The Anchor of the Soul: God’s Authoritative Word

Adrift in the storm-tossed seas of cultural relativism and the dangerous tides of
atheistic ideologies, where should the Christian seek moral wisdom and guidance to
safe harbor? How could an ancient book provide the authoritative moral bearings
needed for our day and age? Our pluralistic society champions divergent worldviews
apart from God that steer decisions and opinions into a vortex of mayhem and
contradiction. What right would a Christian have to make audacious, moral truth claims
so binding and pervasive over all people? In the current cultural climate, God’s
helmsmen (His shepherds) must guide the ship with the rudder fixed upon the ultimate
authority of God’s written word.

Rightly holding firm to God’s word found in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and 2 Peter 1:21
are foundational passages calibrating the sufficiency and authority of the Bible. Let us
consider how Jesus speaks of God’s authoritative, written word. Jesus repeatedly
appeals to the divine authority of God’s written word while in the wilderness being
tempted by the accuser. Quoting the book of Deuteronomy, Jesus declares “it is written”
and fends off any strategic attack to circumvent the cross by bringing in the kingdom
apart from His substitutionary, sacrificial work. Even in our day, the authority of God’s
word proves its buoyancy and trustworthiness. It is akin to depth charges exploding the
enemy subs of humanistic naturalism and historical criticism.
The weapon of God’s word as the final authority silenced His enemies as Jesus
pressed their conclusions (or assumptions) to a miry grave. In Matthew 22 the
resurrection came under enemy fire, questioning its validity and reality. In verse 29-32
Jesus states, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of
God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like
angels in heaven. And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was
said to you by God: ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” Jesus appeals to Exodus 3:6 and
describes this text as God speaking to them about the resurrection. This text does not
speak directly to the resurrection, oddly enough, but there was no rebuttal as to Jesus’s
hermeneutics nor to the divine authority of Scripture and he silenced the Sadducees.
Do we consider God’s word as speaking to us, defining reality and moral issues?
God reigns with supreme authority over us as Creator of all things. His written word logs
the final authority. The authority of God’s word encompasses matters of societal
relations, race, gender issues, marriage--truly over all things. For He is God and makes
the rules and norms. It’s not a democratic decision nor is it a social construct that ebbs
and flows with the latest cultural mores, shifting with the relevant sands of time. No
promises of tropical ease are given to Christians in this present evil age. But thru the
cultural, political and/or physical storms of persecution or chaos, Christ secures our
passage to the very paradise of God as an ark. He is the only vessel and means of
salvation. Christians can be certain of these things because God’s word testifies to its
validity (Luke 1:1-4). Sailing to the safe harbors of peace with God and life everlasting
embarks with only one redemptive ship: The Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God.
The fare to gain access to this ship is the cross-work of Christ gained by faith alone.

The anchor of our souls finds it hold in the infallible, inerrant and divinely given Word of
God. Hold fast to the cords of the gospel truth as God’s final authority.
What ship are you on? Are you sailing the seas of self-deception, the hidden
reefs of the traditions of men, or the dim hope that your good will outweigh your bad?
The God of all creation shines and reveals like a lighthouse the truth of our cursed,
broken world and the only way of reconciliation with Him through faith alone in the Lord
Jesus Christ alone according to Scripture alone. This written, Gospel truth breaks thru
the fog and darkness of human autonomy and the defiance of our sinful condition before
God. Its truth, inscripturated in the Bible, stands as the divine authority over all things for
all time. You can stand upon the authority of God’s written word in these chaotic and
turbulent times.

Robby Clay has been serving Christ in Southwest Nebraska for the past six years as pastor of Imperial Bible Church. When there’s free time, his five kiddos keep him enthralled with local exploration, hiking and biking and an occasional chess game.