Scripture as Supreme Judge
/
The concept of authority is viewed negatively by many people today. In his recent work on this matter, Jonathan Leeman rightly describes those within the current cultural climate as “conflicted and angsty about the idea of authority.”[1] Nevertheless, authority is real. It is built into the very structures and institutions of God’s creation. So, in the light of authority’s existence, the most important question to answer is: Who or what stands over humanity as the ultimate or final authority? This question is relevant for all people, but it is of particular importance for the church of Jesus Christ as it seeks to follow him and his revealed will faithfully. The aim of this article is to examine the authority of sacred Scripture and to argue that Scripture itself stands over all, especially the Church, as the ultimate or final authority.
What Is Scripture?
Before an exploration of Scripture’s authority can be undertaken, one must first establish what Scripture is and why it should be received as authoritative. Christians in the Reformed Baptist tradition confess:
…it pleased the Lord at sundry times, and in divers manners, to reveal himself, and to declare that His will unto his Church; and afterward for the better preserving, and propagating of the Truth, and for the more sure Establishment, and Comfort of the Church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan, and of the World, to commit the same wholly unto writing; which maketh the Holy Scriptures to be the most necessary, those former ways of God’s revealing his will unto his people being now ceased.[2]
The “Holy Scripture,” which has been committed “unto writing,” is “the Word of God written” and contains “all the Books of the Old and New Testament,” excluding the Apocrypha.[3] The reason the church of Jesus Christ confesses “Holy Scripture” to be “the Word of God written” is because “all Scripture is breathed out by God” (2 Tim. 3:16).[4] This truth is also taught by the Apostle Peter: “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention…knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:19–21).[5]
Since the words of Scripture were “breathed out by God” (2 Tim. 3:16) as he “spoke [through men that] were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:21), what does this imply about Scripture’s authority? The framers of the Second London Baptist Confession (2LCF) answered that question this way: “The authority of the Holy Scripture for which it ought to be believed dependeth not upon the testimony of any man, or Church; but wholly upon God (who is truth itself) the Author thereof; therefore it is to be received, because it is the Word of God.”[6]
Moreover, because Scripture is “the Word of God written,” it is:
The supreme judge by which all controversies of Religion are to be determined, and all Decrees of Councils, opinions of ancient Writers, Doctrines of men, and private Spirits, are to be examined, and in whose sentence we are to rest, can be no other but the Holy Scripture delivered by the Spirit, into which Scripture so delivered, our faith is finally resolved.[7]
Don Carson concisely sums up the matter when he writes, “What Scripture said, God said. However derived its authority, what the Bible says is stamped with God’s authority, for its words are God’s word.”[8]
Scripture’s Authority over All Controversies of Religion
Section 10 in Chapter 1 of 2LCF provides an excellent framework by which to further explore the authority of sacred Scripture. In this section Scripture is confessed to be “the supreme judge” or final authority “by which all controversies of Religion are to be determined.”
Scripture’s Authority in the Development of the Doctrine of the Trinity
There have been many “controversies” within Christianity over the past two thousand years of church history. Among the earliest of these controversies were the debates concerning the relationship between the God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. Views concerning Jesus that did not align with Scripture’s teaching were being propagated within the church, and conflicts over these views eventually led to the convening of the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD and the First Council of Constantinople in 381 AD.
The end result of these councils was the formulation of the doctrine of the Trinity – a formulation confessed in what is commonly referred to as the Nicene Creed. Rather than viewing Jesus as God’s highest creature or as a being who is subordinate to God the Father, the Church confessed to believe “in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.”[9] After reflecting on this controversy of religion, it is important to point out that the early church settled the issue, not by appealing to their own thoughts and judgments, but by appealing to sacred Scripture. As Scott Swain observes, “The church’s confession in this regard is an act of obedience to God’s self-revelation in Holy Scripture, not the solution to a metaphysical puzzle about unity and diversity, and certainly not an attempt to explain the tripersonal God’s unfathomable being.”[10]
Scripture’s Authority in the Recovery of the Doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone
The church of Jesus Christ also looked to Scripture as “the supreme judge” when debating the religious controversy concerning how a believer is justified or made right with God. In the light of Scripture’s teaching, the Protestant Reformers were compelled to oppose what the Roman Catholic Church taught regarding justification. “The gospel according to Rome,” R. C. Sproul writes, “is the ‘good news’ that a sinner may be justified if he or she receives the sacraments, has faith, and cooperates with grace to the point of becoming inherently righteous.”[11]
Martin Luther, on the other hand, and the Reformers who followed in his footsteps, were convinced by the teaching of Scripture, especially the teaching of the Apostle Paul found in his letter to the Romans, that “[A Christian] is righteous and holy by an alien or foreign holiness…that is, he is righteous by the mercy and grace of God…It is a divine blessing, given us through the true knowledge of the Gospel, when we know or believe that our sin has been forgiven through the grace and merit of Christ.”[12] Protestants are persuaded by the teaching of Scripture that believers are clothed in the very righteousness of Christ by faith alone: “By faith we receive the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, whose righteousness is the sole and sufficient ground of our justification.”[13]
These “controversies of religion” reveal the importance of looking to sacred Scripture as “the supreme judge” or final authority. Understanding who God has revealed himself to be is a matter of infinite importance. Determining how sinners are brought into right standing with the holy God of the universe has eternal consequences. Therefore, the written revelation of that God must have the final say in “all controversies of religion.”
