Posted on 02/23/2011 1:30:10 PM PST by blue-duncan
Christianity is often called a book-religion. It would be more exact to say that it is a religion which has a book. Its foundations are laid in apostles and prophets, upon which its courses are built up in the sanctified lives of men; but Christ Jesus alone is its chief cornerstone. He is its only basis; he, its only head; and he alone has authority in his Church. But he has chosen to found his Church not directly by his own hands, speaking the word of God, say for instance, in thunder-tones from heaven; but through the instrumentality of a body of apostles, chosen and trained by himself, endowed with gifts and graces from the Holy Ghost, and sent forth into the world as his authoritative agents for proclaiming a gospel which he placed within their lips and which is none the less his authoritative word, that it is through them that he speaks it. It is because the apostles were Christ's representatives, that what they did and said and wrote as such, comes to us with divine authority. The authority of the Scriptures thus rests on the simple fact that God's authoritative agents in founding the Church gave them as authoritative to the Church which they founded. All the authority of the apostles stands behind the Scriptures, and all the authority of Christ behind the apostles. The Scriptures are simply the law-code which the law-givers of the Church gave it.
If, then, the apostles were appointed by Christ to act for him and in his name and authority in founding the Church--and this no one can doubt; and if the apostles gave the Scriptures to the Church in prosecution of this commission--and this admits of as little doubt; the whole question of the authority of the Scriptures is determined. It will be observed that their authority does not rest exactly on apostolic authorship. The point is not that the apostles wrote these books (though most of the New Testament books were written by apostles), but that they imposed them on the Church as authoritative expositions of its divinely appointed faith and practice. Still less does the authority of the Scriptures rest on the authority of the Church. The Church may bear witness to what she received from the apostles as law, but this is not giving authority to that law but humbly recognizing the authority which rightfully belongs to it whether the Church recognizes it or not. The puzzle which some people fall into here is something like mistaking the relative "authority" of the guide-post and the road; the guide-post may point us to the right road but it does not give its rightness to the road. It has not "determined" the road--it is the road that has "determined" the guide-post; and unless the road goes of itself to its destination the guide-post has no power to determine its direction. So the Church does not "determine" the Scriptures, but the Scriptures the Church. Nor does it avail to say in opposition that the Church existed before the Scriptures and therefore cannot depend on them. The point is, whether the Scriptures are a product of the Church, or rather of the authority which founded the Church. The Church certainly did not exist before the authority which Christ gave the apostles to found it, in virtue of which they have imposed the Scriptures on it as law.
Apostolicity thus determines the authority of Scripture; and any book or body of books which were given to the Church by the apostles as law must always remain of divine authority in the Church. That the apostles thus gave the Church the whole Old Testament, which they had themselves received from their fathers as God's word written, admits of no doubt, and is not doubted. That they gradually added to this body of old law an additional body of new law is equally patent. In part this is determined directly by their own extant testimony. Thus Peter places Paul's Epistles beside the Scriptures of the Old Testament as equally with them law to Christians (2 Peter iii. 16); and thus Paul places Luke's Gospel alongside of Deuteronomy ( 1 Tim. v. 18). Thus, too, all write with authority (1 Cor. xiv. 37; 2 Cor. x. 8; 2 Thes. ii. 15; iii. 6-14)--with an authority which is above that of angels (Gal. i. 7, 8), and the immediate recognition of which is the test of the possession of the Holy Ghost (1 Cor. xiv. 37; 2 Thess. iii. 6-14). In part it is left to be determined indirectly from the testimony of the early Church; it being no far cry from the undoubting universal acceptance of a book as authoritative by the Church of the apostolic age, to the apostolic gift of it as authoritative to that Church. But by one way or another it is easily shown that all the books which now constitute our Bible, and which Christians, from that day to this, have loyally treated as their divinely prescribed book of law, no more and no fewer, were thus imposed on the Church as its divinely authoritative rule of faith and practice.
