Sola Scriptura
Historic orthodoxy
Scripture alone is the final and infallible authority over the church, by which every other authority is judged.
Also called: Scripture alone
What it means
Sola Scriptura, "Scripture alone," was one of the great convictions of the Reformation. It teaches that the Bible is the only infallible rule of faith and practice. Councils, creeds, pastors, and traditions are real and useful, but they are fallible, and they must be tested by the Word.
Sola Scriptura is not "solo" Scripture. It does not mean each person reads the Bible alone and ignores the church's history. The Reformers valued the creeds and the early church fathers and wrote confessions of their own. The point is the order of authority: the church's teaching sits under Scripture, never beside it or over it. The supreme judge of every controversy is "the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scripture."
For a church member, this means you may open your Bible and test what you hear, as the Bereans did with Paul. A faithful church welcomes that testing.
In Scripture
The Bereans examined the Scriptures daily to see whether what Paul taught was true.
Teaching is to be tested by God's law and testimony; what does not agree with it has no light.
Jesus rebukes leaders who set aside God's command to keep their own tradition.
Even an apostle or an angel is accursed if he preaches a gospel other than the one received.
Scripture is the God-breathed rule that equips the believer for every good work.
Where it comes up
Confessions: WCF 1.10; LBCF 1689 1.10
Related terms
Sufficiency of ScriptureHistoric orthodoxy
Scripture contains everything we need to know for salvation, faith, and life, so nothing needs to be added to it.
InerrancyHistoric orthodoxy
The Bible, as originally given, is without error in everything it affirms, because it is the Word of a God who cannot lie.
Scripture as one authority among severalSerious error
The view that the Bible is one source of authority alongside others, such as church tradition, official teaching, reason, or experience, with none of them finally over the rest.