In this talk from our 2009 Deep in History Conference, Coming Home Network founder and president Marcus Grodi looks at the question of Christian authority. Who has the right to teach and interpret Scripture? Who gets to say what the Bible really means, especially in regard to its more challenging passages? Marcus looks at the question of Christian authority in light of I Timothy 3:14-15, where St. Paul refers to the Church as the “pillar and bulwark of the truth,” and asks the hard question that every Christian must ask: How do I know if my take on Scripture is the right one?
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Study Questions:
-How did Grodi’s understanding of “church” change over the years?
-According to Grodi, what are the flaws in Calvin’s idea of “the Church”?
-What problem did Grodi see in the Westminster Confession?
-What is “the Church” according to the Bible?
-Did the five ways authority has been defined historically surprise you? Why?
Scripture References:
“I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these instructions to you so that, if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth.” (1 Timothy 3:14-15)
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:15-20)
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