“Biblical Authority”
©Thomas B. Cundiff
Genesis 1: 1-5
Colossians 2: 6-11
John 1: 1-14
Genesis 1: 1-5
Six Days of Creation and the Sabbath
In the beginning when God created
the heavens and the earth, the earth was a
formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God
swept over the face of the waters. Then God
said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated
the light from the darkness. God called the
light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there
was morning, the first day.
Colossians 2: 6-10
Fullness of Life in Christ
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord,
continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith,
just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
See to it that
no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to
human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe,
and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells
bodily, and
you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority.
John 1: 1-5
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. He was in the beginning
with God. All things came into being through him, and without him
not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light
of all people. The light shines in the
darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
I.
The
Bible! Holy Scripture! God’s Holy Word! Spanning thousands of years, over a dozen
authors writing from different locations, this bible contains a compilation of
some of the most sacred literature known to humankind. 66 separate writings that make up the bible
with 27 books found in the New Testament and 39 in the Old Testament. The Bible book started to emerge as “God’s
Holy Word between 3000 and 1800 years ago.
The Bible contains the best of what we have in God speaking to us in our
time and this place and in our lives.
Now I am
biased, but I truly believe holy scripture, inspired by God, is the greatest
book ever written!
So this
question today: What influence does the
Bible have in leading, steering, guiding, empowering, directing – with
authority in our living our lives as Christians with a special and sacred
relationship with God?
We live in
a world surrounded by numerous voices from a variety of perspectives telling us
everything from how fast we can drive down the streets to who we can or cannot
fall in love -- and what we can carry with us or what we must have with us at
all times as some form of identification.
With all
the laws and voices of authority around us in this world instructing us in how
to live our lives, is there any room left for the Bible to inspire and motivate
and help us do what we believe is lawful and right and just in the sight of
God?
These are the
questions I asked in putting together this sermon. For me the foundation of this sermon is this
lodged in these two questions: Is the
Bible the true, relevant, authoritative Word of God? In
answering this first question a second related question: What is truth?
II.
What is truth?
What is
truth?
To quote a respected preacher whose writings and preaching I have
been following for years, Dr. Laird Stuart who is now retired and residing in
Saugatuck, Michigan:[1]
“The Bible gains authority in our lives as we discover
it is a reliable source of truth. We can also say in brings grace and goodness
to us. We can also say it brings a power
to our lives that helps us. But it is
the truth we find in the Bible, over and over again, that makes it
increasingly reliable for us and that allows us to give it more and more authority for our lives. By this process, the Bible acquires the kind
of authority by which it not only guides and inspires us but also disciplines
us, changing us and challenging us to revise our beliefs and our behavior.”
Over and
over as we worship weekly and hear God’s word read and proclaimed – there can
be no doubt that the concepts found in scripture, lodged in human experiences,
will have more of an authoritative impact on those who engage in regular worship and the regular study of the Bible. This
is not to say the casual reading of the Bible doesn’t influence us. To use this image from our scripture from
Colossians, truth and authority grow roots from disciplined reading and hearing
of God’s Word. To put this in another
way, it is easier to internalize something if we have read it or heard it over
and over again.
For example:
We learned the Lord’s Prayer not just because we heard it or prayed it
once or twice. Over time it has become
part of who we are in worshipping God…..
The
Creation Story found as our Old Testament lesson this morning, has been around
for several thousand years. In church we’ve
had a chance to hear this story a few times. A loose translation:
“In the beginning when God created
the heavens and the earth, the earth was a
formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep…..and God created the
winds and the water and the light and all that grows and walks this earth—woman
and man….
The
Gospel of John, a thousand years later after Jesus was born and proclaimed the Son
of God, we have a newer version of the creation story that builds on the
original stories:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. He was in the beginning
with God.
The Ten
Commandments found in the Old Testament -- another example. Over time the Commandments have grown in
authority to the point that some governments would like them posted in front of
court houses and other public places.
And perhaps
scripture becomes even more authoritative in the lives of people around the
globe because key concepts are found in the scripture or texts from different
religions in addition to the Christian Bible:
The Golden Rule we find repeated over and over in our culture:
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you?
