Restoring Apostolic Faith

Somewhere along the way, “Sola Scriptura” stopped meaning Scripture is our highest authority and started meaning I don’t need to listen to anyone, anywhere, ever.

Because apparently all it takes to interpret the Bible correctly is:

• A leatherbound ESV,

• A podcast pastor,

• And whatever we feel while sitting in traffic with worship music on.

Meanwhile, the early church is staring at us from the first and second century like:

“You… do realize we lived with the people who wrote this, right?”

But sure. Becky from TicTok got a “revelation” in her prayer journal. Let’s go with that.

The Early Church Didn’t Do “Sola Me”

When Clement (the bishop of Rome) wrote to the Corinthians, he didn’t say:

“Open your Bibles to Romans 12… I’ll wait.”

Why?

Because chapters and verses didn’t exist yet.

The church learned their faith by:

• Hearing Scripture read aloud in context

• And being taught its meaning by those who had received it

Not through vibes.

Not through Google.

Not through the sermon that’s 2 minutes Bible, 43 minutes the pastor’s personal story.

Clement quotes Jesus like Jesus actually meant something.

He quotes Isaiah like Isaiah is still thunder.

He quotes Peter like he met the man.

Because… he did.

And when Clement teaches, he doesn’t entertain.

He expects obedience.

He writes:

“Confess Christ by doing what He commanded.”

Not:

“Say the sinner’s prayer.

Try to sin less.

See you next Sunday for the new sermon series on emotional wellness.”

No.

Clement treats discipleship like discipleship.

Where Modern Preaching Goes Sideways

Today you get:

• One verse flashed on a screen

• Followed by forty minutes of personal life anecdotes:

• “So the other day, I was at Target, and you won’t believe what the cashier said…”

Brother — the cashier wasn’t Isaiah.

Your toddler is not Paul’s thorn in the flesh.

And your golden retriever’s haircut is not an illustration of sanctification.

This isn’t preaching.

It’s Christian motivational speaking with props.

We’ve replaced proclamation with personality.

And nobody questions it, because questioning the pastor is apparently “divisive.”

Meanwhile, Clement’s over here in the 1st century smashing idols and calling entire congregations to repentance without blinking.

The Real Issue Isn’t Scripture. It’s Control.

Let’s be brutally honest:

The reason most pastors avoid quoting the early church isn’t because:

• “It’s not inspired.”

• “It’s not scripture.”

• “It might confuse the congregation.”

No.

It’s because Clement would absolutely blow up their preaching model.

Clement expects Christians to:

• Know Scripture deeply

• Obey Christ fully

• Live sacrificially

• Reject worldly comfort

• Endure suffering without whining

• Act like the Kingdom of God is actually here and matters

Modern sermons expect Christians to:

• Show up

• Smile

• Feel encouraged

• Come back next week

There’s a difference between forming disciples

and maintaining attenders.

One requires courage.

The other requires branding.

Sola Scriptura Was Never the Invitation to Interpret Alone

Luther meant:

Scripture stands above councils, traditions, and popes.

He did not mean:

“Ignore everyone who came before you, because you have vibes.”

The early church didn’t separate Scripture from teacher.

They didn’t separate text from community.

They didn’t separate interpretation from obedience.

The way they read Scripture formed how they lived.

Modern Christians read Scripture to defend how they already live.

That’s the difference.

Confession Without Obedience Isn’t Christianity — It’s PR

Clement said:

“We confess Christ by doing what He commanded.”

Not believing He existed.

Not quoting Him on Facebook.

Not wearing “Blessed & Highly Favored” merch.

Doing.

Living.

Choosing differently.

This is the part modern Christianity chokes on like a communion wafer sideways.

Because obedience requires:

• Self-denial

• Discipline

• Accountability

• The courage to actually change

And most believers today have been taught that change = legalism.

So they stay infants.

On purpose.

What We Lost — and Need to Get Back

We don’t need:

• Better worship sets

• Better podcasts

• Better church branding

• Better celebrity pastors

We need:

• The courage to hear Scripture in context

• The humility to learn from the early church

• The honesty to admit we’ve domesticated Christ

We don’t need to reinvent Christianity.

We need to remember it.

Clement didn’t preach to be liked.

He preached to save souls.

And souls are not saved by applause.

They are saved by allegiance.

Final Thoughts

Sola Scriptura was never the problem.

Scripture is good.

Scripture is authoritative.

Scripture is the root, the foundation, the living voice of God.

The problem was when we quietly swapped it for:

Sola Me.

My interpretation.

My feelings.

My personal revelation.

My comfort.

My Christianity, custom-ordered like a sandwich.

And the faith shrank to fit the human holding it.

Time to reverse that.

Scripture leads.

The church remembers.

The Spirit empowers.

We obey.

Everything else is noise.

Endnotes

1. Clement of Rome, First Letter to the Corinthians (commonly called 1 Clement), particularly chapters 1, 13, and 21–23. Clement repeatedly connects confession of Christ with obedience to His commands and uses Israel’s history as the primary warning example. English text available in The Apostolic Fathers, ed. Michael W. Holmes (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007).

2. 1 Clement 5–6 gives a direct appeal to the martyrdoms of Peter and Paul as moral formation for believers, demonstrating Clement’s proximity to apostolic testimony.

3. On the development of chapters and verses, see Bruce Metzger, The Bible in Translation (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001), 29–33. Chapters were introduced by Stephen Langton (13th c.); verses by Robert Estienne (1551). Earlier Christians could not reference Scripture the way modern sermons do.

4. Matthew 10:16 — “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves…” (NASB ’95). Clement’s paraphrasing or alluding to Christ’s sayings is consistent with early Christian homiletic practice and oral tradition.

5. Matthew 10:28 — “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

6. On early Christian oral tradition and apostolic memory, see Larry Hurtado, Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003), particularly chapters 3–4.

7. Luther’s original intent behind Sola Scriptura as Scripture over ecclesial authority, not Scripture in isolation from community or history: The Smalcald Articles, Part II, Art. 2 (1537).

8. Distinction between Sola Scriptura and Solo Scriptura (interpretation done individually without reference to the church) is discussed in Keith Mathison, The Shape of Sola Scriptura (Canon Press, 2001).

9. On the early church’s expectation of moral transformation as the visible mark of faith, see Didache 1–6 and Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Magnesians 1–3.

10. On preaching as formation rather than entertainment, contrast Chrysostom’s homilies (Homilies on Matthew, esp. Homily 7) with contemporary homiletic models. Chrysostom consistently assumes the congregation is capable of understanding and practicing Scripture in depth.