Authority (20)
It has often been pointed out that sola scriptura doesn't mean nuda scriptura (bare scripture).Faith Alone by Thomas Schreiner Copyright ©2015 by Schreiner. Used by permission of HarperCollins Christian Publishing. www.harpercollinschristian.com, 18
We have no reason or obligation to obey the State when they redefine the rule of law contrary to divine law, and create law which is antithetical to the justice God has declared to apply to all men. Rather, men have a duty to resist and oppose unjust or immoral law.Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrates, 52
Her position in the state is not assigned her by the permission of the government, but Jure divino. She has her own organization. She possesses her own office-bearers... the sovereignty of the state and the sovereignty of the church exist side by side, and they mutually limit each other.
Let the ancient customs in Egypt, Libya and Pentapolis prevail, that the Bishop of Alexandria have jurisdiction in all these, since the like is customary for the Bishop of Rome also. Likewise in Antioch and the other provinces, let the Churches retain their privileges. And this is to be universally understood, that if any one be made bishop without the consent of the Metropolitan, the great Synod has declared that such a man ought not to be a bishop. If, however, two or three bishops shall from natural love of contradiction, oppose the common suffrage of the rest, it being reasonable and in accordance with the ecclesiastical law, then let the choice of the majority prevail.Canon 6, http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3801.htm
We ought carefully to examine whether the doctrine offered us is conformable to Scripture, and if not, to reject it. Nothing must be added to the inspired words of God; all that is outside Scripture is not of faith, but is sin.Prolegomena, 2, Work 3, Ascetic (iii).
The Word comes first, and with the Word the Spirit breathes upon my heart so that I believe.Luther's Works, Vol. 54 : Table Talk (Augsburg Fortress, 1999, [c] 1967)
Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is neither read therein, nor may be proved thereby, although it be sometime received of the faithful, as godly and profitable for an order and comeliness: yet no man ought to be constrained to believe it as an article of the faith, or repute it requisite to the necessity of salvation.42 articles of 1553
The word of God must be our rule and square whereby we are to frame and fashion all our actions
By the nature of the highest genera and of first principles; for those things are known by themselves and are not susceptible (anapodeikta) of proof which cannot be demonstrated by any other, otherwise the thing would go on to infinity. Hence Basil says 'it is necessary that the first principles of every science should be self-evident' (anankē hekastēs mathēseōs anexetastous einai tas archas, In Psalmum cxv homilia, PG 30.104–5). Thus Scripture, which is the first principle in the supernatural order, is known by itself and has no need of arguments derived from without to prove and make itself known to us.
New Quotes
In general, let us all endeavour to carry a constant regard unto the authority of God in his commands into all those seasons, places, societies, occasions, wherein we are apt to be surprised in any sin or a neglect of duty. And I may reduce this instruction or point it unto three heads or occasions, — namely, secrecy, businesses, and societies.https://ccel.org/ccel/owen/pneum/pneum.i.ix.iii.html
Jesus' answer exceeds the exact limits of the question asked him. His addition, "give to God what is God's" (v. 25), is essential to his understanding of political authority. If ultimate authority belongs to God, then political allegiances must also be subordinated to God. In v. 25 the unmistakable exousia, or authority, of Jesus again emerges. Caesar and God vied for ultimate authority in the political and religious climate of Jesus' day, yet Jesus presumes to speak for both. That ultimate authority resided with God is clearly implied in Jesus' use of "image" (v. 24; Gk. eikÅn), the same word used in Gen 1:26 of humanity's creation in God's image. If coins bear Caesar's image, then they belong to Caesar. The Greek verb apodidonai (v. 25) reinforces this point, for it means to give back to Caesar what already belongs to him. But the same verb is also applied with reference to God. Humanity bears God's image. Humanity must therefore render ultimate submission to the God in whose image it is made.Pillar Luke Commentary (Luke 20:24)
Jesus echoes the OT that God is sovereign over all human affairs, including political affairs. The response of Jesus implies that there are duties to governments that do not infringe on ultimate duties to God, but it also denies that governments may assume total claim over their citizens, "as though the State, over and beyond its special commission, should and could become the single and totalitarian order of human life, thus fulfilling the Church's vocation as well."Pillar Luke Commentary (Luke 20:24)
The reply of Jesus does not echo the politics of the Zealots, who were bent on armed combat with Rome; or of the Sadducees, who accommodated to the state; or of the Pharisees, who followed an independent course indifferent to the state. Nor does the judgment of Jesus advocate a separate and perhaps even contrary sacred order within the larger secular society. Both Jesus and his followers situate themselves within their respective political and cultural milieus and advocate service of the common good within them. This political order, according to the early church, could be served irrespective of the rulers' and magistrates' religious beliefsPillar Luke Commentary (Luke 20:24)
The sphere of the family opens itself, with its right of marriage, domestic peace, education and possession; and in this sphere also the natural head is conscious of exercising an inherent authority - not because the government allows it, but because God has imposed it
Bad city fathers--judges, senators, mayors, and presidents--have caused many to turn to the political philosophy of libertarianism, the doctrine that the less authority the government has, the better. There are similar positions held by many with respect to the home and church. Since they've experienced and seen men use their authority to the destruction of those under their authority, they oppose all authority. Women abused by their dads marry weak men. Christians who have been members of a church where the pastor or elders were destructive join churches where the pastor and elders do not exercise authority. Such men and women need to learn a basic truth that's appropriate to remember everywhere in life: the abuse of a thing does not invalidate its proper use.Daddy Tried, 173-174
So long as your mind entertains any misgivings as to the certainty of the word, its authority will be weak and dubious, or rather it will have no authority at all. Nor is it sufficient to believe that God is true, and cannot lie or deceive, unless you feel firmly persuaded that every word which proceeds from him is sacred, inviolable truth.Institutes, III.2.6
O, grant, that being ruled by thy Spirit, we may surrender ourselves to thee, and so acquiesce in thy Word alone, that we may not deviate either to the right hand or to the left, but allow thee alone to be wise, and that acknowledging our folly and vanity, we may suffer ourselves to be taught by thy Word.Lecture 36 on Jeremiah
Since the entirety of Holy Scripture is the word of the Lord, no testimony could possibly be better, more certain, or more efficacious. For if God, who cannot lie, has spoken something in his own Scripture, which is itself a mirror of his will, then it is true.On the Truth of Holy Scripture, 1.15
Scripture is the foundation of every Catholic opinion, and within it resides the very salvation of the faithful. Moreover, it is the exemplar and mirror designed to examine and extinguish every sort of error or heretical evil. Surely even a small error in this principle could bring about the death of the church.On the Truth of Holy Scripture, 1.1-2
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