While Article I of the Chicago Statement rejects that the church, tradition, or otherwise holds equal or greater authority than Scripture, it’s helpful to note that neither does it affirm a view of “solo Scriptura” e.g. no authority but the Bible. Even as the authoritative source of doctrine and practice, Scripture has ordained secondary means of authority, such as church, parents, governments, even tradition (2 Thess. 2:15) to offer guidance in the interpretation and application of its teachings. In fact, the Chicago Statement’s very existence and endurance speaks to the need and gift of these secondary means to help teach and guide us.
“Need evangelical summit.” R.C. Sproul scrawled in his notebook. “May fail but must try it.”
As Dr. Sproul penned these words, he captured a tense moment in twentieth-century church history. Throughout evangelicalism bubbled a threat against the orthodox understanding of the inerrancy of Scripture. But was this really such an urgent issue that over two hundred evangelical leaders needed to gather to draw a line in the sand? What made a boring theological term that many evangelicals could not even define something worth dividing over?
The key to this crisis can be found in the opening article of the statement:
We affirm that the Holy Scriptures are to be received as the authoritative Word of God. We deny that the Scriptures receive their authority from Church, tradition, or any other human source.
It might seem odd that a statement on inerrancy opens with a comment on authority. But that is because the issue of inerrancy is ultimately an issue of authority. For if God is the author of Scripture (2 Tim. 3:16-17) and God cannot lie (Heb. 6:18), then it follows that if the Scriptures err, then God is a liar, and its contents are not trustworthy. And if we cannot trust the contents of the Bible as God’s authoritative truth, then we are of all people most to be pitied for we have no hope of the resurrection in Christ and no basis for faith and practice.
It seems simple enough, but our relativistic and pluralistic culture often bucks against authority or cringes at the idea that there might be something out there that overrides “our truth.” When someone’s personal preference is confronted by the authoritative Word of God, we have two choices.