In North America we live in a culture permeated by various worldviews. Many of our neighbors follow different religions and believe in gods other than the God revealed in Scripture. The prevailing view of our society is that people can individually decide what is right for them, that there is no objective truth.

The problem is the world just does not function that way. There is a set order that we must live by: for instance, we cannot decide what day of the week any given day is; we cannot determine what certificates and degrees are necessary to get a particular job; we are not free to put water instead of gasoline in our car’s fuel tank. Neither can the morals we live by be self-determined. Cheat, lie, or steal whenever you like, and you will soon learn that life just does not operate that way. Unfaithfulness, cruelty or abuse will not lead to healthy, joyful, pleasant, and harmonious relationships. On the other hand, being faithful, loving, kind and helpful does result in relational harmony and joy. There are objective truths and absolutes that we must come to grips with if we are to make life work.

One of the most basic questions of life was asked of Jesus by Pontius Pilate: “What is truth?” Jesus declared, in John 14, that he is the way, the truth and the life. Without God and the truth of his Word, we are left to ourselves to grapple with life’s questions. This only leads to confusion, and our society is now reaping the results of such confusion. We are overwhelmed with daily reports of scandals in government, business and the family.

Our church teaches that the Bible is God’s truth. Statements, based on Scripture, have been developed to define our faith. These statements are called creeds and doctrinal confessions.

The Statement of Faith of the Church of the Lutheran Brethren declares: “The Bible, including both Old and New Testaments as originally given, is the verbally and plenarily inspired Word of God and is free from error in the whole and in the part, and is therefore the final authoritative guide for faith and conduct.”

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Click Here to view the CLB statement of faith and statement of core values

It might be both necessary and helpful to further define the above statement. First, notice we speak of the Bible as “originally given.” This phrase acknowledges that we do not have the original manuscripts in the handwriting of the authors available to us today. However, we have multiple copies to study and compare, so we can be confident we have a faithful reproduction of the original manuscripts. No other historical document is so well attested as the Bible. Then, notice the Bible is “verbally” given; this relates to words. The Bible is formed of words. Words are important and have real meanings that everyone can understand. Our Statement of Faith also uses the word “plenarily” which mean completely or totally. The Bible and all that is in it, is “verbally and plenarily inspired.” It is the very breath of God, so the words written by the various writers in the Bible are the very Words of God. Therefore, the entire Bible is free from any error in its entirety and in its every part. God is true and his Word is totally true. Thus, we have in God’s Word our final authority for what we are to believe and how we are to conduct ourselves in life.

John Stott writes, “It is tragic in our day to witness the loss of understanding that the teaching of the apostles was the teaching of Jesus. Some today talk of Paul, Peter, and John and the other apostles as if they were foolish and fallible first-century Christians whose teachings were nothing but their own opinions and may readily be set aside if we do not happen to like what they wrote. ‘That’s Paul’s view,’ they say, ‘or Peter’s or John’s view. But this is mine. And my view is just as good as theirs, in fact better.’ But no, the teaching of the apostles is the teaching of Christ. To receive them is to receive Christ, to reject them is to reject Christ. Jesus endorsed the Old Testament, and deliberately made provision for the New Testament Scripture by appointing and authorizing His apostles.”

We are thankful for the Lutheran Confessional writings because they are brief and succinct statements prepared from God’s Word, the consensus of the Church that has endured the test of time. About a century ago Wilhelm Loeke stated: “Great thoughts are not born in the latter days, but were given by the Lord to His Church from the beginning. Every novelty in matters of theology ought to be doubted.”

I refer to the above quote to make the point about the importance of the Confessional writings, as they help us understand the true meaning of the words of Scripture. How is the Word of God to be understood and interpreted? Actually, there are rules of interpretation right within the Bible – the Scriptures tell us how we ought to read the Scriptures. If we are not careful in following the Biblical rules of interpretation (a Biblical hermeneutic), we will very likely misinterpret the Scriptures.

The most basic principle of interpretation is context. The meaning of a word is dependent on how it is used, as words have different meanings in different contexts. Another basic principle is to let Scripture interpret Scripture. A further important rule of interpretation is found in Luke 24:27, “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he (Jesus) explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” The Scriptures reveal to us Jesus, even in the Old Testament. Therefore, the stories in the Old Testament are not about various men of God that we are to imitate, but they are about that one person who came to be our Savior. All Scripture points us to Christ.

Scripture sheds light on itself by explaining itself. We can correctly understand what a particular word means by studying how Scripture uses that word in context, and how that same word is used elsewhere. We can then understand what is limited to a particular culture, and what is meant to be universally applied. Also, the Bible can only be correctly understood with a proper distinction between Law and Gospel.

There are several ways the authority of God’s Word is being attacked today. Unless we are careful, and aware of these subtle ways, we will be led astray by them. I will mention a few: 1) An emphasis on listening to what you hear God telling you. With this view, what people think they hear God saying becomes the message instead of actually dealing with what is written in God’s Word. 2) The pop-psychology aspect of the Gospel – viewing Christ as the one who helps us deal with all our emotional and life problems, as if Jesus is our counselor, instead of our Savior. This approach to Scripture leaves the impression that our greatest need is for Jesus to be our life coach, instead of our savior from sin. Michael Horton has written a book, Christless Christianity, describing the various ways that much of what is understood as Christian today is more like a Christ-less Christianity – making what we humans do the central and most important thing, rather than what God has done for us in Christ as the core of our faith. 3) Wrestling against Scripture; pitting Scripture against itself while attempting to figure out what in Scripture should be universally applicable, and what is historically or culturally conditioned. David Kuske, in an article on that subject, gives the following direction: “It is only by letting Scripture interpret Scripture that we safeguard the authority of Scripture. When we make anything from outside the Bible an authority which allows us to deny or change the substance of the simple, pure, and natural meaning of the words of Scripture, then we no longer have an authoritative Scripture. The claim of historical relativists that the worldview of Scripture is culture-bound and as a result obscure to one degree or another for people living in contemporary cultures is nothing but a smokescreen of the devil to undermine the authority of God’s Word.”

We need to review our Statement of Faith, restudy the Lutheran Confessions, and review the Biblical rules of interpretation they teach. We have no right to develop our own private way of reading Scripture. The sad reality today is that due to so many different views and ways of reading Scripture its authority is almost lost. Therefore, I would call the Church back to a careful study of the rules for interpreting Scripture and to a renewed emphasis on the authority of the Word of God.

I especially appreciate the CLB view on Scripture given in our Statement of Core Values: “The Bible is central in our congregations and in our households. The Word of God is the focus of our worship services, the textbook for our teaching ministries, and the foundation of our daily lives. Whether we are preaching, teaching, singing or just talking, we want to be people of the Word.” “The Word and Sacraments are God’s precious means for grace. The Word teaches us, Baptism washes us, the Lord’s Supper nourishes us. In our sacramental life together we are brought again and again to the crucified and risen Jesus Christ, who alone is the source of our salvation.”

May God help us stay true to our Statement of Faith and our Statement of Core Values.

Rev. Dale Hanson and his wife LuAnn currently live in Minneapolis, MN.