What is Your Authority?

Many Christians today claim to be, or to have been, led by the Holy Spirit in regard to something they have done or something they believe. The Gnostics also claimed the leading of the Holy Spirit with their "special" knowledge and revelation. However, the Holy Spirit never leads contrary to the Scriptures!

Several Christians these days blaspheme the name of Yahweh, falsely attributing their thoughts and desires to "the will of Yahweh." News flash! Your thoughts, your desires, are not the Holy Spirit speaking to you! Stop attributing you to the Holy Spirit! Again, the Holy Spirit never leads contrary to the Scriptures! These Christians discount Scripture, claiming that the Holy Spirit is leading, or has led, them otherwise. Christians who believe that the Holy Spirit sometimes leads contrary to Yahweh's Word are sorely deceived. Think of it this way: if the Holy Spirit ever did lead contrary to the Bible, then nothing anybody might say could be thought of as biblically incorrect. Upon what basis would anybody have to challenge the claim of being led by the Holy Spirit? After all, if the Holy Spirit is leading you, then you must be correct, which means anyone who opposes you must be wrong. As such, how could anybody discern anything as being a deception?

Simple: by conformity to Scripture.

The Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible must be our absolute and final authority on all matters pertaining to doctrine (teaching), congregational practice, family life, and personal holiness. Regardless of how we were raised, what we were taught, what we might presently believe; regardless of our opinions, our feelings, or our proclivities, we are to subject ourselves and our beliefs entirely to the Word of Yahweh. If it contradicts us, then we are to submit ourselves to it—no matter the cost to ourselves. Go by Scripture, even when the consequences of such are unthinkable to you. This is called death to self; taking up our cross daily. It is fundamental to being a Christian. The Word of Yahweh never submits to us, our culture, our ethnicity, our opinions, or anything else.

Many Christians claim that the Bible is their final authority, but in reality they have other authorities that conflict with it. For example, many Christians will get defensive if you suggest that their creed, confession, constitution, statement of faith, or system of theology might be more authoritative than Scripture itself. Many of these individuals stand in danger of testing Scripture by their creed, confession, constitution, statement of faith, or system of theology rather than the other way around. In other words, they read the Bible through the filter of their belief system rather than filtering their belief system through the Bible. Christians who understand the importance and function of scriptural authority in all matters are rightly saddened by Christians who do not understand this.

If Yahweh's Word is not our only rule of faith and practice, if it is not the foundation beneath our feet, if we do not believe everything it says, then we have no right attempting to call ourselves "Christians" or "Jesus followers." We are nothing more than liars, charlatans, and frauds, and we make Jesus out to be a liar as well. Either Yahweh's Word grips our heart, mind, body, and soul, or it has no hold on us whatsoever. Either that word—"Christian"—informs everything about our lives and conduct, or it informs nothing. The person who professes to be a Christian and attends religious services on Sunday, but conducts their business affairs dishonestly from Monday through Friday by use of cheating scales is living a heterodox life. Their walk contradicts their talk. If we profess to be "Christians," then we are Christians before we are anything else (parent, sibling, child, employer, employee, etc.), and being Christian informs everything we will ever put our hands to. If it does not, then we are not Christians!

What is your authority? Is it church fathers? Is it church history? Is it church tradition? Is it your creed? Is it your confession? Is it your constitution? Is it your statement of faith? Is it your system of theology? Is it what the "experts" tell you? Is it your "experiences"? Is it your subjective feelings or opinions? Or is it Yahweh's Word? Scripture—not pragmatic considerations—should be our absolute and final authority.

When reading and/or studying Yahweh's Word, there are three simple rules I abide by:

1. Context, context, context!
2. Compare Scripture with Scripture! (But avoid Collapsing Context.)
3. Wrestle with and submit to what the text actually says (in context), and then reform your beliefs and conform them to Yahweh's Word accordingly!

The best way to achieve this is to understand the chronological placement of certain books of the Bible in relation to other historical books of the Bible. You can learn this from my O.T. Chronological Reading and N.T. Chronological Reading charts. It also helps if you have a Bible without chapters and verses and other distractions so that you can be aware of, and pay attention to, the actual context of Scripture. I recommend the ABIDE: A Reader's Bible series. Let's take back the Bible!

May Yahweh bless you as you follow the Holy Spirit in accordance with Yahweh's Word—not your own imaginations!