by Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: II Peter 1<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. A fellow preacher received a question and he asked me what I thought about it. <\/p>\n A. “Where in the Bible does it tell us that the Bible is the only or ultimate source of\nauthority? I cannot find it anywhere! II Timothy 3:16 is the closest, but it does not\nsay ONLY! Where in history, the Bible, or the writings of the early Church was\nthis concept ever taught? Since the church did not have a complete Bible until\nhundreds of years after Christ ascended to heaven, how did the early church teach\nand spread Christianity?”\n B. I pointed out to the preacher that the question comes from a Catholic apologist. I\nhave received similar questions in the past and the purpose seems to be an attempt\nto establish that the Catholic church was the means by which Christianity and the\nBible was defined. Thereby, if the Catholic church decides to redefine Christianity,\nit has that right.\n C. The problem is the assumption that if a particular idea is not expressed in the Bible\nin precisely the wording desired, then it is assumed that the concept does not exist.\n
II. The hierarchy of authority<\/p>\n A. The ultimate source of all authority lies with the Creator of the universe. God, the\nFather, is the highest authority – I Corinthians 11:3\n
B. That authority has been given to His Son, Jesus – Matthew 28:18<\/p>\n
C. However, the Father remains supreme – I Corinthians 15:23-28<\/p>\n D. Since Christ holds all authority, we must ask, “Through what means has Jesus\nchosen to make His will known to mankind?”\n 1. We do not want to address what Jesus was capable of doing or what was\npossible for him to do. God’s power is boundless, so the number of\npossibilities are without bound.\n
2. We will only look at what he actually did.<\/p>\n
E. When Jesus left, he told the disciples that they would not be left on their own<\/p>\n
1. The Spirit would guide them in all the truth – John 16:13-15<\/p>\n 2. By Christ’s command, they were to then teach that truth to all the nations –\nMatthew 28:19-20. Notice that Jesus said they were to teach all the things\ncommanded by Jesus.\n
3. This is what happened to the disciples – I Corinthians 2:15-16<\/p>\n
4. And as Paul told the Ephesian elders – Acts 20:27<\/p>\n a. Notice that Paul’s statement directly contradicts the questioner’s\nassumption.\n b. He claimed that the church did not have a compete Bible until\nhundreds of years after Christ ascended.\n c. Yet, Paul, just a few years after Christ ascended, emphasized that\nhe had taught Christians the whole council of God.\n
III. The completeness of the revelation<\/p>\n A. Peter claimed that through our knowledge of God we learn everything pertaining\nto life and godliness – II Peter 1:2-4\n
1. That knowledge of God comes through the writings of the Apostles.<\/p>\n
2. All Scripture is able to make a man complete – II Timothy 3:16-17<\/p>\n
a. “Scripture” are the written words of God<\/p>\n
b. What good work has been left out? Nothing!<\/p>\n B. The apostles knew they would not always be present. They knew God’s people\nwould need constant reminders of what needed to be done – II Peter 1:10-15\n
1. Hence, they wrote them down as a permanent record.<\/p>\n
2. John said much the same – I John 1:3-4<\/p>\n
IV. The unalterability of the message<\/p>\n A. Since the apostles gave a complete account of all that Jesus taught them through\nthe aid of the Holy Spirit, it becomes important that no one alters this message.\n
B. The teachings were not the apostles’ own opinions – II Peter 1:16, 19-21<\/p>\n
C. They were not the teachings of other men – Galatians 1:11-12<\/p>\n D. Being the words of God, once delivered, they were not to be changed – Galatians\n1:6-9\n E. This does not leave any leeway. The Bible is a set standard which cannot be altered\nor contradicted\n
V. No further revelation<\/p>\n
A. Jesus’ words will judge us – John 12:48<\/p>\n
B. The apostles’ writings will serve as the basis of judgment – Romans 2:16<\/p>\n
C. Could there be continuing revelations from God?<\/p>\n 1. If there were, then what was later revealed could only match what the\napostles already taught, since alterations are not allowed\n 2. Nothing new could be revealed without contradicting the apostles’ claim\nthat their message was complete.\n 3. If something new was revealed, then how could those who live prior to the\nrevelation be judged by it?\n
D. Jude said the message was only delivered once – Jude 3<\/p>\n
1. There would not be multiple deliveries.<\/p>\n
2. It was delivered for all times and for all people.<\/p>\n a. There isn’t one message for one nation and something else for\nanother nation.\n
b. The message doesn’t change over time.<\/p>\n
E. Hence, we must conclude that the Bible claims it is complete.<\/p>\n
