about some of the meanings of this language. 00:45:03.360 --> 00:45:04.380 I don't know if that answers your question, 00:45:04.559 --> 00:45:05.400 but maybe not. 00:45:05.420 --> 00:45:06.179 Can I follow it up? 00:45:06.280 --> 00:45:06.739 Yeah, go ahead. 00:45:06.739 --> 00:45:12.980 So the initial creed, Jesus is Lord, right? 00:45:13.179 --> 00:45:13.360 Yeah. 00:45:13.360 --> 00:45:16.220 So the two terms in that simple sentence, 00:45:16.360 --> 00:45:17.340 Jesus and Lord, 00:45:17.820 --> 00:45:20.200 are found many, many times in the scriptures. 00:45:20.440 --> 00:45:20.740 Yes. 00:45:21.059 --> 00:45:23.039 Surely then we can use, 00:45:23.220 --> 00:45:25.200 a careful study of the scriptures 00:45:25.200 --> 00:45:29.300 will result in informing those two terms 00:45:29.300 --> 00:45:31.420 properly and biblically. 00:45:31.900 --> 00:45:32.099 Yeah. 00:45:32.099 --> 00:45:34.599 If others, Christian or not, 00:45:34.720 --> 00:45:36.760 inform those terms otherwise, 00:45:37.680 --> 00:45:39.539 they are being unfaithful to the scripture. 00:45:39.539 --> 00:45:43.039 We need, in this case, 00:45:43.199 --> 00:45:44.820 we need nothing beyond the scripture 00:45:44.820 --> 00:45:46.860 to come to the right conclusion. 00:45:48.000 --> 00:45:50.079 I understand your point. 00:45:50.179 --> 00:45:50.360 Yes. 00:45:50.440 --> 00:45:53.139 So the, yes, Jesus is Lord. 00:45:53.639 --> 00:45:54.900 The scriptures are sufficient. 00:45:55.059 --> 00:45:55.920 Remember, Paul says, 00:45:56.059 --> 00:45:57.739 for every good work. 00:45:57.739 --> 00:45:58.739 So we don't, 00:45:58.959 --> 00:46:00.159 the scriptures are, 00:46:00.239 --> 00:46:02.539 are there and the nature 00:46:02.539 --> 00:46:03.479 and character of the scriptures 00:46:03.479 --> 00:46:05.819 allows us so that we can approach them 00:46:05.819 --> 00:46:06.719 and, 00:46:06.719 --> 00:46:09.139 and glean the things that are the most obvious, 00:46:09.139 --> 00:46:11.259 which are the things that are pertaining to salvation. 00:46:11.879 --> 00:46:13.039 Jesus is Lord. 00:46:13.639 --> 00:46:14.059 They're, 00:46:14.059 --> 00:46:16.480 that's certainly there. 00:46:16.579 --> 00:46:17.480 I think one of the, 00:46:17.860 --> 00:46:19.320 and we'll talk about this next class, 00:46:19.900 --> 00:46:22.960 is the creeds were an authority 00:46:22.960 --> 00:46:24.840 before the canonization of the scripture. 00:46:25.820 --> 00:46:27.619 So before we had the, 00:46:27.619 --> 00:46:28.519 the biblical canon, 00:46:28.920 --> 00:46:31.039 there were certain rules of faith 00:46:31.039 --> 00:46:32.799 that the early church would use 00:46:32.799 --> 00:46:33.279 that were, 00:46:33.360 --> 00:46:35.779 that were centered around the gospel. 00:46:36.139 --> 00:46:37.099 And those, 00:46:37.279 --> 00:46:39.679 those things were passed down as traditions 00:46:39.679 --> 00:46:42.099 in the early church apostolic era. 00:46:42.099 --> 00:46:45.480 But those rules of faith 00:46:45.480 --> 00:46:47.279 were never meant to be an independent authority. 00:46:47.880 --> 00:46:49.900 They were always subserving to the scriptures. 