Sola Scriptura

The second pillar of the Protestant Reformation is the doctrine of Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone).  Adherents to this doctrine believe that the Bible alone is our sole authority – the final court of arbitration.  The problem is that the Bible itself rejects this notion.  Nowhere in scripture does it say that scripture alone is the final authority.

Scripture tells us that the Church is the final authority.  In Matt. 16:18-19, Jesus tells St. Peter that the gates of hell wouldn’t prevail against his Church and that he was giving him (Peter) the keys to the kingdom of heaven.  Later, in Matt. 18:15-18, he tells the Apostles that the Church was to decide all matters that couldn’t be resolved.  He gave the Church the authority to make the final decision and judgment.  In these passages, along with John 20:21-23, Jesus gives them the power to bind and loose.

Not long before his Crucifixion, Jesus told the Apostles that the Holy Spirit would guide them to all truth – that he would take from what was his (Jesus) and declare it to them (the Church).  The main verse that non-Catholics use to support Sola Scriptura is 2 Tim. 3:16, where it says that “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness”. Notice that it says scripture is “useful” – it doesn’t say that it is “sufficient”.

Finally, St. Paul tells us that sacred tradition (written and oral) is also binding and authoritative (2 Thes 2:15, 1 Cor 11:2, 2 Tim 2:2, 1 Thes 2:13).

We must remember that the bible was born from the Church – not the Church from the Bible