Tradition and Authority in Reformed Protestantism

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Tradition and Authority in Reformed Protestantism

By, A.J. MacDonald Jr.

The Scriptures alone, or sola scriptura, is the most important doctrine in Reformed Protestantism. Even the teaching of salvation by faith alone (sola fide) must take a back seat to Scripture alone, since the "faith alone" doctrine is said to be derived from the Scriptures alone. Protestant pastor, Dr. John MacArthur correctly states that: "Obviously, if Rome can prove her case against sola Scriptura, she can overturn all the arguments for the Reformation in one fell swoop." 1 MacArthur is correct; if one can prove that sola scriptura is a false doctrine; the entire edifice of Reformed theology comes crashing down. I hope to be able to show you in this article that sola scriptura is in fact false, and that Reformed theology cannot stand because of that fact.

By What Authority?
Reformed Protestants insist that they have no infallible fmal authority in all matters of faith and practice other than the Bible. "All Protestants agree in teaching that 'the word of God, as contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only infallible rule of faith and practice. '" 2 Reformed Protestants, in holding up the Scriptures alone as final authority, purport to give to us a totally objective standard to which each of us can hold all other legitimate lesser authorities (i.e., churchmen in authority). In other words, you or I can hold men who are in authority as teachers in our churches to those doctrines, and only those doctrines which we can find in the Bible. This supposedly gives us protection from doctrines which God has not given to us, because it is supposed that God has given no doctrines to us which he did not commit to the writings of Holy Scripture. But is this doctrine, this setting up of the entire, complete canon of Scripture as the final objective authority, (i.e., sola scriptura) found anywhere in the Bible? No, it's not. 1Sola scriptura is the presupposition which the Reformed Protestant brings with him; that which enables him to reject the Roman Catholic Church and her authority. In short, a pretended objective authority (i.e., Scripture alone) judged and interpreted by a pretended authority: each individual Reformed Protestant. Reformed Protestants, in attempting to remove the Church as ultimate authority in matters of faith and practice and as interpreter of Scripture, have not succeeded in giving to the world a truly objective infallible authority by giving us the doctrine of sola scriptura. By slight of hand (so to speak), they have simply removed themselves from one Church authority'S claim of being the fmal, infallible authority (i.e., the Roman Catholic Church)

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7/1/99