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Sola Scriptura and Its Modern Counterfeits
Scripture alone is the only infallible and final authority for Christian faith and life. Yet traditions, influential teachers, claims of new revelation, personal experiences, and cultural expectations can gradually take the place that belongs to God’s Word.In this episode of Contending for the Word, Dave Jenkins explains why the Reformers’ commitment to sola Scriptura remains essential today. He considers how Christians can receive faithful teaching gratefully while testing every competing authority by Scripture and submitting their own beliefs and practices to what God has spoken.Listen or Watch
Scripture Alone and the Proper Order of Authority
Sola Scriptura does not eliminate the authority of pastors, churches, creeds, or confessions. It places each beneath the authority of Scripture. Faithful teachers explain God’s Word, faithful confessions summarize its teaching, and faithful churches submit their doctrine and practice to it.Modern Counterfeits to Biblical Authority
- Human religious authority: Treating a pastor, institution, tradition, or theological community as beyond biblical examination.
- Claims of new revelation: Placing divine authority behind dreams, impressions, prophetic messages, or personal instructions.
- Personal experience: Allowing feelings, testimonies, or extraordinary events to determine what is true.
- Cultural pressure: Reinterpreting Scripture to secure approval rather than allowing Scripture to correct our assumptions.
Faithful Decisions Through God’s Word
Christians can obey God without searching for secret revelation. Where Scripture commands, we obey. Where it forbids, we refrain. Where it gives freedom, we apply biblical wisdom, pray, seek wise counsel, and trust God’s providence.The Holy Spirit illuminates the Word He inspired, helping believers understand and apply God’s truth. His work directs us to the revelation God has given rather than making our impressions an additional source of divine authority.Key Scriptures
- 2 Timothy 3:16–17
- Mark 7:6–13
- Acts 17:11
- Hebrews 1:1–2
- Ephesians 2:20
- 2 Peter 1:16–21
- 1 Thessalonians 5:21
- John 17:17
Putting Biblical Authority into Practice
Listen to faithful pastors, learn from church history, receive wise counsel, and give thanks for God’s grace. Test every teaching and experience by Scripture, including the beliefs of your own theological community and favorite teachers.God’s Word must also correct us. Scripture reveals Jesus Christ, exposes our sin, proclaims His saving work, and calls us to repentance and faith. Our consciences must remain captive to the Word of God.
Dave Jenkins is happily married to his wife, Sarah, and lives in beautiful Southern Oregon. He is a writer, editor, and speaker who loves Christ, His people, the Church, and sound theology.
Dave serves as the Executive Director of Servants of Grace Ministries and the Executive Editor of Theology for Life Magazine. He is the Host and Producer of the Equipping You in Grace Podcast and a contributor to and producer of Contending for the Word.
He is the author of The War of Worldviews: Truth, Lies, and the Battle for the Christian Mind (Theology for Life, 2026), Contentment: The Journey of a Lifetime (Theology for Life, 2024), The Word Matters: Defending Biblical Authority Against the Spirit of the Age and The Word Explored: The Problem of Biblical Illiteracy and What To Do About It (House to House, 2021).
You can connect with Dave on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, or subscribe to his newsletter.
When he is not engaged in ministry work, Dave enjoys spending time with his wife, going to movies, sharing a meal at a favorite restaurant, or playing a round of golf with friends. He is also a voracious reader, particularly of Reformed theology and the Puritans, and is often found working through a stack of new books from a wide range of Christian publishers.
Dave earned his M.A.R. and M.Div. from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.
