The Authority of Scripture

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Okay. So I want to start this lesson with a thought experiment of sorts. So I want you guys to imagine this with me. Well, let me ask this first. Who has one or more younger siblings? Is anybody not. That might be easier. Any of y'all only children? I know some of you guys aren't. No. Right? Yeah. Okay. So you all have siblings. So even if you don't have a younger one, maybe you can imagine having a younger sibling. So do that. Some of you don't have to imagine. Some of you might have younger siblings in the room. Imagine that one of your younger siblings comes to you and commands you to make him or her a pop tart or something. You must do this now. It's not like a huge inconvenience. What would you do? Would you do it? Raise your hand if you would do it. Okay. A couple of you guys. That is very nice. I don't think I would have, especially with such a command. I would think, okay, you know, maybe like to help you out, but I don't feel obligated to do it. If I do, it's because you're being generous right now. If our pastor, Ryan Smith, showed up to your house and he commanded you the same thing, you might feel a little more obligated. It's still out of generosity, right? Would anybody not. I think I would at least ask him, what are you doing here? But more of us would, but we're still doing it generously. Now, if you know a high ranking official, we'll say the president of the United States comes with all of his secret service to your door, and they come in and command you the same thing. You see all these intimidating people. I'm going to be willing to bet a lot more of us would feel obligated to do as he asked. I definitely think I would. Caleb, do you have a question? What if you don't? I said pop tarts at the beginning, but hot dogs are equally. I don't have either. This is a sign from the point. It doesn't matter which president. Cause he's. Doesn't matter. I don't think it matters anyway, especially with all the Secret Service. Okay. Okay. The point is, hopefully. I don't know if you did. It made sense in my head. Hopefully you saw that with different people coming to you, ordering you commands, you're probably more likely to feel obligated to obey some of them rather than others. Some of them have more of an authority than others. I think the president has more authority to command me to do something, even though he really doesn't I would feel that way, or a police officer asking me to comply in some way, I would feel there's an authority there that I should obey. And so this is what I want us to focus on because we're talking about the authority of scripture. And so this is just the next category as we study different categories of theology. Does somebody want to take a crack and tell the group, what is theology, Caleb? Study about God, plain and simple. That's true. And so that's a big umbrella term for anything that the scriptures teach, because the scriptures are revealing what is true about God. And now within that, there are different categories. One would be the doctrine or the teaching doctrine is kind of just teaching the teaching about scripture itself, the word of God. And so this is a subcategory of theology. Now, we have covered two aspects of the doctrine of scripture. Can anybody remember what they are just the last two weeks? Somebody know two. Timothy 316. Does anyone ever memorize that? It says all scripture is God breathed. What was that referring to? Yeah, God spoke the scriptures. The short, the one word answer is inspiration. God inspired the scriptures. The inspiration of scripture. So inspiration and truthfulness, or the, you know, another word was inerrancy without error, but truthfulness was the word I used and now authority. So this is yet again just a slightly different category. So the main idea of today's lesson is that scripture possesses the right to command what christians. So to command what christians are to believe, do, and be. And two, the word I've used is prohibit what they are not to believe, do, and be. So they command what we do and they prohibit what we are not allowed to do. And scripture has the authority to do this. That's the argument. So we're going to go through those four key ways to study that will help us to see the authority of scripture. So first we are going to study biblically. That's number one. Study biblically. Study biblically. Okay, so a lot of you guys have cell phones, right? Raise your hands if you do. Okay. So there's enough that you can think about this. So you get a phone call and a name or a number pop up. What are some names or phone numbers that pop up that make you feel like, yeah, I need to answer this. Shout them out. Mom. Mom and daddy. Caleb said he never gets phone calls. Sorry, buddy. Yeah, and there might be others, but those are like, very important. Very important. So what would be the opposite? What's something that you're never picking up? Is there anything like that? Spam risk? Do you have a different a's. Okay, so you have people in your contacts as your impending doom. Is that just to remind you to not talk to that person? You don't have to point or say names. Is anyone in the room labeled this way? No. Okay. [00:07:25] Speaker B: Junior is whiny sandwich girl, which is Jaylee. [00:07:28] Speaker A: Oh, so you don't answer Jaylee. Okay. Jaylee. Are you calling him? Be honest. No. So. Well, I'm not gonna necessarily encourage that I would answer my sister yes, if my sister ever called. Okay, so. But he spams. Okay, so you know another one that probably, maybe will is similar to spam, but just random numbers, especially if they have like the same first three numbers as. You never answer those. Just as a tip. Okay, Chloe, last one. Do you have something? Yeah. Yeah. So that would be really inconvenient. That would be terrible. But. So the idea is we don't listen to some. We know that there is a spam risk. We don't want to answer those and we