Scripture Alone
Today’s Verse:
2 Timothy 3:16 ESV
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.
In the heart of Lutheran teaching is a simple, powerful principle: Sola Scriptura—Scripture alone. This means that the Bible is the highest and final authority in all matters of faith and life. It is God’s own Word, clear, sufficient, and trustworthy.
Roman Catholic tradition, while deeply rooted in Scripture, holds that the Bible and Sacred Tradition together form the foundation of authority. The teaching office of the Church—the Magisterium—interprets both. For Roman Catholics, this creates a threefold structure: Scripture, Tradition, and the Church’s authority.
Lutherans respectfully differ. We affirm that Scripture stands above all. Tradition can be helpful and history has value, but no tradition, council, or church leader stands equal to or above God’s Word. If tradition contradicts the clear teaching of Scripture, it must be set aside.
This conviction shaped the Reformation. Martin Luther stood before powerful men and institutions and said, “My conscience is captive to the Word of God.” That same courage calls us today to hold fast to the Bible as our compass, our light, our hope.
Prayers
A Prayer for Today:
Lord God, thank You for the gift of Your Word. Help us trust it, study it, and live by it. Guard us from placing human words above Yours. Let Your truth lead us, correct us, and comfort us, for the sake of Jesus Christ, Your living Word. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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