The source of things is important. Several years ago I wanted to learn how to make the best baked potato I could. So I searched on the Food Network app and found Alton Brown’s advice for making awesome baked potatoes. But before he gave his recipe he discussed the importance of getting the best baked potato from the correct source. For him, he said that Idaho potatoes were the best.
I tell you that story about “source” because where things come from affect how we use them and how others perceive them. When people ask us as Christians, “What do you believe?” or “Why do you act that way?” or “Why do you believe that?” we must recognize the source we rely on as Christians. That source is described in Galatians 1:11–12 where Paul tells us that Jesus Christ was the source of the message Paul was preaching.
Paul writes, “For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man”(Gal 1:11, NASB).[1] Paul’s first description of the source of the gospel is that it didn’t come from humans. But Paul’s opponents (often described as the “Judaizers”) were arguing that Paul was not a true apostle and that he was given his gospel from a person on earth. They tried to say that since his message was from man, he was not a true apostle and did not have a true message.
Paul often refuted their claims saying, “For I neither received it [the gospel message] from man” (Gal 1:12a). It was not from a person, specifically he didn’t get it from some other Rabbi like Gamaliel that he had studied under. Furthermore he writes, “nor was I taught it” (Galatians 1:12b). He didn’t get it from any philosophy or religious school of thought. But what was the source of his gospel message?
The gospel message was revealed to Paul by Jesus Christ, “but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ” (Gal 1:12c). Paul’s message and his ministry were from God.
It’s important for us to recognize that what we know about God is based on the Bible that is provided to us. I agree with pastor and writer John Stott who once stated, “If we want to know the full facts of the birth and life, words and works, death and resurrection of Jesus, and God’s own authoritative explanation of them, we can find them only in the Bible.”[2]
What we believe and how we act as followers of Jesus is based on the teachings contained in the Bible. The Bible’s made up of 66 books which were written and compiled between 1406 BC and AD 95. They haven’t changed. It’s been the same source. And that source is what we use to guide our faith today.
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Christopher L. Scott is a pastor and author of the book, Walking Straight When Life Goes Sideways: Essential Christian Truths for Enduring Life’s Trials (Wipf and Stock). He provides hundreds of free articles, videos, and Bible study resources at his website ChristopherLynnScott.com.
[1] Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.
[2] John Stott, Between Two Worlds: The Challenge of Preaching Today (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1982), 68.