The Authority of God’s Word
Phil Sanders
Introduction:
We often hear the words: “We Are Not Sure Anymore”
only
one church -> fellowship denominations
undenominational
church -> “church of Christ” denomination
baptism
is immersion -> fellowship the sprinkled
baptism
saves -> fellowship those who believe they are saved before baptism
women
to be silent -> women leading in worship
pianos
in worship is wrong->fellowship those who worship with musical instruments
worship
God -> entertain the congregation
God
speaks through the Bible -> God speaks to my heart
What
does the Bible say? -> what works?
Why
Are We Not Sure? We are falling prey to
culture!
The postmodern mindset at the close of this second
millennium sets an individual adrift on a sea of uncertainty, not having a
north star to guide him, a rudder to steer him, or an anchor to secure
him. He does not know where he has
been, where he is now, or where he is going; and he will not let anyone else
tell him. He is insulted if anyone questions his right to be adrift. He may affirm his own plans as right and
good but will not allow anyone to criticize or deny them. He will not judge anything as right or
wrong, nor will he tolerate any intolerance.
This is a commitment to absolute moral and doctrinal freedom. He has set himself adrift on a sea without
the eternal foundation of God.
THE
BASIS OF AUTHORITY IN SCRIPTURE
1. Jesus Has All Authority
MT
28:18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying,
"All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
JN
3:35 "The Father loves the Son, and has given all
things into His hand.
EPH
1:20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised
Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,1:21 far above all
rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not
only in this age, but also in the one to come. 1:22 And He put all
things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to
the church,
Eph.
4:5 reminds us that there is “ONE LORD”
2.
Jesus’
Authority is Expressed in His Word
MT
7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,'
will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is
in heaven.
MT
7:24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of
Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house
upon the rock. 7:25 "And the rain descended, and the floods
came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been
founded upon the rock.
MT
7:26 "And everyone who hears these words of Mine,
and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house
upon the sand. 7:27
"And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and
burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall."
LK
6:46 "And why do you call Me, `Lord, Lord,' and do
not do what I say?
JN
12:48 "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My
sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the
last day.
JN
16:12 "I have many more things to say to you, but
you cannot bear them now. 16:13
"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the
truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He
will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
1CO
14:37 If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let
him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord's commandment.
GAL
1:11 For I would have you know, brethren, that the
gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. 1:12 For I
neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
1
TH 2:13 And for this reason we also constantly thank God
that when you received from us the word of God's message, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for
what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who
believe.
3.
The Bible Teaches the Need to Hold Fast to
the Scriptures
JN
8:31 Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had
believed Him, "If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 8:32 and you shall
know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
1CO
11:2 Now I praise you because you remember me in
everything, and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you.
1CO
15:1 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel
which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand,1CO
15:2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I
preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
2
TH 2:15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the
traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.
2TI
2:2 And the things which you have heard from me in the
presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to
teach others also.
2TI
3:14 You, however, continue in the things you have
learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them; 3:15 and that from
childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the
wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
2TI
4:1 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the
living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: 4:2 preach the word; be ready in season
and out of season; reprove, rebuke,
exhort, with great patience and instruction. 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound
doctrine; but wanting to have their
ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to
their own desires; 4:4 and will turn away their ears from the truth,
and will turn aside to myths.
TIT
1:9 holding fast the faithful word which is in
accordance with the teaching, that he may be able both to exhort in sound
doctrine and to refute those who contradict.
2JN
6 And this is love, that we walk according to His
commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the
beginning, that you should walk in it.
JUDE
1:3 Beloved, while I was making every effort to write
you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing
that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to
the saints.
4.
We
Have No Right to Change the Word
GAL
1:6 I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him
who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; 1:7
which is really not another; only
there are some who are disturbing you, and want to distort the gospel of
Christ. 1:8 But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should
preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him
be accursed. 1:9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any
man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him
be accursed.
2JN
9 Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the
teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he
has both the Father and the Son. 1:10 If anyone comes to you and
does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; 1:11 for the
one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.
REV
22:18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the
prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God shall add to him the plagues
which are written in this book; 22:19 and if anyone takes away from
the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the
tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.
II.
