"All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."
2Timothy 3:16-17

Those are the most common verses which non-Catholic sects use in a vain attempt to "prove" that the man made false doctrine of 'Sola Scriptura', or 'Bible Only' is Biblical. However, when these people quote Holy Scripture, they will invariably quote a verse or two entirely out of context. Before anyone even begins to discern the message of what Scripture is really trying to present, they must abide by the established rules, the main axioms of discernment of Holy Scripture, one of which is that you never take verses out of context. It is the context, the senses, and the literary genre, which must be taken into consideration for proper discernment. It is a virtual impossibility for any writer to put into words the true meaning of what he is trying to convey, without someone misconstruing and twisting his intended message. That is why having only one authority for proper discernment is of paramount importance.
"In these epistles there are certain things difficult to understand, which the unlearned and unstable distort, just as they do the rest of the Scriptures also, to their own destruction."
2Peter 3:16
No one should ever quote individual verses out of context in order to try to "prove" something other than what the author had intended to convey. When those two verses from 2Timothy 3 are put into their proper context, they do not mean at all what non-Catholics say they mean. I will prove this by suggesting that before continuing on this page, that you take this detour in order for you to put into proper context, the meaning that Saint Paul had intended for those two verses, and then please return here.

Some food for thought:
Before continuing, I would ask that 'If all Scripture is inspired by GOD', then why aren't the Gospels of Peter, Paul, and Thomas included in your Bible? What answer to that question does Sola Scriptura provide?

Now that we have those two verses in proper perspective, let us "pretend" that Sola Scriptura (from here on truncated to 'SS') really does exist, and that it is Biblical. Here are a few thoughts for you to ponder regarding exactly what you have with SS, but more importantly, what you do not have.

Since you have branched to the link above and now have seen the proper context, you now must realize that all you have from those two verses is the Old Testament, and with it all of the seven books rejected by the reformers.
When 2Timothy 3:16 and 17 are taken in proper context, the false doctrine of SS cannot claim the New Testament.
Consequently, SS believers are forced to make do with the Old Testament alone including the seven books rejected by Martin Luther, which they call Apocrypha. How then can the SS believer, who claims to follow the true teaching of the Bible, relate at all to the Gospels and with them the teachings of Christ?

You do not have a Holy Trinity to believe in do you? You see, the word "Trinity" cannot be found by using SS can it?
You see, the Holy Trinity was defined by the Catholic Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D.. SS is lacking much more.

You cannot find that the Holy Spirit is "consubstantial" with the Father and the Son in SS.
That doctrine was not defined until the Catholic Council of Constantinople in 381. SS was no help here.

Do you believe in the "Hypostatic Union" (Jesus Christ has two natures, one human and one divine)?
If so, neither you nor I can find the "Hypostatic Union" in Scripture by using SS.
The Hypostatic Union was defined by the Catholic Council of Chalcedon in 451. SS failed us again.

The word "Bible" cannot be found in the Bible using SS can it? How do you know that the book which you call the Bible is the Bible? Does SS tell you? If so, where in the Bible is the list of inspired books within it? Why aren't the books which I have listed above, and hundreds of others which existed at the time, included in your "Bible" simply by using SS?
The inspired books of the Bible, called the canon, were decided upon by the Catholic Church in several councils after well over three hundred of years of debate. So for the first three centuries of Christianity, there was no Bible with a New Testament, and thus no N.T. SS. These Councils were Rome 382, Hippo 393, Carthage 397, and there were later councils such as Florence 1431, and Trent 1546, reaffirming what these earlier councils had defined. It was those earlier councils which rejected the Gospels of Peter, Paul, and Thomas, and of the hundreds of other books declared to be not inspired. The very first Bible containing a New Testament and the Old Testament was St. Jerome's Latin Vulgate from 404 A.D.. It has all seven of the books rejected by the reformers. Where is the canon of the Bible in SS?

Elucidation:
Here is a summary of the facts regarding Sola Scriptura.
1. According to 2Timothy 3:1-17, taken in context, SS is limited to the Old Testament only, and includes all of the seven Old Testament books rejected by the reformers.

2. SS does not provide the canon of inspired books within Holy Scripture.
Therefore, how does the SS believer know which books are inspired and which books are not?

3. SS does not provide us with a list of uninspired books such as the Gospels of Peter, Paul, and Thomas, and does not explain why those books are not in the SS believers Bible. How can the SS believer differentiate between which books are inspired and which are not?

