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STRONGHOLD OF TRUTH
Apostolic Writers I am not now concerned with authorship, but with sanction. These books came from Apostolic men. Out of the eight writers of the New Testament, five were Apostles, and the other three were immediate associates of the Apostles. Some one says: "Is not this what is called 'Bibliola try ?'" No, it is not. You do not interpose the Bible between yourselves and Christ. You use the Bible as a medium by which you come to Christ. If I go out tonight and desire to see the stars with the telescope, will that be an interposition? It will be a medium. It will not be a hindrance, but a help. ·when a boy receives a letter from his mother, his school fellows may say: "Oh, how perfectly absurd for you to trouble about a bit of paper like that!" "Ah," says the boy, "it is not the paper, it is what is on it. That paper represents my mother's in terest, my mother's love; and so far from being a hind rance, it represents and expresses my mother's love to me when I ·cannot be in her presence." The Scriptures do two things: They provide truth for our acceptance and material for our experience. That brings us face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ. So we conclude that it is not reason, not the Church, but the Bible which is the seat of authority. 4. The Natu1·e of this Authority.-lt is a spirit11al authority. \iVords familiar at least to some of us are these: " Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation." It is a book of salvation, it is a guide to spiritual safety. It reveals the Lord Jesus Christ as our Teacher, our Redeemer, and our ]\faster; our Prophet, Priest, and King. . Spiritual Authority Authority always declares itself by its moral and spiri tual proofs. -At one time in our Lord's life His authority was definitely questioned. "By what authority doest Thou these things? Who gave Thee this authority?" And our Lord replied: "The baptism of John, was it
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