The Nature of Biblical Christianity, Part 2
The Biblical Description: Christianity is Final Authority.
Christianity is not an institution, not a list of rules, not
a religious experience, and not a certain type of service.
Christianity revolves around a Person, Jesus Christ the Son
of God.
When one asks, "What does this mean in practice?" the
Biblical answer is "final authority."
The engineer and the physicist are inescapably and rigidly
limited by the laws of nature. They will succeed only by
carefully working in harmony with these laws. They are under
an authority which is external to them and over which they
have no control. The engineer may have an intense dislike
for concrete. But this personal dislike does not give him
license to build the bridge out of paper mache.
And so it is in Christianity. God has revealed Himself. This
revelation is no less authoritative than the laws of
physics. It is, in fact, much more so. The Scripture is
emphatically clear on the necessity of repentance, the new
birth, faith, love, confession of sin, and obedience. In
these areas the right and the wrong has been clearly stated.
The Christian may not live as though God has not spoken, as
though Jesus Christ has not come, as though the Crucifixion
and the Resurrection did not happen, as though the Bible
were not written.
It would be ridiculous for the airplane builder to think
that he could operate successfully without taking into
account the laws of gravity. It would be even more so for
the Christian to believe that he could succeed without a
wholehearted acceptance of the authority of divine
revelation. Such an acceptance is exceedingly difficult to
make. To do so is to shift the source of authority from
ourselves to God. As sinful persons we unconsciously
attribute final authority to ourselves. We soon learn that
we are not intuitive experts in the areas of chemistry,
architecture, thermodynamics of similar fields. But every
one of us, by nature, believes he is an absolute expert in
the truths of religion.
There are at least three wrong responses which we make to
the revelation of God. We reject it, we resist it, and we
pervert it. Even in the life of the committed Christian
these three may be present at one time. Although such an
individual may submit to divine authority in many areas of
daily life, he will, in some areas, reject the will of God,
perhaps almost unconsciously so; in others he will accept it
partially, with resistance; and in other areas he will
attempt to succeed with a perversion of divine revelation.
Such a sinful response is intensified in the life of the
non-Christian. It is not unusual for such a person to glibly
call God "a liar" (1 John 5:10). In the Scriptures God has
said that all men are unrighteous and sinners (Romans
3:10,23), but the non-Christian states, "I'm not a sinner!"
God has said that no man may come to Him except through
Jesus Christ (John 14:6) and by the avenue of the new birth
(John 3:3, 5), but the non-Christian affirms, "I don't need
to believe in anyone but myself and I'll get there by my
good works!"
There is only one correct response to divine authority. It
is that of total acceptance. In the inner spiritual life it
means complete surrender. In the manifestation of spiritual
life it means complete obedience. It is surrender and
obedience to a Person.
The Key To Success: Accept The Revelation Of God As Your Final Authority And In
Your Obedience Give Jesus Christ His Rightful Place. Cancel
Out Your Sinful Self.
See Diagram 4:
The Scriptural Foundation: Jesus Christ, His Work, and His Word.
God is final authority. And in Christianity we are dealing
with God, not with a man, an institution, an experience, a
way of thinking, or even a way of life.
The authority in Christianity is reflected in its three
foundation stones. These form the minimal content of the
Gospel. The Apostle Paul stated that the Gospel had to do
with:
(1) Jesus Christ,
(2) His death, burial, and resurrection, and
(3) the Scriptures (I Corinthians 15:1-4).
The same threefold emphasis is found in the
post-resurrection instruction of our Lord (Luke 24:44-48).
The authority of God is vested first of all in Jesus Christ.
He is, according to the Scriptures, the eternal son of God.
Out of love He became a member of the human race to be man's
Redeemer.
The Lord Jesus Christ declared that He was the Truth (John
14:6) and the Apostle Paul stated that all wisdom and
knowledge finds its source in Him (Colossians 2:3). The
authority of God therefore rests in a Person. We may not
"... refuse Him that speaketh" (Hebrews 12:25). Without Him
we can do nothing (John 15:5).
Genuine Christianity is a manifestation of God in human
history. The nature, characteristics and structure of
Christianity has been determined by Who and what God is. God
is holy. We have been commanded to be holy (1 Peter 1:15,
16). God is love. We have been commanded to love one another
as we have been loved (John 13:34). The list is quite
endless. God has revealed Himself. When this revelation is
correctly practiced, the result is Biblical Christianity.
The authority in Christianity is also found in the
redemptive work of the Lord Jesus. His work may be described
as the deeds of God in history. These deeds determine the
structure of Christianity.
An illustration of this is found in the Old Testament. There
we are told how God supernaturally delivered his people
through the events described as the Exodus. This deed of God
formed the basis as well as the structure of the Theocracy.
The Hebrew people were therefore a redeemed race. They
belonged to God. The yearly memorial of the Passover was
given to remind them of these truths. The very roots of
their nation, their calling, and their religion were found
in the Exodus.
