Final Authority Of Scriptures by Apostle Emmanuel Iren: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

What Is the Final Authority of Scripture?

The doctrine of the final authority of Scripture refers to the belief that the Bible alone is the ultimate and supreme authority in all matters of faith, doctrine and practice for the Christian life and for the church. Whatever the Bible teaches is true — and nothing contrary to Scripture can be binding on the conscience of a believer.

Every believer must take on a biblical worldview: the word of God influences your understanding of right and wrong across all matters of faith. As we say it in church: God said it. I believe it. And that settles it.

Secondary Passions and the Danger of Absolutising Them

Believers are permitted to have secondary passions. You are allowed to be a nationalist, a feminist, an activist, a socialist. But the problem arises when a secondary passion is absolutised — when it becomes your identity-defining lens and you now receive only what the Bible says that agrees with your position.

If you choose to act that way, you have freedom. But what you cannot claim to be is a Christian. To be a Christian is to subscribe to the ultimate and final authority of the word of God.

The Bible Is the Most Preserved Document of Antiquity

When critics say the Bible has been corrupted, the standard question to ask is: corrupted from what? Bring the version it was changed from.

The secular method for testing the accuracy of any ancient document is manuscript count and comparison. More manuscripts mean more ability to cross-reference and detect any changes:

• Homer's Iliad has approximately 600 manuscripts
• The New Testament alone has more than 10,000
• The Codex Sinaiticus — often cited by critics — when examined by actual manuscript scholars, reads almost identically to the modern Greek text our Bibles are translated from

The claim that the Sinai Bible denies the crucifixion was publicly dismantled in a scholarly debate — the manuscript in question actually contains Matthew 27 with the crucifixion intact. The book of Barnabas, another oft-cited "contradiction," is a known forgery that postdates the biblical manuscripts by over a thousand years and was written in Italian and Spanish — not Greek.

Why the Bible Was Written in Greek

Claims that the Bible is "a white man's religion" because it was written in Greek misunderstand history entirely. Greek was the most widely spoken language of the ancient world — even in Africa. The disciples of Jesus were Jewish. They wrote in Greek because that was the language of widest reach for any expansionist idea. Were any of the disciples European?

Stand Firm — With Compassion

1 Peter 3:15: "Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defence to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you — with meekness and fear."

Be ready to give an answer. Do not be afraid of Bible questions even from sceptics. The truth is not fragile. At the same time, stand for the truth with compassion — understand the difference between someone who is intellectually dishonest and someone who is genuinely wounded and needs to be heard before they can hear.

Know the truth yourself. Don't fall for pseudo-intellectualism. There are many people pretending to be wise who are not wise.