Store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven
where moth and rust cannot destroy and thieves cannot break in and steal

Sunday, February 14, 2010

By What Authority?

Jesus was asked on occasion, "By what authority are you doing these things?"

Christians need to ask themselves a similar question. By what authority can we know God?

Some refer to the creeds; the Apostles Creed being probably the best known
- These creeds often seem too general to serve as a final word of truth.

Others fall back on the main trend of Christian opinion or Christian consensus
- Who do we listen to? Theologians? The Clergy? The average person in the pew?

Many go by their own subjective experience of God.
- As biased and prone to error as humans are, this is a dubious choice.

Many others say Christian reason alone will suffice.
- While our rational faculties must be used, again our biases often override our reason.

"Our inner voice" is the advice of many a secular counsellor.
- And many a shipwrecked life is evidence that this route alone is not the path to travel.

While each of these can make a contribution to knowing the Mind of God, our doctrine can never be merely intellectual, nor can we rest on merely subjective experience. The ultimate source of authority, regarding God, must be the revelation of God Himself.

God has made Himself known to us through His word, through the Person of Jesus the Christ, through the indwelling of His Spirit and through His Creation.

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