It has been a long time since the Protestant Reformation, a long time when the five solas were exposed, of which one was “Sola Scriptura” or “Scripture alone”, but, the apostles also knew that it was only the Word of God that could transform people, do we have this present in recent years?.
When we speak about the Protestant Reformation, we are not only referring to a historical movement, but to a deep spiritual awakening that confronted serious deviations within the church of that time. The reformers understood that the authority of the church had replaced the authority of Scripture, and that human traditions had taken the place that only the Word of God should occupy.
At the time of the reformation, much was fought because the people of that time recognized that they only needed the Bible as their rule of faith and conduct, since that society was caught in ignorance, believing that the only one who could interpret the Bible was Pope, so they couldn’t even read the Bible.
This lack of access to Scripture kept the people in spiritual darkness, completely dependent on what others told them about God. That is why translating the Bible into common languages and placing it in the hands of the people was such a revolutionary act. The reformers understood that when the Word of God reaches the heart of the believer, true transformation begins.
But today is not the case, we have the Bible on all sides, printed, on mobile phones, on the PC, etc. And we give glory to God for all His blessings, but today something very similar to what happened in times of reformation is happening, and the apostle Paul warned us about this:
1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
1 Timothy 4:1-2
The apostle Paul makes it clear that the danger is not ignorance alone, but deviation from sound doctrine. Even having access to the Scriptures, many choose to listen to teachings that satisfy emotions or personal interests instead of submitting to the truth of God’s Word.
Today we have this problem in our churches, people listening to supposed voices, seeing supposed dreams (although we know that God can act in different ways). But the problem is that these people have stopped listening to what God says through the Bible and have become entangled that what they do is misrepresent Christianity.
When personal experiences are placed above Scripture, the church becomes vulnerable to deception. Dreams, visions, and prophecies must always be examined in the light of the Word of God, because God will never contradict Himself. The Bible remains the final and supreme authority for faith and practice.
This is a living evil within the churches, and we should proclaim the same thing that was proclaimed in the reformation: “Sola Scripture”. May our churches be directed by the Word of God, that nothing is more important in the church than the Word of God and in this way we will see hearts transformed in our temples.
Only when Scripture returns to its rightful place at the center of the church will we see genuine repentance, spiritual growth, and lives transformed by the power of God. The Word of God is living and active, and it remains sufficient today just as it was in the time of the apostles and the reformers.