The Bible: Essential, Not Total.
You’ve probably heard the term Sola Scriptura. It’s the doctrine meaning “Scripture alone.” It asserts that the Bible is the sole infallible authority for Christian faith and practice. But have you ever thought about the significance of that statement? If the Bible is the sole authority, how can there be thousands of Christian denominations—and pastors within those denominations—all claiming to have the true interpretation of Scripture? How can one pastor say a verse is metaphorical while another insists it’s literal, and both be correct?
Sola Scriptura teaches that all truths necessary for salvation and holy living are clearly taught in Scripture, and that no other source—such as Church tradition, councils, or papal authority—is equal to or above Scripture in authority. It does not necessarily mean that all traditions should be rejected, but rather that tradition must always be tested and corrected by Scripture.
The Bible took shape over centuries, beginning with the Old Testament writings of ancient Israel and later the New Testament accounts of Jesus and the early Church. The early Church councils at Hippo (AD 393) and Carthage (AD 397) confirmed which books were to be included in the biblical canon. This made me wonder: if Sola Scriptura is a true doctrine, but Scripture wasn’t canonized until roughly 400 years after Christ, where did Christians obtain the “truths necessary for salvation” before then? And if the Bible was the only authority for Christians, who had the authority to decide which books belonged in it?
A thousand years after the canon was set, very few people owned a Bible—almost exclusively clergy, monasteries, and wealthy nobles—since Bibles were copied by hand, often in Latin, taking months or years to produce a single copy. Back then, each Bible cost the equivalent of several years’ wages for the average person. There were likely only tens of thousands of complete Bibles in all of Europe—perhaps fewer than 30,000. The average Christian had never even seen a Bible and instead heard Scripture read aloud at Mass. Interestingly, churches sometimes locked Bibles away or chained them to pews to prevent theft. This gave rise to the misconception that the early Catholic Church didn’t allow people to read the Bible for themselves.
Around 1440 came the invention of the Gutenberg press. Gutenberg’s Latin Bible (1455) was the first major book printed in Europe. About 180 copies were produced—more than a single scribe could create in a lifetime. By 1500, printing presses had spread across Europe, producing hundreds of thousands of Bibles in Latin and vernacular languages. By the 1600s, with cheaper paper and local translations, millions of people could finally own or access a Bible. Did God plan to wait 1,500 years to make the sole truths of Christianity available to the masses?
In the early 16th century, the Protestant Reformation arose in response to valid concerns about corruption within the Church. Reformers like Martin Luther and John Calvin argued that Church traditions and papal decrees had drifted from biblical truth, so they elevated Scripture (and their own interpretation of it) as the ultimate test of doctrine. It was then—1,500 years after Christ—that the doctrine of Sola Scriptura was born. It was then that Martin Luther removed seven books from the Old Testament used by most American Christians today. Were Christians for the first 1,500 years of Christianity doing it all wrong?
Sola Scriptura claims that essential teachings about salvation are clear enough in the Bible that an ordinary believer can understand them through sincere reading and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. My experience, however, doesn’t give me confidence in this man-made theory. Thousands of denominations and billions of people all have their own personal interpretation of the Bible? Yes, God speaks to us individually through Scripture, but it seems to me that self-interpreting the hard-to-understand passages has caused serious problems. We’ve all been affected by individuals who read the Bible, interpret it poorly, and use it to satisfy their own selfish desires. No—this just doesn’t work.
The Catholic Church, by contrast, teaches that Sacred Scripture (Written) and Sacred Tradition (Spoken) together form the “deposit of faith,” both authentically interpreted by the Magisterium—the teaching authority of the Church that has existed for 2,000 years. Sure, the Church has made some terrible mistakes—it’s run by sinful people. God’s always done it this way—Peter wasn’t always a saint. It was the Church and its Tradition that Jesus promised would be led into all truth by the Holy Spirit—not the individual Christian, and not even the Bible alone.
The irony is astounding. If the Bible is a Christian’s only resource for truth, shouldn’t it say that… in the Bible? But it doesn’t. In fact, it says quite the opposite. Famously, the Apostle Paul writes to the Thessalonians: “So then, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter” (2 Thess 2:15). By “word of mouth,” Paul referred to the Church’s spoken Tradition. By “letter,” he meant the words written by the biblical authors. The verses supporting Christ’s intention for the Church’s spoken Tradition to be just as authoritative as Scripture—and for the Church to interpret and guide Christians even before the Bible was available—are too numerous to include here. If you’re interested, I’ve listed several at the bottom.
With no authority granted to him by God, Martin Luther created his own doctrine of Sola Scriptura 1,500 years after Christ founded the Church. If that’s not enough to give you pause, ask yourself: should you trust the teachings of a man who added words to the New Testament and removed seven books from the Old? Fact-check me—Martin Luther did this.
Scripture is indeed inspired, authoritative, and essential for every Christian to read. However, God also gave us Tradition—the spoken teachings—and declared them equally authoritative. Christ gave the Church the authority to preserve, interpret, and teach both the written and spoken Word of God faithfully through the Holy Spirit. The modern, living Church isn’t perfect, but it’s necessary.
What are your thoughts?
Scriptural Support for Church Tradition and Authority
Spoken and written traditions are both authoritative – 2 Thessalonians 2:15
Spoken tradition is authoritative and binding – 2 Thessalonians 3:6
Paul praises the Corinthians for keeping traditions he passed on orally – 1 Corinthians 11:2
Apostolic teaching is handed down by word of mouth through generations – 2 Timothy 2:2
Not everything Jesus said or did was recorded in Scripture—implying oral tradition is vital – John 21:25
Early Christians followed the living teaching of the Apostles, not a completed Bible – Acts 2:42
The spoken word of the Apostles is called the “word of God” – 1 Thessalonians 2:13
Scripture must be interpreted through the Church guided by the Spirit, not individually – 2 Peter 1:20–21
The Church, not Scripture alone, is called the “pillar and foundation of truth” – 1 Timothy 3:15
The Holy Spirit continues to guide the Church in truth beyond what was written – John 16:12–13
