The question is not whether the church should be listened to, or whether the Holy Spirit has been at work through the church, or whether the church has been an instrument in handing down the truth. Protestants affirm all this. The question is whether the tradition of the church is a source of authority on par with the Scriptures. This the Catholic Church affirms, and we deny.

The doctrine of sola scriptura is the conviction that Scripture alone is infallible and should be given the final say in all matters of faith and practice.

Here is how the Westminster Confession of Faith explains the doctrine:

Notice, the Confession does not say Scripture is the only witness to which we can appeal. We can bring many authors, writings, traditions, creeds, and confessions forward as witnesses to defend and support the truth. The “alone” in sola scriptura does not mean that we have the Bible and nothing but the Bible. Rather, sola scriptura maintains that the Bible is the supreme judge—the final, ultimate, absolute, decisive arbiter in all controversies of religion.

The Confession then lists four kinds of testimony that are not final judges but sit under the judgment of Scripture:

• councils,
• ancient writers,
• human doctrines, and
• private spirits (feelings, experiences, claims of divine prompting or revelation).

All of these must be examined by Scripture, tested against Scripture, and in every matter of faith and practice Scripture gets the last word.

This is not what the Roman Catholic Church believes. The Catholic Catechism teaches that the deposit of faith includes Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. This means that Scripture is not the supreme judge, but rather an equally authoritative source of doctrine along with the teaching of the Church. When the pope, and the bishops in union with him, exercise teaching authority, they are referred to as the Magisterium (magister is the Latin word for teacher). The Magisterium is an infallible interpreter of both Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.

The key, for our purposes, is that, according to Catholic teaching, Scripture’s authority is not alone. It stands alongside Tradition. Roman Catholic theology affirms an inspired Bible and an infallible Bible. But it does not believe in a Bible with unique or final authority. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains:

The question, then, is whether Scripture is “the supreme judge” over all tradition (WCF), or “equal” with Tradition (CCC). There is no more consequential difference between Protestants and Catholics than this. Peter Kreeft, the prolific and popular Catholic author, hits the nail on the head:

He’s right. The primary disagreement, and the one on which the others depend, is the question of whether Scripture is the authority on all matters of faith and practice or whether Scripture is an authority on par with the dogmatic tradition of the church and the pronouncements of the pope.

As Protestants, we believe that the Bible is the norma normans (“the rule that rules”) while creeds and councils and church fathers ought to be considered the norma normata (“the rule that is ruled”). We do not believe the Scriptures are the only source of knowledge, the only witness to the truth, or the only book we can consult when doing theology. What we do believe is that

• Scripture alone is unerring,
• Scripture alone has the final word, and
• Scripture alone rules all other rules and is ruled by nothing else.

Scriptural Argument

Catholics consider the Scriptures infallible, so it matters to them, as it does to us, what the Bible teaches. Both sides should agree that if the Bible teaches sola scriptura, then we should believe it, and if it doesn’t, we shouldn’t. So let me give five reasons the Bible supports sola scriptura.

Reason #1: The Perfection of Scripture

Second Timothy 3:15–17 is the classic text on the inspiration of Scripture, but the reason for mentioning it here is not because of the line “breathed out by God” (v. 16). The key phrases, as far as sola scriptura is concerned, are “able to make you wise for salvation” (v. 15) and “equipped for every good work” (v. 17). Yes, Paul is referring most immediately to the Old Testament, but we know that the early church counted the apostolic writings as Scripture (1 Pet. 3:16), so we can fairly apply 2 Timothy 3 to all of Scripture. The important point is this: Paul considers Scripture perfect, lacking in nothing, able by itself to save us and to make us competent for every good deed. In other words, with the Bible alone we have what we need for life and godliness.

Reason #2: The Example of God’s People in the Old Testament

The constant refrain in the Old Testament is that God’s people must do all things according to what is written. When God’s people prepared to enter the Promised Land in Joshua’s day, they were told to commit themselves not to any tradition but to the Book of the Law and that they should be careful to do according to all that is written in it (Josh. 1:8). They were reminded of this throughout the conquest and again once they entered the land. When God’s people fell away, it was because they disregarded what was written. When Josiah sought to reform God’s people, it was according to the book of the law that they rediscovered. When the exiles returned, the book of Ezra recounts over and over that they were to do everything as it is written in the law of Moses.

There were scribes and priests to teach the law and interpret the word of God, and there were prophets to correct the people when they disobeyed the word of God, but the final standard by which the people were measured—and by which the prophets, the priests, and the kings were measured—was whether they had been careful to do according to all that was written.

Reason #3: The Example of Jesus and the Apostles in the New Testament

Like the Jews of the Old Testament, Jesus and the apostles appeal to Scripture as the final arbiter in controversies of faith. Jesus quoted Deuteronomy to the devil, believing that “it is written” was all that was needed to establish what was true and what was false (Matt. 4:4, 6, 7). Jesus told the Sadducees they were wrong because they did not know the Scriptures, implying that the Scriptures would never lead them astray even when their own traditions might (Matt. 22:29). When Paul preached Christ, he refuted the Jews by turning to the Scriptures (Acts 18:28). The Jews in Berea were considered more noble than the Jews in Thessalonica because they tested everything against the Scriptures (Acts 17:11).

And as for Peter, supposedly the first bishop of Rome and the first pope, he never says anything about possessing some unique authority in the church. He calls himself simply a “fellow elder” (1 Pet. 5:1). Paul in his letter to the Romans does not utter a single word about so great a privilege that will supposedly fall to their bishop. Instead, both Peter and Paul—even as they write with apostolic authority—constantly appeal to Scripture as decisive in all matters of faith and practice.

Reason #4: The Way Jesus Talks About Scripture and Tradition

It’s true that the New Testament can speak positively about tradition. Paul passes on to the Corinthians what he received from the Lord (1 Cor. 11:23). He reminds the Corinthians of the gospel they received and in which they stand (1 Cor. 15:1). He tells Timothy to guard the good deposit entrusted to him (2 Tim. 1:14). Protestants should not be anti-tradition. We want to pass along what we have learned from the Bible and even what we have learned from the saints who have gone before us (2 Tim. 2:1–2). But tradition is authoritative only insofar as it accords with Scripture.

The example we see in Jesus is that Scripture sits in judgment over tradition. Jesus said the Scriptures cannot be broken (John 10:35), but he often criticized the traditions of the Jews. We see this most famously in the Sermon on the Mount (“you have heard it said, but I say to you . . . ”). If we want an example of appealing to tradition as an equal authority to Scripture we can find it not from Jesus but from his opponents. “For the sake of your tradition,” Jesus told the scribes and Pharisees, “you have made void the word of God” (Matt. 15:6). This was the perennial mistake Jesus found in many of the Jewish leaders, that they were “teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt. 15:9). For Jesus, the written word of God always took precedence over the traditions of men.

Reason #5: The Covenantal Nature of Scripture

Covenants come with stipulations and warnings, with blessings and curses. By their very nature, they cannot be added to or subtracted from (Deut. 4:2).

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