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These days we find ourselves in are fast changing and challenging. For those of us who endeavor to follow Jesus Christ and the teaching of the scriptures it is becoming even more challenging, and may even become dangerous. And after some challenging circumstances the past two weeks, someone sent me a text and asked if I would write something explaining biblical authority. I thought that was a great idea and agreed to do so.
If we are going to understand biblical authority we have to first establish what role the Word of God plays, not just in the life of a Christian, but in the world. Truth according to the world is relative. That means that there are a number of variables that are in play to determine truth. For the world, truth depends upon circumstances, environment, relationships, socio-economic situation, and culture, just to name the major variables. It depends on these variables at play in an individual's life for that person to define truth.
But the scriptures show very clearly the truth, genuine truth is God's truth. John chapter 18:37, Jesus tells Pontius Pilate that the reason He came into the world was to testify to the truth. He didn't say a truth, but rather the truth. In fact, in John 14 Jesus says that He is the way, the truth and the life and that no one can have access to a relationship with God except through Him. John 1:14 supports this saying He was full of grace and truth and that John the Baptist was sent to testify that Jesus was the Truth.
John 1:1 Says, In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.
The scriptures, both Old and New Testaments are prophetic in that they speak of Jesus. So, when Jesus said he came to testify to the Truth He was talking about all the prophecies about Him. So the Bible testifies to the truth about Jesus and Jesus testifies to the truth of the Bible which is about Him, the Truth of God.The Bible is the inspired Word of God in both Old and New Testaments that testify to the reality of Jesus as the Truth of God. Jesus is real! The Old Testament is this recorded account of a people chosen by God to carry the truth of Jesus interwoven throughout the history of a particular people. In this account of a people of God are prophecies speaking of Jesus coming and interwoven in these prophecies about Jesus are also truth principles that are connected to Jesus.
So when we talk about the authority of the Bible we are speaking about it as a testimony to the authority of Jesus Christ in this world. It is these truth principles that we must study the Bible to understand better the God who loves us and the Savior who redeems us.
We cannot separate the scriptures, as some do, and say that it no longer applies. We cannot separate the Bible from Jesus because the written Word and the Living Word give testimony to each other. You cannot have one without the other. The challenge for followers of Jesus is to study and discover the truth principles contained in the inspired Word of God, 2 Timothy 3:16 reminds us of that. Biblical authority is the truth principles of God's Word that transcend time, environment, culture, circumstances and relationships as variables of relevancy. It is all time truth. When I prepare a sermon and I study the Bible I look at the one time events, that's history; the all time truth principle; and then the our time which is application of the truth principle for our lives. So, one time, all time and our time are the study points that guide me. We find biblical authority in the all time truth principles and how it applies to our lives in our time. God truth is the same yesterday, today, and forever because God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The faces in the world may change, but sin stays the same and God's Word has the only answer to the sinfulness of man. Technology may develop but the schemes of Satan are the same and God's Word is the only answer to thwarting the schemes of the enemy. Mankind may think it is smarter and more sophisticated, but sin, no matter how it is packaged in a human life is still in need of a Savior and Jesus is the only answer for redeeming mankind. The Bible is the only place where mankind can find the story of Jesus.