• Biblical Authority
• What is Paul’s Source of Authority?
• What is Jesus’s Source of Authority?
• Interpreting the Scriptures
• Learning From Authority

I’ll admit, I really enjoy a friendly debate. I love when a group respectfully debates theology in the search of the truth. Unfortunately, friendly debates are uncommon today. Most people don’t know how to be friendly or respectful. They act like anyone who disagrees with them is the enemy. Very quickly debates can turn from respectful back and forth points to personal attacks instead of logical and factual debate.

Another issue with Biblical debates today is that so many people use anything but the Bible to make their points. Sadly, people use scientists, pastors, psychologists, personal feelings, and the crowd to defend what they believe. My question to people is, “Who or what is your authority?”

Something isn’t true or right because the majority of people think it is true or right. The truth is true even if not one person on earth believes it. The God who created everything knows more about truth than the scientists, who try to interpret observations. Good Bible teachers can be very useful, but we should always look to the Bible to see if what they are saying is true. Even the best teachers likely have a few errors (small or large) in their teaching. The majority, the culture, and psychology will lead you astray more often than not. “Who or what is your authority?”

§Biblical Authority

Our authority should be the Bible

You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 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. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:14-17) {emphasis mine}

I love the word that is here translated as inspired. This could be more accurately translated as “All Scripture is God breathed.” It comes straight from the mind of God. Just as God breathed life into Adam, He breathed truth into the Bible. Nothing is better for leading us to truth. Only if we know the bible can we be adequately equipped for every good work.

§What is Paul’s Source of Authority?

When Paul is making a point, he frequently uses “It is written …”. For example: Romans 8:36, 1 Corinthians 1:31, Romans 3:4, etc. He also asks,

For what does the Scripture say? “ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.” (Romans 4:3) {emphasis mine}

If quoting Scripture was the way Paul debated and determined truth, then Scripture should be how we determine truth.

§What is Jesus’s Source of Authority?

Even more importantly, Jesus also frequently uses some form of “It is written …”. The most famous is His responses to the temptations of Satan in the wilderness.

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ”

Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning You’; and ‘On their hands they will bear You up, So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’ ”

Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’ ” (Matthew 4:1-10) {emphasis mine}

To every temptation, Jesus responds with “It is written …” and He quotes the Scriptures. He also uses Scripture to correct Satan’s own “It is written …”. Just as Satan misused Scripture to make his point, so also Jesus used Scripture to correct the wrong meaning implied by Satan. We need to know the Bible so well that we can recall the Word of God needed to refute all lies and errors, whether intentional or made in error. We need to use Scripture to interpret Scripture. Nothing in the Bible contradicts anything else in the Bible, so we need to look at the Bible as a whole to interpret anything that looks like a contradiction. We need to know the whole Bible so we can recognize when someone is using a verse, or part of a verse, out of context.

If Jesus used Scripture as the basis of all of His arguments, I think we should follow His example.

§Interpreting the Scriptures

So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. (2 Peter 1:19-21) {emphasis mine}

So often people say things like, “I feel … ,” “I believe …,” or “This is what it means to me …”. People can feel or believe what they want, but there is only one truth. There is only one correct interpretation of Scripture. We don’t get to have our own interpretation. We don’t get to make God in our image. We don’t get to pick how we will approach God if it contradicts His design and His command.

When we accept that each person can have their own opinion or feelings on the matter we may be allowing others to live in error. If a person thinks they can go to heaven in a way other than complete submission to Jesus, they are in for a rude awakening.

God has defined how we are to approach Him. We don’t get to decide. There are lots of examples in the Old Testament of people who tried to worship God how they chose instead of how God prescribed, and it didn’t end well with any of them. They instantly dropped dead, were burnt up by fire from heaven, were swallowed by the earth, etc. God’s holiness is serious. We need to treat Him with reverence, not just how it is convenient for us.

§Learning From Authority

Especially when we are new Christians, it can take a bit to really study and learn the Bible for ourselves (although we should make more effort than most actually do). It can be helpful to listen to Godly men who teach the Bible — sermons, podcasts, blogs, books, etc. If these teachers are faithfully teaching the word of God, this can help us to understand the Bible better and faster. Unfortunately, some Bible teachers teach major errors — some intentionally, but many unintentionally. Even the new Christians need to be like the Bereans and verify what they are being taught by comparing it to the Bible.

Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. (Acts 17:11)

We need to be careful to whom we listen. We need to test everything we believe to be true by the Bible. There is no one who knows truth more than God. There is no one who has disproven the Bible. When the Bible and what the “experts” say contradict each other, we need to investigate how the “experts” are wrong, not try to change God’s word to match the “experts.”

It always amazes me how often people people, who claim to trust God and believe the Bible is inerrant, end up twisting God’s word to fit it in to what man says instead of believing the clear words of God. The only reason to interpret the Scriptures the way they interpret It is if they are trying to mold Them to fit the words of man. This is particularly common in the first eleven chapters of Genesis, but is true of so many doctrines.

This isn’t to say that there aren’t some areas where honest, God fearing differences of understanding can’t appear. There are some areas, especially with prophecy, where the Scriptures are less clear, but even in these areas, there is only one right interpretation. We should all be working together to find the truth by searching the Scriptures and not by arguing about whether one or another teacher is correct.

This is one reason that I don’t like being labeled based on denomination or teacher. Paul reprimands the Corinthian church for doing just that.

For you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere men? What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. (1 Corinthians 3:3-7) {emphasis mine}

Some time ago, someone asked me if I was a follower of Reformed Theology. To be honest, I had to go look up Reformed Theology to see what it was. I do agree with many of their beliefs, but disagree strongly with their end-times eschatology. I’ve also been accused of being a Calvinist. I do agree strongly with most of Calvin’s teachings, but don’t like being labeled after a man, even a Godly man. I just want to be known as a follower of Jesus and the Bible. I’ve found errors (some big and some very small) with every denomination and every teacher that I’ve studied to any degree.

These labels can be useful when searching for a church or when judging someone about which you know nothing, but they shouldn’t be our central focus. Our authority and foundation should be God and the Bible alone. There should be nothing and nobody else upon which we build the foundation of our belief.

I recently led devotions in our church Vacation Bible Study. We did a chemistry themed VBS. What is better than combining Bible and Science? For me, not much. On opening day we did a little skit where I asked what we needed to do our chemistry experiments. My assistant asked: a test tube? a beaker? a periodic chart? a chemistry text book? I was really impressed with the kids attending. The right answer was “The Bible!” In everything in life, we always start with the Bible. There are many other useful resources, but our foundation should be the Bible.

May the God of heaven give you a desire to study and know His word — the Bible. May He help you to understand His word and apply it wisely in every area of your life. May you use the Bible to support every belief you have and use you to share His word with others, so they can also use the Bible as the foundation of their every belief.

Trust Jesus

All verses are NASB unless otherwise noted.