Andy Stanley Laments That The ‘Entire Bible’ Has Become The Church’s ‘Authority’
As North Point Community Church pastor Andy Stanley continues to be embroiled in a series of controversies featuring the revelation of widespread LGBTQ-affirming pastors, church leaders, and sentiment within their churches (see end notes), Stanley is going through a sermon series where he outlines the fundamentals of the faith that must be believed to be a Jesus follower.
In the seventh installment of this eight-part series, Stanley defends his ‘Fundamental List.’ He compares it to the Apostles Creed, acknowledging that while the Creed may be more ‘theologically robust,’ it was also formulated when the church was sanctioning activities that were ‘unchristlike.’
Because Stanley’s approach is to elevate the ‘red letters’ – the direct words of Jesus – above other scriptures, he suggests that the church’s historical misuse of the Bible for ‘harmful nonsense’ stems from treating Jesus’ words in Matthew 28:18 (And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me) as “just another verse in the Bible,” and equating it with other scripture.
Stanley argues that the problem lies in the church considering the ‘entire Bible’ as its authority. In his view, it should be Jesus, not the Bible, who is the church’s authority. This line of circular reasoning rarely makes sense, given that the only trustworthy information we have about Jesus is found in the scriptures. He believes this perspective, supposedly held by first-century Judeans, prevented them from misrepresenting Jesus.
Do you know why the church has been able to leverage the Bible for all kinds of harmful nonsense through the ages? Do you know why the church and church leaders and Christian people have been able to leverage the Bible for all kinds of harmful things that end up harming other people who claim to be Christians?
It’s because this statement, this statement (Matthew 28:18, And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”) has been reduced to just another verse in the Bible, equated with every other statement or verse in our sacred text.
And so the Bible, the entire Bible became the church’s authority. But the Bible says ‘Jesus is our ultimate and final authority’. More importantly, Jesus said ‘Jesus is our ultimate authority’.
The words of Jesus are the final word because he is our King, right? Now, as Jewish men and women sitting there listening to Jesus, let me tell you what they heard that we don’t hear because we aren’t Judeans, first century Judeans. Here’s what they heard when Jesus said, ‘all authority and heaven and earth belongs to me.’ Here’s what they thought they heard him say, or here’s the implication of what he said:
‘Ladies and gentlemen, Moses was your guy. Torah was your text. But the King has arrived. The shadow caster is here.’ So when they saw him, they worshiped him. They got what we miss. And because they got what we miss, they never misrepresented their King.
