Authority of the Bible

The authority of Scripture is absolutely essential in the life of the church and in the life individual Christians. The concept of authority is woven throughout the fabric of the Scriptures themselves. Isaiah 8:20, To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. When the Apostle Paul was teaching, the Bereans were holding him accountable to the Scriptures. Acts 17:11 states, These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Jesus and the Apostles constantly referenced the Bible as the final court of appeal. This they often did by the introductory phrase, “It is written,” which is repeated some 90 times in the New Testament. Jesus used this phrase three times when appealing to Scripture as the final authority in His dispute with Satan (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10). The Bible’s authority does not change with the times, it cannot be overthrown by culture, and it does not receive its authority from the church, tradition or a human source. It alone is the ultimate authority and final judge of all spiritual matters.

For the believer in Jesus, the Bible is their only rule of faith for both actions and beliefs. All of life’s activities and beliefs must be shaped by Scripture. The same is true for the church. Everything the church believes about God, Jesus, salvation, humanity, sin, social issues, heaven, hell, and the universe itself, is derived from the Bible. When the Bible speaks it speaks with absolute authority because it is inspired by God. 2 Timothy 3:16-17: All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. Since the Bible is God-breathed, it is the only infallible guide for what we believe and what we do. While other teachers and books have value, none of them are authoritative in and of themselves. It is only when those teachers and books accurately communicate the truth of Scripture that they have authority.

Sola Scriptura simply means that all truth necessary for our salvation, our spiritual life and the practice of the church is taught either explicitly or implicitly in Scripture. Therefore, Scripture is the highest and supreme authority on any matter on which it speaks. Because of this we are forbidden to add to or take away from Scripture (Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32; Revelation 22:18-19). In Jesus’ day the Sadducees attempted to give human traditions higher authority than God’s Word as a result Jesus refuted their  error by saying in Matthew 22:29, You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. Jesus held the Sadducees accountable to the Word of God. That was the authority, not their traditions or opinions. Jesus did this several times; He would begin His answer to a fallacious question by asking, “Have you not read?” “Have you never read in the Scriptures?” (Matthew 12:3; 12:5; 21:42). In saying this, Jesus is subtly castigating them for not knowing or correctly interpreting the absolute authority of the Word of God. Jesus continually castigated and rebuked the Pharisees because they made their traditions on a par with the Word of God. He declared to them in Mark 7:13, You are making the word of God of none effect through your tradition. The Pharisees played lip service to the Word of God, but nullified it by teaching contrary to what it said. Many do this today, they twist the Scriptures and lead people astray. Others outrightly deny the Bible’s authority. Still others ignore it as if the words Christ spoke don’t matter. This is tragic since each person will be judged by the very words of Christ in the last day (John 12:48).