I agree with Randy Carson, but perhaps from a slightly different perspective. Pastor John’s first argument is “if the Bible is God’s word, by definition no human authority or human institution can serve alongside the Bible with equal authority.”
The premise is true (the Bible
is God’s word), but the assertion is false. Just because we have a Bible doesn’t mean that there can be no other authority. If the Bible says that there is no other authority, then Pastor John has a leg to stand on; the problem is, it doesn’t. (It says that Scripture is
useful for all sorts of good purposes, but it doesn’t say either that it’s the only authority, or even that it’s the sufficient authority.)
But, Pastor John has a bigger problem: if the Bible identifies that there
is a human authority, then not only is his assertion false, but he’s painted himself into a corner. After all, if the Bible says it, then it must be true, right? And the Bible
does make these sorts of claims. First, Christ’s Great Commission isn’t “go forth and give Bibles to all peoples, teaching them what the Bible says.” Rather, the Great Commission is “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
In a very explicit way, this is a grant of authority to the apostles[sup]1[/sup]. And so Pastor John, in a certain sense, has it precisely backward: it’s not that the Bible is the authority and the humans are the means through which this authority is exercised – it’s that particular humans were given authority by Christ (cf Mt 16, 18, and 28) and the Bible was the means through which they exercised that authority!
PJM points out, correctly, that even the Bible (in John 21) admits that there’s more to Jesus’ ministry than the Bible relates to us. So… if the apostles were given authority to teach all things, and the Bible only relates a subset of them, then “by definition” (as Pastor John puts it), the scope of Scripture is less expansive than the scope of Jesus’ teachings during his earthly ministry. (This is an
extremely difficult assertion for a person to hear, if he worships Scripture, but it’s logical and it follows from what Scripture tells us.)
Pastor John is again partially correct when he asserts what MT1926 picked up on: “there are pastors and teachers… [and] their job is not to impart revelation, but to stand on the foundation of the apostles.” The foundation of the apostles is
apostolic succession – we see it in the selection of the first successor to the apostles (Mathias) in Acts 1. Now, as I recall, Luther wasn’t a successor to the apostles – he was a pastor. And, Pastor John isn’t a successor to the apostles. Therefore, their job “is not to impart revelation, but to stand on the foundation” that the apostles gave. If Luther and Pastor John do otherwise, then – as Pastor John himself mentions – they’re on thin ice: “If anyone does not acknowledge this, he is not acknowledged” (1 Cor 14:38). (OK… that’s a pretty lame example of proof-texting; but it’s no less irrelevant than Pastor John’s use of that verse.
)
In the final analysis, Pastor John’s assertions fail in his first point. He takes decent premises, and then misuses them in an attempt to prove his point. His assertions, admittedly, are believed by many; that doesn’t make them true, though.
[sup]1[/sup]Now, some claim that the Great Commission isn’t addressed to the
apostles, but rather, to the
entire church, and therefore, there isn’t any implication of a grant of authority to the apostles. Much like Pastor John’s other arguments, there’s both accuracy and inaccuracy in this kind of argument. Yes, it’s true that all of us are called to evangelize and “make disciples.” However, in the Bible, we only see apostles baptizing according to Jesus’ command. Moreover, if only the apostles were able to “teach … all that [Jesus] has commanded” (since only they were present for the entirety of these teachings) then it’s not reasonable to assume that just anyone in the church would have access to these extra-Biblical teachings. Therefore, the “you” in the Great Commission
must refer to those explicitly to whom Jesus was speaking – the apostles.
I’ll tag on to this. He writes, "Indeed, it is impossible — try to get me here — it is impossible to have biblical faith in a truth one does not believe is in the Bible. "
It’s always good to see your posts.