00:46:51.500 --> 00:46:51.860 So, I mean, 00:46:52.000 --> 00:46:54.360 the first Corinthians literally says, 00:46:54.460 --> 00:46:55.139 obey tradition. 00:46:56.179 --> 00:46:58.920 But those traditions were, 00:46:59.239 --> 00:47:01.259 are now for us in the canon. 00:47:02.139 --> 00:47:05.000 The apostolic deposit is now written down 00:47:05.000 --> 00:47:05.639 in the canon. 00:47:05.860 --> 00:47:07.059 So, yeah. 00:47:07.380 --> 00:47:08.019 Yeah, I mean, 00:47:08.039 --> 00:47:10.759 I guess what I would think is to say that 00:47:10.760 --> 00:47:13.700 I think there's two different things going on here, right? 00:47:13.780 --> 00:47:14.600 Because if you say, 00:47:14.760 --> 00:47:15.880 scripture interprets scripture, 00:47:16.480 --> 00:47:18.500 I think the principle there is that 00:47:18.500 --> 00:47:19.980 if there's a question about 00:47:19.980 --> 00:47:21.660 an ambiguous nature of the text, 00:47:21.740 --> 00:47:24.060 we look to see if there's other parts of scripture 00:47:24.060 --> 00:47:26.340 that are more clear about what the text is talking about. 00:47:26.340 --> 00:47:27.039 Yeah. 00:47:27.300 --> 00:47:29.079 And then I think the other element 00:47:29.079 --> 00:47:29.840 is that 00:47:29.840 --> 00:47:32.500 if we do like a systematic theology, 00:47:32.960 --> 00:47:33.220 right, 00:47:33.280 --> 00:47:34.539 where we take a certain term 00:47:34.539 --> 00:47:35.500 or a certain concept 00:47:35.500 --> 00:47:36.700 and look at the entire scripture 00:47:36.700 --> 00:47:37.860 or what it says about that, 00:47:38.160 --> 00:47:39.420 that is a good way of 00:47:39.420 --> 00:47:41.280 getting a hold of 00:47:41.280 --> 00:47:42.360 the idea. 00:47:43.019 --> 00:47:43.420 However, 00:47:43.539 --> 00:47:44.240 even then, 00:47:44.640 --> 00:47:46.480 to what I think Tyler is pointing out, 00:47:46.980 --> 00:47:47.600 is that 00:47:47.600 --> 00:47:50.579 the words that we use in scripture 00:47:50.579 --> 00:47:51.559 are 00:47:51.559 --> 00:47:53.340 underdetermined. 00:47:53.340 --> 00:47:54.140 underdetermined, 00:47:54.200 --> 00:47:54.840 meaning like 00:47:54.840 --> 00:47:56.460 no word 00:47:56.460 --> 00:47:58.460 that we find in scripture, 00:47:58.600 --> 00:47:59.320 almost no word 00:47:59.320 --> 00:47:59.980 that we find in scripture 00:47:59.980 --> 00:48:01.539 has a single 00:48:01.539 --> 00:48:02.700 univocal meaning, 00:48:03.400 --> 00:48:03.760 right? 00:48:04.240 --> 00:48:05.079 And the same thing 00:48:05.079 --> 00:48:05.760 with our language. 00:48:05.980 --> 00:48:06.079 Like, 00:48:06.120 --> 00:48:07.200 almost every word we use 00:48:07.200 --> 00:48:08.039 could be used 00:48:08.039 --> 00:48:09.240 in multiple different ways. 00:48:09.800 --> 00:48:10.220 And so, 00:48:10.620 --> 00:48:11.100 oftentimes, 00:48:11.519 --> 00:48:12.340 sometimes it's not 00:48:12.340 --> 00:48:13.360 100% clear 00:48:13.360 --> 00:48:14.740 when he says 00:48:14.740 --> 00:48:15.800 this, 00:48:16.579 --> 00:48:16.800 because, 00:48:16.880 --> 00:48:16.980 you know, 00:48:17.019 --> 00:48:17.720 the word Lord 00:48:17.720 --> 00:48:18.240 is used, 00:48:18.460 --> 00:48:19.480 is applied to 00:48:19.480 --> 00:48:20.320 secular rulers 00:48:20.320 --> 00:48:21.700 in the Bible as well, 00:48:21.880 --> 00:48:22.240 right? 