4. SS does not provide us with the word "Bible". How then can an SS believer even use the word?

5. Therefore SS believers have no way of knowing that the book which they call the Bible is the Bible.

6. Since SS believers cannot show which books in the Bible are inspired,
then they have no right to even call theirs an inspired Bible.

7. SS does not provide us with the word "Trinity". So why do SS believers even use the word?

8. SS does not define the Holy Trinity. So why do SS believers think it even exists?

9. Do you believe in "Original Sin"?
Well the words "Original Sin", taken together, are not in the Bible, so how can you believe in it?

10. Do you believe in the "Incarnation"? How can you when that word is not to be found in Holy Scripture?

11. Do you believe in the "Ascension"? How can you when that word is not even in your Bible?

12. Do you believe in something called the "Rapture"? How can you when the word is not to be found in your Bible?

13. Do you believe in "Christianity"? Well that word cannot be found in the Bible either for SS believers.

14. Do "Protestants" not exist at all simply because that word cannot be found in SS?

15. Where in SS are the words, 'we are saved by faith alone'? I can find just one verse where the words "faith" and "only" are found together and there is that little word "not" before them,
"You see that by works a man is justified and not by faith only", James 2:24. I cannot seem to find words in support of 'faith alone', except in Martin Luther's German Bible, where he added the word 'alone' to Romans 3:28. The book of James was a thorn in Luther's side, as it contradicted what he taught. That is the reason why he called that book "a straw epistle", meaning it was good for burning.

16. The words "Sola Scriptura" do not appear anywhere in the Bible, so how can any SS believer possibly practice it? By its very name, Sola Scriptura, if it is not in the Bible, then it simply is not to be believed. I get that answer all the time from SS believers who try to tell me that "everything" is in the Bible, in spite of the fact that the Bible in no way says that. However, the Bible does say that everything is not in the Bible, which is just the exact opposite of what SS believers tell me. See John 20:30, and 21:25.
Who should I believe, what SS believers tell me, or what the Word of GOD says?

17. Tell me about the workings of SS at the very beginning when the Church was founded by Christ in about 30 A.D., and the first book of the New Testament, 1Thessalonians, was not written until over twenty years later? If you would read the book of Acts, you will find that the Church was growing very fast during that period. Three thousand were added in only one day in Acts 2:41, and in Acts 2:27, more were added every day. Acts 4:4 mentions five thousand more believers. How can any SS adherent explain this fabulous growth without a New Testament to guide these early believers?
Would an Old Testament SS suffice for New covenant teaching?

18. SS could not possibly have worked for the first 374 years of Christianity (assuming it began in 30 A.D.), since there was no New Testament at all as we know it until 404 A.D..

19. SS could have not possibly have worked for over one thousand years after the Latin Vulgate of 404, since the printing press was not invented until 1450 and all Bibles had to be laboriously copied by hand before then. It is estimated that each Bible took from ten to twenty years of a monk's daily life to reproduce just one copy. A beautiful opulence abounded in those copies, as many were decorated with real gold and precious jewels. The cost for each was prohibitive. Who of the common masses could afford one?
If GOD needed SS then why did He wait over 1400 years before creating Gutenberg so that he could invent the printing press?

20. SS could not have worked at all with the prevalence of illiteracy running as high as 95% for so many centuries.

21. The false man-made doctrine of SS does not appear anywhere in genuine historical writings before Martin Luther came along in the sixteenth century and "invented it".

22. How does the SS believer know which SS interpretation to believe since each one is his or her own pope? One teaches one thing and another teaches just the opposite. That is the main reason why there are tens of thousands of SS believer sects* in the world today, all teaching something different, and all saying "the Holy Spirit told me". Who has the authority for the SS believer to say, "This is the one true meaning of Scripture"? The answer is that there is no authority. It is every SS believer for himself in Biblical interpretation which is forbidden by SS itself for any SS believer to do so, Acts 8:26-38, 2Peter 1:20, 2Peter 3:16.
*The World Christianity Encyclopedia, a Protestant publication. It lists 36,400 as of the middle of 2003.

