The Supreme and Final Authority

of The Scriptures
by
William L. Brown,
Pastor - Carmichael Baptist Church

ISA 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word,
it is because there is no light in them.

2TI 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

    The historic position of Baptists, for 2,000 plus years, concerning the Scriptures
are abundantly clear to any who will read the Bible, confessions of faith and
various writings available to us. A historic Baptist recognizes that the Bible
promises, and history clearly affirms, that there have been people who maintained
New Testament principles from the first century until today. One of those
fundamental principles is the supreme and final authority of the scriptures. Some
will dispute that Scriptural New Testament assemblies have always existed. They
would agree though that history does testify to the existence of Baptist principles. I
would simply call to their attention that for principles to exist, they must be held by
a people. Convictions cannot exist in a void. While I will refer to the rich and
applicable historical accounts and writings of our Baptist forefathers I will add a
paragraph written by J. M. Carroll, the author of the Trail of Blood. "I do not
undervalue church history, but far more important to me than fallible human
records of passing events is the New Testament forecast of church history. The
former may err - the latter never." Far more important is the Bibles own
declaration, above that of historical documents, that it alone is the rule of our faith
and practice and the judge of all we do or say.

    The Scriptures we read, as our text, affirm this. II Timothy 3:16 asserts that the
Scriptures are God's Breath and are profitable for the maturing of the man of God.
It is the Bible that gives us doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in
righteousness. I will not be original in this presentation nor will I hope to share
some original thoughts. I join with Basil Manly in his book the "Bible Doctrine of
Inspiration" in his preface that "originality on a subject like this would surely be
error." In the study of the context of II Timothy 3:16 you will discover something.
One of the first marks of impending disaster can be seen in a change of view of the
authority of the Word of God (II Tim. 3:12-17). Deterioration of faith and moral
collapse or a defection from the faith is made possible only by an abandonment of
our supreme and final authority. The attack against God's Word today is not to

1
burn it, its translators, or preachers as was once done but in the last 200 years the
effort has been in undermining it's position as our supreme and final authority.

    That fact is that a major distinctive of historic Baptists has been that the Bible is
the only rule of faith and practice. Let me carefully add this. It is a na ïve listener
that, presupposing the Bible's inspiration and infallibility, right belief about the
Bible guarantees right belief. This is a common dogma presented by those who
wish to pass off their heresy as valid on the grounds of "sola scriptura." Scripture
alone was the clarion call of the reformers. I do not believe it was solely because
they desired the recovery of the historic faith, but because they desired to throw off
the Roman yoke which subordinated the Scriptures to the church of Rome and
thereby subordinated them to Rome and its hierarchy. While Protestantism today,
along with many so-called Baptists, will join the call of "Scripture alone" they are
guilty of preaching the traditions of men. Many declare the Bible alone and yet
stand against the Bible as the final and supreme rule of truth by placing themselves
as judges and juries of which Bible, what passages, and what doctrines are true or
relevant for today. Human reasoning of the Bible is not the final authority of the
Bible. God's sure and forever settled Word is the supreme and final authority of all
human reasoning. What some mean when they say "the Bible alone" can be
restated that they believe the Bible alone but only as it is interpreted according to
my autonomous and rebellious presuppositions. May we never be guilty of such
absurdity?

    An important distinction needs to be made between Baptists and Protestants

about this doctrine of the supreme and final authority of the scriptures. We part
ways with the Protestants both theoretically and practically on this issue. The
historic Baptist looks to the New Covenant or New Testament as our law. B.H.
Carroll wrote: "The New Testament will always be all the Law of Christianity.
This does not deny inspiration or profit of the Old Testament… It affirms however
that the Old Testament, as a typical, education, and transitory system, was fulfilled
by Christ, and as a standard of law and way of life was nailed to the cross of
Christ." Further Protestants need to learn that Scripture alone does not qualify one
to administer baptism apart from the assembly Christ Himself began, set in order,
and commissioned. The official sanction or commission to preach, baptize and
teach disciples is found in the person of Christ and the due orders we call the Bible.

