If there ever was a crisis that underscored our current culture, it is this subject of authority. To think that there is an absolute authority will bring all kinds of ridicule and doubt about our own person and character. We have been so conditioned that there is no authority except our own opinion, we resist most authority in business, school, family and even in the church.
Actually, every church does have an authority they advertise in almost every religious background or history. Most churches will say their first authority is to Scripture and second authority is established tradition. Regardless of the denomination, or the question at hand, one of those two authorities will win. Either Scripture will be the authority for the decision to be made or the tradition will be the decision maker. One of those two will win. Church leaders will face it regardless of the decision.
The early Church Fathers advocated the principle of “Sola Scriptura” – Scripture only. It was the absolute guide, qualifier and test of every belief. The poison that has infected the church is the same individual emphasis affecting our society, which advocates no authority except my own opinion and position. So then, every person does what is right in his or her own eyes. While that sounds very appealing, our society cannot operate without a set of accepted standards. We have lots of those “rules” and “standards” all around us which reveal absolutes: 1) Brick layers still use a level to determine where a wall is straight and plumb. 2) Builders still use a tape measure to get consistency in anything that is being constructed. (Machinists still measure in thousands of an inch.) 3) Pilots still use a magnetic compass to establish direction. These same aviators utilize the given MSL (Mean Sea level) to set an altimeter. 4) Sports teams still function with boundary and goal lines to mark the legitimate boundaries. All around us, we rely on absolutes. Why? Because we need the consistency that comes from those accepted absolutes. Having absolutes provides guidance for right, wrong, left, right, up, down, inside or outside. You get the point.
When foolish choices impact our morals, our ethics, our language, our education, our worship, our economy or life in general, the results are ruinous and destructive. Why is this destructive? The answer is very simple: Only truth makes a strategic, practical and eternal difference. Jesus’ words are still true: The Truth sets people free. The historical irony is that when Pilate asked Jesus: “What is truth?”, Truth was standing right in front of him.
How’s that for an absolute?
Norheim Steamroller 