A Matter of Authority – George E. Darling, Sr.

George E. Darling, Sr.

Christianity is wholly and absolutely divine! It is truly “The faith” once and for all delivered unto the saints. It did not evolve out of the nature of mankind. It is delivered to us from the divine heart of God and is to be accepted by sinful, needful man. This naturally strips Christianity of every vestige of humanism—Pope, vicar, prelate councils, conferences and conventions, synods, superintendents, Bishops, Cardinals or whatever, as well as manmade creeds, human books of discipline, human officers, and innovations in worship. In short, it causes the true follower of Christ to look to the “Word of God” for His guidance and authority, instead of looking to some representative of his “denomination” to come from “headquarters” with the final word.

When men return to those things revealed in the Word of God there is unity. Every additional organization or order that man has brought into the midst of the followers of Christ has brought about confusion and division among brethren. The Word of God produces unity. No amount of endeavor can bring order out of denominational chaos, but a return to a “thus saith the Lord” can produce unity over night if men will adhere to it. God made the foundation upon which men should build and if they build upon it, denominational ism, even the “denominationalism” being promoted by some of my brethren(?) today can be destroyed . The restoration of the authority of Jesus Christ and the Apostles will destroy every sect, heal every division, and will open the doors for us to enterthe very heart of heathenism, because they will see that we are united on Authority—Divine Authority!

Of course, a return to New Testament Authority would play havoc with a lot of the sermons in the churches today. Sermons are being preached on every special “Day” in the year to the cost of peanuts in China. Too, it would put a stop to churches and preachers hobnobbing with every denominational body on the earth and endorsing the “Thanksgiving Square” in Dallas and promoting a similar “inter-faith project” for Nashville. (Brethren, I’m not nitpicking, I’m writing about New Testament authority).

A return to Bible authority would do all but destroy many of the programs of so-called “Seminaries,” “Divinity Schools” and “Bible Colleges” over our land. In order to appeal to the field of education they have placed on the curricular all sorts of “ologies” from psychology to sociology in order to appeal to a Degree seeking “clergy.” What a barren looking thing would the curriculum be next year, if they returned to a “thus saith the Lord.” Suppose there could be a return to plain simple apostolic truth in all our schools over the land, and we could have these keen minds converted to Christ, seeking to learn the truth of the Bible and then go out and sacrificially spread that truth to a lost and dying world. It would not take long for Freud, Schleiernacher, Bauer and Strauss, et.al. to take a back seat and the cause of Christ to overcome its enemies.

A return to the New Testament authority would give Christians the armor which God provides. Let the wranglers in the field of Scholasticism argue over the authorship of the Pentateuch, etc., but let us proclaim Christ, His death, His burial and resurrection, that our hope is in Him and that in Him is life evermore. That is the keyword to Christianity. That is authoritative. That authority should flow from the pulpit and flow in the veins and arteries of every “New Creature in Christ.”

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