Afterwords -- authority
"Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him." (Proverbs 30:5)
"What has straw in common with wheat? declares the LORD. Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?" (Jeremiah 23:28-29)
February 24, 2024
Dear friends,
You may have seen the bumper sticker that says, "Question authority!" It's been around a while. Of course, this statement leads immediately to the question, "Says who?" By whose authority do you tell me to question authority? John Warwick Montgomery once said, "No one ever dispenses with authority -- one only relocates it."
We live in an age where any authority higher than oneself is being questioned, if not jettisoned altogether. And yet, we all seek some justification for, or some basis upon which to validate our opinions, lifestyle, morality, and choices. Some of these authorities that we appeal to [see diagram above] may have a valid (though limited and qualified) role in life. However, are our feelings or reasoning or scientific consensus or government policy or public opinions or cultural standards to be the final arbiter of what we should think and do? How can we know truth from falsehood, and right from wrong?
The Bible indicates there is an Authority higher, and outside of, us. "The Bible is the reservoir and conduit of divine truth, the authoritative written record and exposition of God's nature and will", wrote Carl F. H. Henry. In his magisterial work, God, Revelation and Authority, he wrote the following:
"Beyond all doubt, biblical religion is authoritarian in nature. The sovereign God, creator of the universe, Lord of history, dispenser of destiny, determines and rewards the true and the good. God commands and has the right to be obeyed, and the power also to punish the disobedient and reward the faithful. Behind God's will stands omnipotent power. The notion that the individual subjectively determines what is ultimately good and evil, true and false, not only results in an encroaching nihilism, but also presupposes the illusion of a godless [i.e., God-less] world. God can be ignored only if we assume the autonomy of the world. But it is God who in his purpose has determined the existence and nature of the world."
"The speaking God of the Bible towers evermore above fallen man's silent and fading idols (Jer. 2:28). The fact that Elohim-Yahweh speaks from everlasting to everlasting attests that he alone--and not impersonal fate or ghastly demons or man-made idols-- rules the silences of external reality. God's speech--commanding, warning, exhorting, promising, performing--strips the world of mythology of its presumed value and power."
~ Carl F. H. Henry, God, Revelation and Authority, IV:15, 593.
Some would say that believing the Bible as our highest authority is just another subjective standard. Namely, that we, along with other religiously minded people, are treating our personal faith and our faith tradition as the ultimate authority. And yet, as the Princeton theologian Benjamin Warfield wrote, "There is nothing more important in the age in which we live than to bear constantly in mind that all the Christianity of Christianity rests precisely on 'external authority.'"
The Bible rests upon the teaching of 1500 years of prophetic writing, miracles, and apostolic testimony. It records the eyewitness accounts of God's Son, the Word, coming into the world -- living, dying for sins, and rising from the dead. These are things which are subjectively believed by us, but they are not subjectively derived from us. They come to us externally from above, from outside space and time, and manifested in history.
So, God's authority, made known to us through his self-revelation, surpasses all contingent authorities in our world. For us this is the ultimate authority, and our infallible guide for our thinking, our values, our ethics, our actions, and our hopes for the future.
And here's a bit more I wrote back in 2017 on the topic of authority.
ARTICLES.
-- The Good news about Christian Marriage: a review of Bradford Wilcox's new book.
-- "Google will 'fix' Gemini, but can never fix it, because they do not want or intend to. Their engineers will no doubt build a better machine, but given that they wish us to use it only to seek knowledge fit for their vision of society, it feels more like they are instead building the perfect beast." Read "Google’s Gemini: The Suffocating Future of Woke A.I."
-- This is helpful: "How to End a Conversation."
IN OTHER NEWS.
-- Upcoming this week: the BCF Spiritual Life Conference with Dr. Tom Schreiner.
-- We've spotted robins and a bluebird recently. As well, a pair of ring-necked doves are nesting in the hemlock tree in our yard. Is spring on the way?
FINAL QUOTE.
"The problem of authority, which haunts all arenas of thought and life today, turns ultimately on the reality of God and his revelation." (Carl F. H. Henry)
That's it for this week!
Sandy
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
