Who Is An Authority?
Who Is An Authority, Jay N. Forrest
“Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine” (1 Timothy 5:17).
Not all options are created equal. It is unfortunate that many do not realize this. One opinion is not just as good as another’s. There are some who think that they are an expert just because they did a little study in the Scriptures. It is amazing the arrogance that some people have concerning their own opinion. They act as if they were infallible popes. A little knowledge puffs up, but a great wealth of knowledge leads one to humility. For the larger one’s pool of knowledge, the greater one’s shores of ignorance.
There are people who are authorities, and then there are those who are not. And unless we know someone personally, we have no idea whether their claim to knowledge is true or concocted. In fact, it has been my experience that most non-experts over-estimate their knowledge and over state their case. You get the impression that they know everything about everything. Now it is all right to disagree with the “experts”, but we need to be careful that we don’t pretend to be one when we are not. The best position to take is that of student. You learn a lot more listening than you do talking. We move from student to expert when we make dogmatic statements with no appeal to authority.
An Authority Defined: Who is an Authority? An authority is “a person with much knowledge or experience in some field, whose information or opinion is hence reliable; expert.”[1] An expert is “a person who is very skillful or highly trained and informed in some special field.”[2] Notice the two elements that can make one an expert. Both knowledge and experience are important in determining whether someone is an expert.
We appeal to authority all the time, whether to medical doctors, lawyers, dentists, accountants, or auto mechanics. It is a common practice based upon common sense. No body knows everything about everything, so we must appeal to the experts. There is nothing wrong with this. It is wisdom. We would be arrogant if we believed that we know every about God and His relations to mankind. All of us are still learning, and can learn from others. We need to realize our limits and appeal to authorities in areas where we need to.
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But just because a person does not have “much knowledge” doesn’t mean that they don’t have “some” knowledge. Any truly born again Christian is qualified to discuss the things of God. And any Christian can have, and does have, genuine insights into the things of God. But this hardly makes them an authority. An authority is a person who has a reputation for deep research and specialized knowledge. The criteria I will mention is for confirming the credentials of “an authority.” This is only useful when you are appealing to an authority, or are evaluating somebody else’s appeal to authority. And I would suggest that there is not a single person who does not appeal to authority at some time. Every time you look up a word in Strong’s you are appealing to authority. Even when you open your Bible, you are trusting a group of “authorities” who translated it. The appeal to authority is inevitable, like it or not. I surely would not turn to an 85 year old illiterate lady for the meaning of a Greek word. Though I might enjoy listening to her experiences and relationship with the Lord.
Which leads me to another point. The criteria below is given to evaluate an authority we do not know personally. If you know someone, and you know their study habits and their depth of knowledge personally, then you have evidence for their credibility as an authority. There is nothing wrong with that. But if you say I should believe what they say about a passage of Scripture, I will need more than a mere ascertain. If I know you, your recommendation might be enough. But if I don’t know you, I will probably need more evidence. And that is the bottom line for me - evidence. I don’t believe we should reject every scholar or accept every scholar, but we must judge their credibility. My appeal is that we think about why we accept and reject a scholar. It should be from something other then prejudice.
The Criteria: Again, an authority is “a person with much knowledge or experience in some field, whose information or opinion is hence reliable; expert.”[3] But how do we know whether or not a person has “much knowledge or experience in some field”? We must look at the evidence. And we judge the evidence by using criteria.
I must begin with stating that I presuppose that the person we are evaluating is a true Christian and holds the Bible as the fully inspired and completely infallible word of God. If he does not, he is disqualified from the start. If should be self-evident that an Atheist cannot be an authority on Christianity. We are only taking about Bible loving, conservative, Christ devoted scholars here.
Now there are several ways to determine whether or not someone has “much knowledge or experience.” It is not enough that someone claim to have a lot of knowledge, such knowledge must be verifiable. I say verifiable knowledge because many claim superior knowledge. There is no way to know if the claim is true, unless there is tangible evidence to support the claim. To just believe what anybody says is naive at best.
