God's Word My Authority

To be a biblical Christian, I must not simply affirm the inspiration of God's Word (that is necessary, but not sufficient).

I must consciously critique everything else in light of Scripture (otherwise all else will unconsciously conform my mind to the world, the flesh and the devil).

I must make a conscious effort to evaluate all my beliefs and my lifestyle preferences in the light of God's Word.

I must commit myself to making an examination, no matter how painful, of all my dearly-held beliefs (e.g. a loving God cannot send people to an eternal hell).

And whenever they do not stand up to Scripture, I must abandon those beliefs.

If I do not, then despite whatever I may profess to the contrary, my true authority is not the Bible, but my background, upbringing, peer group, the media, and schools that have influenced me.

In short, I make myself and my culture (the flesh and the world) my authority.

Randy Alcorn