The Bible vs. Jesus
Michael F. Bird –
Article Source: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/euangelion/2013/06/jesus-vs-the-bible/
Recently American Mega-Pastor Andy Stanley (North Point Community Church)
delivered a sermon where he said that he believed in Adam and Eve, not because the
Bible says so, but because Jesus believed in a real Adam and Eve. According to Stanley,
“The foundation of our faith is not the Scripture. the foundation of the faith is not the
infallibility of the Bible.” For Stanley, the foundation of our faith is Jesus.
My good friend Denny Burke takes issue with Stanley, calling his view a poison pill.
Denny argues in contrast:
While it is true that Christ’s accomplishment in the cross and resurrection is the basis of our
salvation, it is misleading to say that the “foundation of our faith is not the Scripture.” Our only
access to what Christ accomplished for us in history is through Scripture! The message of salvation
comes to us in the Bible, apart from which there is no salvation. This is why the apostle Paul can
speak of the apostles’ message as the “foundation” of the church (Eph. 2:20). Without their
testimony which has been inscripturated for us in the Bible, there is no salvation.
Another friend and well-known scholar, Scot McKnight, also chimes in with a response
to Denny, suggesting that Denny has a deficient theology of the Word and a deficient
view of the biblical canon.
My own response to this melee runs thus:
1. Although I can perhaps appreciate an apologetic intention towards the unchurched
here, I think Andy Stanley’s framing of the discussion in terms of “not Bible, but Jesus,”
is unhelpful. It can potentially foster a Bible vs. Jesus paradigm. Moreover, I have been
around churches and theologians (especially Episcopalians) where Jesus is invoked as
an authority over and against the Old Testament, Paul, and Revelation. So I see the
problem that Denny is responding against and a response of some kind is appropriate.
2. I think we need to remember that our authority is indeed the Word, but the Word
exists in its threefold form: The Word incarnate (Christ), the word prophesied and
proclaimed (Prophets, Apostles, and even Preachers), and the word inscripturated. You
cannot play one Word off against another Word since they are all rooted in the selfdisclosure of the one triune God.
3. I have several problems with Denny’s response to Stanley:
a. The idea that the “Bible is the Foundation” of our faith is a recent post-Protestant
innovation. For a start, what was the center of people’s faith across history when most
people were illiterate and prior to the advent of the printing press. In order to make the
Bible the center of faith, you have to assume a kind of mass produced Bible-culture and
an environment where literary rates are high. It is impossible for Denny’s point to hold
true for most Christians, in most places, at most times in history. Now I would say that
the Bible is essential for developing a fully orbed and fully rounded faith. Further to
that, the Bible is our authority for living out a Christ-centered, Spirit-led, and Godhonoring life. However, it is not our only access to the word of salvation. For people
learn about the word of salvation from the preaching of the gospel, from the recital of
ancient creeds, and in the great hymns and songs of the faith. In many ways these
connect to Scripture, but they also connect to and expound a faith that existed prior to
the canonization of the Old and New Testament. The faith that Denny wants to protect is
not simply a faith contained within the pages of the Bible, it is rather the faith once
delivered to the saints by Jesus and the apostles of which Scripture it is written
form. Scripture is the written product of God’s Word being preached by the Apostles and
preserved by the apostolic community through the agency of the Holy Spirit.
b. I think it fair to say that reading the Old Testament through a Jesus lens is a very
biblical thing to do; in fact, the Evangelists and Apostles model that for us very well.
Christ is the goal and climax of the Old Testament and Christ is the substance of the
New Testament. As such, I would affirm (with BFM 1963) that “The criterion which the
Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ” and also affirm (with BFM 2000) that “All
Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who himself is the locus of divine revelation.” A
christocentric faith will yield a high view of Scripture simply for the fact that a follower
of Jesus cannot have a view of Scripture at odds with what Jesus said and taught about
Scripture.
c. Most concerning is Denny’s remark that “The message of salvation comes to us in the
Bible, apart from which there is no salvation.” If I’m reading Denny correctly – and I
think I am – his view is basically extra Biblicum nulla salus. Such a move is
christologically disasterous. Christ is the center of Christian faith and without Christ
there is no salvation. Denny is attributing to Scripture what the apostolic and catholic
churches have ordinarily attributed to Christ. But note Paul’s words: “For no one can lay
a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 3:22).
d. I think Denny is committing what I would call the “SBC Error” which confuses
epistemology with authority. This error can be seen in a comparison of the 1963 BFM
and the 200o BFM. In the 1963 BFM, it states that “Therefore, the sole authority for
faith and practice is Jesus Christ whose will is revealed in the Holy Scriptures.” But this
is changed in the 2000 BFM to “Our living faith is established upon eternal truths.” In
other words, the BFM 2000 removes “Jesus Christ” and replaces him with “eternal
truths.” It replaces our Deliverer with Doctrine (Rev. 2:1-7)!! That is not kosher. Just
because my main way of knowing Jesus is through the Bible does not make the Bible the
center of my faith. That would be like saying that the Priest/Pastor who says, “I now
pronounce you man and wife” is the center of my marriage. The Priest/Pastor might tell
me the good news that I need to know, but he sure ain’t coming with me on my
honeymoon! The center of our faith is not the Word about Christ, it is rather, Christ the
Word!
Andy Stanley’s remarks made me grind my teeth in discomfort, while Denny’s response
left me sympathetic but deeply frustrated. A Christ-centered faith does not mean pitting
Jesus against Scripture. Similarly, a high view of Scripture does not mean removing
Jesus from the center of our apostolic faith.
Personal Note: I don’t really like the way Andy Stanley sometimes implies a divorcing of the Bible from
Jesus. We should point people to Jesus, not just the Bible, because the Bible ultimately points to God
through Jesus. It is ok to share the Bible with people. We don’t want to minimize it or “create” a Jesus
apart from it. The Bible informs us about our foundation, Jesus, and God uses it to pierce our hearts
(Heb. 4:12) to help us see the reality of who we are. Jesus is equated with the Bible (John 1:1). His
words that He would say to us are the words of the Bible, so let’s not ditch them or separate Jesus from
them. But, as the article points out, you can fall in love with the words and teachings of Jesus, and still
not love Jesus. This was the exact problem the church in Ephesus faced (Rev. 2:1-7).
Our use of the Starting Point material should help people overcome some of the cultural hang ups of the
“BIBLE” as a religious fairy tale book or a good book of morals that people live their life by. Jesus rose,
making the ultimate proof that the Bible is true. If you don’t believe in Jesus, you will not fully
understand the Bible because it is the Spirit of God that allows to truly see and attribute the value to the
word of God that it deserves (1 Cor. 2:14).
So we will have a high view of scripture, claiming it as our ultimately authority, but also understanding
that if you don’t know Christ, you won’t believe the Bible. We need to Point people to Jesus through
the Bible. The Starting Point material does a good job with that (almost secretively) because it has
people look in the Bible to define Jesus and the Story of God. That is what we want to do.
Jesus is the center of our faith, not the Bible. The Bible points us to and is the words of Jesus.