What authority governs how you live your life? Mark explained yesterday that there are many possible authorities that a person may seek to follow: the church, the self, the culture, or Holy Scripture. I suspect that for most of us, if we’re not careful, the self and the culture will be our first stop, followed more distantly by Scripture.

Mark showed us from Isaiah 66:2 that for the Christian, Scripture must be our only authoritative standard for all we think, say, and do. This means submitting every area of life to Scripture. As Wayne Grudem explains,

“The authority of Scripture means that all the words in Scripture are God’s words in such a way that to disbelieve or disobey any word of Scripture is to disbelieve or disobey God.” Systematic Theology, p. 73.

And here’s the benefit: If you tremble at God’s Word, you won’t be troubled when the shaking comes. So let’s hear the Word and obey the Word.

Some questions for discussion between parents and teens:

• How do you respond to a friend who says, “We know this is true becuase thats what’s always been taught in our church?”
• How do you know if you’re trembling at God’s Word or not?
• What questions do you have about Scripture’s authority? What causes you to doubt whether it’s true? What situations tempt you to lack confidence in the Bible’s usefulness?

Categories: Monday Matters, five15 blog