Because of health issues, its been more than two years since I last contributed to this series. I'm grateful to be back! To follow the thread of my argument, you may needas Ive doneto read back through Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.


Were not born knowing everything or how to do everything. To get through life we must depend on the expertise of othersauthorities. A true authority, weve seen, is one with the requisite knowledge, skill and character to be a trusted source of knowledge in a particular area. Once we find a credible authority in an area where its important for us to know the truth, the most reasonable thing we can do is listen to what they say and put it into practice.

Certainly, if we need direction for creating meals, operating computers, and learning languages, we need it for the most important project of all: living our lives. Learning to live well is a lifelong task, and following some ideas, persons, or patterns is inevitable. These in fact function as authorities for us, whether or not were aware of it. The question, then, is not whether we will follow some authority or other, in living our lives; as in every endeavor, its inescapable. The question is only whether the authority we do follow is a good onewhether it is actually qualified to be a trusted source of knowledge in this most important area.

In Matthew 7:24-28 (see Part One), Jesus compares building our lives to building a house. Living a meaningful, flourishing life, one that can withstand the inevitable difficulties and pressures that come our way, depends on having a rock-solid foundation. The only place to find such a foundation, according to Jesus, is in his words. Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. Any other foundation will ultimately collapse.

The authority of Jesus words

Put in the terms we are discussing, Jesus is claiming that his teaching is the truly authoritative source of knowledge we need for living a flourishing human life. What a statement!

Amazing? Certainly.

Audacious? Unquestionably.

Arrogant? It depends on whether its true.

Here we come to the heart of the question of the authority of Jesus words and of the Bible more generally. Lets draw together what weve seen about authority and apply it to Jesus and to the Bible.

We distinguished in Part 2 between the authority of a person (Albert Einstein, for example) and the authority of an artifact (such as a map or textbook). The authority of a person is more basic. In a primary sense, a person (or group of persons) possesses the requisite knowledge, skill, or character to function as a true authority. If they write a text or create a map, the authority of that artifact will be derived authority, based upon the authority of the person or persons who authored it.

So the authority of Jesus words, his teachings, is based on the authority of Jesus himself. Jesus words are significant because they are his words. What Jesus says is authoritative only in so far as its source (Jesus) has the knowledge, skill, and character to be a trusted source of knowledge in these matters.

If Jesus is in fact the ultimate authority on human life and how to live itif he uniquely and supremely knows what hes talking aboutit follows that his words are uniquely and supremely authoritative on these matters. His words are indeed the last word. What more could we ask for in building our lives?

Who is Jesus?

The central question concerning the authority of Jesuss words, then, is: Who is Jesus?

I sometimes ask my students to describe my dad, based on what they know from the limited evidence of looking at me.[1] They usually describe him as tall and blond, German or Scandinavian, since thats how I appear. Then I describe my dad as actually medium in height, with dark complexionsouthern Mediterranean in appearance. The two descriptions conflict; they cant both be true.

Which is the more reasonable to believe? My students guesses are utterly plausible, given their experience. But, if I am who I claim to be, theres an obvious answer to the question, Who is the expert in the room on my dad? If you want to know what my dad is like, the reasonable thing to do is to listen to me. Im the authority on that subject.

Now describe God. Who is he? What is he like? Many opinions are on offer; some are quite plausible, given the range of human experience. But the descriptions conflict with each other in fundamental ways. They cant all be correct. How could we know which opinion, if any, is correct?

Moreover, if God created us and designed us to live and flourish according to a certain pattern, how could we know what that is? Is there a credible authority to consult on these matters?

Now suppose someone claims to have special, first-personal knowledge of Godin fact, claims to be God in human fleshand, further, has sufficient credentials to support that claim. As in the earlier example: if this person is who they claim to be, there is now an obvious answer to the question, Who is the expert on the planet on God? If you want to know what God is like, the reasonable thing to do is to listen to them. They are the authority on that subject.

And, therefore, the authority on how human beings, created by God, may live a flourishing, meaningful life according to Gods pattern.

Of course, this is more than just a thought experiment, since God in human flesh is precisely who Jesus of Nazareth claimed to be and who his followers believe him to be. The point remains: Jesus identity is the ground of the authority of his words. If he is in fact who he claimed to be, the most reasonable thing we can do is to build our lives on what he has to say.

Although we cant develop the details here, this point may be extended to the rest of Scripture. The Bibles authority as the word of God is grounded in its source. Does it in fact come from God? Is it what God has communicated about himself, about us, and about how we are designed to live? If so, objections to the authority of the Bible such as that it is an ancient book (see Part One) lose their relevance. What matters is not how old it is, but where it comes fromwho wrote it.

Questions and answers

My objective in these few blogs has been to clear the ground of some common misconceptions about what authority is and when it may be reasonable to follow it.

Weve seen that following a credible authoritya trusted source of knowledge in a given areais the most reasonable thing one can do. Whether it is reasonable to follow the Bible as our authority in life depends on what kind of book it is, whether it comes from God as his word, since, as the creator of all things, God is supremely qualified to provide knowledge about human life.

Of course, clearing the ground in this way is not yet to answer all questions about the authority of the Bible. But it does help us see whereand where notto look for further answers.

If youre unsure of the identity of Jesus, thats the most important place to begin exploring. An excellent source for this is the newly revised, , by Josh McDowell and Sean McDowell, PhD (Thomas Nelson, 2017). It will also point you to further issues related to the authority of the Bible.

So what?

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. As he often does, Jesus offers us a stark choicein this case, with the highest possible stakes.

Which authority will we follow?


[1] I stole the gist of this thought experiment from J. P. Moreland.