The Measure Of A Church - The Authority of Scripture

The Measure Of A Church - The Authority of Scripture

If you are like me, you have noticed that the church in America has changed dramatically over the past few decades. What was once a tremendous moral champion for our God has now become weak and pathetic, powerless in facing the moral decline of Christianity.

The reason that we are struggling so much is directly proportional to our inability to accept the Bible as our ultimate authority. The cold truth about the Bible is this: there is no way for us to obtain information about God unless He chooses to reveal something about Himself to us. So where do we go for that revelation?

The Reformers dealt with this problem 500 years ago. The church leadership was corrupt and self serving. Church councils had proved unreliable because they often contradicted one another. The Reformers claimed that there can really only be one final authority for those who desire to live for God. That authority rests entirely in the Scriptures.

The rallying cry became “Sola Scriptura”. That means “Scripture Alone” is our authority. We believe that the Bible is infallible, inerrant, inspired, clear, sufficient, necessary and authoritative. The church that pleases God and honors Him will follow His Word and recognize that His voice is clear and present and never changes.

So many churches have given in to the cultural pressure to abandon the Bible. I watched a video recently of a pastor pleading with his church to put down their Bibles and start listening to him instead.

If you are wondering why your church is struggling, ask yourself this: “What does my church believe about God’s Word?” A church that neglects the Bible will never be blessed by God and will continually struggle with sin because it doesn’t understand the problem.

Is the Bible central to your church? It should be at the heart of everything you do. Jesus put the Scriptures at the top of His priorities. His church should do no less.

Matthew 4:4

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that comes from the mouth of God.”