Scripture’s Authority over All Decrees of Councils
Sacred scripture also stands as “the supreme judge” over “all Decrees of Councils.”[14] Because they submitted to God’s word as the ultimate standard by which “controversies of religion” are to be judged, the Protestant Reformers rightly embraced the doctrine of justification by faith alone as it is revealed in Scripture. This eventually provoked the Roman Catholic Church to respond to the Reformers by issuing a decree regarding the doctrine of justification at the Council of Trent––a decree that both reinforced their belief that justification involves “the cooperative work between God…and people” and “denounced the Protestant ideas of justification as heresy.”[15]
Would it have been right for the Reformers to then respond to the Council of Trent by turning away from the doctrine of justification by faith alone simply because the Roman Catholic Church issued a “decree” on the matter? To quote the Apostle Paul, “By no means!” (Rom. 6:2). Rather than seeing the Roman Catholic Church and their council as “the supreme judge,” the Reformers rightly submitted to God’s word as the final authority in this matter.[16]
A contemporary example that illustrates the importance of looking to Scripture as “the supreme judge” over “all Decrees of Councils” is found in the United Methodist Church’s recent decision to amend their Book of Discipline to no longer prohibit both the ordination of homosexual clergy and the officiation of so-called same-sex marriages.[17] Although the General Conference of the United Methodist Church issued a decree of sorts that men and women who practice homosexuality can be ordained to pastoral ministry and that the denomination’s pastors have God’s blessing to perform wedding ceremonies for homosexual couples, believers within this denomination must look to Scripture as “the supreme judge” in these matters. While doctrinal deficiencies and unbiblical practices continue to exist among Methodists, the churches that still cling to a high view of Scripture’s authority have left the United Methodist Church for the newly formed Global Methodist Church.[18]
Scripture’s Authority over All Opinions of Ancient Writers
Additionally, sacred Scripture stands as “the supreme judge” over all “opinions of ancient Writers.”[19] It is good for the church of Jesus Christ to reflect upon the ancient writings of the early church fathers. To disregard their exegetical conclusions and doctrinal formulations simply because they are old is to be guilty of what C. S. Lewis referred to as “chronological snobbery,” which “is the arrogant notion that the ideas of our own day are better than the ideas of a bygone day just because the ideas are in our day.”[20] To the contrary, Michael Haykin has pointed out “the need for Patristic studies in the ongoing life of the church: to aid in her liberation from the Zeitgeist of the twenty-first century; to provide a guide in her walk with Christ; to help her understand the basic witness to her faith, the New Testament; to refute bad histories of the ancient church; and to be a vehicle of spiritual nurture.”[21]
On the other hand, the “opinions of ancient Writers” in the early church concerning theological matters and scriptural interpretation must not be regarded as superior to that found in other periods of church history merely because they are old. As beneficial as their writings may be, “the Fathers are not Scripture,” and “[their] writings…must be subject to Scripture.”[22] The writings of the early church fathers are illuminating and edifying only insofar as they are faithful to the word of God. Once again, John Reuther’s remarks on this matter are wise and helpful: “There is a legitimate place for…[the] opinions of ancient writers…But these…expressions of faith must be tested, supported, and approved by the final authority, the Bible.”[23]
Scripture’s Authority over All Doctrines of Men
Moreover, sacred Scripture stands as “the supreme judge” over all “Doctrines of men.”[24] The doctrinal developments put forward by men cannot go unexamined simply because the men who teach them hold an office of spiritual authority or have a reputation for living holy lives. While it serves as a rather drastic example, Jesus’ denunciation of the Pharisees and scribes in Matthew 15 illustrates the need to examine the “Doctrines of men” in the light of Scripture.