Biblical Christianity has been unalterably structured by the
incarnation of Jesus Christ, from His life and ministry,
from His Crucifixion, His Resurrection, the Ascension and
from Pentecost. When the Christian sins, acting as though he
belonged to himself, he is acting out of harmony with the
character and deeds of God. Sin is therefore described in
the Bible as "lawlessness" (1 John 3:4). This is to
emphasize that it is a violation or contradiction of
authority. To sin against God is to act contrary to His
nature and contrary to the deeds of God in history.
Since the authority in Biblical Christianity is found in the
work of Christ, it is necessary for the Christian to accept
the evaluation and the demands of these deeds. Christ died
to deliver us from the guilt and power of sin. The only
correct response we may make is to accept this evaluation of
sin. Man is under a solemn authority to repent of sin, to
condemn and forsake it in all of its forms, to receive the
forgiveness of salvation and the daily deliverance and
enablement provided by Jesus Christ for a successful
Christian life. The Christian may not live as though Christ
did not die and rise from the grave. These deeds have
authoritatively structured every facet of Biblical
Christianity.
The authority in and for Christianity is also found in the
Holy Scripture. This does not mean that the Scripture is a
third type of authority. The three foundation stones of
Christianity, the Person of Jesus Christ, His deeds in
history, and His Word, are inseparably related. God has not
only revealed Himself in history but also through the
inspired record and interpretation of His work. What we know
of God and His work is through His authoritative Word.
When Jesus Christ was on earth he referred to and utilized
the Scripture as final authority. He spoke of it as "the
commandment of God," and as "the Word of God" (Mark 7:6-13).
Of His opponents He repeatedly asked, " ... have ye not read
... ?" (Matthew 12;3,5; 19:4). He quoted the Scriptures in
His temptation (Matthew 4:4,7.10) and reminded the disciples
that all which had been prophesied of Him would surely come
to pass (Luke 18:31).
The Lord Jesus pointed out that it was contradictory indeed
to call Him "Lord" and then disobey His Word (Luke 6:46) In
harmony with this the Bible teaches the inseparable
relationship of love for God and obedience to His Word (John
14:15, 23, 24; 1 John 2; 3- 5; 5:3 2 John 6). We may not
presume that our actions are acceptable with God or that we
are expressing love to God while disobeying the Scripture.
Such an attitude is a violation of the very structure of
Christianity.
Christianity comes to us as final authority. It is a
manifestation of God's character which, in turn, has been
revealed through the deeds of God in history, and in His
inspired Word.
See Diagram 5:
The Key To Success: Recognize That The Source Of Authority In Biblical
Christianity Is Found In The Person Of Jesus Christ, In His
Work, And In His Word.
The Inescapable Results: Spiritual Freedom or Slavery.
It is not enough to live in harmony with the church, to obey
all the rules of the legalist, to perform all the ceremonies
of the liturgist, to say all the right words of the
Pharisee, to have the right experiences of the emotionalist,
and to perform the right services of the Christian worker.
We may do all these things without serious question as to
whether God were dead or alive. We may, indeed, do all these
things and be lost.
Christianity demands a complete surrender of one's self to
God in the acceptance of His authority. This surrender is a
personal subjugation of one's will to Another. The Apostle
Paul described himself as " ... a slave of Jesus Christ"
(Romans 1:1).
Christianity has been designed by God to be operative.
Therefore, it must be put into practice before it becomes
effective. It is the provision of a daily redemption. When
we are in total subjection to God and live in daily
obedience, the power and grace of Biblical Christianity will
flow into our life.
Since more will be said about this later it may be
sufficient here to point out the Biblical nature of this
principle. Simply stated it is this: when we obey, God
works. this is in no way meant to deny the sovereignty of
God nor the depravity of man. All faith and obedience can
only be traced back to God's sovereign generosity.
The promise of Jesus Christ is simple and clear. He said,
"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you
free" (John 8:32). The word "know" in Scripture designates
more than a mere intellectual apprehension. It includes
decisions of faith and correct practice. It is self evident
from the Scripture and from what has been said before that
to "know the truth" is the practice of a personal
relationship.
The freedom promised by Christ is primarily spiritual. It is
the freedom of the inner man. It is freedom to be the right
kind of person. To be able to choose your own thoughts and
actions without being pressured by men, circumstances, or
sinful desires. It is the freedom produced by the grace and
power of God which enables one to know right and wrong, to
practice the right, and to enjoy it.
The warning of Jesus Christ is equally clear. He said, " ...
whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin" (John 8:34).
To "commit sin" is the opposite of "knowing the truth." It
is the rejection of the personal authority of Christianity
and the elevation of self to the position of God. It is the
practice of making one's self the final authority, and the
personal satisfaction the goal of one's endeavor. When this
choice is made and practiced it produces slavery. One
becomes enslaved to one's self. Instead of all things
revolving around Jesus Christ, they revolve around one's
self. Freedom has been lost, selfishness is practiced, and
any enjoyment is highly temporary.
The choice is ours and the results are inescapable-freedom
or slavery.
See Diagram 6:
The Key To Success: Live In Harmony With The Person Of Jesus Christ, The
Character Of His Work, And The Commandments Of His Word. The
Result Will Be A Glorious Freedom.