don't want to hear them at all. Now let's get into the scripture. If you want to flip to one, thessalonians chapter two real quick, please do. First, thessalonians 213. Someone want to volunteer to read that when they get there? Up here? What's your name again? [00:09:01] Speaker C: Isaiah. [00:09:02] Speaker A: Isaiah. Please read Isaiah. [00:09:09] Speaker C: That when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of him, but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work. [00:09:24] Speaker A: Thank you. Okay, so here Paul is talking to the Christians and Thessalonica and he is saying that they have received a word. And it was. What word? What is the word that they received? Is it the gospel? Yeah, I think that's right. Whose word? It is God's word. A specific type of word he clarifies. He says the word of God. So very clear. So the Thessalonians received the word because it was God's word. I. And just after Paul had visited the thessalonian church, so he visits them. He says, here you've received the word. It is the word of God. He visits another church. So if you flip to acts, you don't have to. I'll read these. But acts 17 1112. So acts 1711 and twelve says this. Now these Jews, the Jews in Berea, were more noble than those in Thessalonica. They received the word with all eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see if these things were so many of them therefore believed. So here we're seeing one. They receive the word of God. He goes to another place they receive the word of God and they go a step further. And to make sure that they have received the word of God, they're testing the scriptures. This would be referencing the scriptures of the Old Testament to compare what they're hearing with what has been written before. Why do you think they would do that? Yeah, see if it's biblically accurate to see if this really is the word of God. Because the word of God, we've talked about this the last couple of weeks, it wouldn't contradict God's other words. It would fit in line. So that's why they knew to do that. Now I want everyone to go to, we're going to flip to the Old Testament now to deuteronomy, chapter 30. That is the fifth book of the Bible and that is towards the very end of the book, deuteronomy, chapter 30. Would somebody want to read verses 15 to 18? [00:12:03] Speaker B: See, I have set before you today, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, that I command you today by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways and keeping his commandments and his statues and his rules, then you shall live and multiply. And the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away and you will not hear, but you are drawn away to worship other gods and servants, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long on the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. [00:12:49] Speaker A: Thank you. So the word really is God's word? It really is. If you obey God's word, you obey God. That's what we're seeing in this text. If you obey God's word, you obey God. If you disobey his word, you disobey him. Now, I want to go to a couple of other passages real quick and we'll see what Jesus spoke in his ministry on earth. This is really important because from the beginning of the writings to the jewish people, we're seeing that there is this tight connection between God's word and him himself. So what he does is he speaks the word and is revealing himself. And so to obey his word is to obey him. There's a strong connection there. Now let's go to the gospels. We'll start in Matthew, chapter twelve. Okay, so can I have two volunteers for this? Ezra and Caleb. Ezra, can you do the first four verses? Matthew, twelve, one, four. And then can you do five through eight? [00:14:18] Speaker D: At that time, Jesus went through the green fields on the Sabbath. And his disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain to eat. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath. But he said to them, have you not read what David did when he was hungry, even those who were with him? How he entered the house of God and ate the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests. [00:14:46] Speaker C: Read in the law how on the Sabbath, priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless. I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this was, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I would not have condemned the guiltless. For the son of man is lord of the son. [00:15:09] Speaker A: Thank you. Okay, so in this passage, Jesus repeats a phrase. Anyone pick up on it? Or a similar phrase. That's correct. Yeah. Have you not read. Have you not read. Why is that phrase significant? Why am I picking up on this? Yeah. Can you say that again? I think you were right. Huh? [00:15:42] Speaker C: They memorized the scriptures. [00:15:44] Speaker A: Yeah. They memorized the scriptures. Yeah. And so you're right. And he's also in that. He's referencing the scriptures. Why? This is maybe kind of an obvious question. Why is he referencing the scriptures? Scribes know the scriptures. They know it. That's right. Yeah. And one other thing. There's authority in them. So he knows. If he references the scriptures, then they're going to know. Okay, you know, that's a strong point. If he says, my buddy that I hang out with on the weekend says this, they would think that's ridiculous. I don't care what he says. But if he says, have you not Readdez? It is in the word that you claim to be scholars of, masters of, teachers of. And you do not know this. Have you not read this? So he is referencing the word as authoritative. It has authority over people. Now, let's flip over to Luke chapter four. Just two gospels over Luke four. And can I get two more volunteers to read? We'll split this section. Okay. Anya and Violet. Okay, anya, can you read verses one through seven? And then Violet, you can do eight through 13. So this is Luke 4113 together. [00:17:20] Speaker