Major Shifts in Emphasis Regarding Authority
From Divine Truth to Accommodation
of the World and Our Culture
God
centered -> Man Centered
Universal,
Absolute Truth -> Cultural, Relative Truth
Verbal
Plenary Inspiration -> Occasional Response
Objective
Truth -> Subjective Truth (what it means to me)
Whole
Truth -> Core Gospel
Inerrancy
-> Selective Inerrancy
Confidence
We Can Know the Truth -> Uncertainty
God
speaks by the Bible -> The Holy Spirit Impressed on my heart
III.
The Effects of These Major Shifts:
Restorationism
-> Privitization (Do-It-Yourself Religion)
Doctrinal
Purity -> Theological Pluralism (Everybody’s Right)
Grace
with Repentance -> Grace without law
Unity
in truth -> Union with Heresy (since Everybody’s Right)
Biblical
Boundaries -> Progressive Inclusivism (Fellowship Everybody)
Stand
With Truth -> Stand For Opinions but not Against Others
Doctrinal
Priority -> Pragmatic Priority (What Makes the Church Grow)
What
God says -> What I Feel in my heart
IV.
Postmodern
Challenges to the Authority of Scripture:
1.
The Challenge of Patternless Theology
a.
Some
say the NT is different from the OT and does not give us any rigid patterns to
follow, which means we have freedom to do as we wish
b.
1 Cor. 11:23ff.
is an inspired “tradition” we keep
c.
Rom. 6:17,18
speaks of our obedience to a pattern of doctrine in our salvation
d.
2 Tim. 1:13
(NIV) What you heard from me, keep as
the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.
2. The
Challenge of Silence (Loophole Religion)
a.
Some
say we are permitted to do whatever the Bible does not forbid
b.
This
challenges the all-sufficiency of the Bible.
The Bible was written to teach us what God wanted from us not to forbid
everything that could come into the mind of men. (Jude 3; 2 Tim. 3:16,17)
c.
People
apply this selectively. The Bible does not forbid a pope; sprinkling; baptizing
babies; teaching about purgatory; gambling; and multiple marriages.
3.
The Challenge of Tolerance and Theological Correctness
a.
It
has become fashionable never to make a judgment about anyone, and we hear Matt.
7:1 applied to almost every circumstance
b.
“Who
are you to make any kind of judgment about anyone’s religion?” arrogance
c.
Anyone
who speaks of right and wrong is immediately an outcast, spiritually and
theologically ignorant! He should learn
to keep his mouth shut!!
d.
We
are told that anyone who loves God is our brother whether he has obeyed the
gospel of the Bible or not. (Baptized/immersed for the right reason).
e.
We
are even told that one can go to heaven without ever having known Jesus or
having seen the Bible!!
f.
Does that mean we are never to accept God’s
judgment?
What
of John 14:6?
What
of Acts 4:12?
What
of 2 Thess. 1:7-9?
g.
God
has made some judgments, and we must tell people about them. We must speak against sin!
h.
Theological
correctness does not hold any view to be heresy.
4.
The Challenge of Core-Gospel, Bull’s Eye
Theology
a.
Some
are saying that certain “core” beliefs are necessary to be obeyed but that God
is not picky about peripheral issues
b.
I
realize that some things are of “first importance” (1 Cor. 15:3) and there are some things that are weightier matters
of the law (Matt. 23:23).
c.
But
there are no commandments, however small, one can willfully disobey and
disregard and still please God (Matt.
28:20).
5.
The Challenge of Impressions on the Heart
a.
Some
among us are now confessing they believe every profound notion that comes into
their hearts was planted there by the Holy Spirit
b.
This
notion is hardly short of the charismatic movement
c.
I
believe very strongly in the power of prayer and the providence of God
d.
But
“the faith” has once and only once been delivered to the saints already. There are no new revelations
e.
Jeremiah 23:16-40
speaks of self-deceived prophets who thought what they imagined in their hearts
was the word of God. It was not!
f.
If we believe these folks, must we not also believe
Mormons, Catholics, Pentecostals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Scientists and
Adventists as well?
g.
Did
you know that pagans believe God gives them messages?
Conclusion:
1.
1 Cor. 15:1,2 saved if we hold fast
2.
There
is but one issue: Luke 6:46 “Will Jesus Be
Lord?”