Why I am not picketing… Part 4

More than Scripture...

Why do I believe in a church with genuine authority? First, I believe His Church should reflect the same authority Jesus had on Earth. Second, I cannot accept the claim that Scripture is the only authority to discern everything that needs to be known for salvation. The problem is that this definition can be applied to any text, such as C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity. Couldn’t this book have everything necessary for salvation? Sure, the Bible is the Word of God and it may lead someone to salvation and provide necessary insight, but I cannot believe it to be the sole teaching authority. Why?

First, the early Christians did not have this teaching. They relied upon the authority of Scriptural writings AND the authority of traditions as they were being taught. At one of the first councils, it’s obvious that Peter didn’t think, “Let’s look back to the book of Acts and see what we should do in this situation.” He instead authoritatively taught and that teaching was taken to be the truth. Where can this teaching authority still be seen? Second, the Bible does not make this claim for itself. If Scripture does not say “the Word of God is the sole authority” then isn’t this a teaching brought from outside of Scripture? If this is the case, isn’t this teaching “un-biblical?” I don’t have a problem believing teachings outside of scripture, but I can’t believe that Scripture is a sole authority when it can’t even be found in the Bible. The basis of bible-based churches is self-refuting.

If I believe that God inspired men to write the Bible, and I believe that God inspired men to decide the Bible, why can’t I believe that He inspires men to give us infallible answers to fallible questions so we aren’t left here on earth walking in the dark without practical answers to practical questions? This goes back to the point before; to not believe that there is a church that can provide answers to questions, infallibly, is to believe that Jesus lied when he said “I will build my church and the Gates of Hell will not overcome it.” Confusion is not from God, but answers are. Do not despair by saying that “No one knows the truth. No one will ever know the truth” because that’s not the case. Praise Be to God that there is a church that has answers that I can trust.