00:48:22.239 --> 00:48:23.439 or kings 00:48:23.439 --> 00:48:24.239 and stuff like that. 00:48:24.559 --> 00:48:24.959 And so, 00:48:25.559 --> 00:48:26.500 I think someone 00:48:26.500 --> 00:48:28.379 who is motivated 00:48:28.379 --> 00:48:29.819 to, 00:48:30.199 --> 00:48:30.579 for instance, 00:48:30.719 --> 00:48:31.599 deny the divinity 00:48:31.599 --> 00:48:32.099 of Jesus 00:48:32.099 --> 00:48:33.179 can find 00:48:33.179 --> 00:48:34.319 reasons 00:48:34.319 --> 00:48:35.139 to weasel, 00:48:35.219 --> 00:48:36.019 using the words, 00:48:36.139 --> 00:48:36.859 to weasel out 00:48:36.859 --> 00:48:37.199 of the, 00:48:37.519 --> 00:48:38.159 I think, 00:48:38.500 --> 00:48:40.339 what we're pointing out 00:48:40.339 --> 00:48:41.219 is the obvious 00:48:41.219 --> 00:48:41.839 conclusion. 00:48:42.579 --> 00:48:42.739 Like, 00:48:42.779 --> 00:48:43.659 if you did a systematic 00:48:43.659 --> 00:48:44.699 theology of Jesus 00:48:44.699 --> 00:48:45.239 and Lord 00:48:45.239 --> 00:48:46.239 and looked at it, 00:48:46.259 --> 00:48:46.639 you'd be like, 00:48:46.699 --> 00:48:46.839 yeah, 00:48:46.919 --> 00:48:47.819 he's claiming to be God, 00:48:47.879 --> 00:48:48.559 he is God, 00:48:49.179 --> 00:48:49.439 right? 00:48:49.500 --> 00:48:50.199 He has authority. 00:48:50.199 --> 00:48:51.079 But if you are 00:48:51.079 --> 00:48:52.519 motivated to 00:48:52.519 --> 00:48:53.679 find a way 00:48:53.679 --> 00:48:54.699 to deny that, 00:48:54.799 --> 00:48:55.639 you could weasel 00:48:55.639 --> 00:48:56.359 with the words 00:48:56.359 --> 00:48:57.960 to make them 00:48:57.960 --> 00:48:58.500 sound like 00:48:58.500 --> 00:48:58.819 you're saying 00:48:58.819 --> 00:48:59.500 something else. 00:48:59.699 --> 00:49:00.719 Like what I think 00:49:00.719 --> 00:49:01.179 you're saying, 00:49:01.359 --> 00:49:02.279 sometimes we have 00:49:02.279 --> 00:49:02.899 to use 00:49:02.899 --> 00:49:04.819 very specific, 00:49:05.079 --> 00:49:05.559 distinct, 00:49:06.099 --> 00:49:07.099 almost scientific 00:49:07.099 --> 00:49:07.819 language 00:49:07.819 --> 00:49:08.899 that has 00:49:08.899 --> 00:49:09.819 one meaning 00:49:09.819 --> 00:49:11.480 that we can say, 00:49:11.579 --> 00:49:11.779 okay, 00:49:11.960 --> 00:49:12.839 we're investing 00:49:12.839 --> 00:49:13.379 this word 00:49:13.379 --> 00:49:14.359 with this one meaning, 00:49:14.679 --> 00:49:15.879 now we're using 00:49:15.879 --> 00:49:16.559 it to describe 00:49:16.559 --> 00:49:17.059 what we see 00:49:17.059 --> 00:49:17.559 in scripture, 00:49:17.559 --> 00:49:18.779 now we can 00:49:18.779 --> 00:49:19.519 have a discussion 00:49:19.519 --> 00:49:20.920 where there's 00:49:20.920 --> 00:49:23.259 absolute clarity 00:49:23.259 --> 00:49:24.380 based on this word. 00:49:25.719 --> 00:49:26.320 Right. 00:49:26.840 --> 00:49:27.880 It's smuggling 00:49:27.880 --> 00:49:29.320 non-biblical 00:49:29.320 --> 00:49:29.840 meanings 00:49:29.840 --> 00:49:30.699 into a word, 00:49:30.860 --> 00:49:31.719 into a phrase. 