Question – What is your FINAL Authority?

[AVBunyan]

I was just curious. What is your FINAL authority in all matters of faith and practice? I see that many folks use a lot of sources such as, versions, Greek/Hebrew, etc. and I’m not here to find fault with using whatever one feels led to use in order to understand what God is saying to him. But when it gets down to the knitty gritty what is your absolute FINAL authority? You don’t have to respond but if you do it would be interesting to me.

Now I expect several responses:

1. One will most likely say, “God is my final authority.” Well, that is fine but be more specific please. How do you know what God is saying? I believe God speaks through his word. Many today believe he speaks directly but I feel there was a time when God did but not anymore – unless you are charismatic.

2. One may say, “The ‘Bible’ is my final authority.” Again, this sounds good but then please define what you mean by the “Bible”. Do you mean the “originals” or something you can hold in your hands today?

3. One may say for instance, “I use the NASV but I also use Nestle’s for some clarification.” Ok, fine – but which of the two is your FINAL authority?
At any rate you don’t have to participate – you may just want to think about it – I do not plan on “debating” this issue here. I’m just curios – that’s all.

I guess to be fair I should start out with my final authority. My final authority is a King James Bible that can be bought at Wal-Mart for $5.95. If I can’t find the answer or principle I’m looking for in this book then I figure God is not ready to show me or I need to study and pray more. If I find a passage but just don’t really understand it then I figure that God is not ready to show me or I need to study and pray more. For example, if I run across and strange word, let’s say like, ‘unicorn’ then I just figure God is not ready to show me or I need to study and pray more. But I don’t presume it is an error just because I don’t understand it or have never heard of one or seen one. And I don’t panic when one goes to other sources or the ancient languages – I don’t because I do not know the ancient languages - I have enough problems with simple English! For me I have found the King James Bible more than sufficient along with a concordance and a Webster’s 1828 dictionary to help me with the English words. But my final authority is a King James Bible that I can buy anywhere.

OK – enough of me. A penny for your thoughts?

What is your final authority in all matters of faith and practice?

May God bless.

 

[herev]

you probably will not like this answer but
final is tough to say, but I would answer that scripture is my primary source--scripture that is read through tradition, experience, and reason--invoking the power and presence of the HOly Spirit for interpretation

 

[TSIBHOD]

My final authority would be Scripture. However, I don't always understand it. In such cases, I would seek the Lord's will through prayer and the wisdom of others.

 

[PaladinValer]

Holy Bible, Holy Tradition, Holy Reason, as inspired by the Holy Spirit

 

[Snow Angel]

I turn to the Bible and Gods Word.

 

[Canuck4God]

God, as revealed to me in his Word (the Scriptures).

As an aside, sometimes it troubles me when people dismiss the Bible,
saying "but I'm feeling something else from God", or so forth. Christ
himself, when tempted by Satan, quoted Scripture to back up his
arguments against the deceiver. I do think that when people tend
to dismiss the Word in favor of 'revelation', it comes more from their
own desires than from a source of authority. Again, I point to Paul
in Galatians 1:6-10:

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and turning to a different gospel—not that there is another gospel, but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed. Am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ.​

 

[prodromos]

The Church, guided by the Holy Spirit.

 

[fuzzyh]

I believe that the original texts are the inspired Word of God, though the copies are extremely accurate showing only minor mistakes, spelling errors and copy errors. This leads me to believe that the final authority today would be the original texts that we have both Greek and Hebrew. I will say for most things you can just consider the Bible the final authority. For over 90% of the Bible you can read a NKJV or NASB and you'd have no problems.

 

[AVBunyan]

Thanks for the responses gang - may I respectfully ask you all:

What happens when you have two or three or more conflicting authorities? What next? How do you decide which "authority" is right?

May God bless.

 

[psalms 91]

my king james bible and the holy spirit. my inner witness about something and the spirits leading

 

[TSIBHOD]

Thanks for the responses gang - may I respectfully ask you all:

What happens when you have two or three or more conflicting authorities? What next? How do you decide which "authority" is right?

May God bless.

God is the ultimate authority, I think we can all agree. Some think that He can only speak to us through the Bible, some think only through the Catholic or Orthodox Church, some think He speaks to us through an "inner witness," etc. No matter how He speaks to us, we with our foolish minds are prone to misunderstand Him and His will for us at times. I was going to say that we must just do what God wants as far as we know, then be ready to be corrected later, but then I remembered the following quotation.

"Faith is that which, knowing the Lord's will, goes and does it; or, not knowing it, stands and waits, content in ignorance as in knowledge, because God wills; neither pressing into the hidden future, nor careless of the knowledge which opens the path of action. It is its noblest exercise is to act with uncertainty of the result, when the duty itself is certain, or even when a course seems with strong probability to be duty." -- George MacDonald​

I don't think that we have perfect knowledge of God's will, and anyway, who cares?

