Views: 2<\/p>
[Note:\u00a0 <\/strong>This MS is available in larger font on our Brief Articles 1<\/strong>\u00a0 page.]<\/span><\/p>\n Only two sources of authority exist in religion. Authority is \u201cfrom heaven\u00a0 [Divine] or from men [human]\u201d (Mat. 21:25). Human authorities consist of such things as the rulings of one man or a council\/convention of men, creed books, the majority vote of members, and personal conscience. Such sources constitute no \u201cstandard\u201d at all, for they are all subjective, arising from the thoughts, desires, philosophies, and whims of men.<\/span><\/p>\n Human \u201cauthorities\u201d in religion produce doctrinal division and confusion, unauthorized practices, and endorsement of such things as sexual immorality and perversion, drinking, and gambling. Jeremiah stated the fallacy of reliance upon human religious authority: \u201cO Jehovah, I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps\u201d\u00a0 (Jer. 10:23).<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0Right religion demands an objective standard, one that originates apart from human thinking, desires, and opinions. Apart from an objective standard, men wander hopelessly in relativism where there is no such thing as truth and error, good and evil. The Bible is verily that objective standard. While approximately forty men were employed in its writing, they did not write their own philosophies and thoughts. They spoke \u201cnot in words which man\u2019s wisdom teacheth, but which the Spirit teacheth\u201d (1 Cor. 2:13). The Bible came from men who \u201cspake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit\u201d (2 Pet. 1:21).\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Bible is our Creator\u2019s revelation of Himself and His will to His rational creation. We could not know the will or the plan of God for us without the revelation of this mystery through the Holy Spirit-inspired men (1 Cor. 2:7\u201310). No one knows one thing about how to worship God so as to please Him apart from the New Testament. Apparently, many think that God is somehow obligated to accept whatever they choose to offer, but not so. We must<\/strong> worship Him \u201cin spirit and truth\u201d (John 4:23\u201324), and only the Bible tells us the way to do so. Jesus said that men who reject God\u2019s revelation for their own precepts worship in vain (Mat. 15:9).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Likewise, the New Testament is the only source of information on the way God wants us to behave in our daily lives. The world is drowning in its own lawlessness and immoral filth because so many people have rejected God and His will in favor of their own subjective, selfish lusts (Rom 1:21\u201332).<\/span><\/p>\n Without the Bible we would not know that we are sinners in need of salvation. Moreover, we would never have known of God\u2019s gracious plan to save us had He not revealed it to us in His Word, the only source of this information.<\/span><\/p>\n [Note:<\/strong> This article was written for and published in the Denton Record-Chronicle, <\/em>Denton, TX, February 7, 2014.]<\/span><\/p>\n Attribution: <\/strong>Printed from TheScripturecache.com<\/em>, owned and administered by Dub McClish.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Views: 2[Note:\u00a0 This MS is available in larger font on our Brief Articles 1\u00a0 page.] Only two sources of authority exist in religion. Authority is \u201cfrom heaven\u00a0 [Divine] or from men [human]\u201d (Mat. 21:25). Human authorities consist of such things as the rulings of one…<\/p>\n