    While Baptists through the ages have drawn up confessions, most of them
declare with consistency an agreement with the New Hampshire Confession. It
ends the first article with these words: that the bible "therefore is, …the supreme
standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions shall be tried." Historic
Baptists have never considered confessions as binding upon the conscience of
another. The Bible is and forever will be binding. Wayland in writing about creeds
or confessions and the unity churches find in them said: "It expresses their belief,
because all of them, from the study of the Scriptures, understand them in the same
manner, and not because any tribunal has imposed such interpretations upon
them… We have no right to delegate such authority to any man, or to any body of
men. It is our essential belief that the Scriptures are a revelation from God, given

2
not to a Pope, or congregation of Cardinals, or any Archbishop or bench of
Bishops, or General Assembly, or a Synod, but to every individual man."

    Clearly presented from the 1689 London Confession is this. "The Holy Scripture
is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and
obedience." It further states that God's will for His church is declared in the
Scriptures and that they are "most necessary" for the "better preserving and
propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the
church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan, and of the
world."

The Basis Of This Doctrine:

(the underlying principle)
(Inspiration, infallibility, and preservation as essential and tied together.)

Is The inspiration of the Scriptures: (II Timothy 3:16)

    If the Scriptures were and are inspired, verbally inspired, literally breathed of
God it would seem unnecessary to raise the question of their authority. If the
Scriptures were and are inspired then they must be absolutely authoritative in all
matters of faith and practice. They are, as one writer penned; "clothed with God's
authority." This is the exclusive domain of the Word of God. No other source of
divine revelation is to be accepted and certainly not tolerated by any sound
preacher or church. I  wonder how many know that one of the men involved in the
revised translation of the Bible wrote an article against the inspiration of the
Scriptures? (G. Vance Smith 1871) By what right did they remove inspired words?

Is The infallibility of the Scriptures: (Luke 24:25-27)

   Every Word of God challenges our attention. This book does not contain the
Word of God but is the Word of God - every Word is God breathed. Nothing is to
be added and nothing is to be taken away. It cannot be made void (the scripture
cannot be broken; John 10:35), to reject any portion of Scripture is to reject
Christ's word. He used it authoritatively. Its authority cannot be withstood or
denied. There is only one name given under heaven whereby we must be saved and
that name reigns and rings throughout the pages of this heavenly book. No rival is
now or ever has been recognized as a revelation of God's will to man by any true
New Testament church.

    John 5:39 ("Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and
they are they which testify of me.") is not a condemnation of loving and reading the
word but that the Jews read the scriptures with a veil over their hearts and could
not see the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. In the older writings and confessions of
faith it is noted that "our full persuasion and assurance of infallible truth, and
divine authority thereof, is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit." (I Cor. 2:13;
3
Mark 12:24) A constant acknowledgment of the inward illumination of the Spirit
of God as necessary accompanies most historical literature about the Scriptures.

    Understanding the authority of the Scriptures as supreme means there is no other
recognized sovereign over our affairs. Two supreme sovereigns can not reign
together. The Catholic Church claims the right of sovereign as her own. We deny
this and count it as nothing less than a damnable heresy erupting from the filth of
the whore of Babylon and a perpetual heretical position of Satan himself.

Is The preservation of the Scriptures: (Psalm 119:89, I

Thess. 2:13)
   In so many historical Baptist writings the Scriptures are declared as not
dependent upon man's testimony or his caretaking of them. God has used such
people as the Waldenses to preserve the true and faithful Word of God yet they
themselves were dependent upon His grace and preserving hand.

    Sound historical Baptists today should feel the hand of God upon them,
preserving them that they might be used to pass on the pure and unadulterated
Word that has been handed down to us to future generations. When we give up the
pure word of God today and take in the perverted translations from perverted texts
we abdicate our historic and faithful position as faithful stewards.

    Without the inspiration, infallibility, and preservation of Scripture underlying

this statement of truth man will come to the Bible as a judge to decide for himself
what is true and deserving to be believed, and what is false and to be dutifully
rejected.