Jesus rebukes the Jewish religious leaders for “[breaking] the commandment of God for the sake of [their] tradition” (Matt. 15:3). Even though God commanded the Israelites to “honor [their] father and [their] mother” (Exod. 20:12), the Pharisees and scribes taught that a person “need not honor his father” if he tells him, “What you would have gained from me is given to God” (Matt. 15:5–6). This declaration that set apart what one’s parents needed as an offering to God “was a wicked device to deprive parents of the honor due to them.”[25]
The Pharisees disobeyed God’s command to honor their father and mother “for the sake of [their] tradition” (Matt. 15:3). Jesus concludes, “So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God” (Matt. 15:6). According to Jesus, the actions of the Pharisees and scribes fulfilled the words of Isaiah 29:13: “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt. 15:8–9).
It is instructive that the Lord Jesus Christ both rebuked the Pharisees’ behavior and dismantled their “Doctrines of men” by means of sacred Scripture. If God the Son incarnate looked to Scripture during his earthly ministry as “the supreme judge” of doctrinal development and the application of such doctrine, how much more must his church do the same?
Scripture’s Authority over All Private Spirits
sacred Scripture stands as “the supreme judge” over all “private Spirits.”[26] The
phrase “private Spirits” in the Second London Baptist Confession, which first
appeared in the Westminster Confession of Faith, refers to “personal opinions
and private revelations.”[27]
James Renihan elaborates further on these two species of “private Spirits” when
he writes, “The first [personal opinions] has reference to opinions
(theological, moral, or religious) which do not flow distinctly from the text
of Scripture; the latter [private revelations], to claims to revelation made by
mystical sects.”[28]
Scripture’s Authority over Personal Opinions
There is no shortage of personal opinions that are taught to Christian congregations and presented as if they carried the authority of Scripture itself. These opinions can cover a wide array of issues, from speculations regarding the timing of Jesus’ return to aberrant applications of God’s commands. It is for this reason that believers in Christ must adopt the attitude of the Jews in Berea “[who] received the word with all eagerness, [and examined] the Scriptures daily to see if [the] things [taught by the Apostle Paul] were so” (Acts 17:11). The Jews in Berea were commended by Luke, the author of Acts, as being “more noble than those in Thessalonica” (Acts 17:11) because the Scriptures served as their ultimate authority.
Scripture’s Authority over Private Revelations
There are also many professing believers who claim to receive private revelations from the Lord. These purported revelations are then presented to others, and because of the alleged source of the revelation, namely God, the revelations are viewed by others as having some measure of spiritual authority. These claims to private revelation are usually identified as manifestations of spiritual gifts such as prophecy, word of knowledge, and speaking in tongues. (1 Cor. 12:4–11).
While the challenge of navigating the purported revelations of professing believers is common in contemporary charismatic churches, the challenge itself is not new. According to Renihan, “[The Quakers] regularly and frequently accused the Puritans of holding to a ‘dead letter’ because of the Puritan focus on the centrality of the written word…[and claimed that] the living internal testimony of the Spirit was of exceedingly greater importance than dry and dead words printed on a page.”[29] This posture toward Scripture is spiritually dangerous in any age because it undermines Scripture’s supreme authority. Putting aside whether or not the revelatory gifts continue to operate in the church today, an unwillingness to prioritize God’s words in Scripture over all subjective experiences and to judge all such experiences by Scripture itself is to dishonor the God whose written word should be the ultimate authority in the lives of his redeemed people.
Conclusion
Despite the current culture’s antagonism toward authority, it is real. God has created various spheres of authority within his world such as the family, the government, and the church of Jesus Christ. But within all those spheres of authority, there is a “supreme judge,” namely sacred Scripture. Only the written word of God as preserved in the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments can serve as the ultimate authority “by which all controversies of Religion are to be determined, and all Decrees of Councils, opinions of ancient Writers, Doctrines of men, and private Spirits, are to be examined.”[30]
[1] Jonathan Leeman, Authority: How Godly Rule Protects the Vulnerable, Strengthens Communities, and Promotes Human Flourishing (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2023), 6.