23. If "everything is in the Bible", so I am told by SS believers, then why do SS believers not believe and practice all of Scripture? Why do they reject large portions of it? Here are some examples of what they reject:
* The three verses I just listed which collectively say there is to be no private interpretation of Holy Scripture.
* 1Corinthians 11:2 and 2Thessalonians 2:15, which say to hold the traditions. SS believers say do not hold traditions.
* 1Timothy 3:15, does not say the bible is the pillar and foundation of the truth, but it is the Church.
* John 10:16, that there shall be one fold and one shepherd, and not the tens of thousands that SS believers have formed.
* 1Corinthians 1:10, that you all say the same thing and that there be no dissensions. Well I have just shown that all of the thousands of sects teach different things, and it is dissensions which cause them to split and form even more sects.
* John chapter 6 which SS believers say is symbolic, yet the same ones say that the rest of the Bible is literal.
* Matthew 16:18 that Jesus said church and not tens of thousands of churches.
* Matthew 28:20 where Jesus Christ promised to be with His one Church every day in every century until the end of time.
* Luke 1:48, 'Henceforth', means from this moment on. 'All generations', means just that and I presume that it includes everyone who is reading this file. 'Will', is a command and not a suggestion. 'Call me blessed'. In all of my extensive conversations with SS believers, not a single one has ever obeyed the command of this verse. This verse is proof positive that SS believers do not follow Holy Scripture, but pick and choose what fits their false beliefs. It is a clear violation of James 2:10,
"If someone obeys all of GOD's laws except one, that person is guilty of breaking all of them."
* Luke 2:51, Scripture tells us that the creator of the universe was subject to a creature, His Mother, Blessed Mary, for the first 30 years of His life. Why don't SS believers acknowledge this fact?
* Deuteronomy 4:2, 13:1, Proverbs 30:5-6, Revelation 22:18-20, 'Do not add to or subtract from Holy Scripture' (see #24 below).
* Deuteronomy 12:8, 'You shall not do as we are now doing; here, everyone does what seems right for himself'.
This is yet another condemnation of individual interpretation of Holy Scripture. "If it fits my interpretation it is right for me".
* Revelation 21:8, 21:27 and 22:15, that liars will never make it into heaven.
* Romans 1:18 and 2:8, meet with wrath for those who are contentious and do not submit to the truth. Well I have shown from this lengthy list that SS believers are guilty as charged for closing their eyes and ignoring the verses I have listed in this section. They certainly do not submit to the truth of Holy Scripture. Isn't saying that they obey Holy Scripture, while at the same time ignoring large sections of it, being hypocritical?
A verse which I have previously listed cries out to be repeated at this point:
"For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it."
James 2:10, RSV
"If someone obeys all of GOD's laws except one, that person is guilty of breaking all of them."
James 2:10, GW

Then there is 1 Peter 4:17, a verse of which all SS believers should be aware as they keep in mind the many commands of Scripture which I have listed above and of which some are not obeyed:
"For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?"

24. Obviously in some cases, the SS believers theme, "everything is in the Bible", does not suffice for them, so in their teaching they add to Scripture by resorting to the use of eisegesis (eye-si JEE-sis), which is an interpretation of Scripture that expresses the individual interpreters own ideas and bias, rather than the true meaning of the text as the author had intended.
Here are some examples of SS believers use of eisegesis and how it adds to, twists, and distorts the meaning of Holy Scripture.
The eisegesis additions or changes to the true Words of GOD are shown in purple.
There are many more than I have listed here.

* Matthew 26:26, Mark 14:22, Luke 22:19, 'This is a symbol of my body'.
* John 6:35, 'I am a symbol of the bread of life'.
If the manna in the desert is symbolic of the Holy Eucharist, does an O.T. symbol ever point to another symbol in the N.T.?
If you think so, then what is the purpose of typology?
* John 6:51  'I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is only a symbol of my flesh'.
* John 6:57, 'and I live because of the Father, so he who eats a symbol of me will live because of me'.
Does a symbol of something have the powers of that something?
* 1Corinthians 11:29, 'For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, could not possibly eat and drink judgment upon himself, for how could a mere symbol harm anyone'?

