One of the more common critiques aimed at the Protestant doctrine of sola scriptura—the belief that Scripture alone is the final, infallible authority for Christian faith and practice—is that it’s self-defeating. The argument goes something like this: “You Protestants accept the Bible as authoritative, but how do you even know what the Bible is without church tradition? If you trust the church to give you the canon of Scripture, then why don’t you also accept the authority of all its traditions?”
On the surface, this sounds compelling. After all, the Bible didn’t drop out of the sky. It was recognized and passed down through the early church. But this line of reasoning rests on a critical confusion—one that conflates the means by which something is delivered with the authority of what is delivered.
Tradition as a Means, Not the Measure
The Protestant doctrine of sola scriptura does not deny that tradition played a role in the transmission and recognition of Scripture. Protestants gladly affirm that the church, guided by the Holy Spirit, received and recognized the inspired writings of the apostles and prophets. The Bible came to us through the tradition of the church. But that does not mean that all traditions are themselves inspired, infallible, or binding in the same way as Scripture.
To argue that we must accept all tradition as equally inspired simply because Scripture came through tradition is a logical fallacy—a kind of guilt by association. It’s like saying that because a courier delivers a message from a king, everything the courier ever says must be treated as royal decree. No Protestant denies the importance of tradition in delivering the biblical message; what sola scriptura insists on is that only Scripture carries divine, inerrant authority as the Word of God.
Scripture Judges Tradition
In Matthew 15, Jesus confronts the Pharisees for elevating human traditions above the commands of God: “You nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition” (Matt 15:6). His critique is not that tradition is always wrong, but that tradition becomes dangerous when it is placed above or alongside Scripture as an equal authority.
This is a key distinction. Sola scriptura does not mean that tradition has no value or role in the life of the church. Rather, it means that every tradition must be tested by Scripture. The Bible is the norming norm (norma normans)—the standard by which all other authorities are measured.
The Canon Was Recognized, Not Created
Another mistake often made is assuming that the canon of Scripture was created by the church, and therefore is only valid if one accepts the church’s broader authority structure. But historically, the church did not bestow authority upon the canon; it recognized the authority that the inspired texts already carried by virtue of their divine origin.
The early church discerned which writings bore the marks of apostolic origin, widespread use in the churches, and theological coherence with the gospel. This was a Spirit-led process of recognition, not the imposition of authority by ecclesiastical fiat. Protestants can fully affirm the providential role of church tradition in recognizing the canon without collapsing that recognition into an endorsement of all church traditions as inspired.
Tradition: A Servant, Not a Master
The Protestant Reformers were not anti-tradition. In fact, they frequently appealed to the early church fathers and councils. What they rejected was tradition as a parallel, infallible authority. For the Reformers, Scripture alone is God-breathed (2 Tim 3:16), and while tradition can be helpful and illuminating, it must remain a servant of the Word, not its master.
The Westminster Confession (1647), for instance, acknowledges the “godly and learned men” in church history who have helped in understanding Scripture, but insists that “the Supreme Judge by which all controversies of religion are to be determined… can be no other but the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scripture” (WCF 1.10).
Conclusion: Honoring Tradition Without Idolizing It
The Protestant doctrine of sola scriptura is not a rejection of tradition, but a humble confession that only Scripture is the final and infallible rule of faith and practice. Yes, the Bible came to us through the tradition of the church—but that tradition itself must be subject to the authority of the Word it delivered.
To say that Scripture was received through tradition is simply to recognize God’s providence in history. To say that all traditions are therefore equally inspired or infallible is to confuse the messenger with the message.
In a time when many are once again drawn to the security of longstanding traditions, Protestants must reaffirm that our confidence lies not in the unbroken continuity of human custom, but in the unshakable authority of God’s Word. Tradition may serve us well—but only the Scriptures can claim to be the very breath of God.
