THE LORDSHIP OF SCRIPTURE

PSALM 119:105–112

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path

(Psalm 119:105).

A few years ago I met with a friend of mine whom I had not seen for about a decade. In college we had a daily Bible study together. At that time he was a valiant defender of the inerrancy and authority of Scripture.

When we met again, however, he told me he no longer believed in an inerrant Bible. I asked him why. “Well,” he said, “I spent a couple of years in a Moslem country as a missionary, and I heard them saying the same things about the Koran. I guess I got a more cosmopolitan perspective.”

“When I got back to the States,” he continued, “I went to Union Seminary and was exposed to higher critical theories and scholarship, and I just had to set aside my mistaken youthful adherence to biblical infallibility.”

I asked him what he still “was” able to believe, and he said, “I still believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.” I rejoiced to hear him say this. After all, important as intellectual commitment to the doctrine of inerrancy is, it is faith in Christ that saves us.

But I asked him this question: “You say you believe in Christ as your Lord. But how does He exercise His lordship? Obviously not through the Bible, because you have set up your own mind as supreme judge of the Scriptures. So how do you know the Lord’s will?”

He said that he obtained God’s will through the church. “Which church?” I asked. “The Presbyterian church,” he replied. “Which Presbyterian church?” I asked. I went on to point out to him that whatever church he chose, we both knew it had changed its mind from time to time and reversed itself on various positions.

This is where the rubber meets the road. The Reformers maintained that the Bible was the place where Christ’s Lordship and will were to be heard, because the church was fallible. The voice of the church has weight, but only the voice of the Son is inerrant.

CORAM DEO

Numbers 21–23

Mark 8:1–21

Where in your life do you locate final authority for matters of faith and practice, ethics and decision making? If you claim Christ as Lord, that authority must reside in the unchanging Scriptures. In our day of changing standards, be sure that the decisions you make today are based on the unchanging truth of the Bible.

For further study: Psalm 119:1–16; Acts 24:10–16; Romans 15:1–6

TABLETALK

from ligonier ministries and teaching and encouraging believers • march 1990

THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD

Daily Studies From The Teaching Fellowship Of R. C. Sproul

publisher Ligonier Ministries executive editor Ralph D. Veerman editor Robert F. Ingram

creative services Michael S. Beates, David K. Freeland marketing/production W. David Fox, Melissa Prichard, Gretchen Suskovic circulation Gwen Weber

writer Sharon Anderson board of directors Bruce Fogerty, G. Richard Hostetter, Robert C. Legler, Stephen H. Levee, Jr., C. G. Mills, Archie B. Parrish, Jim Seneff, R. C. Sproul, John Thompson, Ralph Veerman, Luder Whitlock, Charles Colson (Director Emeritus)

Published by Walk Thru the Bible Ministries, Inc. under license granted by Ligonier Ministries, Inc. Copyright 1990, Ligonier Ministries, Inc. This Bible study is based upon teaching material by Dr. R. C. Sproul. Unless noted, all Scripture quotations in this publication are from the Holy Bible, New International Version, copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishers.

member evangelical press association

On the Cover: “Coram Deo,” by R. T. Schneider. This original artwork captures the essence of Coram Deo—all of life lived before God, in His presence, and under His providential care.

robert ingram • editor

Coram Deo

Whenever I am tempted to downscale or domesticate God for my convenience, I have two quick and sure remedies. First, I immediately pursue the sciences, especially articles or books describing the sheer magnitude of the universe. Most of these are written by nonbelievers; still, these authors are capable of communicating their amazement at the fantastic scope, complexity and intrigue of the heavens.

Second, I contemplate what I call the “causal nexus.” I begin with either the least significant event I can think of at the moment (putting on my left turn signal) or I think of one of the most significant (my marriage). I then try to think of all the real implications of each event. Then I factor in the possible real, but unknown, implications. Finally, I include the “what might have been” scenarios as well as my motives and the motives of the people these events impact. I move from cause to effect, resulting in a geometric-like progression until the endless possibilities become overwhelming. Within minutes the causal nexus is so tightly woven that it boggles my mind and I am left marveling at God.

Why? Because in God’s providential care of the cosmos He governs in precise detail all that He has created. He is the God who sees, but also the God who exercises sovereign control over the means and the end. By His sustaining and redeeming activity every thought, intention, and action (of both the animate and inanimate realms) throughout history have been orchestrated for the purpose of bringing glory to His Son and the establishment of His kingdom.

This month’s Tabletalk, and the new Providence of God audio/video series being released in conjunction with it, have been designed with the hope that each of us will learn to marvel at the God before whom we live our lives. To live life Coram Deo—in the presence of God—demands that we take into account every thought, intention, word, and deed. At Ligonier our goal is to equip you to know God and His ways in order that you might obediently consider the implications of all that you think and do.

Speaking of which, I wonder what the causal nexus of writing this column will be.… ■

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