C: Returned from the Jordan and was led by the spirit in the desert for 40 days. He was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days. And at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to them, if you are the son of God, tell this stuff, become bread. Jesus answered, it is written, man is not with love bread alone. The devil led him up to a high place and showed him and seen all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, I will give you all their authority and splendour for given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So you worship me, it will all be yours. And Jesus answered him, it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve. And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, if you are the son of God, throw yourself down from him. For it is written, he will command his angels concerning you to guard you. And on their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. And Jesus answered him, it is said, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test. And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. [00:18:22] Speaker A: Okay, thank you all for reading. So here the devil is tempting Jesus, trying to get him to sin. How does Jesus respond to these temptations? Did you say something? Yeah, with scripture. That's right. What does this teach us about Jesus view of scripture? I'm sorry? It's powerful. So he viewed it as powerful. Anything else that we learn about scripture or his view of scripture in this? Yeah, it has authority. That's great. Yeah, authority even over the devil. So, and that's interesting. It's not like Jesus and Satan are just like rivals battling it out, but just the mere words that Jesus is saying have authority over the devil himself. What does that teach us? How we should, or let me ask you this way, what are some ways that you can use scripture to battle temptation? Yeah, you can memorize it. That's great. Any other ways? Yeah, yeah. So you can use them in apologetic debate kind of situations too. And along with memorizing, we can have them in our head. And also with that, sometimes it's helpful if you're in the right space, you can quote scripture aloud and you can do exactly what Jesus did, and you can fight temptation by quoting scripture. So that is studying biblically in this. We did cover some theologically just in those earlier verses. So that's number two, study theologically. So knowing that God reveals himself in his word and that it's inspired and truthful. The last two weeks, by studying those parts of theology, we know that when we read the word, we are reading what God has spoken to us. But on top of that, there was a big historical event that happened at least partly around this belief that christians hold. Does anybody know what the Protestant Reformation is or if it sounds at least familiar. Okay, so it's at least familiar to all lot. Can anybody tell us at least something about why it happened? Disagreements with the catholic church. That's right, yeah. Anything else? Yeah. Indulgences. Do you know what an, what's an indulgence? [00:22:04] Speaker C: So it's basically like a piece of paper that said that. [00:22:11] Speaker A: Yes, it was paying time off of purgatory. Purgatory is a belief. They hold that you burn off sins. It's an in between place. You burn them off and then when you're done, you get into heaven. So, like, baptism takes away your initial guilt, but you continue to sin and those sins are burned off. That's their belief. And they were selling by means of money. So that was one, that was a huge one that they argued over. Anything else? Because there were multiple and they're kind of connected. That's okay, I'll try to. We're not going to cover the whole thing. Of course. One was the word and authority. And so that's connected to these indulgences is why does, why do bishops, priests, the pope, why do they have authority to forgive sins? It is Christ who forgives sins. Why do they have authority? They did believe they had such authority. They believed that the pope had ultimate earthly authority, even heavenly authority. And on top of that, they would have councils that had authority. And so the question was, who has the final say? If there's a contradiction, who's right? Is it the pope? Is it the councils where a bunch of church leaders would meet? Or is it the Bible? When it came down to it, the people in Rome that following the pope were found out to not be following the teachings of the apostles and church tradition. They had broken away from tradition, and it was because they held them at the same level. What the church had chosen to teach and the Bible were equal, whereas we would believe the Bible has the ultimate authority. As a church can error, we can make mistakes and the Bible can correct us. The Romanists, they don't have, or the Roman Catholics, they don't have that built in. So that is the issue with that. This was kind of summarized in a latin phrase, sola scriptura, which means scripture alone. Scripture alone is the authority. And that, by chance, if you guys didn't know, is what the rest of the church is studying in cross training, that doctrine, they're reading a book about it and how it developed. So if you have parents that are in the class, you should ask them about it. Say we briefly touched it so they'll probably be able to fill you in a little bit more than I did. For the sake of time, let's go on to our third point. Study widely. So we want to study biblically. So we want to go to the Bible, learn what's there. We want to study theologically, knowing what has been taught and revealed in Bible, we categorize into theology, like what we've done and we've studied based on that. And now we study widely. We want to study lots of different places. We want to study different views as well when we can. And so let's go over a couple of errors because we want to know what other people believe that contradict this. So the first, the first is the