All have authority for what they do

 

Consider how fragmented the religious world is today. Do all have authority for what they do? Yes! However, most people do not have the same source of authority. It might be their own, an organization’s or even the Lord’s. As long as man rejects the need to have one source of authority, religious division will always exist.

 

Our God knew that unity would require one source of authority. Our Lord has all the authority (Matt. 28:18) and left us with His written word. Because of this, mankind must have Biblical authority for all that we do in order to be pleasing to God (Rom. 10:17; Heb. 11:6). This source of authority is being rejected by the majority of religious people today. One might wonder how this could happen when the Bible is regarded by most people as the inspired word of God. The answer is found in several forms of faulty thinking….

 

It is inspired but left to private interpretation

 

Is it possible for many people to understand the Bible in the same way? Yes! We are clearly told that the Bible is not left up to private interpretation (II Pet. 1:20-21), yet many make the claim that the Bible can be interpreted different ways (i.e. people can look at the same passage and come to different understandings). Their conclusion is that people can believe and practice different things and all still be acceptable to God. If this is true, then either God did not intend to communicate to man in a way that all could understand, or God did not expect mankind to understand the scriptures alike. In either case, why would God even speak at all then?

 

The fact is, the problem is not with the inspired word – the problem is with man. Many things can hinder people from reading and comprehending what the Lord has said. First and foremost, I again must point out that if man already thinks the Bible cannot be understood alike, then they have lost before they get started. The gospel message was written in a way that there can be only one proper conclusion (Gal. 1:6-9). Those who respect this can obtain unity in understanding (I Cor. 1:10).

 

It is inspired, but it has to make sense to me

 

Too many times in Bible discussions, I hear people read a verse and then say, “I know what is says, but…”  Notice that they recognize what the Bible says – they are instead questioning why God said that. For example, people read Ephesians 5:19 and often tell me, “Yes Chuck, we should sing spiritual songs to God. And yes, we can sing without the aid of mechanical instruments. However, I do not see why it would be wrong to use mechanical instruments in worship.” God has given them enough info to enable obedience. The problem is clearly not with God’s word – the problem is with people expecting answers to unnecessary questions.

 

Also consider Genesis 4 – Cain knew he needed to sacrifice to God. He did not think it mattered what he offered to God though (verse 1-6). No matter how extensive or well-thought out Cain’s ideas were, they do not change what God already stated. In fact, God reminded Him of exactly this (verse 7)!  Many religious people love the Bible and claim that it is inspired and understandable. Despite this, they believe they can reason through God’s word to add things not explicitly stated.

 

 

It is inspired but takes a backseat to feelings and experiences

 

This problem goes beyond our last point. It is one thing to say that the Bible is the inspired word of God. What good is belief in the Bible if our experiences and feelings are also given authority? From a Biblical standpoint, they cannot. We are clearly told that whatever we do in word or deed must be done by the authority of Jesus Christ (Col. 3:17). It does not matter if someone argues to give feelings/experience equal authority to the Bible, more authority or even less authority – Colossians 3:17 teaches that the only acceptable for of authority is that of Christ.

 

How would you react if an angel of God spoke to you? The apostle Paul said that if an angel preaches any other gospel unto you, let him be accursed (Gal. 1:8). God’s word should be the first and last word on anything. It does not matter what one feels based upon some experience. All that matters is that we go to the scriptures for doctrine, for correction, for reproof and for instruction in righteousness (II Tim. 3:16).

 

It is inspired but is not completely accurate

 

Usually when a person makes this argument, the parts of the Bible that they feel are unreliable are the things that a person does not want to accept. The obvious problem with this is that it also discredits the parts of the Bible that they deem as correct. Why? Because if parts of the Bible are untruth, then none of the Bible is trustworthy. It is either 100% right or 100% wrong.

 

Jesus used this logic in discrediting the false accusation that He healed people by the power of Beelzebub (Luke 11:15). If that be true, then Satan would be fighting against himself (verse 18). Either Jesus healed because He has the power of God, or else He cannot have power at all. It makes no sense for Him to heal people of demon possession via the power of the ruler of demons. Thus, we cannot accept parts of the Bible while at the same time rejecting other parts.

 

Every religious person claims to have authority for what they do. I agree that they all reference some sort of authority. However, most do not accept the supreme authority of Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:18). May we fully accept the Bible as the inspired word of God without any conditions, additions or reservations.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Chuck