00:49:32.440 --> 00:49:33.420 That was 00:49:33.420 --> 00:49:34.219 the issue 00:49:34.219 --> 00:49:35.000 at the Council 00:49:35.000 --> 00:49:35.719 of Nicaea. 00:49:36.259 --> 00:49:36.579 Tom? 00:49:36.940 --> 00:49:37.900 Just to add to that, 00:49:38.000 --> 00:49:38.500 I think also 00:49:38.500 --> 00:49:39.219 that the preach, 00:49:39.340 --> 00:49:39.860 it's not that 00:49:39.860 --> 00:49:40.279 the scriptures 00:49:40.279 --> 00:49:41.380 are insufficient 00:49:41.380 --> 00:49:41.920 and the scriptures 00:49:41.920 --> 00:49:43.239 don't interpret 00:49:43.239 --> 00:49:44.320 each other 00:49:44.320 --> 00:49:45.199 because they do. 00:49:45.380 --> 00:49:46.099 They are sufficient. 00:49:46.099 --> 00:49:47.360 it's that 00:49:47.360 --> 00:49:48.480 there are, 00:49:49.360 --> 00:49:49.599 you know, 00:49:49.679 --> 00:49:49.839 like, 00:49:50.179 --> 00:49:50.699 scripture doesn't 00:49:50.699 --> 00:49:51.099 have the word 00:49:51.099 --> 00:49:51.799 monotheism, 00:49:52.480 --> 00:49:53.480 but we use 00:49:53.480 --> 00:49:54.039 that term 00:49:54.039 --> 00:49:55.039 to just characterize 00:49:55.039 --> 00:49:55.739 what the scriptures 00:49:55.739 --> 00:49:56.460 are saying. 00:49:57.199 --> 00:49:58.039 And so the creeds, 00:49:58.139 --> 00:49:58.759 like the Nicene Creed 00:49:58.759 --> 00:49:59.619 could have just 00:49:59.619 --> 00:50:00.480 done a big list 00:50:00.480 --> 00:50:01.339 of Bible verses, 00:50:01.699 --> 00:50:01.960 you know, 00:50:02.000 --> 00:50:02.539 describing, 00:50:03.099 --> 00:50:03.799 but then, 00:50:04.239 --> 00:50:04.659 but that's not 00:50:04.659 --> 00:50:05.179 the point of the creed. 00:50:05.299 --> 00:50:06.380 The point of the creed 00:50:06.380 --> 00:50:07.159 is to just quickly 00:50:07.159 --> 00:50:07.819 summarize what 00:50:07.819 --> 00:50:08.179 the scriptures 00:50:08.179 --> 00:50:08.799 are saying 00:50:08.799 --> 00:50:09.559 and sometimes 00:50:09.559 --> 00:50:10.799 you need to 00:50:10.799 --> 00:50:11.639 coin some words, 00:50:11.839 --> 00:50:12.059 like, 00:50:12.279 --> 00:50:13.360 I am monotheistic. 00:50:14.019 --> 00:50:14.900 That's just a summary 00:50:14.900 --> 00:50:16.320 of what Christians 00:50:16.320 --> 00:50:17.039 should be. 00:50:17.280 --> 00:50:17.920 Same as the word 00:50:17.920 --> 00:50:18.260 trinity, 00:50:18.460 --> 00:50:18.940 same as the word 00:50:18.940 --> 00:50:19.579 homo lusios. 00:50:20.500 --> 00:50:22.180 And that the Arians, 00:50:22.420 --> 00:50:23.599 the Arians 00:50:23.599 --> 00:50:24.240 tried to do this 00:50:24.240 --> 00:50:24.740 in reverse 00:50:24.740 --> 00:50:26.500 by putting phrases 00:50:26.500 --> 00:50:27.380 together that 00:50:27.380 --> 00:50:28.260 were misleading 00:50:28.260 --> 00:50:28.900 about what the 00:50:28.900 --> 00:50:29.720 scriptures were saying 00:50:29.720 --> 00:50:30.940 and the Nicene Creed 00:50:30.940 --> 00:50:31.559 was a response 00:50:31.559 --> 00:50:31.800 to that. 00:50:31.920 --> 00:50:32.440 And actually, 00:50:32.960 --> 00:50:35.099 here's the response 00:50:35.099 --> 00:50:35.720 that the Arians 00:50:35.720 --> 00:50:36.099 couldn't, 