There are times in church history when God mercifully awakens His people and calls them back to the truth. The Protestant Reformation was one of those times. It was not an attempt to invent a new Christianity. It was not a rebellion against Christ’s Church. It was a return to the Word of God.
At the heart of the Reformation stood the doctrine known as Sola Scriptura, which means “Scripture Alone.” This does not mean that Christians should ignore history, despise teachers, reject creeds, or pretend that the Church began with us. The Reformers did not believe that every individual Christian should become his own pope, interpreting the Bible without humility, wisdom, or accountability.
Rather, Sola Scriptura means this: Holy Scripture is the only infallible and final authority for the faith and life of the Church.
Pastors can be wrong. Councils can be wrong. Church traditions can be wrong. Even great theologians can be wrong. But God’s Word cannot be wrong, because God Himself cannot lie.
So the issue is not whether tradition has any value. Tradition can be useful. Creeds can be useful. Church history can be useful. The writings of earlier Christians can be very useful. But none of these things are equal to Scripture. They must all sit beneath Scripture. They must be tested by Scripture. They must serve Scripture, not rule over it.
The real question is this: will tradition bow before the Word of God, or will the Word of God be made to bow before tradition?
That was the issue in the days of Jesus. The Pharisees had many traditions. Some of them may have begun as sincere attempts to preserve holiness. But over time, those traditions became burdens. They were treated as if they carried divine authority. Eventually, they were used to avoid and even overturn the clear commands of God.
Jesus rebuked them plainly: “Why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?” He also said, “In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”
That is a terrifying warning. It is possible to be deeply religious and yet oppose the Word of God. It is possible to defend tradition while disobeying God. It is possible to honor the Church with our lips while refusing to listen to the Lord of the Church.
This is why the Reformers cried out, “Scripture Alone!”
They were not saying, “We do not care what the Church has believed.” They were saying, “The Church must always be corrected by the Word of God.”
One common Roman Catholic objection is this: “We have the Tradition of the Church. You Protestants only have your private interpretations.”
But we must ask carefully: what do we mean by “tradition”?
If by tradition we mean the faithful passing down of biblical truth, then Protestants gladly receive it. We are thankful for the early creeds that defended the Trinity and the deity of Christ. We honor the faithful labors of earlier Christians who fought against heresy. We appreciate the wisdom of Augustine, Athanasius, Chrysostom, Irenaeus, and many others. We are not trying to erase church history.
But if by “Tradition” someone means an unwritten, infallible source of divine revelation, preserved uniquely by Rome and equal in authority with Scripture, then we must ask: where has God promised such a thing?
Where did Christ teach that the bishop of Rome would be the infallible head of the whole Church? Where did the apostles teach the later Roman doctrines of papal supremacy, purgatory, indulgences, the treasury of merits, the immaculate conception of Mary, or the sacrifice of the mass as Rome came to define it?
If these doctrines are truly apostolic, then let them be proven by apostolic teaching. Let them be shown from the Scriptures. But if they cannot be proven from the Word of God, then they must not be forced upon the conscience of Christ’s people.
The conscience belongs to God. No church has the right to bind where God has not bound. No council has the right to command what God has not commanded. No tradition has the right to stand above the voice of Christ.
Roman Catholics may respond, “But Paul told Christians to hold to traditions.”
Yes, he did. But what traditions was Paul speaking about? He was speaking about the teaching delivered by the inspired apostles. And where do we now have the sure and preserved teaching of the apostles? In the Holy Scriptures.
The apostles are no longer walking among us. We cannot sit at Paul’s feet in person. We cannot ask Peter to settle a controversy. But by God’s providence, their doctrine has been written down for the Church. Scripture is the lasting apostolic witness. It is the voice of the Shepherd preserved for His sheep.
Another Roman Catholic objection is often made: “The Early Church Fathers are ours.”
But are they?
That claim is made often, but it is too simple. The Church Fathers do not belong to Rome as private property. They belong to the whole Church insofar as they taught the truth. Athanasius belongs to every Christian who confesses the deity of Christ. Augustine belongs to every Christian who rejoices in sovereign grace. Irenaeus belongs to every Christian who cherishes the apostolic faith.
The Reformers did not ignore the Fathers. They read them carefully. John Calvin quoted Augustine often. Martin Luther knew the writings of the ancient Church. The English Puritans were deeply familiar with early Christian theology. They were not shallow men trying to cut themselves off from history.
