Westminster Confession of Faith 1.4
"The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed,
and obeyed, depends not upon the testimony of any man, or Church; but
wholly upon God (who is truth itself) the author thereof: and therefore
it is to be received, because it is the Word of God."
Summary
The Bible is to be received as the word of God because
that is what it is. Scripture doesn't depend on the testimony of pope, church
council, or even this confession for its authority. Scripture bears authority
because God is the Author. The Bible is to be believed and obeyed, not because
the pope says so, or because your pastor says so, but because God says so. This
is a bit of circular reasoning, but that is not a problem. Any time we
deal with questions of ultimate authority we have to accept a certain level of
circular reasoning. If God is the ultimate authority (and He is), then He cannot appeal to anything above Himself to validate His authority. If He needed some other proof to validate His claim of ultimate authority, He could not be the ultimate authority, by definition. God is to be trusted because He is God. The Bible is to be
believed and obeyed because God says so.
When a child asks their parent why
they must do or not do something, the parent usually gives a reason. They may be
asked continually and give many reasons. At some point, however, the parent
(usually in frustration) bellows simply "Because I said so!" In the
parent-child relationship, the parent is the authority and can, in a sense, lay
claim to their own authority with this circular reasoning. However, their authority
as parents ultimately derives from God's authority as God. God is to be
believed as the ultimate authority. The buck stops with Him. In our sin, men do
not like this reality. When a child asks their parent why they must do what the
parent says, what they are really asking is for the parent to prove themselves
to the child. The child, even in their youth, is trying to sinfully lay claim
to some authority over the parent. It's as if the child said, "Dad, I know
that you said I needed to clean up my room, but I am not convinced that what
you say is all that important. Prove to me that I should clean up my room, and
I will determine whether or not I think you have good reasons. If your
reasoning satisfies me, then I will do
what you say. If not, I will demand better reasoning until I am satisfied." We like the idea
that Scripture's authority would depend on the testimony of critical scholars,
the church, the pope, etc. because it ultimately makes man the authority over
God. But Scripture in no way depends on the testimony of scholars, pope,
council, or any other creature or creation; it depends only on the testimony of
God who spoke all things into being with the word of His power.
+ Blessings in Christ +
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