1. It has everything we need to know.<\/p>\n 2. Being complete and unalterable, it then is our only source for establishing\nwhat God has authorized for us to do.\n 3. Anyone claiming the right to modify the message falls under a curse –\nGalatians 1:8-9\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Peter 1 I. A fellow preacher received a question and he asked me what I thought about it. A. “Where in the Bible does it tell us that the Bible is the only or ultimate source of authority? I cannot find it anywhere! II Timothy 3:16 is the closest, but…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[32],"tags":[78,219,1599],"class_list":["post-63437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-authority","tag-bible","tag-roman-catholic-church"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":59745,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/sola-scriptura-or-sola-papa\/","url_meta":{"origin":63437,"position":0},"title":"Sola Scriptura or Sola Papa?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 7, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Chuck Durham via\u00a0Biblical Insights, Vol. 7, No. 9, Sept. 2007. Pope Benedict XVI released a Vatican document on July 10, 2007, that reasserted the primacy of the Roman Catholic Church as providing the only true path to salvation. The document claims that the Roman Catholic Church is the only\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31886,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-catholic-church-and-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":63437,"position":1},"title":"The Catholic Church and The Bible","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 10, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dennis Tucker Recent articles in the local newspaper have dealt with the Catholic Church and whether or not it is of Christ. Some view such discussions as being non-Christ like. They think everybody has a right to their own faith and all faiths are alike. Therefore, one can be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3948,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-you-explain-that-the-church-is-the-pillar-and-ground-of-the-truth\/","url_meta":{"origin":63437,"position":2},"title":"How do you explain that the church is the pillar and ground of the truth?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 26, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: About the authority of the church: Do you have a response to I\u00a0Timothy 3:15\u00a0where the church of God is referred to as the pillar and ground of truth? Whereas the Bible is never referred to because it did not exist until the church put it together? How can you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19441,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/could-the-roman-catholics-early-list-of-popes-be-accurate\/","url_meta":{"origin":63437,"position":3},"title":"Could the Roman Catholic’s early list of popes be accurate?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 13, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: The Catholics base their entire religion on the belief of ''Sacred Tradition'' and ''Apostolic Supremacy.'' Catholics claimed that a man named Linus was the second pope and succeeded Peter in 67 A.D. And they believe him to be the same Linus mention in II Timothy 4:21.\u00a0 They even have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19443,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/roman-catholic-quotes-regarding-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":63437,"position":4},"title":"Roman Catholic Quotes Regarding the Bible","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 31, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The Bible Alone was Used in the Early Church There was far more extensive and continuous use of Scriptures in the public service of the early Church than there is among us. [Addis and Arnold,\u00a0Catholic Dictionary, The Catholic Publication Society, 1887, page 509] Our present convenient compendiums -- the Missal,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39146,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-you-know-the-roman-catholics-changed-worship-from-the-sabbath-to-sunday\/","url_meta":{"origin":63437,"position":5},"title":"Did you know the Roman Catholics changed worship from the Sabbath to Sunday?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 28, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, Did you know that the sabbath is Saturday, the seventh day of the week? Sunday is the first day of the week. Did you know that the Papal system takes credit for changing the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday? Father God establishes his dominion and his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63437\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}