Now it goes, of course, without saying, that the apostles were not given this supreme authority as legislators to the Church without preparation for their high functions, without previous instruction in the mind of Christ, without safeguards thrown about them in the prosecution of their task, without the accompanying guidance of the Holy Spirit. And nothing is more noticeable in the writings which they have given the Church than the claim which they pervasively make that in giving them they are acting only as the agents of Christ, and that those who wrote them wrote in the Spirit of Christ. What Paul writes he represents to be "the commandments of the Lord" ( 1 Cor. xiv. 37), which he therefore transmits in the name of the Lord (2 Thess. iii. 6); and the gospel that Peter preached was proclaimed in the Holy Ghost (1 Peter i. 12). Every Scripture of the Old Testament is inspired by God (2 Tim. iii. 16), and the New Testament is equally Scripture with the Old (1 Tim. v. 18); all prophecy of Scripture came from men who spake from God, being moved by the Holy Ghost ( 2 Peter i. 20) and Paul's Epistles differ from these older writings only in being "other"; that is, newer Scriptures of like kind (2 Peter iii. 16). When we consider the promises of supernatural guidance which Christ made to his apostles (Matt. x. 19, 20; Mark xiii. 11; Luke xxi. 14; John xiv and xvi), in connection with their claim to speak with divine authority even when writing (1 Cor. xiv. 37; 2 Thess. iii. 6), and their conjunction of their writings with the Old Testament Scriptures as equally divine with them, we cannot fail to perceive that the apostles claim to be attended in their work of giving law to God's Church by prevailing superintending grace from the Holy Spirit. This is what is called inspiration. It does not set aside the human authorship of the books. But it puts behind the human also a divine authorship. It ascribes to the authors such an attending influence of the Spirit in the process of writing, that the words they set down become also the words of God; and the resultant writing is made not merely the expression of Paul's or John's or Peter's will for the churches, but the expression of God's will. In receiving these books from the apostles as law, therefore, the Church has always received them not only as books given by God's agents, but as books so given by God through those agents that every word of them is God's word.
Let it be observed that the proof of the authority of the Scriptures does not rest on a previous proof of their inspiration. Even an uninspired law is law. But when inspiration has once been shown to be fact, it comes mightily to the reinforcement of their authority. God speaks to us now, in Scripture, not only mediately through his representatives, but directly through the Scriptures themselves as his inspired word. The Scriptures thus become the crystalization of God's authoritative will. We will not say that Christianity might not have been founded and propagated and preserved without inspired writings or even without any written embodiment of the authoritative apostolic teaching. Wherever Christ is known through whatever means, there is Christianity, and men may hear and believe and be saved. But God has caused his grace to abound to us in that he not only published redemption through Christ in the world, but gave this preachment authoritative expression through the apostles, and fixed it with infallible trustworthiness in his inspired word. Thus in every age God speaks directly to every Christian heart, and gives us abounding safety to our feet and divine security to our souls. And thus, instead of a mere record of a revelation given in the past, we have the ever-living word of God; instead of a mere tradition however guarded, we have what we have all learned to call in a unique sense "the Scriptures."
Sola Scriptura Caucus; Something to keep those little grey cells (Poirot) exercised!
So... I take it you don’t want to talk about it...?
“Without it, the wolves have their field day.”
We are seeing it over and over again.
Good read. For us non-lawyers "the Truth is the Truth whether someone recognizes it or not."
Accepting Scripture as inspired and the rule of your faith places a church in a secondary position.
I didn’t know you subscribed to Sola Scriptura as a Roman Catholic!
I think the article needs more dept as to how writings became established as Scripture=God-breathed.
As said in so many word before, I see Divinely inspired writings becoming established as such by the same means that a true man of God was/is. Association with established authority can help, and “official lists of books are helpful, but that is not essentially the basis for authority.
What we see is God first revealing Himself to man and supernaturally attesting to His reality and truth, (like to Abraham) and of the faith and character of those who believed, obeyed it and testified of it (like Moses).
When adding new laws and codifying the, God raised up a Moses, a holy man of God, like Abraham “the Friend of God,” and whose authority God mightily established by supernatural Divine attestation. And the law given by the hand of Moses (though liberal scholars typically deny that it was) became the standard by which further revelation and men of God were tested and established by, which was a continuing principle. (Is. 8:20; Mt. 22:29-45; Lk. 24:27,44; Jn. 5:39,42; Acts 17:2,11; 18:28; 28:23; Heb. 1, etc.)
By the time of Jesus a distinct body of writings referred to as Scripture was already realized, as is evident by references to the Scriptures by which they substantiated claims, yet without an assuredly infallible magisterium (which only Jesus was), as the Pharisees and Scribes were not, though they sat in Moses seat. (Mt. 23:2) The logic that being the instruments, discerners and stewards of Holy Writ confers infallibly authority would require all to submit to Judaism.
Moving on, the authority of Jesus and the apostles (who like Moses, added new laws), and the faith they preached was also established by a holiness and doctrine which conformed to that which was written, (Mt. 22; Lk. 24:27,44; Acts 17:2,11; 28:23; 2Cor. 6:1-10) as well as by overall constant powerful supernatural attestation of a type which itself conformed to Scripture.
And by such all spiritual authority is proportionately established in relation to its claims, with the Biblical preaching of the Biblical gospel of grace resulting in transformational conversions, among other testimony which corresponds to the claims of Scripture. And which in turn affirms the veracity and Divine inspiration of the Scriptures.
