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 Recognizing
the existence of God involves the recognition of His eternal power
and deity —- which means we creatures are subject to the
authority of our Creator. (Rom. 1:18-f) Thus, submission to an Ultimate
external authority goes hand in hand with any genuine belief
in God.
The
person who will only accept as true and authoritative those things
which conform to his internal sense of truth and right, has
denied an essential aspect of God. Such reasoning makes the revealed
will of God something different to different people, which means it
becomes no authority at all in its own right. I am not writing of
some theological theory— I am writing about a type of infidelity
that is manifested all about us, day after day.
I
am told, “If you believe a certain thing is true, then it is truth
to you — but it is not necessarily truth to me.” This
subjectivity elevates the student above the source of information.
If God’s word is the final word— truth on the subject— (and I
write to people who accept this premise; Jn. 17:17) then God’s
word is truth to you and me alike. It says the same thing to you
that it says to me.
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We must be doers, not judges of the law.
(Jas. 4:11-12)
“Interpretation”
means getting the thought out of the words; the thought which
the author placed there. We grossly abuse the
idea of interpretation when we take the liberty of putting our own
thoughts into the matter. I may err in my efforts to understand God’s
word — just as you may err in like efforts — but neither
of us has found the truth on the subject until
we know what God said about it.
I
will respect your right to study God’s word and teach what you
believe you find there. But that doesn’t mean I must accept your
conclusions as the “truth for you.” I may have good reason to
believe you are in error, and want to point this out, for your
own good. It would please me to know that you had the same concern
for my eternal welfare, and would want to help me know God’s way
more perfectly. Why can’t we be men in this matter — AND LET GOD
BE GOD!! (Acts 18:26; Rom. 3:4)
(Reprint, Vol. 4, No. 2)
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