Authority

This post is long, I had a lot on my mind:

I have theological beliefs at the core of who I am. Beliefs that explain who I am, the things I do, and why I do them. The begin with the fact that God exists and has revealed Himself to us. The revelation of God is important to us as humans. Had God not revealed Himself to us the we could not know Him, or talk about Him. I believe God has revealed Himself in two ways, through creation and through His word, The Bible. This really gets to the heart of what is on my mind. Because God has revealed himself through His word it is important that we give His word proper respect. I believe in the inerrancy of scripture. For a Christian that is the appropriate view of scripture. A view that has been fought for and defended throughout the ages.
The term inerrancy literally means “correct, containing no mistakes”. It can go as far as to mean incapable of making a mistake. The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, provides an understanding of inerrancy which includes the fact that God inspired scripture with the purpose of revealing Himself. The statement says that the Bible is infallible, divine authority in all matters on which it speaks. The writers of this document believed the Holy Spirit to be the author and authenticator of scripture by His inward witness and ability to help humanity understand God’s word. Therefore, the statement says that the Bible as given by God contains no error in its teaching.
The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy points out it is God’s authority at stake in the argument of inerrancy. Without a commitment to the Bible’s authority grounded in God Himself, a view of Biblical inerrancy means little. The Chicago statement says that the authority of scripture is impaired if total divine inerrancy is in any way limited or ignored.
Because of the belief of the early church that scripture was true and authoritative, they held fast to the truth of John 16:13 which teaches that the Holy Spirit is a spirit of truth revealing what the Father wills. The Apostles believed this, and were faithful to their responsibility of handing down the teachings of Christ, holding to a firm belief in the authority of scripture. Their devotion to preserving the authority of scripture helped the early church stand strong against the lies of Gnosticism. The same is true for the Christians that gathered in Chicago and wrote The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy. They saw it as their responsibility to take a firm stand on inerrancy to protect the authority of the Bible from Christians who were becoming more liberal in their views, and a world that was increasingly skeptical of the Holy Scripture. This is why it is important for evangelical Christians to hold to a doctrine of inerrancy today. The Church has faced many challenges to authority in the past and their steadfast belief in the authority of scripture has helped them maintain a pure devotion to God.
The constant attack on the reliability of scripture does not end. Groups such as The Jesus Seminar, theological debates over homosexuality, best selling books such as The Da Vinci Code, and misguided assumptions concerning archaeological finds are all attempting to discredit the authority of scripture. The Christians of the first century found it important to stand firm on the doctrine of inerrancy. So must we. As 2 Timothy 3:16 says, scripture brings correction and reproof. This leads a Christian to repent and worship his God. Biblical authority provides ground for Christians to speak into society’s problems such as broken families, depression, and evil. Christians must take the example provided by The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy and once again renew their commitment to upholding the authority of scripture in hopes of reaching this lost generation.
All of this to say I become greatly frustrated when God’s word is abused, maligned, or overlooked. One personal area of interest to me where this happens is in the field of counseling. People with the best of intentions overlook the possibility of using scripture practically in healing the hurting soul. Rather than turn to the expertise of God who created emotional beings, they will turn to the so called experts, men like Freud, Rogers or Skinner who do not know God, or respect His word. There is a possibility of discovering truth in creation apart from full knowledge of God, but man’s worldview taints his interpretations of that truth apart from the interpretive lens of special revelation. This is why some observations of secular psychologists appear to be correct biblically. That is also why it is dangerous to integrate biblical counseling with secular counseling.
