This is an excerpt from the first chapter of A Reasoned Defense of the Faith by Adam Francisco (1517 Publishing, 2026), pgs 1-3.
Every theological tradition that identifies itself as Christian maintains the authority of the Scriptures in some sense of the term, and yet they all disagree on a number of issues concerning the theology (and practice) of Christianity. This is largely due to the additional authorities Christians have added alongside or on top of the authority of Scripture.
Coming to terms with biblical authority is of the utmost importance. For what one identifies as authoritative when it comes to theology ultimately informs (if not determines) where one will end up on the theological spectrum. Moreover, if theology is at its most basic level a reassertion of God’s revelation to humankind expressed in the language of a particular culture, then it becomes all the more important lest Christians idolatrously elevate and confuse the words (and will) of men with the words (and will) of the Creator.
That the Christian church has always had, in one way or another, a high view of the Bible should come as no surprise. After all, God himself—in the person of Jesus—held the Hebrew Bible of his day (the Old Testament) as the ultimate theological authority.
At the beginning of his ministry, when he was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, he consistently responded by appealing directly to the Bible, calling it the word of God (Matt. 4:4). At the end of his ministry, while walking with the two confused men on the way toward Emmaus, he directed them to “Moses and all the prophets” to explain the meaning of the events that had just transpired in Jerusalem. It was at this point—in the physical presence of Jesus after his crucifixion and resurrection—that those men came to see just what the prophetic message of the Old Testament really meant (Luke 24:13–35). [1]
That the Christian church has always had, in one way or another, a high view of the Bible should come as no surprise.
Experiences like this are what emboldened the apostles and disciples of Jesus unwaveringly to preach the gospel, despite opposition that soon escalated into persecution. As Clement of Rome (fl. 96) explained, “Being fully assured by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with faith confirmed by the word of God, they went forth in the assurance of the Holy Spirit preaching the good news.” [2] Jesus had commissioned them to bring the message of the gospel “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). To accomplish this, before his ascension, he promised to send them the Holy Spirit so they would be able to recall everything he taught them, guiding them in all truth (Jn. 14:15–31; 16:4–15). Eventually, after turning the world upside down with their preaching and persuasion—as the people from Thessalonica complained (Acts 17:6)—they inscribed those things to which they had been eyewitnesses, or had learned from eyewitnesses, into the texts that make up the New Testament. [3]
Certainly not everything was written down. There was too much to write about (John 20:30; 21:25). Nevertheless, what was written still comprised the inspired apostolic message in all its fullness.
Thus, after the generation of apostles, with their inspired teachings, had passed away, God’s word remained, located in the two Testaments. This, at least, is how the early church father Irenaeus of Lyons (d. 202) saw it in what is arguably the earliest extrabiblical source specifically addressing the issue of authority. Irenaeus wrote, “We have learned from none others the plan of salvation, than from those through whom the Gospel has come down to us, which they did at one time proclaim in public, and, at a later period, by the will of God, handed down to us in the Scriptures, to be the ground and pillar of our faith.” [4] What these words by a preeminent early church father tell us is that the texts comprising the New Testament were deemed (along with the Hebrew Bible) as the final authority for the Christian church. Irenaeus would also criticize those who placed other sources—especially oral tradition—alongside the Scriptures.
He was convinced that Scripture alone was sufficient for all matters of theology. This position was normative for Christian believers of the first three centuries of the Christian era. Tertullian (160–220) and Cyprian (d. 258), for example, advanced similar claims.