00:50:36.180 --> 00:50:37.420 they couldn't agree 00:50:37.420 --> 00:50:37.840 with them. 00:50:37.960 --> 00:50:38.820 It was an easy way 00:50:38.820 --> 00:50:39.620 to differentiate 00:50:39.620 --> 00:50:40.660 between two 00:50:40.660 --> 00:50:41.700 different 00:50:41.700 --> 00:50:42.940 understandings 00:50:42.940 --> 00:50:43.280 of scripture, 00:50:43.440 --> 00:50:45.559 one of which 00:50:45.559 --> 00:50:46.480 is scriptural, 00:50:46.580 --> 00:50:46.920 the other 00:50:46.920 --> 00:50:47.680 says it is, 00:50:47.740 --> 00:50:48.600 but it really isn't. 00:50:49.539 --> 00:50:50.240 That's helpful, 00:50:50.360 --> 00:50:50.539 yeah. 00:50:51.320 --> 00:50:51.880 And so, 00:50:52.120 --> 00:50:53.280 both sides 00:50:53.280 --> 00:50:53.920 claim to believe 00:50:53.920 --> 00:50:54.320 the Bible, 00:50:54.880 --> 00:50:56.900 but when we start 00:50:56.900 --> 00:50:58.039 talking about 00:50:58.039 --> 00:50:58.460 the meaning 00:50:58.460 --> 00:50:59.100 of the language 00:50:59.100 --> 00:50:59.559 itself, 00:50:59.559 --> 00:51:00.260 we need to start 00:51:00.260 --> 00:51:01.640 using other words 00:51:01.640 --> 00:51:03.000 that clarify, 00:51:04.000 --> 00:51:05.340 but I would 00:51:05.340 --> 00:51:06.400 still maintain 00:51:06.400 --> 00:51:07.160 that the scripture 00:51:07.160 --> 00:51:07.920 is sufficient, 00:51:08.160 --> 00:51:08.420 so, 00:51:08.780 --> 00:51:09.599 for all things 00:51:09.599 --> 00:51:10.780 necessary for salvation. 00:51:11.619 --> 00:51:11.820 So, 00:51:11.980 --> 00:51:12.360 again, 00:51:12.500 --> 00:51:14.160 we're trying 00:51:14.160 --> 00:51:15.300 to interpret 00:51:15.300 --> 00:51:16.000 the scripture 00:51:16.000 --> 00:51:18.840 in light 00:51:18.840 --> 00:51:19.460 to the fact 00:51:19.460 --> 00:51:20.860 that there have 00:51:20.860 --> 00:51:21.500 been saints 00:51:21.500 --> 00:51:21.920 who have gone 00:51:21.920 --> 00:51:22.480 before us 00:51:22.480 --> 00:51:23.039 and we stand 00:51:23.039 --> 00:51:23.579 on the shoulders 00:51:23.579 --> 00:51:24.320 of giants 00:51:24.320 --> 00:51:25.260 who have fought 00:51:25.260 --> 00:51:25.680 this battle 00:51:25.680 --> 00:51:26.240 and we can learn 00:51:26.240 --> 00:51:26.619 from them. 00:51:27.059 --> 00:51:27.619 You can imagine 00:51:27.619 --> 00:51:28.420 someone who says, 00:51:28.500 --> 00:51:28.840 I'm just going 00:51:28.840 --> 00:51:29.099 to go in the 00:51:29.099 --> 00:51:30.619 corner in the Bible 00:51:30.619 --> 00:51:31.360 with myself 00:51:31.360 --> 00:51:32.519 and I'm going 00:51:32.519 --> 00:51:33.280 to read Romans 00:51:33.280 --> 00:51:33.639 and I'm going 00:51:33.639 --> 00:51:34.039 to see what it 00:51:34.039 --> 00:51:34.800 really means. 00:51:35.380 --> 00:51:36.160 What it really 00:51:36.159 --> 00:51:36.500 means. 00:51:37.239 --> 00:51:37.920 I'm not 00:51:37.920 --> 00:51:38.440 prejudiced 00:51:38.440 --> 00:51:39.000 like with all 00:51:39.000 --> 00:51:39.359 those other 00:51:39.359 --> 00:51:39.960 people throughout 00:51:39.960 --> 00:51:40.559 church history. 