Really, do we need to know this stuff, or do we need to know God and let the rest work out?

(1 Corinthians 8:1 ESV) Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that "all of us possess knowledge." This "knowledge" puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.

Powerful stuff!

 

[PaladinValer]

Holy Scripture is a part of Holy Tradition. Holy Tradition is what is taught by Jesus through Apostolic Succession or it is what Holy Scripture itself doesn't specifically declare but which which doesn't contradict Holy Scripture (and, to Anglicans like me, is based on what we call "Holy Reason").

Thus, the two (or three if you are Anglican like me) are never in conflict.

TSIBHOD, you are misrepresenting what Vatican Catholics and Eastern Orthodox (and by defalt, Oriental Orthodox and Anglicans and Lutherans) believe, just for you to know. You might want to research what they believe before you state what you did.

 

[TSIBHOD]

TSIBHOD, you are misrepresenting what Vatican Catholics and Eastern Orthodox (and by defalt, Oriental Orthodox and Anglicans and Lutherans) believe, just for you to know. You might want to research what they believe before you state what you did.

How did I misrepresent anyone? I never mentioned Anglicans or Lutherans, or even Catholics or Orthodox.... I just said that some believe that "the Church" (Catholic or Orthodox) is the means that God uses to give His truth to the earth. I never said that all Catholics or Orthdox Christians believe that. But I do think that most of them would agree that that is where they see knowledge of God coming from.

The Church, guided by the Holy Spirit.

And lots of Catholics bring up the verse that says that the Church is the "pillar and foundation of truth" and say that that means that the Catholic Church is what makes the standard of ultimate theological truth (dogmatic faith). That's okay to have that position, though I respectfully disagree with it.

Maybe you think that I was saying that Catholics don't believe the Bible. That was certainly not my intent, however, and I am sorry if I failed to communicate that clearly. I was saying that they don't hold the Bible as their ultimate source of authority. They hold God in that position, as all Christians do, and they say that the Catholic Church is God's way of making truth known to the earth and that Sacred Tradition and Scripture are two of the ways this truth is communicated by the Church. They say that the Church made Scripture and Sacred Tradition alike. Am I far wrong here?

 

[seebs]

1. One will most likely say, “God is my final authority.”

That's me!

Well, that is fine but be more specific please. How do you know what God is saying?

I don't.

I guess that's why I'm a fallible mortal seeking truth instead of some guy claiming to have found and mastered the infallible source.

On the bright side, the chances that I'll be right about how accurate I am are way up.

 

[AVBunyan]

1. That's me!

2. I don't.

3. I guess that's why I'm a fallible mortal seeking truth instead of some guy claiming to have found and mastered the infallible source.

4. On the bright side, the chances that I'll be right about how accurate I am are way up.

1. You sound excited that you don't know what God says in his written word or believe the written word is your authority. If God is your authority (and He should be) then how do youiknow what God is saying?

2. How sad :o

3. This "some guy" you are referring to is in agreement with millions in the past and many presently who believed and believed the book they had and have today in their hands contained and contains the very words of God and are perfect and infallible.
What happened to you and your generation?

4. According to the view you appear to be taking regarding the authority of the written word you can know nothing today.

Have a blessed day?

 

[CrossingthroughtheBlood]

we have perfect knowledge of God's will

when we follow the Lamb wherever He goes - Revelation 14:4 and you are in this company even though you do not see this in yourself.

 

[CrossingthroughtheBlood]

But when it gets down to the knitty gritty what is your absolute FINAL authority?

The Living and Active consistence of Scripture in Him who fills everything through the Cross.

 

[AVBunyan]

The Living and Active consistence of Scripture in Him who fills everything through the Cross.

Ok - I see where you are heading - but where is this found? Where do you go to find this? What do you mean by "Scripture"?

Are all the versions scripture? - they all read differently do they not?

Again, where does one go specifically to get their FINAL answers?

Thanks and may God bless

 

[CrossingthroughtheBlood]

Ok - I see where you are heading - but where is this found? Where do you go to find this? What do you mean by "Scripture"?

All words of scripture - the Bible - become living and active in Him who is the Living Word - where do you find it? The Woman at the Well said give us this living water and He did - even as I write it is already welling up in you on to eternal life - because you are filled with the Holy Spiirt - but not released - there are intellectual strongholds to be demolished - 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 - You have to allow the Holy Spirit to be released through you and then the Bible will become the living and active eternal word testifying through you and the opponent you have been grappling with will be overcome - you are an overcomer.

 

[CrossingthroughtheBlood]

Your Baptism testifiedsimultaneously to Heaven and to earth and the Words spoken over you in frontof your family and friends - were Alive in as much as the Bible is the Word of God only when the Holy Spirit who inspired it enlivens it - this was the Hermeneutic of the Radical Reformation and the anabaptists - their mantles which are soaked with the blood of martyrs cry out - when you chose the day of your baptism on that day their mantles passed to you.