But they understood something very important: the Fathers are witnesses, not judges.
They can help us. They can teach us. They can encourage us. But they are not infallible. They do not rule over Scripture. They must be tested by Scripture.
The Fathers did not always agree with each other. Some of them taught things that were wise and biblical. Some of them also made mistakes. They were godly men, but they were still men. Their writings contain much gold, but they are not pure gold from beginning to end.
To say, “The Fathers are ours,” as though they all spoke with one clear Roman Catholic voice, is not honest history. The early Church was not medieval Roman Catholicism. Many Roman doctrines developed over time and cannot simply be read back into the first centuries of the Church.
In fact, when one reads the Fathers carefully, one finds again and again a deep reverence for Scripture. They appealed constantly to the written Word of God. They defended doctrine from Scripture. They argued against heresy from Scripture. They treated the Bible as the supreme standard of truth.
This does not mean the Fathers were Protestants in every detail. They were not. But it does mean they cannot be used as a simple weapon against the Reformation.
The Reformers were not rejecting the ancient faith. They were rejecting later corruptions that had been added to the faith.
Another objection is this: “Without Rome, everyone just interprets the Bible for himself, and that leads to chaos.”
It is true that people can twist Scripture. Peter himself said that some people twist Paul’s writings to their own destruction. But notice what Peter called Paul’s writings: Scripture.
The abuse of Scripture does not overthrow the authority of Scripture. Wicked men distort the Bible, but that does not mean the Bible is unclear or insufficient. It means men are sinful.
Rome claims to solve the problem by giving the Church an infallible interpreter. But this does not remove the problem of interpretation. It only moves it somewhere else. Now one must interpret Rome. Which pope? Which council? Which decree? Which statement is infallible? Which teaching is official? Which doctrine is a development, and which is a change?
The Roman Catholic system does not eliminate interpretation. It simply asks the Christian to place his final trust in the authority of the Roman Church.
But the Reformation calls us to place our final trust in the Word of God.
The Scriptures are not unclear in the things necessary for salvation. A sinner does not need an infallible pope to know that he is guilty before God. He does not need a Roman council to understand that Christ died for sinners. He does not need church tradition to learn that salvation is by grace through faith, not by works. These truths shine clearly from the pages of Scripture.
The Bible reveals our sin. It reveals the holiness of God. It reveals the person and work of Jesus Christ. It reveals His perfect obedience, His sacrificial death, His bodily resurrection, His ascension, and His coming again. It reveals that sinners are justified by faith in Christ apart from works of the law. It reveals that Christ is the only mediator between God and man.
This is not a dark and hidden message. It is plain enough for a child to believe and deep enough for the greatest theologian to spend his life studying.
The question is not whether Scripture is sufficient. The question is whether we are willing to submit to it.
And this is where the matter becomes personal.
Dear friend, if you are determined to follow the traditions of men over the plain truth of God’s Word, you must ask yourself a serious question: whose voice has captured your conscience?
Is it the voice of Christ, or the voice of religious authority? Is it the Word of God, or the comfort of belonging to an ancient institution? Is your faith resting on the finished work of Christ, or on a system that has buried the gospel beneath layers of human tradition?
Do not misunderstand me. I am not asking you to despise the Church. I am asking you to listen to the Lord of the Church. I am not asking you to reject history. I am asking you to test history by Scripture. I am not asking you to become proud or independent. I am asking you to bow humbly before God’s written Word.
Tradition may impress the eyes. Ancient ceremonies may stir the emotions. Long history may give a feeling of security. But none of these things can save the soul.
Only Christ can save. And Christ is known truly and savingly through His Word.
The Church does not create the truth. The Church receives the truth. The Church does not stand above Scripture. The Church is born by Scripture, nourished by Scripture, corrected by Scripture, and governed by Scripture.
When the Church is faithful, she says what John the Baptist said: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” She does not draw attention to her own authority as final. She points away from herself and says, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
That is the glory of Sola Scriptura. It does not leave us with a small view of the Church. It leaves us with a high view of God. It does not produce contempt for teachers. It produces reverence for the divine Teacher. It does not lead us away from Christ. It brings us directly to Him.
So let every tradition be examined. Let every doctrine be tested. Let every church be corrected. Let every conscience be bound only by what God has spoken.
For the grass withers, the flower fades, the councils of men pass away, and the traditions of men rise and fall. But the Word of our God stands forever.
And if God has spoken, then let every man be silent before Him.
Reformed Faith Insights 