* Psalms 127:1, 'Unless the Lord builds tens of thousands of houses, those who build it labor in vain'.
* Matthew 16:18, 'You are Peter, an insignificant little pebble, and upon this insignificant little pebble I will build my tens of thousands of different churchES and all of them will be teaching something different'.
Do you really think they will all fit on that one insignificant little pebble?
* Revelation 1:11, 'What thou seest write in a book, and send to the seven Protestant churches...'.
* Matthew 16:19, 'I will give every SS believer the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven'.
(Since we all know that each SS believer is his or her own authority, and thus is his or her very own pope, it would not make sense for them to be so unless each one had his or her very own set of keys as well.)
* Matthew 28:20, 'I am with you until you apostatize after the last Apostle has died, and then I will move to another church'.
Note! The identity of this, "another church", is unknown since no SS believer can name it or its founder. Also the date of this monumental and greatest universe shaking event since the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ is unknown. To add to this lack of historical evidence, there is not one single supporting genuine historical document of proof that it ever happened.
Just imagine, an event of this magnitude and it goes unreported and unrecorded! Where were the scribes of the day?
If you will read Ephesians 1:23 you will find that the Church which Jesus founded is His Body and He is its Head. How could His Body go into apostasy and be separated from His Head?

* Ephesians 5:23, 'Just as Christ is head of the Church, being himself not the Savior of His Body'.
After all, how could He be the Savior of His Body if it (His Church) fell into apostasy?
* Matthew 16:19, '...and the gates of hell will prevail against my one and only Church'.
* Ephesians 3:21, 'to him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus until the day when the Church goes into apostasy'.
* Acts 1:20, 'And, his ministry do not let another take, for everyone knows there is no such thing as Apostolic Succession'.
*2Timothy 2:2, '...and the things that you have heard from me through many witnesses, do not commend to trustworthy men, for they may be competent in turn to teach others. This will assure that there will be no such thing as Apostolic Succession'.
* Matthew 18:17, 'and if he refuses to hear them, appeal to the bible'.
* John 10:16, 'and there shall be tens of thousands of folds...'.
* 1Corinthians 1:10, 'I appeal to you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you disagree and that there be many dissensions among you, but that you be not united in the same mind and the same judgment'.
* 1Corinthians 1:13, 'Has Christ been divided up? No, not at all, I see no divisions here'.
* Luke 11:17, 'Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to fruition, and house will rise upon house, by the tens of thousands'.
(Oops! Do I see a conflict here with the verse listed immediately above this one?) 
* John 16:13, 'When the Spirit of Truth comes, he will teach something different to each of the tens of thousands of sects'.
* Ephesians 3:10, 'in order that through tens of thousands of different denominations all teaching something contrary to each other, that there be made known to the Principalities and the Powers in the heavens the manifold wisdom of GOD'.
* 2Peter 1:20, 'This then you must understand first of all, that all prophecy of Scripture is only to be made by private interpretation'.
* Acts 8:32, 'I need no one to show me since we are each guided by the Holy Spirit to interpret it for ourselves'.
If that be the case, then why do not all of the tens of thousands of sects teach the same thing?
Is there a different Spirit for each sect, or one Spirit teaching something different to each?

* Acts 5:32, 'And we are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom GOD has given to all SS believers regardless if they obey him or not'.
Do those who 'obey Him' ignore large parts of His Word, and read into His Word (eisegesis) things that simply are not there? Doesn't this verse really mean that those who do not obey Him are not guided by the Holy Spirit?
* Romans 3:28, 'For we hold that a man is justified by faith alone apart from works of the law'.
* Romans 13:2, 'Therefore he who resists the authority resists the ordinance of GOD; and they that resist bring on themselves condemnation except for Martin Luther and the other reformers and their followers'.
* Hebrews 13:17, 'Obey your superiors and be subject to them, however, Martin Luther and the other reformers are exempted'.
* Matthew 22:39, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself except if he be Catholic'.
*1Corinthians 10:32, 'Do not be a stumbling block to Jews and Greeks, but be sure that you are one to the Church of GOD'.
*1Corinthians 15:9, 'For I am the greatest of the Apostles, and am worthy to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of GOD'.
* Philippians 2:12, 'There is no need to work out your salvation with fear and trembling for we are already saved'.
* James 2:24, 'You see that not by works a man is justified, but by faith only'.
* James 2:26, 'For just as the body without the spirit is dead, faith without works is assured salvation for all SS believers'.

* And finally, we close exactly where we began with 2Timothy 3:16-17, 'All scripture is inspired by God, past, present, and future, meaning any and all of that which has not even been written yet, and used exclusively for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for all-inclusive training in righteousness, that the man of God may be totally complete, fully equipped with faith alone'.
2Timothy 2:16-17 taken verbatim, and out of context as SS believers always do, conveys the false message that anyone can write a book (after all a book is scripture) and then declare it as being inspired by GOD.

©
Written by Bob Stanley, May 20, 2003
Updated August 21, 2004

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