That which has been revealed by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to inspired men is perfect in its inspiration, its delivery, and its reception by them. To tamper with it is bring on one self the very anathema of God (Galatians 1:8-9). Peter affirmed that God has “given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:3). Since this is a salient and pertinent fact, no further revelation can be expected beyond what has once for all been revealed through the Spirit and delivered to the saints (Jude 3). All of anything is the completeness, the entirety, and the whole of it, and as Foy E. Wallace, Jr. used to say: “You can’t get any aller than all.” Any addition to the Word of God would be more than all of it, and any subtraction there from would be less than all of it.

     Paul, the apostle, amplified this Divine Truth as he taught Timothy that "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly [or completely] furnished unto all good works." (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

     If the Word of Truth furnishes one completely unto all good works, of necessity it follows that the revelation is complete and that man needs no additional information to be reconciled to God, to live the Christian life, and to receive eternal life and a home in Heaven. The ancient order of things is, then, a complete system of faith “which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3). Just as Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice for sin once (i.e., once for all, never to offer Himself again) (Hebrews 7:27), so the faith—the Gospel—was delivered to the saints once for all, never to be given again or needing any addition.

     Having ascertained and proved from the New Testament that the law which liberates man from sin is perfect, complete, and contains all that pertains unto life and godliness, then one sins in an attempt to add to, substitute for, or subtract from His perfect and Divine will. Paul taught the brethren at Corinth that they were to learn not to go “beyond the things which are written” (1 Corinthians 4:6). John, the apostle, declared: "Whosoever transgresseth [goes past or beyond] and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: for he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds" (2 John 9-11).

     Note that one is to abide in the doctrine of Christ, for John does not say “the doctrine about Christ” as some affirm. That same John declared in the Revelation that if one adds to or takes from the words of that prophecy, God will take his part out of the book of life (Revelation 22:18-19). This being true, then does not the same principle apply to the rest of God’s Divine revelation? If not, why not?

     One must also recognize the fact that,just as surely as the curse of Heaven rests upon him who tampers in any way with God’s perfect revelation, just that certainly does God’s condemnation rest upon him who fashions his own law (of which God knows nothing) and attempts to bind his man-made law upon his brethren. This applies just as fully to those within the Lord’s kingdom as it does to those without. Where God has not spoken, man has no prerogative nor right to legislate in God’s behalf; he is to remain silent. After all, man has not the power to elevate himself to be a god, although it would seem that some do sincerely try.

     Peter warned: “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God” (1 Peter 4:11). An oracle is simply a Divine utterance; hence, if any man speaks in matters religious, let him speak only that which has been Divinely uttered through the Word of God—nothing more, nothing less. Having established beyond a doubt that God’s Word must be our sole authority in religion, we must therefore respect it, heed it, and leave it to stand unadulterated in its pristine purity and beauty.

     We want to note now some areas of misplaced authority in religion in modern times. For instance, the modernist places his religious authority in his own intellect and reasoning power. He decides that, even though God’s Word contains principles of worth and value after all, his own intellectual powers are God-given and certainly must be able to produce principles equal with or superior to the commandments of God. How sad, that a finite and fallible human being should audaciously aspire to be a god! The tendency of the liberal mind does strange things, however, and we see the evidences of it from age to age.

     Others in our day vest their religious authority in the head of a human religion, sect, or denomination, when God has nowhere in His inerrant Word authorized any man in any age to speak anything in addition to that once-for-all-times message revealed by the Spirit. All authority still must reside where it has always been—in the Son of God and His infallible teachings. Similarly, some attribute final authority to conventions, synods, conferences, and such like organizations formed by men and nowhere authorized in the Word of God. Once again, we affirm that man has not the right to establish doctrines or to legislate for the Father of lights, with Whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning (James 1:17). Some even rest upon seminaries and colleges where religion is taught for their authority, but the dearth of the Word of God in such institutions becomes more evident as time rolls on.

     Another might believe that the human conscience is a valid source of religious authority. One’s conscience is formed by what he is taught. The great apostle to the Gentiles had conscientiously persecuted the saints of God: “And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day” (Acts 23:1). Yes, he was conscientious, but conscientiously wrong! Later, we find him more concerned about having a conscience that would be acceptable unto God than about just being a conscientious person: “And herein do I exercise myself to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men” (Acts 24:16). Such a conscience is one formed by having been taught the Truth of the all-wise God. A soul can safely follow his conscience only as that conscience has been trained and directed by the Word of God.

     Many would make their ancestors their authority in religious matters. The apostle Paul was at one time guilty of this, for he stated in Galatians 1:14 that he had in times past “profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.” He was willing, however, to forsake the Jews’ religion and his own nation that he might win Christ: Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ (Philippians 3:8).

    One’s attitude should be just as Paul’s was, for he was willing to stand alone in defense of the Gospel of Christ. Sometimes one will say, “I’ll become a Christian, if you will.” However, the attitude should be, “I’ll become a Christian, even if you won’t, for I know that this is the will of God.” If we strictly engaged in the worship of the gods of our ancestors, then would not most of us have to be heathens? Did not the early Christians leave paganism, idolatry, and Judaism --- the religions of their fathers?

     The importance in any age to anyone sincere in motive is winning or gaining Christ, the forgiveness of sin, and the hope of eternal life --- even though it means leaving all that one formerly understood and had known in religion previously. Of course, if an individual should become a Christian solely because his forebears were Christians, his motive would be invalid. That valid motive for causing a person to become a Christian is that he understands that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and is one’s only hope of salvation from sin. This faith must be based on a personal knowledge of the Truth of God, which sets man free from sin, error, and ignorance when one obeys the Lord.

     It behooves each of us to ask ourselves upon what or whom we rely for authority in religion. Have we chosen the correct source of authority --- Christ and His precious words of Truth --- or have we chosen some other source? No other source has any validity. We can depend on no other authority for the very salvation of our souls when we stand before the Son of God to give account for the deeds done in the body (John 12:48; 2 Corinthians 5:10). Since the soul God placed within our mortal frames is that part of us that is immortal and, consequently, is the most priceless possession that we will ever have, we must seriously and carefully determine what religious authority we will allow to guide and govern us. Can one afford to place any doubt whatsoever on the judgment of his own life by giving heed to the doctrines, commandments, and philosophies of men?

Darrell Debo

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