Sola Scriptura was the second of the two pillars of the Reformation.  Luther claimed that our sole authority and rule of faith was the Bible alone.  But what does the Bible say about where our authority comes from?  Is the doctrine of Sola Scriptura Biblical? 

1 Timothy 3:15 ~ But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of truth. 

The early Christians didn’t have the entire New Testament.  They relied upon the spoken word and traditions handed down to them from the apostles. 

1 Corinthians 11:2 ~ Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you. 

2 Thessalonians 2:15 ~ Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.

If our entire faith is based solely upon the Bible, how was the early Christian church able to survive for the first 300 years without it? 

In fact, how did we even get the Bible that we have today?  Did Jesus hand it to the apostles when He was on earth saying, “This is the sole foundation of truth.”?  No, but he did establish a church saying, “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it”.  (Mt 16:18) 

And how are we supposed to know what books are supposed to be in the Bible, anyway?  There are many books that aren’t included in the canon such as the Gospel of Thomas for example.  Who decided that it was not Scripture?  And what about the book of Philemon?  It doesn’t seem to have much spiritual or doctrinal significance.  Who decided that Philemon would be included in the canon of Scripture?  How do we know that Philemon is inspired, even though it may seem somewhat uninspiring? 

It was the Church, led by the Holy Spirit, that decided which books were to be included in the canon in the year 382 under Pope Damascus I.  That decision was again ratified at the Councils of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397 and 419).  The Bible was brought about by the tradition and authority of the Catholic Church.  So, in essence, Luther was really depending on tradition alone when he claimed Sola Scriptura. 

Here are what some of the Early Church Fathers had to say:

"Here, perhaps, someone may ask: ‘If the canon of the scriptures be perfect and in itself more than suffices for everything, why is it necessary that the authority of ecclesiastical interpretation be joined to it?’ Because, quite plainly, sacred Scripture, by reason of its own depth, is not accepted by everyone as having one and the same meaning.  ~ Vincent of Lerins (AD 434)

“I would not believe in the Gospels were it not for the authority of the Catholic Church.” ~ Augustine of Hippo (Against the Letter of Mani Called "The Foundation” 5:6)

What happens when you try to hold the Bible alone as your sole authority?  Unfortunately, the Bible does not interpret itself.  That means that you are left to your own personal interpretation to understand what the Bible means. 

1 Peter 1:20 ~ Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

When you have thousands of people relying on their own personal interpretation of Scripture, you get thousands of different denominations.

I am not trying to undermine the Bible in any way.  I think that those who hold to the doctrine of Sola Scriptura are undermining the Bible (though unknowingly) by detaching it from tradition.  The Bible loses its authority when it loses the authority of the Church.  Luther was able to question the validity of the books of James and Revelation because he denied the authority of the Church. 

I will end with this rather lengthy excerpt from An Exposition of the Faith – Irenaeus’ Against Heresies, “The Refutation and Overthrow of the Knowledge Falsely So Called”.  It sums up pretty much everything. :)

 “Now the Church, although scattered over the whole civilized world to the end of the earth, received from the apostles and their disciples its faith in one God, the Father Almighty...and in one Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who was made flesh for our salvation, and in the Holy Spirit...so that every knee may bow, of things in heaven and on earth and under the earth, to Christ Jesus our Lord and God and Saviour and King...and every tongue may confess him, and that he may execute righteous judgment on all...the godless and wicked and lawless and blasphemers among men he will send into the eternal fire. But to the righteous and holy, and those who have kept his commandments and have remained in his love...he will by his grace give life incorrupt, and will clothe them with eternal glory.

 Having received this preaching and this faith, as I have said, the Church, although scattered in the whole world, carefully preserves it, as if living in one house. She believes these things [everywhere] alike, as if she had but one heart and one soul, and preaches them harmoniously, teaches them, and hands them down, as if she had but one mouth. For the languages of the world are different, but the meaning of the [Christian] tradition is one and the same. Neither do the churches that have been established in Germany believe otherwise, or hand down any other tradition, nor those among the Iberians, nor those among the Celts, nor in Egypt, nor in Libya, nor those established in the middle parts of the world. But as God's creature, the is one and the same in the whole world, so also the preaching of the truth shines everywhere, and illumines all men who wish to come to the knowledge or the truth. Neither will one of those who preside in the churches who is very powerful in speech say anything different from these things, for no one is above [his] teacher, nor will one who is weak in speech diminish the tradition."

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