In faith we
listen for God’s authoritative word that is credible, influential---the foundation
from which we can say with confidence: This book is important! It is inspired truth! It has authority for me in helping me live my
life.
So the
second question: What do we believe to
be true in reading scripture? The critical
problem in answering this question:
Nobody has a corner on truth. Truth
can be different things to different people.
Therefore, authority ascribed to scripture is going to have different
variations:
For
example:
Some believe every word in the Bible, literally, has come
from God. Then I have to ask? Which language? Which translation? The
original texts were written in Greek and Hebrew. That’s why all Presbyterian preachers are required
to learn Greek and Hebrew in translating scripture from original sources
so we can be responsible in the work we do in interpreting scripture. And for clergy like me, we are lucky that
there are a lot of credible resources to help us do this work of translating
and sharing with you what we affirm and believe to be “inspired” and “authoritative”
and “true” – not inerrant or without error.
So where do
we find God’s truth? What authority
does scripture have in guiding us in living our lives? It takes time and patience and practice to
truly experience what we can know and affirm to be true and inspired and authoritative
Word of God!
IV.
Worship
and the Study of Scripture
I found
what I believe is a useful illustration that helps us to imagine where God’s Biblical
authority may come – from hard work and study and patience and practice – in
searching the Bible for God’s truth:[2]
Years ago I
started using what is called a cell phone.
These gadgets are now called Smart Phones. In many ways they are but small computers. t has taken me a long time to figure out all
the things these Smart phones can do…and I am still learning.
I can look at maps of
different places around the globe. I can
look up your address and see a satellite picture of your house. If I get lost I push a button and my phone
will tell me where I am currently located.
With Nancy
I not only have the Bible
on this phone but can access about twenty different translations…..and two
versions that can actually read texts to me while driving down the road (except we’re not supposed to text and drive J ).
My favorite tool,
quite simple: My I can do what is called
“face time” with my daughter and grandson in California
And this point: Every time I turn on this phone I learn
something new. If only we would open our
Bibles to learn something new as often as we turn on our cell phones and
computers!
Historically,
the Bible is actually relatively new in history –
The Ten Commandments and Book of
Moses came to us about 1400 BC, and the first Greek manuscripts of scripture
emerged around 315 AD with the New Testament written by Athenasius the Bishop
of Alexandria Oxford
The bible
is something that evolves – and we need to learn how to use it! We need to know that everytime we open up the
bible and read and study it we will learn something new about God, Jesus and
our relationship with our Creator.
There is no biblical authority if we
don’t open and read and study what is within this book.
True
authority in scripture comes in hearing and using scripture on a regular
basis….and here I am again preaching to the choir. It takes patience and practice and regular
participation in worship or at least regular Bible study – to fully grasp God’s
majesty and power and authority – and how to apply God’s Word to our
contemporary circumstances.
We need to never
stop searching for God’s truth and learning and growing what it means to have
God in our lives. That’s why our Sunday
School teachers are having a meeting – because we need to continue searing for
good materials to help us teach our children the stories of the bible at a very
young age so that this book, the bible, can have meaning as they grow.
V.
Finally,
Paul in talking to the Colossians this morning….the source of supreme authority
for our faith and life is Jesus Christ.
Rooted and built up in him, Jesus is the way, the truth and the life….life
God has given each of us in order to grow in faith and stature—in the likeness
of Christ our Lord.
So my
invitation this morning: From time to
time let’s open our Bibles….and read and study God’s word. Wouldn’t it be neat if we read the Bible as
often as we talked on our phones! What if we were to nurture the kind of relationship
with God that we like to nurture with friends and family on the other end of
the phone?
Let’s learn
together, through worship, what God is saying to us through scripture….authoritative
words of wisdom. Let’s search our hearts
to discover what is true. Let’s keep God
close to us. Rooted and built up in
Jesus, let’s continue to search for what it means that he is “the way, the
truth and life”.
Sounds like
a pretty good plan for me…..to spend more time opening our bibles to learn and
accept the fact that true authority in knowing about God comes from God’s Holy Word,
the Bible.
[1] Dr. Laird Stuart: Some of the resourcing and
inspiration for this sermon comes from the work of Dr. Laird Stuart, former
pastor of the Calvary Presbyterian Church in San Francisco Westminster Pittsburgh
[2] Stuart, Ibid.
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