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Examined Doctrine

Gavin Ortlund on Authority of Scripture

LIVING · REFORMED BAPTIST
STANDARD SCHOLARLY ACCOUNTAFFIRMS°
STANCE

Scripture alone is the final, only infallible authority

THE POSITION

Sola scriptura, but paired with an unusually positive Protestant retrieval of the church fathers — arguing the Reformation's claim was continuity with the ancient church, not a fresh start.

WHY THERE IS NO QUOTATIONNo quotations. A living author's work cannot be quoted at length without permission, so these positions are paraphrased from published writing rather than reproduced.

SCRIPTURE
2 TIMOTHY 3:16 · BSB

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

18 OTHERS HOLD THIS

Jacobus ArminiusVoddie BauchamCalvinJonathan EdwardsThe Church of Eleven22 Statement of FaithM. HeiserJosh HowertonSecond London Baptist ConfessionLutherJohn MacArthurPhilip MelanchthonJohn OwenJustin PetersJohn PiperR.C. SproulWesleyWestminster ConfessionZwingli
Scripture with tradition and church teaching officeAQUINAS · BASIL THE GREAT · CHALCEDON · CHRYSOSTOM · CONSTANTINOPLE I · EPHESUS · NICAEA I
Scripture supreme, recognized and interpreted through the churchATHANASIUS · AUGUSTINE · IRENAEUS
See all 29 figures on authority of scripture →

ABOUT THIS FIGURE

Pastor and author behind Truth Unites. Works on retrieving the church fathers for Protestants and on charitable engagement with Catholic and Orthodox claims.

READ ACROSS 8 LOCI, NONE QUOTED
Everything Gavin Ortlund holds →
Cite this page

"Gavin Ortlund on Authority of Scripture", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/ortlund/scripture-authority (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/ortlund/scripture-authority).

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