The Holy Spirit is our true minister, our communication with God.
How do we know what we know about Jesus…? And how do we know who Jesus is…? Some here have clearly stated that “We know nothing about Jesus apart from the Word, as Jesus reveals Himself through the written Word.” I disagree with that assertion wholeheartedly. He doesn’t ‘only’ reveal Himself through the written word. Jesus made it crystal clear that He had many more things to say to His followers, but because of their inability to bear them at the time, He was going to send them the Holy Spirit who would guide them into all the truth. I agree with Kent that the Holy Spirit is a powerful mentor.
Originally Posted by SuperCub
The commonly accepted doctrine of sola scriptura teaches that the Bible is the the sole infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice. While the HS does help us with understanding the Word of God, He cannot teach anything that contradicts the Word of God. The Bible is the last word for us from God.
The Holy Spirit clearly helps us with much more than just “understanding the Word of God.” Some here have mentioned “sola Scriptura” (Scripture alone), and when some Protestants today talk about it, they often make it sound like we have no need for any truths outside of the Bible. That’s unfortunate, and it’s simply not true.
I don’t deny sola Scriptura, but I do deny the erroneous definition of that doctrine. Sola Scriptura was cited by the reformers to correct abuses by the Roman Catholic church, and they specifically meant that the Bible was sufficient for the faith and practice of a believer, as opposed to the Scripture ‘plus’ church tradition, ‘plus’ church councils, ‘plus’ the statements of the Pope, etc.. But Sola Scriptura doesn’t deny the role of natural revelation (including reason). Without natural revelation we couldn’t understand the Bible or anything else about reality…! Even Martin Luther realized this; He didn’t dismiss reason, he even said he would only recant if he could be proven wrong by Scripture ‘or’ reason.
It’s unfortunate that a tradition has arisen in reformed Christianity that distorts the original meaning of sola Scriptura ~ the very doctrine intended to correct the erroneous traditions that had arisen in the Roman Catholic church. Roman Catholics may nullify the Word of God when they add traditions and such to God’s revelation. But some Protestants are nullifying it when they subtract from God’s revelation. We shouldn’t add Roman Catholic church traditions and such to God’s special revelation, but we also shouldn’t subtract natural revelation either. It’s from God just as much as the Bible is…!