For example Freud believed our problems arise because of unconscious motivations that drive us to action using irrational forces. According to Freud, we do not have choice because human nature is deterministic. We have a life instinct pushing us toward survival, a libido that energizes us to do what we do. His view is biological. He believes what is wrong with man is fear and anxiety, namely the inability to trust, express anger, and recognize ones sexuality. His ultimate goal is to have pleasure, lesson anxiety and pain, and to avoid tension. Freud made some good observations; man does have a problem with fear and anxiety. Psalm 139:23-24 shows that God understands the anxious thoughts of man. God searches man’s heart to find any hurtful ways therein. Man does show the inability to trust and to express anger properly. Paul commands the Ephesians to be angry and sin not in Ephesians 4:24. Man does constantly seek to uphold self-interest in areas like pleasure and survival. In James 1:14-15, self-interests or lusts carry away and tempt men to sin. James says this eventually leads to death. Every area of man is depraved. Consider the alcoholic who following his pleasure dies from liver disease. Consider the lover of food who overeats leading to various health problems. Consider the workaholic who at the expenses of his family relationships works long into the nights. James is right that following our personal lusts result in negative consequences, possibly even death. While Freud’s observations concerning man’s struggle are correct, he is blind as to the cause. In Romans 3:23, Paul teaches that all men are sinful and separated from God. This is the problem with mankind. Men and women have been created to enjoy God’s presence in a dependent relationship expressed through worship and obedience. There was a choice on man’s part to disobey God and go a separate way resulting in the unhealthy conditions mentioned above. This choice was not the result of some irrational force; instead, it was initiated by an influential being. This being is known as the tempter, Satan or the Devil, who as it reads in 2 Corinthians 11:14 “masquerades as an angel of light,” who has servants who also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness in efforts to fool humanity into sin and ultimately separation from its creator. Jesus Christ says of Satan in John 8:44 that he was a liar from the beginning. That is in fact what we witness in the testimony of scripture as Satan disguises himself as a serpent and tempts Eve to disobey. When Adam and Eve made the choice to listen to the lies of Satan instead of the truth of God they at once stopped worshiping their creator through obedience and began worshiping themselves. Meaning, they looked first to their own needs and desires, not trusting God to know what was best for them even though it was God’s responsibility in the relationship to provide and care for his creation. God had given man great freedom, and man chose to use it to disobey God’s command. This placed man into a state of unholiness, separating him from his Holy creator, and bringing judgment from God. In judgment, God pronounced a curse. Before the fall there was a command to worship and obey God through work in the garden. Man and woman enjoyed Gods fellowship and found pleasure in serving and knowing Him. Now there is still work, but it has become toil outside of the presence and joy of God. Meaning has been lost. Shame, fear, discouragement, blame, and hardship all enter the lives of men and women in Genesis 3. God sent humanity out of his presence because of their disobedience. These conditions of hardship point to the absence of God’s relationship in man’s life.
Jesus Christ is the solution to man’s problems. Paul teaches in Romans 5:1 that because of Jesus’ willingness to be killed for our sins and raised from the dead for our justification we can now have peace with God. He continues in Romans 5:6 teaching that Jesus died for the ungodly while they were still in sin. He writes that God proved his love for his creation in this manner, the death of his son so that we might be reconciled in a perfect relationship with Him again. Through the redeeming work of Jesus, the psychological problems noted by many secular psychologists that plague man because of the separation sin caused become correctable. Paul continues in Romans 5:12 teaching that just as one sin of one man condemned all men, so one act of righteousness through Jesus can give life to all men. Jesus did not die to cure our psychological problems. Jesus died to save us from sin. The results of a restored relationship through the blood of the cross give the benefit of an unwavering joy. Christians are passing through a process known as sanctification in which they form into the image of Christ. While this process takes place, Christians must continue to deal with a conflict between two natures. Paul calls this a spiritual battle between the flesh and the law in Romans 7. The law is good and reflects the holiness of God. The law has been written on the heart of every man, woman, and child. In Jeremiah 31:33, God speaks of a new covenant with the house of Israel. One in which he will put his law on their hearts. Paul speaks of this in Romans 7:22 when he writes that the law is found in the inner man. This law, sometimes called our conscience, gives mankind its sense of morality. Because it comes from God, the law is spiritual in nature, and at war with our inner nature or propensity to sin. Paul describes in Romans 7:15-18 how his sin nature fights against the law. He finds himself acting in ways he does not want to act. He does what he hates. Because of the spiritual law Paul knows his actions are wrong, but his flesh desires them. Paul concludes in verse 24 that he is a wretched man without hope, and only Jesus Christ can save him from this battle. The role of the biblical counselor is the help a hurting population find true help that comes only through Jesus Christ. Once they find this help the counselor helps them begin a journey of being formed into the image of Christ.