HOW TO ESTABLISH
BIBLE AUTHORITY
Some people contend that when it comes to spiritual matters, there isn't any
way you can have a common standard. In other words, truth is only what each
person perceives it to be. That means, two individuals can differ as to what
the gospel of Christ is and both be right???
The apostle Paul, speaking by inspiration, said that such thinking
is totally wrong. While addressing the church at Galatia, he stated, "But even if
we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have
preached to you, let him be accursed." (Gal. 1:8).
Not only can we know what the gospel is, we can know what it is not. Truth
and error can be determined when we understand and respect Biblical
authority. When we talk about Bible authority, it is more accurate to say the
New Testament,
since today the gospel is our standard (II In. 9).
Jesus told His followers to go into all the world and preach the gospel (Mk.
16:15). The gospel is the word of truth that has been delivered (Eph. I: 13;
Jude 3). It is the doctrine of Christ that we must heed (II In. 9). By this
standard unity can be achieved, corrections can be made and rebukes can be
uttered (II Tim. 4:2). Therefore, contrary to what some contend, the scriptures
are understandable and contain absolute truth.
There are three basic ways to establish authority.
It is easy to say that whatever we do must be based upon the Bible,
but we need to be more specific. After all, you can find passages of scripture
that mention fornication, but that does not mean we are allowed to do it simply
because it is in the Bible.
1) Direct Command
This may be the easiest to understand since commands are clear. When Jesus
said, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel" (Mk. 16: 15),
the command to preach the gospel can be seen. The New testament contains many
commands; things to do and not to do (Gal. 5: 19-26, etc.).
As a way of establishing authority, commands that are given say twice as much,
when we respect what was not said. When we are told to worship God in spirit
and in truth (In. 4:24), one cannot justify dressing up as a clown to entertain
people by saying, "It doesn't say I can't. " What is not said speaks
as loud as what is said.
2) Approved Example
Whenever you read about Christians in the first century participating in something
that is approved by God, you can be certain that we may do the same today.
In Acts 20:7, saints came together on the first day of the week to remember
the
Lord's death. It was approved by God, therefore we can follow their approved
example and have confidence that we have authority to do the same.
Not all examples are approved. When Peter played the hypocrite in Galatians
2, it doesn't mean we are allowed. Careful study is always required to determine
whether the example is approved by God.
3) Necessary Conclusion
Even though man should not add to what God has said, there are times when the
Lord infers things. When Jesus told His followers to go into all the world
and preach the gospel (Mk. 16:15), how were
they to go? Just because the text didn't
say how, it didn't mean the message was
meaningless. Since we have approved
examples of going by ship, horse, or walking, we know the Lord was telling
them to go using any mode of transportation.
Mere inferences cannot be used to approve just anything someone wants. But
true necessary inferences can be used to establish a religious practice.
For the critics who thinks the Bible can be interpreted many different ways
and all be right, have not understood Biblical authority. The only way you
can please God is to walk by faith (Heb. 11 :6), which comes by hearing the
word (Rom. 10: 17); and is to be understood (Eph. 3:4)
Churck Bartlett