[2] Chad Van Dixhoorn, Creeds, Confessions, and Catechisms: A Reader’s Edition, “The London Baptist Confession,” Chapter 1, Section 1 (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2022), 239.
[3] Ibid., Chapter 1, Section 2, 239–240. The Apocrypha, “not being of Divine inspiration, are no part of the Canon (or rule) of the Scripture, and therefore are of no authority to the Church of God, nor to be any otherwise approved or made use of, then other human writings” (2LCF, Chapter 1, Section 3).
[4] All Scripture quotations are taken from the English Standard Version unless otherwise noted. The Greek word the Apostle Paul uses to describe Scripture in this verse, θεόπνευστος, “occurs only here in the Greek Bible” and “accurately reflects…its meaning as asserting the divine origin of Scripture.” William D. Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 46 (Dallas, TX: Word, Inc., 2000), 565, Logos Bible Software.
[5] Arguing for the nature and authority of Scripture by setting forth the self-attesting statements of Scripture itself is often criticized as “circular reasoning.” John Frame’s comments concerning “circular reasoning” are helpful: “That there is a circularity [in defending what Scripture says about itself by means of the Bible’s own worldview] I do not doubt. I am defending the Bible by the Bible. Circularity of a kind is unavoidable when one seeks to defend an ultimate standard of truth, for one’s defense must itself be accountable to that standard.” John Frame, The Doctrine of the Word of God (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2010), Location 592, Kindle Edition.
[6] Dixhoorn, Creeds, Confessions, and Catechisms, 240–241.
[7] Ibid., 243.
[8] D. A. Carson, Collected Writings on Scripture, “Approaching the Bible” (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010), 28.
[9] Dixhoorn, Creeds, Confessions, and Catechisms, “The Nicene Creed,” 17.
[10] Scott R. Swain, The Trinity: An Introduction, Short Studies in Systematic Theology, Eds. Graham A. Cole and Oren R. Martin (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020), 87.
[11] R. C. Sproul, Justified by Faith Alone (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010), 32.
[12] Martin Luther as quoted by R. C. Sproul in Faith Alone: The Evangelical Doctrine of Justification (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1995), 73.
[13] Sproul, Justified by Faith Alone, 33.
[14] Dixhoorn, Creeds, Confessions, and Catechisms, 243.
[15] Gregg R. Allison, Historical Theology: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Locations 15496–15514, Kindle Edition.
[16] John Reuther helpfully observes that “[the fact of the Bible’s final authority over councils, decrees, etc.] does not mean that opinions and decrees, statements, and creeds are wrong in themselves. There is a legitimate place for decrees of councils, opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men, and individuals. But these decrees and expressions of faith must be tested, supported, and approved by the final authority, the Bible” (“Of the Holy Scriptures,” in A New Exposition of the London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689, Ed. Rob Ventura [Ross-shire, Scotland: Mentor, 2022], 59, Logos Bible Software).
[17] Heather Hahn, “United Methodists Remove Same-Sex Wedding Ban,” UM News, May 3, 2024. https://www.umnews.org/en/news/united-methodists-remove-same-sex-wedding-ban.
[18] Peter Smith, “A Quarter of United Methodist Churches in U.S. Have Left During Split,” PBS News Hour, December 15, 2023. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/a-quarter-of-united-methodist-churches-in-u-s-have-left-during-split.
[19] Dixhoorn, Creeds, Confessions, and Catechisms, 243.
[20] John Piper, “You Shall Worship the Lord Your God,” Desiring God, September 8, 1985. https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/you-shall-worship-the-lord-your-god.
[21] Michael A. G. Haykin, Rediscovering the Church Fathers: Who They Were and How They Shaped the Church (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011), 28–29.
[22] Ibid., 29.
[23] John Reuther, “Of the Holy Scriptures,” in A New Exposition of the London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689, Ed. Rob Ventura (Ross-shire, Scotland: Mentor, 2022), 59, Logos Bible Software.
[24] Dixhoorn, Creeds, Confessions, and Catechisms, 243.
[25] William Hendriksen, Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1973), 613, Logos Bible Software.
[26] Dixhoorn, Creeds, Confessions, and Catechisms, 243.
[27] James M. Renihan, To the Judicious and Impartial Reader: A Contextual-Historical Exposition of the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith, Baptist Symbolics Vol. 2 (Cape Coral, FL: Founders Press, 2022), 72.
[28] Ibid.
[29] Ibid., 74.
[30] Dixhoorn, Creeds, Confessions, and Catechisms, 243.