Scriptural Authority

SCRIPTURAL AUTHORITY

Many modern readers find the Bible to be a book of grand principles set in a place completely alien to the modern world. Many modern readers conclude, therefore, “The Bible is out of touch with modern culture.” The question often asked is, “Do modern (civilized) human beings have to accept irrational ancient thinking?” This question and many others are direct results of the individual search for the authority of scripture. Of course when we begin the questions with “I, me, and us” we fail to get the point, for scriptural authority is about what God has said to us not about what we think about God.

Presbyterians recognize John Calvin as one of the fathers of our denomination and consider his “Institutes” as an authoritative response to many of the questions of our faith. Calvin makes no apologies for scripture. In his Institutes of the Christian Religion he writes,

“God bestows the actual knowledge of himself upon us only in the Scriptures.” (69). Calvin accepts that while God is encountered in the creation, this knowledge is warped by humanity’s sin nature and it is only in the scriptures, through the Holy Spirit, that we receive true knowledge of God. Calvin holds scripture in very high regard. As he states, “Nevertheless, all things will tend to this end, that God, the Artificer of the universe, is made manifest to us in Scripture, and that what we ought to think of him is set forth there, less we seek some uncertain deity by devious paths (71)” Simply put, ‘we cannot truly apprehend our Lord without the Scriptures.’

Calvin holds the Bible as being the true Word of God. His language leaves little room for doubting how high an authority he considers the written Word to be. “Hence the Scriptures obtain full authority among believers only when men regard them as having sprung from heaven, as if there the living words of God were heard.” (Calvin, pg. 74). His understanding of Scripture is not, however, overly simplistic Calvin acknowledges there are areas of scripture that seem puzzling and it is here that he would say the Holy Spirit should play the role of giving one a clearer view.

Here is Calvin’s clearest statement on where the authority of scripture descends:

¼we believe neither by our own nor by anyone else’s judgment that scripture is from God; but above human judgment we affirm with utter certainty (just as if we were gazing upon the majesty of God himself) that it has flowed to us from the very mouth of God by the ministry of men. We seek no proofs no marks of genuineness upon which our judgment may lean; but we subject our judgment and wit to it as to a thing far beyond any guesswork. (pg. 80)

Calvin is clear in his opinion that the scriptures are from God. Not only do they come from God but in studying them it is as if we are gazing upon the very majesty of the Lord. Calvin’s high opinion of the source of scripture would lead one to conclude that he would hold it in the highest authority and that if we found passages to be disconcerting he would assume fault with the reader not the source.

With this knowledge in hand one should be humbled to know that when they are reading the Bible they are reading the Word of God. It is exciting to know that we have a guide in the troubling times in which we live. If we find a passage that is troubling or seems to contradict our understanding of Christ we should be excited since we are about to learn something new. Just ahead lies a new growth opportunity. In such instances we have been supplied with an opportunity to delve deeper and depend more heavily upon their relationship with the Lord. This form of submission is where our freedom lies. It is here that people of faith learn to say, “I don’t know.” The great comfort one can find in accepting the authority of the Scripture is the firm assurance of God’s love for us. In the Bible we have centuries of revealed patience and care as well as centuries of mistakes made and answers given.