One will notice that when Jesus authority was challenged, He referenced the baptism of John the Baptist, whose authority did not come from men. (Mk. 11:27-33) as well as His own works, (Jn. 5:31-36) and the Scriptures. (Mt. 22:41-46; Jn. 5:39)
The inspired words and faith of the early church would continue to be progressively established as from Heaven by its unique and enduring qualities, which corresponded to its claims. The best church councils could so was affirm what had become manifest as bread from Heaven, but again, its enduring acceptance is due to its qualities and effects.
The church that is the pillar and ground of the truth is the church of the living God, and if its gospel does not manifest the manner (not necessarily the number) of conversions we see in Scripture, usually immediately upon hearing the gospel (though prep work was involved) - resulting from souls being convicted as per Jn. 16:8, and being humbled before as sinners destitute of any moral fitness whereby they may escape Hell and gain Heaven, and thus casting all their faith in the mercy of God in Christ, trusting the Lord Jesus to save them by His sinless shed blood - then it cannot claim to be part of that church.
Smiling as God always knows ahead of time, and further prepare the way for us......I say this as today spoke with a young man, influenced by New Age thinking. Our conversation always came back to by what authority and in what authority did his faith rest.
I have no doubt his faith has shipwrecked by his association with New Ages, and evidences this is so by his continueous contradictions as he spoke. Oddly, he referenced and quoted the very scripures from the bible of which he is no longer convinced is "truth".
Also obvious is this fellow is in a spiritual battle which he mistakenly sees as simply his desire to find the truth....yet he is unwilling to accept the truth and the authority of that truth. I noted also there seems to be a need for him to appear intellectual.
I need a simplified way of speaking with him about how the scriptures came to us.....he agreed it's possible God would use the men and then thru history and scriptures reveal Christ. But he is not convinced of the accuracy of History nor of those who wrote of it...let alone the scriptures.
I will reread your post here Daniel, and try to simplify this enough for me to grasp in such a way as i can present it to this individual....so any more you might share would be helpful. I believe this fellows soul is at stake and God is trying to bring Him back into the fold....or he is not saved and needs to meet Christ.
P.S. Any others who might offer an opinion will be greatly welcomed.
After hearing many testimonies and making observations, etc., I see God designing it so that there is enough evidence that honest seekers of truth find warrant for taking a step of faith which results in reality, while allowing things which allows those who do not want the light to rationalize away their faith.
We need to pray for such, and try to reason with them if they are reasonable, from asking where energy came from to truths from Scripture to the cause behind miracles. As for the latter, you could consider suggesting him to spend some time watching these (site politics aside), and which ones were best and why. http://www.cbn.com/700club/features/Amazing/ (various amazing testimonies)
You might ask him to honestly pray, asking God to give some evidence of His reality.
You know, I’ve become convinced that there is something in everyone’s life which God can use to bring them face to face with His reality.
For people who like to say that they wish God would just drop a billboard out of the sky or just show His face or something, there is something in each and every one of our lives which would be just as real and convincing as that.
That’s why when people are confused and searching and doubting God, I like to advise that they challenge God to make Himself real to them in a special way that they cannot deny.
In this fellows case God has gone far to “wake up” this individual....many loses for not listening...yet still he seems to hold fast to wanting “more”...and believes if he keeps searching Christ will basically give Him what he wants...which i think what he wants is to have Christianity AND to dabble in the cults at the same time. Of course that is not possible...so his real struggle may very well be ‘a matter of choosing’ rather than searching.
From what he’s stated I think he’s ripe for going along with the inclusion of all faiths merging into a Universal religion...which of course New Age Spirituality is snatching many, even Christians, into. Our educational system sets them up for this lovey dovey inner search for themslves and to find their own truth.
But then where is that point where the evidence is enough?....since even a small amount of faith can move mountains....what has to be touched or where in an individuals life, for the truth to be seen by those who are sincerely seeking but are unable to accept the evidence they already have? are they right to want more than most would accept?
"Still less does the authority of the Scriptures rest on the authority of the Church. The Church may bear witness to what she received from the apostles as law, but this is not giving authority to that law but humbly recognizing the authority which rightfully belongs to it whether the Church recognizes it or not. The puzzle which some people fall into here is something like mistaking the relative "authority" of the guide-post and the road; the guide-post may point us to the right road but it does not give its rightness to the road. It has not "determined" the road--it is the road that has "determined" the guide-post; and unless the road goes of itself to its destination the guide-post has no power to determine its direction. So the Church does not "determine" the Scriptures, but the Scriptures the Church."
Amen to the Lion of Princeton!
Excellent writing on the subject. I’m saving it to a file. Thanks.
Excellent.
That's the way it stands.
Ask and ye shall receive...
Hope you find it helpful. Also, I agree with Metmom. Anybody who genuinely seeks the truth will be given it. Hebrews says God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Also, this is good:
Deuteronomy 4:28-30 (New International Version 1984, ©1984)
28 There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell. 29 But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and obey him.
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