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<blockquote data-quote="BrownFlush" data-source="post: 4761681" data-attributes="member: 65823">The Bible is not God,
The Bible is God&#039;s Word.

&quot;And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes&quot; (Matt. 7:28-29).

&quot;All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth&quot; (Matt. 28:19).

 Bible authority, or a lack of it, is at the root of most every religious question. As a Christian, I understand that the Bible is my only authority in religion. I challenge those I believe to be in error to produce Bible authority for their practice. What do I mean by &quot;Bible authority&quot;?

&quot;Authority&quot; (exousia) is &quot;the power of rule or government (the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed)&quot; . Concerning the word &quot;authority,&quot; we also find this: &quot;As regards the church, this derives its authority from Christ. Believers receive their right as such from him (Jn. 1:12; Rev. 22:14). The Lord gives the apostles their authority (2 Cor. 10:8); so they must use it responsibly (Mk. 13:34; 1 Cor. 9:4). Thus, by claiming to have &quot;all authority,&quot; Jesus was claiming the right to rule; the right to command and expect our submission and obedience. When we talk about &quot;Bible authority,&quot; we are really talking about the authority of Christ.

The authority that Jesus claimed was absolute, that which belonged to God alone. Christ received this authority from the Father, and the Father confirmed it by raising him from the dead (Eph. 1:20-23).

The authority of Jesus was different from that of the prophets, or the scribes. They were restricted to a &quot;thus saith the Lord.&quot; Christ&#039;s teaching was authoritative because he said it. This is a part of what amazed the listeners at the Sermon on the Mount. Throughout it he said, &quot;You have heard that it was said,&quot; and contrasted that with &quot;But I say to you.&quot; It is not surprising then to find the officers who had been sent to arrest Jesus returning empty-handed and saying, &quot;No man ever spoke like this man!&quot; (John 7:46)

Therefore, we need to acknowledge the authority of Jesus Christ in everything that pertains to our lives as Christians. Paul admonished the saints at Colosse, &quot;And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him&quot; (3:17). To do something &quot;in the name of&#039; Jesus is to do it by his authority. And, since Jesus claimed &quot;all authority,&quot; there is none left for men.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="BrownFlush, post: 4761681, member: 65823"] [JUSTIFY]The Bible is not God, The Bible is God's Word. "And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes" (Matt. 7:28-29). "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth" (Matt. 28:19). Bible authority, or a lack of it, is at the root of most every religious question. As a Christian, I understand that the Bible is my only authority in religion. I challenge those I believe to be in error to produce Bible authority for their practice. What do I mean by "Bible authority"? "Authority" (exousia) is "the power of rule or government (the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed)" . Concerning the word "authority," we also find this: "As regards the church, this derives its authority from Christ. Believers receive their right as such from him (Jn. 1:12; Rev. 22:14). The Lord gives the apostles their authority (2 Cor. 10:8); so they must use it responsibly (Mk. 13:34; 1 Cor. 9:4). Thus, by claiming to have "all authority," Jesus was claiming the right to rule; the right to command and expect our submission and obedience. When we talk about "Bible authority," we are really talking about the authority of Christ. The authority that Jesus claimed was absolute, that which belonged to God alone. Christ received this authority from the Father, and the Father confirmed it by raising him from the dead (Eph. 1:20-23). The authority of Jesus was different from that of the prophets, or the scribes. They were restricted to a "thus saith the Lord." Christ's teaching was authoritative because he said it. This is a part of what amazed the listeners at the Sermon on the Mount. Throughout it he said, "You have heard that it was said," and contrasted that with "But I say to you." It is not surprising then to find the officers who had been sent to arrest Jesus returning empty-handed and saying, "No man ever spoke like this man!" (John 7:46) Therefore, we need to acknowledge the authority of Jesus Christ in everything that pertains to our lives as Christians. Paul admonished the saints at Colosse, "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him" (3:17). To do something "in the name of' Jesus is to do it by his authority. And, since Jesus claimed "all authority," there is none left for men.[/JUSTIFY] [/QUOTE]

Verification