00:51:41.059 --> 00:51:41.699 That's a foolish 00:51:41.699 --> 00:51:42.239 thing to do. 00:51:42.839 --> 00:51:43.920 We need to 00:51:43.920 --> 00:51:44.879 recognize that 00:51:44.879 --> 00:51:45.819 we learn 00:51:45.819 --> 00:51:46.339 from other 00:51:46.339 --> 00:51:46.759 people. 00:51:46.940 --> 00:51:47.279 We rely 00:51:47.279 --> 00:51:47.759 upon other 00:51:47.759 --> 00:51:48.099 people. 00:51:49.779 --> 00:51:50.420 Any final... 00:51:50.420 --> 00:51:50.799 That's why 00:51:50.799 --> 00:51:51.679 it says in the Bible 00:51:51.679 --> 00:51:52.440 it talks about 00:51:52.440 --> 00:51:54.659 pastors and 00:51:54.659 --> 00:51:55.299 teachers. 00:51:58.960 --> 00:51:59.559 Teachers. 00:52:00.079 --> 00:52:00.279 Yeah. 00:52:00.719 --> 00:52:01.399 We need 00:52:01.399 --> 00:52:02.519 faithful teachers, 00:52:02.859 --> 00:52:03.779 but we don't 00:52:03.779 --> 00:52:04.579 put teachers 00:52:04.579 --> 00:52:05.019 up here. 00:52:06.159 --> 00:52:06.799 Again, 00:52:07.199 --> 00:52:07.859 the scripture 00:52:07.859 --> 00:52:08.799 is the highest 00:52:08.799 --> 00:52:09.319 jurisdiction. 00:52:10.019 --> 00:52:11.139 So this is 00:52:11.139 --> 00:52:12.019 sort of a... 00:52:12.019 --> 00:52:12.739 As we dive 00:52:12.739 --> 00:52:13.279 into the 00:52:13.279 --> 00:52:13.879 specifics, 00:52:14.339 --> 00:52:14.980 I want us 00:52:14.980 --> 00:52:15.519 to keep this 00:52:15.519 --> 00:52:16.139 framework in 00:52:16.139 --> 00:52:16.480 mind. 00:52:16.980 --> 00:52:17.639 Because to 00:52:17.639 --> 00:52:18.440 elevate the 00:52:18.440 --> 00:52:19.279 norma normata 00:52:19.279 --> 00:52:20.039 to this level, 00:52:20.159 --> 00:52:20.440 I think 00:52:20.440 --> 00:52:22.319 dishonors those 00:52:22.319 --> 00:52:23.239 who actually 00:52:23.239 --> 00:52:24.199 were appealing 00:52:24.199 --> 00:52:24.819 to the scriptures 00:52:24.819 --> 00:52:26.359 in their defense 00:52:26.359 --> 00:52:28.019 of the truth 00:52:28.019 --> 00:52:28.500 they were seeking 00:52:28.500 --> 00:52:32.760 to guard the 00:52:32.760 --> 00:52:33.559 church with. 00:52:33.679 --> 00:52:34.480 So let me 00:52:34.480 --> 00:52:35.139 pray and then 00:52:35.139 --> 00:52:36.679 we'll go 00:52:36.679 --> 00:52:37.059 downstairs. 00:52:37.239 --> 00:52:37.699 Our Father in 00:52:37.699 --> 00:52:38.079 heaven, we 00:52:38.079 --> 00:52:38.659 thank you for 00:52:38.659 --> 00:52:39.599 your faithfulness. 00:52:39.820 --> 00:52:40.559 Thank you for 00:52:40.559 --> 00:52:44.300 your ways, 00:52:44.420 --> 00:52:45.019 for men and 00:52:45.019 --> 00:52:46.079 women who 00:52:46.079 --> 00:52:46.780 have gone 00:52:46.780 --> 00:52:47.500 before us, 00:52:48.059 --> 00:52:49.400 who have 00:52:49.400 --> 00:52:51.360 been examples 00:52:51.360 --> 00:52:51.960 to us of 00:52:51.960 --> 00:52:52.519 faithfulness. 00:52:52.639 --> 00:52:53.199 Will we walk 00:52:53.199 --> 00:52:53.440 in their 00:52:53.440 --> 00:52:53.780 footsteps, 00:52:54.039 --> 00:52:55.159 Lord, as they 00:52:55.159 --> 00:52:55.659 have walked 00:52:55.659 --> 00:52:56.099 with you. 00:52:56.099 --> 00:52:57.039 We pray this 00:52:57.039 --> 00:52:57.339 in Jesus' 00:52:57.500 --> 00:52:57.679 name. 00:52:58.119 --> 00:52:58.360 Amen.