Sola Scriptura Unlocked—The Scriptural Legacy of Sola Scriptura for the Lutheran Generations in a Constantly Changing Context over Time

The ongoing debate among contemporary Lutheran conservatives and liberals is whether Martin Luther’s reform got the reformation once and for all or initiated an active process of continuing reformation. The debate is related to the understanding of Scripture based on Sola Scriptura. Lutheran conservatives, for instance, argue that the Bible is literally true and inerrant and that if certain passages forbid women from speaking in church, then that is divine law that must be followed no matter how changes the context. In this concept, Luther’s reform got reformation once in Church history. Contrarily, the liberals, by adopting the historical-critical method, argue the Bible as a historical collection of documents in which different authors addressed specific audiences according to their contexts. They thus view Luther’s reform as initiating a dynamic process of continuing reformation. The conservatives’ view is hardly convincing as it overlooks contexts in interpreting the Biblical texts. The liberals also have certain shortcomings as suggests different interpretations of the Bible following the change of the context. The way between may be an interpretation of Scripture that can traverse all contexts, and this is not the literal approach of the conservatives nor the context-based approach of the liberals, but the Christological approach to Scripture. In my view, this Christological approach to Scripture is the treasured legacy of Luther’s Sola Scriptura which this scholarly essay is dedicated to exploring.