And that is the problem my friend!
It is my contention that Scripture alone is the only authoritative and infallible source for Christian doctrine and practice. Traditions are only valid if they are built on the firm foundation of Scripture and in full agreement with the entirety of Scripture. The following are seven biblical reasons supporting the teaching that the Bible should be accepted as the authority for faith and practice:
(1) It is Scripture that is said to be God-breathed (
2 Timothy 3:16 Never anywhere is it said of any church tradition that it, too, is God-breathed and infallible.
(2) It is to Scripture that Jesus and the apostles appeal time after time in support or defense of their actions and teachings
(Matthew 12:3, 5; 19:4; 22:31; Mark 12:10).
(3) It is to the Scriptures that the church is commended in order to combat the error that was bound to come (
Acts 20:32).
(4) Infallibility is never stated as the possession of those who would become church leaders in succession of the apostles.
(5) Jesus equates the Scriptures with God’s Word (
John 10:35).
Nowhere in Scripture does Jesus or any of the apostles appeal to the Jewish traditions.
(6) It is Scripture that has the promise that it will never fail, that it will all be fulfilled. Again, never is this promise given to the traditions of the church
(Psalm 119:89,152; Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 5:18; Luke 21:33).
(7) It is the Scriptures that are the instrument of the Holy Spirit and His means for conquering Satan and changing lives
(Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 6:17).
The Roman Catholic Church argues that Scripture was given to men by the Church and therefore the Church has equal or greater authority to it. However, even among the Roman Catholic Church’s writings (from the First Vatican Council), you will find the acknowledgment that the Church councils that determined which books were to be considered the Word of God did nothing but recognize what the Holy Spirit had already made evident. That is, the Church did not “give” Scriptures to men, but simply “recognized” what God, through the Holy Spirit, had already given.
As A. A. Hodge states, when a peasant recognizes a prince and is able to call him by name, it does not give him the right to rule over the kingdom. In like fashion, a church council recognizing which books were God-breathed and possessed the traits of a God-inspired book, does not give the church council equal authority with those books.