The other night, I posted this to Twitter:
"One's view of Scripture is important: authoritative and binding, authoritative but not binding, or neither authoritative nor binding."
I thought about this for a quite awhile afterwards...so much so that it became a part of our family worship the next morning. Please pardon the chicken scratches! :)
I'd wager that most Christians would claim "authoritative and binding," because that is what God says about His own word:
- Matthew 4:4 ESV But he answered, "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
- Luke 11:28 ESV But he said, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"
- 2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, (17) that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
- 2 Peter 1:19-21 ESV And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, (20) knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. (21) For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
However, it sure looks to me like the church in America is stuck in "authoritative but not binding."
But what do I know. I get stuck there myself!
:)