rejection of the inspiration of scripture. So the first thing, this is our first lesson, the inspiration to some people, they reject inspiration. They say the Bible isn't inspired or they believe it's inspired in a different way. Now what does that have to do with authority? Why is that a problem for biblical authority? It changes the source of scripture. But why does that matter? You're right. Yeah. God inspired the scripture. Did you have something else? No, that was it. Yeah, that's exactly right. If God is not the source, the author of the scripture, then it doesn't have authority. It doesn't have ultimate authority. It might have good advice or some true things, but it wouldn't have ultimate authority. When we understand that people are rejecting inspiration, if you hear someone speaking like that, you know that they don't have authority and they're coming from a completely different place. The second error we want to talk about is neglecting or denying sola scriptura. So scripture alone, what we just talked about rejecting or denying sola scriptura. So what are some things that can go wrong if we don't believe the Bible is the final authority for the church? What can go wrong? Katie, you have an answer? Yeah. So anybody could claim that they have revelations from God. Can anyone think of an example of someone in history that has done that? Henry, the Mormons, Joseph Smith, their all american prophet, at least claimed to have revelations. Yes. Joan of Ark. Joan of Ark. Yeah. I don't know much about Joan of Arc, but I trust that's true. Yes. Muhammad. Muhammad, Islam. Yeah, exactly. So these are, all three of these are very notable. No small errors have been made because of this belief. The Protestant Reformation is another thing. Now the reformation wasn't going wrong, but it was the breaking of church and christian teaching that the Roman Catholics did in the 14 and 15 hundreds was the error. What went wrong with them is that they were prone to listen to what groups of people taught, even if it wasn't supported in the word, because they believed what those church leaders taught was the word as well. So that's how they could have a belief like purgatory, though it's nowhere in the Bible. They could venerate Mary to an idolatry level, because that is what their tradition taught, and they hold that as equal. Another thing that can happen is we can put our trust in a person, and not the holy, perfect, eternal person, Christ, but a regular person. And people fail. They fall. They fall into sin. They let us down. Even apparently, very strong, great leaders with integrity do that. It happens regularly. But that is why we don't trust in Mendez. We trust in Christ, who is God, who was and is perfect. He answered Satan's temptations with his own word, commanding him to be gone. And he atoned. He satisfied God's wrath against sinners for those who would have faith in him. This is the man in whom we believe. We don't believe in an earthly man who's prone to sin. We don't follow their words or their revelations. We follow the revelation of God in scripture, and that is what is authoritative to us. Now, finally, to close, let's do our fourth point. We study practically biblically, theologically, widely, and practically. So this is getting into what is practical or how can we practice this? How can we do this? Well, here's one way that we can practice, and we can apply the authority of scripture joyfully. I mean, that emphasis on the joyful part. Joyfully submit to what the Bible teaches. Joyfully submit to what the Bible teaches. Even when it's hard, it seems easy, at least to say. I mean, maybe it doesn't seem easy to you, and that's okay. Why is it so hard for people to joyfully submit to what the Bible tells us to do? Kanan, you said prideful at the end, and they don't want to admit that they've done things wrong. Yeah. Violet. [00:31:46] Speaker C: Constantly in a battle with the flesh. [00:31:49] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. Our flesh, our sinful nature, fights against what God is saying. Yeah, those are both great answers. Why should we obey the Bible anyway? God tells us to. Yeah. Any other reasons? Yes, it's 100% true. Anything else? Well, those are great. It is authoritative, and it is also life giving. It gives life more than any of your personal preferences or parts of the Bible that make you uncomfortable. This book gives life eternal. What resources do you have to help you obey the word better? Anyone think of any. Yeah. [00:32:52] Speaker C: Holy Spirit. [00:32:53] Speaker A: The Holy Spirit. If you're a Christian, that is, if you've believed in Christ by faith, you have the Holy Spirit. Yes. The word itself. You can study the word. Anything else or anyone else? John Macarthur. John MacArthur can be very helpful. Yeah. Pastors. Yeah, we have some pastors at this church that can be helpful. Your parents, your christian parents could be very, very great resources, and even friends in this room can be helpful resources. And really there are more. But all of those combined, friends, parents, pastors, can offer you physical things to help you study and learn the word. But those are just some of the resources. And so let's practice this. Let's joyfully submit to the Bible. Let's close in prayer now. Father. God, we praise you for your word and how it is so authoritative. Lord, we thank you for this authority. God, we know if we did not have authority, we would be living in a chaotic world. But you created this world in a certain way, and that way includes structures of authority. God, we pray that you're, or we thank you that your word is supreme above them all, that you are above all earthly authorities, so that we may know what to do, what to believe, what to think, and what not to do. Believe and think. God, we praise you for that. We pray that we would be given a heart that can joyfully submit to your word, even when it's hard. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.