Affirming the Authority of Scripture

A bedrock conviction we have here at GBC is that the Bible is God’s inspired, truthful, authoritative, and ever-relevant word.  Scripture shows us what’s ultimately real and important in the universe—like the glory of God, humanity’s treason against him, the stunning offer of amnesty to rebels who put their trust in Christ, and the promise of eternal joy in God’s presence for all who turn to him.

So when we see the Bible being twisted and manipulated to comply with man-centered agendas, we object!  Or at least we ought to object.  Trouble is, we don’t always recognize how we ourselves may commit these very mistakes—and sins.  To challenge the church, D. A. Carson has written a helpful article in the journal Themelios: “Subtle Ways to Abandon the Authority of Scripture in Our Lives.”  Here are some of the errors he points out:

• Appeal to selective evidence. The ‘prosperity gospel’ is an obvious example—dwelling on health/wealth texts while neglecting those about cross-bearing and suffering with Christ.  A more subtle form of appealing to selective evidence is, for the sake of ‘peace,’ side­stepping controversial topics (e.g., ‘same-sex marriage’).
• Heart embarrassment before the text. This is an acute form of the first failure:  preachers avoiding certain topics they find embarrassing—e.g., divine wrath, or Jesus as the only way to be saved.
• Publishing ventures that legitimate what God condemns. Take Zondervan’s recent ‘2 views’ book that treats ‘affirming’ homo­sexual practice as a valid evangelical stance.  Carson reminds readers what the Bible teaches and the church has acknowledged for 2,000 years—that God (lovingly) restricts sex to man and woman in marriage.
• Too little reading of older commentaries and theological works. This error frequently leads to an infatuation with current agendas and fads.  It also opens the door to repeating mistakes of the past.
• Anything that reduces our trembling before the Word of God. Enough said.

Carson’s article is not lite fare.  But the effort to grapple with it will be most worthwhile for any who seek to honor God and his Word!