Authority Archives - Jonathan Morrow

What is the biggest issue facing the church today?

If you ask most people you will probably get answers like sexuality, gender, justice, tribalism, threats to religious liberty, cancel culture, consumerism, and relativism—just to name a few.

And they’re not wrong. Those are significant issues.

But they are not THE issue.

Underneath ALL of those issues is the issue that I believe is the greatest challenge for the church today—authority.

As I teach and disciple high school, college, and graduate students year-round at Impact 360 Institute and study the next generation, I am more convinced than ever that the number 1 topic that must be addressed is biblical authority.

Our Culture Has an Authority Problem

If the broader culture has an authority problem then it’s not surprising the church has a biblical authority problem.

Christians have drifted so far away from biblical authority. And it’s not just in progressive Christian circles that champion deconstruction.

Culture is simply what you come to see as normal without having to think about it. And it has become normal for people to see themselves as authoritative as I will unpack below.

10 Barriers to Biblical Authority Today

As I look around, I see 10 cultural challenges that are undermining Biblical Authority.

I will list them and comment briefly below but fully recognize that entire books could be written about each topic. In fact, I have addressed several of these challenges in depth in my book Questioning the Bible: 11 Major Challenges to the Bible’s Authority. As you read through this list, you will see how many of these build on each other.

1. Culture of Corruption & Abuse of Power. Everywhere you look there are scandals, cover-ups, and abuse of power. Scandal sells. And the entertainment news cycle is buying so it can drive clicks to create controversy and sell ad space. Sadly some high-profile Christian leaders and churches have been in the news for these reasons as well. The result is that you see a general institutional distrust setting in–especially in Gen Z. And if we’re honest, it’s not hard to see why some people are wary of authority. (more…)

When we talk about authority we are raising the “who says so” question. Authority is what the FBI agent has when he shows you his badge. Frankly, we all have a cosmic authority problem; we want to do things the way we want, when we want, and how we want. But if God exists and has spoken, then he wins the “who says so” argument hands down:

“The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all” (Psalm 103:19)

When Scripture speaks, God speaks. Because the source of Scripture is God, it bears his authority. John Stott captures this sentiment well:

“If it is a word from God, it has authority over men. For behind every word that anybody utters stands the person who speaks it. It is the speaker himself (his character, knowledge and position) who determines how people regard his words. So God’s Word carries God’s authority. It is because of who he is that we should believe what he has said.”

Paul celebrated when the Thessalonians came to understand this great truth. “And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers” (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

As we conclude this brief discussion of the authority of Scripture, it is also critical to note that Jesus of Nazareth submitted to the authority of God’s Word. And if he did, how much more so should we?

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