 |
||
|
|
||
|
LEADERSHIP LETTER ARCHIVES
A
MONTHLY READING FOR ALL ARC LEADERS
THE AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE
The Scriptures are our touchstone for truth in all matters regarding the Christian life. We wholeheartedly affirm the words of the Lausanne Covenant of 1974 in speaking of the place of Scripture in the Christian life, as it says:
“We affirm the divine inspiration, truthfulness and authority of both Old and New Testament Scriptures in their entirety as the only written word of God, without error in all that it affirms, and the only infallible rule of faith and practice. We also affirm the power of God's word to accomplish his purpose of salvation. The message of the Bible is addressed to all men and women, for God's revelation in Christ and in Scripture is unchangeable. Through it the Holy Spirit still speaks today. He illumines the minds of God's people in every culture to perceive its truth freshly through their own eyes and thus discloses to the whole Church ever more of the many-colored wisdom of God.”
We place ourselves under the authority of the Scriptures and submit to that authority in exegesis, theology, and preaching, as well as in the living of our lives both individually and corporately. --ARC Common Concerns
Almost every group of Christians elevates the authority of Scripture to a primary position in their doctrinal statement. I have always appreciated the choice because if this issue is not clear, nothing else makes theological sense. But lest we feel too smug about our theological priorities, we must be humbled by the persistent and significant departures that we have witnessed over the past 25 years from the evangelical and charismatic expressions of Christianity. I won’t afflict you with the awful litany of both blatant and nuanced departures from what Jude identified as “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3), but it surely encompasses the whole spectrum of both orthodoxy and orthopraxy. In the midst of rampant pluralism, even within the church, leaders must be clear-headed and resolute regarding their disposition to the objective Word of God as divine revelation from the very heart of God. And, to be sure, we must remain humbly submitted to the Paraclete for true interpretation and application.
But allow me a tangent into your own disposition toward the Scriptures and the patterns of study and devotion that proceed from it. It’s one thing to affirm the authority of the Scriptures and to extol their supreme value in the life of a Christian and believe those sentiments and another to pair it with either a devotional dabbling in the Bible or outright sinful neglect. I don’t mean to berate you, but if our Reformational forbears like Luther, Calvin or Knox were addressing the same issue with us, we might feel quite dismantled by their scathing analysis. They would have none of our weakling excuses of time crunches and personality profiles. Their expectations would be closely allied to Bible expectations. Consider again the very pointed exhortation of Paul to his beloved Timothy:
“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:14-17 NIV Let me walk you through Paul’s holy logic:
1. First, he refers to a base of truth and orthodox weight in Timothy’s life—that he has been acquainted with the sacred writings since childhood. This is a wonderful heritage that many leaders have received in their upbringings. But all too often, the advantage is squandered, the base is eroded and the result is a growing ineffectiveness and incapacity to make a difference in eternal matters. But what other capital do we possess? Yes, of course, the indwelling Holy Spirit. But isn’t His presence both validated and vitally sustained by faith in God’s promises? Isn’t that Peter’s meaning when he says that “he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4)? It is this “precious and very great” deposit to which we must attend.
2. Given this beautiful heritage that Timothy received from Eunice and Lois, Paul encourages him to continue (Greek – meno-the same Jesus uses in Jn. 15 when He exhorts His disciples to abide/meno in Him and His word to abide/meno in them) in what he has “learned” and “firmly believed.” Without pushing the text too far, there can be no shortcuts in this process of Biblical literacy that leads to Biblical mastery. We must become masters, no mere apprentices and well into the habits of a journeyman. Firm belief (i.e. deep conviction) can only be the product of time spent in the line upon line learning, the day by day immersion, into the holy texts that shape our very souls. Luther talked often about how he would wrestle with the text until it yielded its marrow and fed the depth of his soul.
3. Then Paul instructs Timothy about the power of the Scriptures – “they are able to make” – i.e. they have power in the very thoughts and words to transform—“they are able to make one wise”—i.e. to give the kind of eternal perspective that wins the day in particular issues of life and general directions
a. They are able in that impartation of wisdom to save us from the boundless foolishness of the unsubmitted human mind and heart and from the gushing faucet of deception spewing from the evil one. b. They persistently point us to faith in Christ Jesus as the locus of our life and fruitfulness.
4. Paul then tells Timothy the training dimensions of the Scriptures
a. They are all God-breathed (Greek theopneustos – exhaled from the insides of God) b. They are all profitable – i.e. they will make a difference for good in and through you c. They teach d. They reprove e. They correct f. They train in righteousness g. They are designed so as to produce an effect in the one properly attending to their wisdom—that effect is competence (ESV) and an equipping “for every good work.” Think of it—every good work you are called to by God will be rooted in a thorough understanding and application of God’s Word in your life.
5. Finally Paul exhorts Timothy in the most exalted and sober fashion regarding how he interacts with the Word:
a. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus b. In light of final judgment and an eternal Kingdom He says - “Preach the Word” “Be ready in season and out of season” “Reprove, rebuke and exhort” “With complete patience and teaching”
Why? Because a generation will arise that will be driven by emotion and perceived “felt needs” (i.e. itching ears) and they will not endure sound teaching. Sound teaching is hard to do well. It takes great effort. But if we don’t do this well, people will wander off into myths –incredible, stupid, godless, silly myths that will first define their lives and then ruin them. It is not a trajectory that we want to oversee. But we will, if we do not preach the Word and let its authority graciously bear upon the lives of those for whom we care and lead.
The authority of Scripture is not to be merely the lead-off batter in our devotional line-up. It is alive and active and sharp and soul-discerning. And it is meant to be given primacy in our time allotments and focus for the leadership of the flocks under our care.
May we be found faithful in this matter and ultimately hear the grateful commendation of the Chief Shepherd, the Word of God, Jesus Christ.
In His love, Ned Berube
|
||
 |
||
