Why the Church Is Not the Final Authority: A Biblical Refutation of Rome’s Claims

Catholic authority symbols contrasted with the open authority of Scripture.

I grew up in the Catholic Church. I attended Catholic school. I served as an altar boy. I went through all the age-appropriate sacraments. This was my world until high school.

But like many kids raised in religious systems, I didn’t fully understand the depth of Catholic teaching until adulthood. Eventually, as I studied Scripture for myself, I became Protestant in practice—not out of rebellion or bitterness, but simply because I became convinced the Bible teaches something different than Rome does about authority.

And I need to be clear up front: I know many God-fearing, Jesus-loving Catholics. This is not an attack on Catholic believers. This is a critique of Roman Catholic teaching.

I don’t lump everyday Catholics together with the magisterial leadership or its doctrinal claims. My issue is not with the Catholic sitting in the pew; it is with Rome’s official position that:

1. The Church is the final and infallible interpreter of Scripture.

2. Church Tradition is equal in authority to God’s Word.

3. The Magisterium alone has the divine right to define what Scripture means.

These claims demand a biblical response.

Scripture Alone Claims Divine, Final Authority

Throughout Scripture, God’s Word holds the supreme position—not any religious institution.

The Word judges the teachers—not the other way around.

• Isaiah 8:20 — “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, there is no light in them.”

• John 12:48 — Jesus says His word will judge all people on the last day.

• 2 Timothy 3:16–17 — Scripture alone is “God-breathed” and equips the believer for every good work.

If Scripture equips believers for every good work, then no infallible Church interpreter is required to complete what Scripture says is already complete. Besides there are no infallible Church interpreters.

The Bereans Prove the Catholic Model Wrong

Rome says the average believer cannot rightly interpret Scripture without the Magisterium. The Bible says otherwise.

Acts 17:11“They examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”

The Bereans:

• tested the apostles’ teaching by Scripture

• didn’t wait for an official interpretation

• were praised—not rebuked—for doing so

If anyone ever had the right to say, “Just trust our interpretation,” it was the apostles. Yet they submitted to Scripture.

Jesus Explicitly Condemned Elevating Tradition to the Level of Scripture

Rome teaches that Sacred Tradition is equal in authority to Scripture. But Jesus confronted religious leaders for this exact practice.

Mark 7:8–9, “You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men… thus making void the word of God.”

Tradition is not the problem. Elevating it to divine authority is.

When any tradition is placed beside Scripture with equal weight, it becomes a competitor with Scripture. Jesus rebuked that then, and the warning still stands.

The Catholic Magisterium Is a Circular Authority Claim

Rome argues:

• The Church defines Scripture.

• The Church defines Tradition.

• The Church interprets both infallibly.

• The Church is infallible because the Church infallibly declares it so.

This is circular reasoning:

“We have authority because we say we have authority.”

Every religious group claiming exclusive revelation could make the same argument—Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Islam, etc. Biblical authority cannot be based on circular claims.

The Apostles Never Passed Down an Infallible Teaching Office

Rome asserts apostolic succession, but this succession in the Bible is functional, not infallible.

• No verse speaks of a continuing, infallible office.

• Even apostolic prophecy was tested (1 Corinthians 14:29; 1 Thessalonians 5:21).

• The authority passed down was the Word, not a protected teaching class.

Jude 3 says the faith was “once for all delivered” to the saints, meaning the content of revelation is complete, not the office of delivering new revelations.

Scripture Commands All Believers to Interpret and Apply the Word

If only the Magisterium could interpret Scripture properly, God’s Word would not command:

• “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Colossians 3:16)

• “Test everything” (1 Thessalonians 5:21)

• “Do your best to present yourself… rightly handling the Word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15)

• “Grow in discernment” (Hebrews 5:14)

The entire New Testament assumes all Christians can understand Scripture sufficiently with the help of the Holy Spirit, not an additional infallible teaching office.

Rome’s Traditions Include Doctrines the Apostles Never Heard Of

If Sacred Tradition is divine revelation, it should match the apostles’ teachings. Yet many Catholic dogmas are absent from the New Testament:

• the papacy as a monarchic office

• Marian doctrines (Immaculate Conception, Assumption, sinlessness)

• purgatory

• indulgences

• prayers to the dead

• transubstantiation

• the treasury of merit

• the Magisterium as an infallible interpreter

These are developments—later additions—not part of “the faith once for all delivered to the saints.”

Scripture, Not the Church, Stands as the Supreme Authority

Rome's model places:

• the Magisterium above Scripture (as the final interpreter)

• Tradition equal with Scripture (even when Scripture is silent)

• the Church as the judge of God’s Word

But biblical Christianity teaches the Word of God governs the Church. The Church submits to the Word of God. The Church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets (Ephesians 2:20), not the other way around. Authority flows downward from God through His Word, not upward from man through an institution.

I Love Catholics—But I Follow Scripture

My background in Catholicism gives me both appreciation and clarity:

• I care deeply for Catholic people.

• I recognize sincere faith among many Catholics I know.

• I reject any caricature that treats Catholics as non-Christian.

But when it comes to the teachings of Rome, I stand where Scripture itself stands:

The Word of God is the highest and final authority. No institution is infallible. No tradition equals Scripture.

The Church is precious. Teachers are necessary. Tradition has value. But only Scripture is God-breathed. Only Scripture carries God’s authority. And the Church must always be reformed and corrected by the Word, not placed above it.