AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE

                            

The authority of the Bible is most crucial to Christian faith. As it is rightly said, the Bible is the sole authority for all Christian faith and conduct. It is true that different denominations have various views on this matter. But the Evangelical Christian faith is totally committed to the Bible alone being authoritative. The Roman Catholics claim to believe in Bible's authority, but they also believe that the church has equal authority. They say the Bible needs to be understood only as interpreted by the Roman Catholic Church.  Then, there are cults which profess to accept the Bible, but treat books written by their leaders to be on par with or higher than the Bible in authority. Some churches give equal authority even to their established traditions. Commitment to the authority of the Bible alone is a good test for genuine orthodoxy or evangelical faith.  

How do we know the Bible is authoritative?

1. God who is the ultimate authority is Himself the author of the Bible. So, His authority is invested in the Scripture. Everything that God has said in His Word He does and He never fails. 

The following verses highlight the fact that the God of the Bible is absolutely sovereign and does what He wills. There is none like Him. His will, plan and purposes are fulfilled in all creation and even in the lives of individuals. He does all things for His glory alone. No one can counsel or question Him. 

Psalm 103:19 "The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all".

Psalm 135: 6 "Whatever the LORD please He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all the deeps."

Psalm 139:16 "Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.”

Isaiah 46:9-10 "....For I am God and there is no other; I am God and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient days things which have not been done, saying, ' my purpose will be established, and I will establish all My good pleasure.”

Romans 11:36 “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things, To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

 
2.  The Bible being the Word of God has the character of God. It is inerrant and infallible even as God can not err or lie. He does not misinform or misguide anyone. His attributes are wholly perfect and so is His Word. 

3. God never changes and so does His Word. His unchanging Word continues to be relevant and authoritative in this changing world.

4. God had created all things in the universe by His authoritative Word for His purposes. Proverbs 16:4 says, "The LORD has made everything for its own purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil."

5. God's Word is totally reliable in that, through the history of mankind the prophecies of the Bible are being fulfilled to the minutest detail. He has predicted everything accurately because it is He who has by His own authority ordained all things according to His own counsel.

6. The Bible as the authoritative and powerful Word of God saves from sins and transforms those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God sent Savior.  

7. The Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Truth, accepted the authority of the Old Testament Scriptures in His personal life and ministry. He acknowledged that He was the fulfillment of its many prophecies. As He ministered here on this earth, the hearers were amazed by the authoritativeness of His preaching/teaching. His words in the gospels and further teaching through the apostles in the epistles form the authoritative New Testament. 

APPLICATION:

The most unique God, the creator and sovereign Lord, has authoritatively revealed His glorious self in the Bible and we should in awe worship Him.We should not disassociate God’s authority from His Word but receive it gratefully as His words of wisdom from His heart to our heart for our good.    We should read the Bible in humility in a systematic and disciplined manner, believing and obeying so as to benefit from it.  On issues, social, ethical or any other, where the popular views differ from the Bible, we need to cast our lot with the Word of God. Wherever God has spoken clearly, it is final, in matters like abortion and same sex marriage.   Soon we shall see the ways in which the Scripture is of value and help to us.