    Imagine a chemist who would doubt or reject the essential character of the
elements with which he would work. Now imagine a preacher who doubts the
essential character of the Word of God. Of what possible worth is he? To none but
to Satan.

The Impact of this Doctrine:

It defends the propagation and preservation of truth: and
us (Psa. 40:11)
    Rightly understanding the inspirtation, infallibility, and the preservation of
Scripture will guard against error in and corruption of both faith and practice.
Humanism, philosophy, and psychology have intruded into the realm of teaching
and preaching instead of the supreme and final authority of Scriptures. The only
bar of justice upon which all things must be tried is the revealed Word of God.
Everything we need to know, practice, and believe is in the Scriptures. I remember
reading Chafer's theology where he began to teach that repentance is unnecessary,
faith alone is needed. Here is a man that needed to sit longer at the feet of his Lord
4
and learn. He needed to read the rest of the book. He somehow took out a portion
as unprofitable or unnecessary. Look at II Peter 3:15-16. When these meen were
used of God to write they knew they were being used of God to pen His Words.
Peter himself recognized what Paul wrote to be Scripture. "other …"

It defends the foundation, order, and organization of the

Lord's assemblies:
   The doctrine of Inspiration, the doctrine of the Bible as our supreme and final
rule of faith and practice is the battle cry of freedom from ecclesiastical
domination. While we rejoice at the history, writings, confessions and testimony of
our forefathers we do not base our confidence or harmony on any other criterion
than the Word of God. Some will use the cry of "sola scriptura" as a claim of
authority for themselves yet the Scriptures call for them to repent and be
scripturally baptized. We learn from the word of God how we ought to behave in
the house of God and how the house of God ought to function.

It defends accountability and creditability: (Psa. 85:11)

    We are accountable to God's Word. We are to search the Word of God - Acts
17:11 "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the
word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those
things were so."

   Let me share one thing I found in studying church history. I believe the training
is to be in and through the local church. No other institution was given that
responsibility. No other institution can qualify a man of God. In the 2 nd century
Christians - churches began to bare the reproach of being an illiterate and
uneducated people (according to the world's standards). Instead of continuing to
pattern themselves after the Word of God and having it as their supreme and final
authority they bowed to the circumstances and charges of their day. A school was
established to contend with the world's view of uneducated and illiterate preachers.
This school soon taught and promoted the idea that Scripture had a double
meaning. After becoming so engrossed in the supposed mystical and hidden
meaning of Scripture an enormous proliferation of heretical teaching developed.
The dignity of the philosophers of Scripture was more highly regarded than the
Scriptures themselves. Heresy became orthodoxy and the simple truth of Scripture
was relegated to be mere opinions unsupported by any learned arguments. This
school was in Alexandra Egypt and one of its students and later teacher was none
other than Origen. Praise the Lord there was a group of people who stood strong
for the truth and against this liberal and heretical position at this same time; they
were known as Montanists.

    We are not accountable to the world and we should never seek credibility by the
worlds standards. The error of those mentioned above resulted in the corrupt text
we have today that is used to translate every Bible into the English language except
the King James Bible. I'll stick with the King James.
5
 It defends the way of salvation and the message of
salvation:
   The message of salvation we preach was delivered God-breathed. That is as
strong a guarantee as can be demonstrated as to its authority and infallibility. The
mind that made man also made the Bible. God gave us His Word and the ministry
of the Spirit to reveal the guilt of man and humble his pride. This book, under the
illumination of the Spirit, meets the deepest needs of the soul, discloses God's
character, presents the way of pardon, declares the means of justification, and
exposes our redemption. Though we may indeed be unlearned men we declare the
testimony of God. We preach the wisdom of God. Not with enticing words of
man's wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power that those who hear
and believe might find their faith stands not in the wisdom of men, but in the
power of God. We are to preach the Word. When we have abandoned the
Scriptures as being the supreme and final authority we have abandoned the
Scriptures. When you do that you have nothing left to preach. With that said I'll
end with a quote from Spurgeon:

    "The Bible is like a lion. Who ever heard of defending a lion? Just turn it loose,
it will defend itself."

Preach the Word!