Thursday Thoughts: How do We Know What We Know? What Makes the Bible Authoritative?

Welcome to Thursday Thoughts, a place where we take a few minutes each week to slow down, think deeply, and allow God's Word to shape the way we live. 

Transcript

Copy

SPEAKER_00 0:11

Good Thursday afternoon, everybody. Pastor Christie here, the Beyond the Pulpit Podcast. Welcome to Thursday Thoughts, a place where we take just a few minutes each week to slow down, think deeply, and allow God's word to shape the way that we live. Today I want to tackle a couple of questions that may sound simple. And these came to my mind through a book and an article that I was reading along with Kim for her one of her classes for ordination, and they just kind of stuck to my mind, and they're really ones that I'd like to discuss. And they may sound simple, but they're actually incredibly important. So, question one, how do we know what we know? And more specifically, the second question, how do we know that the Bible is true? What makes the Bible authoritative? Because here's the reality: we live in a world filled with information. Just think about we've got Google, we've got social media, we've got podcasts, books, news outlets, there's experts on everything, influencers, opinions, algorithms, and even artificial intelligence. Everybody seems to have an answer. So, how do we know which answers are actually true? And when it comes to our faith, how do we know that Christianity isn't simply based on someone's opinion or a collection of ancient stories? That's where we need to begin thinking about a big churchy word, epistemology. It's this big churchy word that means the study of how we know what we know. Think about it. We know some things because we've experienced them. We know other things because we've seen them, we've observed them. And there's still other things that we know because someone we trust told us. It's by hearsay. Like back in history, when that was the way to make news or way to pass along news. And even some things we know because we've reasoned our way to a conclusion. But friends, when we talk about God, we run into an important limitation on our parts. It's that we cannot discover everything about God simply by looking around at the world. God has to make himself known. God makes himself known. And that's what theologians call revelation. See, God reveals himself. Hebrews 1, chapter 1, verses 1 through 2 says, Long ago at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his son. See, God is not silent, God has spoken, God is speaking. And followers of Christ, Christians, believe that the Bible is the authoritative written revelation of God. But what exactly does that mean? Let's break it down a little bit. Well, first, and how do we know that it is authoritative? How do we know it's the truth? First off, the Bible is authoritative because its ultimate author is God. Check out what it says, 2 Timothy 3.16. It says, all scripture, all scripture is breathed out by God. Notice here that Paul doesn't simply say scripture is helpful, that it's good advice, that's something we should maybe think about doing and following through with. He doesn't say scripture contains some good ideas. He says scripture is breathed out by God. That means the authority of scripture ultimately doesn't come from the people who read it. It doesn't come from a church council, it doesn't come from a pastor, it doesn't come from a denomination, it doesn't come from you or from me or from anybody. The authority of scripture comes from God Himself. If God has spoken, then what God has spoken carries his authority. So second, second of all, the Bible's authority is connected to its reliability. Now, someone might say, Okay, but how do I know the Bible really is what it claims to be? And that's a fair question. And that's some things that I'm sure I struggle with, I'm sure I questioned on my first walk because I had no idea. It's a fair question. Christian faith isn't supposed to be blind faith. We don't believe something simply because someone tells us to believe it. The Bible itself invites us to examine, test, remember, and believe. We can consider the historical evidence. We can examine the manuscript tradition. We can look at the consistency of the biblical story across centuries of writing and dozens of human authors. We can even consider fulfilled prophecy. We can examine the historical claims surrounding Jesus' death and his resurrection. And we can ask whether the biblical worldview makes sense of the world we actually experience. The Christian doesn't have to be afraid of questions. Truth Truth can handle investigation. Thirdly, the Bible's authority is confirmed by Jesus. This is especially important. This is significantly important for all of us. Why should we trust the Bible? Because Jesus trusted the scriptures. Jesus repeatedly quoted the Old Testament as God's word. It has been said, as it says. He even says in Matthew 5 18, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot will pass from the law until all is accomplished. The law being scripture, Bible, God's holy word. Jesus didn't treat scripture as merely an interesting collection of religious reflections. He treated it as authority. He treats it as authoritative. And then he commissioned his apostles to teach in his authority. The New Testament writings come to us through those apostolic apostolic witnesses who proclaimed what they had seen and heard concerning Jesus. So Christianity ultimately isn't built around a book disconnected from history, it is built around a person, the divine one, fully God, fully man, Jesus Christ, who entered history, died on a cross, and rose from the grave. And the Bible is authoritative testimony to God's redemptive work through him. Fourth, and finally, the Holy Spirit. What makes the Bible authoritative? How do we know what we know? Well, friends, the Holy Spirit confirms the truth of God's word in all of us. There is something deeply personal about knowing God's truth. We can study evidence, we can even examine history, we can reason through arguments, but Christianity teaches that knowing God isn't merely an intellectual exercise. The Holy Spirit, the indwelling Holy Spirit, opens our hearts and minds to the truth of God. Jesus said in John 16, 13 that the Spirit of truth would guide his followers into truth. That's why Scripture isn't simply information, it is revelation that transforms us. We don't merely read the Bible. The Bible reads us, it confronts us, it challenges us, it corrects us, it encourages us, it exposes our sin, it reveals God's grace and it points us toward Jesus. Hebrews 4 12 reminds us that the word of God is living and active. So, how do we know what we know? We know because God has revealed Himself. We know because that revelation has been preserved and communicated through Scripture. We know because Jesus affirmed the authority of God's word. We know because the biblical message is is historically grounded and intellectually defense defended, can be intellectually defended. And we know because the Holy Spirit works in us to shine the truth of God's word. But I want to make one final one final determination. The Bible is not authoritative because it works for us. It doesn't become true because we like it. It doesn't become true because it makes us feel better. It doesn't become true because of our because our family, our friends, our buddies believes it. It doesn't stop being true when we struggle with something it teaches. The Bible is authoritative because God is authoritative. Our calling isn't to decide whether God's word has authority. Our calling is to decide whether we will submit to that authority. And that's where this gets personal. Because sometimes we don't really have a problem with the Bible being authoritative. We have a problem with the Bible being authoritative over us. We like the parts that comfort us. We struggle with the parts that confront us. You know, we we want scripture to affirm our lives. But sometimes God wants scripture to transform our lives. All the time. Not sometimes. God wants scripture to transform our lives. So maybe the question isn't simply, is the Bible authoritative? Maybe the deeper question is, does the authority of God's word have authority over me? Psalm 119 105 says, Your word, God's word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. A lamp doesn't merely tell you where where I am. A lamp doesn't tell us where we are. It shows us where to go. It guides us, and God's word does the same thing. So here's the Thursday thought. Don't just ask, what do I believe, but ask, why do I believe it? And then ask the most important question. Am I willing to let God's truth change what I believe, how I think, and more importantly, how I live? Because when we understand that scripture is God's authoritative word, we don't simply read it for information. We read it for transformation. Thanks again for joining me for some Thursday thoughts. Until next time, keep thinking, keep seeking truth, and most importantly, keep seeking Jesus.