By Shoshanna Crompton, CIU Student Writer
“God is our authority, and He is the divine author of the Bible, therefore the Bible is our authority.”
This statement was made by Columbia International University Professor Emeritus Dr. Bryan Beyer as the theme in his Chapel messages for 2025’s Authority of Scripture Week. As a CIU core value, this theme proved to hit home with the student body.
Alexis Deason, a senior and Communication major, was especially moved by the week’s content.
“It truly felt like I was (being) equipped,” Deason said. “I really appreciated that (Dr. Beyer) took a step back and equipped students on how to read the Bible, how to study Scripture, and how to approach the Word of God — and not just in a classroom setting. I thought he did a really good job; he was really personal and connected well with the students.”
Though the overarching topic was the Authority of Scripture, the messages’ content coupled well with the theme of God’s faithful provision during a mid-week Prayer Day. Students were greeted with donuts and worship music to start out the day. The service alternated between a song of worship and, because the College of Education led Prayer Day, a member of the department reading a portion of The Lord’s Prayer.
This solidified Beyer’s assertion, “Our relationship with God is life itself,” as students prayed, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Before he took his turn to pray, Education Professor Dr. Mark McCann, asked the students, “If you can trust God with your eternal salvation, can’t you trust Him for a hamburger?”
Beyer cited Ezra 7:10 as a verse to outline how believers ought to live their lives according to Scripture — studying, obeying, and teaching the Word — using Ezra’s life as the prime example: “Now Ezra had determined in his heart to study the law of the Lord, obey it, and teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel.” Beyer added that in order to live faithfully as Ezra did, we must take the crucial first step, to first “determine in (our) hearts to study the law of the Lord” to then obey what God wants us to obey, and finally, teach what we learn to other believers.
As Beyer summarized, “The Bible is right about everything. It doesn’t present the sheltered way or the restrictive way, it presents the right way.”
Hear the full Authority of Scripture Week messages from Dr. Bryan Beyer, who is also a member of the CIU Board of Trustees, on CIU’s podcast page.
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