Authority in Religion

The following comments are observations on chapter six of Batsell Barrett Baxter's book, The Family of God.

Have you ever met someone who seemed to be afraid of the church or the Bible?  It is hard for us within the church to understand, but it is quite common.  The Bible has the power of God within its pages, so it needs to be used properly if we want to really help people and provide them with the benefits of knowing their Creator.

Hebrews 4 says it is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.  2 Timothy 2:15 says we should be diligent to handle it accurately, and we can see that is because of its power.  If we saw a three-year-old child walking through a crowd with a nuclear fusion device, we might be apprehensive.  To say that it has the power to change lives is an understatement.  So it is with God's word.

This chapter introduces the need for seeking God's authority in the Bible for whatever we do with it.  We could substitute the word "permission," but it is really more than just permission.  It is permission combined with encouragement, assignment, enabling, strengthening, and convincing.  To me the word authority embodies all these concepts, pointing us in a certain direction.  It is God's guidance, and anyone who prays for His guidance should be looking in His word to see what He authorizes.

Baxter compares authority to a job description.  He shows how Jesus demonstrated in at least four ways that His authority came from God the Father.  So, can we go back to the question in Matthew 21:23 and give a substantial response when asked by what authority we do what we do in the church?  I think we must start from the position that we cannot simply claim it.  We've seen many people do that and go down in flames.

We must search the scriptures like the Bereans in Acts 17:11 to find out what authority we have as Christians.  In that environment practices and doctrines would not all be equal.  Some things would be authorized and some would not.  We could trust each other to help us in our walk with God, to the extent that we would search for authority and do only what God truly does authorize.

Baxter looks at three places where most people search for authority in religion.  They become the source of authority in the groups that rely on them.  The first is the church itself, then people's ideas, and finally the Bible.  If you have read this far, maybe you can already pick the best choice.

Authority of the church emphasizes church leadership as the final authority that trumps all other.  Hierarchy is important, along with traditions and creeds.  A leadership group might meet and vote on a change in practice, but as Baxter points out, they are not able to change God's will.

The authority of people's ideas comes through feelings and constructed lines of reasoning, which Baxter calls a "creature of education," not in the positive sense, but in the sense that shows potential weakness and bias.  Back when the apostle Paul was known as Saul of Tarsus, he wreaked havoc on the Lord's church, in all good conscience (Acts 23:1) against Jesus (Acts 26:9-10).  Feelings, opinions, humanism, and philosophical modernism certainly have a seductive power, but their limited value in arriving at objective truth makes them extremely fallible.

The authority of God is what we really need, and the place to find it is in the Bible.  We in the church must stand down and submit to God's authority before asking people to trust us in teaching them.  Even the apostles were given the message they would speak (Matthew 10:19-20).

When studying the Bible, we should pay attention to how it teaches us what to do.  A two-dollar name for that is hermeneutics.  Many, many people give no attention to that question or rely on a do-it-yourself approach or hermeneutic, so they cannot receive instruction when studying.  Are there any specific directions (direct commands) for Christians?  Which apostolic examples apply to the whole church and should be followed?  Also, what elements or practices are necessarily inferred by the text of the New Testament?  The wise application of these questions pulls us out of the doctrinal mire of a confused world and safely onto solid ground under God's authority.