Now there are several ways to verify someone’s knowledge. The first and most obvious is their education. Theological education not only teaches people theology, it also teaches one how to study, something people don’t automatically know. Degrees reveal that the person has been taught certain things and that the person knows how to study. Combine that with an utter dependence upon the illumination of the Holy Spirit, and you have an authority.
But degrees are not the only way to determine the extent of one’s knowledge. One can evaluate another’s knowledge through their published works, such as books and articles. Many would regard Charles Finney and A. W. Tozer as authorities. Yet both these men hold no degrees. Although Finney did study under his pastor, he received no degree. And Tozer was completely self-taught. Yet both of these men I consider to be among the best authorities. The power and influence of their writings have won for them the status of an authority.
But degrees and published works are not the only ways to determine the depth of another’s knowledge. Recommendations from those who know the person, and have credibility, are another way to determine if someone is an authority. We rely on this method all the time. The back of books are filled with recommendations. This is because recommendation attest to the expertise of the author, at least on the subject addressed in the particular book.
The Bible says, “Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine” (1 Timothy 5:17). Not all Christians are called to “labor in the word and doctrine.” But those that do are to be respected and listened to. In other words, those leaders who “labor in the word and doctrine” are to be honored as authorities. So vocation is also a criteria to determine if someone is an authority. The fact that a person has given their life to the ministry indicates that the person has, or at lease should have, a more intimate knowledge of the subject. He also has more free time to dedicate to the ministry of the word. A pastor is to be a preacher of the word, so of course he must be in the word and know it.
Experience enters in at this point. The experience of applying the word to peoples lives on a daily basis qualifies one to be an authority. Why is it that we recognize the authority of experience in the secular field, but fail to realize it in spiritual things. Let us say that you can pick between two doctors for a particular operation, both graduated from the same university with the same grade. The first doctor has been performing this very operation for fifty years, but this is the second doctor’s first time performing this operation. Which one will you pick. The first doctor. So why do we want to kiss common sense good bye when we move to spiritual things. There is a reason elders are called elders, it is because they are more experienced.
But ministerial experience is not the only kind of experience that qualifies one to be an expert. Both John Wesley and Charles Finney had deep experiences with God. But these experiences themselves are unverifiable. But the fruit of such experiences can be seen. God confirms “the word through the accompanying signs” (Mark 16:20). So supernatural signs is also a criteria to determine if someone is an authority. If God approves of a ministry, people will be saved, sanctified, healed, and set free. It is impossible to fake the anointing.
Conclusion: We should evaluate the weight we give to any claim based upon the above criteria. Is the person really an authority on the subject, or has he bought himself a Bible and a Strong’s concordance and now things he knows everything. It is not that a expert is always right, they are sometimes wrong. But in the scale of probability, the Spirit-filled expert is going to be right more often than a non-expert. Which are you more likely to trust concerning Biblical matters, a godly accountant or a godly pastor? I am going with the pastor because that is what he has been trained in. If I am having trouble balancing the books, I will go to the accountant. We don’t have to kiss our brains good-bye when we come to Christ.
I am not afraid of reason. I am not afraid of education and degrees. But I am utterly afraid of the pride that can come from mere knowledge. Knowledge is not the goal, it is merely the means to the goal. The true goal is a dynamic and personal relationship with God in Christ. As Charles Finney said, we need to make sure our heart keeps up with our head.
What we believe is important. It is important enough to make sure we are trusting authorities that are really experts in the word and worthy of our trust. Everyone has an authority that they are trusting. Whether it is their pastor, a Television preacher, or a book. Very few, I suspect, have read only the Bible and have never listened to or read anything from someone else. That is the only person who can claim that they follow no Christian authorities. And they will be impoverished for it. “Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor” (Romans 13:7).
Notes
1. “Authority,” Webster’s New World Dictionary, Ed. David B. Guralnik (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1984).
2. “Expert,” Webster’s.
3. “Authority,” Webster’s.
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