James Burton Coffman is a name that is known by many preachers and teachers in churches of Christ. I have seen his Bible commentaries on the shelves of church libraries and ministers’ offices across the country. He passed away in 2006 at the age of 101, but his writings continue to help students of the Bible learn about God and his word. The following paragraphs from the conclusion of Burton’s commentary on Matthew were shared with me recently. He reminds us of the importance of the New Testament. – Brian

 

The New Testament stands in glorious isolation as the unique source of authority in the religion of Christ. Its tiniest declaration is of more consequence than all the councils of Christendom. The New Testament is the religion of Jesus Christ; all else is incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial. Its teachings will judge men and angels at the last day. It is the exclusive and final word of God through Christ, as confirmed to us by them that heard him. What it binds or looses on earth will be bound or loosed eternally. The concurrent opinions of all the wise men on earth are not sufficient to countermand a single line of it. The human race shall not be done with this book till the Christ himself shall appear the second time apart from sin to judge the world in righteousness.

 

The New Testament rises higher and higher as the generations of men rise and fade away. Its lonely grandeur appears more and more conspicuous as the swift centuries roll. Its complete separation from all human literature and its dramatic elevation above all human wisdom are increasingly more and more evident. All the libraries of a hundred nations for two thousand years cannot produce one new additional sentence spoken by the Son of God, nor add the tiniest little word from Christ, beyond those given in the New Testament. All of His divine message appears exclusively in that little book. The New Testament is man’s mandate from on high. It is man’s credential for citizenship in the heavenly kingdom, his patent right of redemption, and his charter of inheritance among the saints in light. In the New Testament alone is certified the means of man’s redemption and the promise of the plenary discharge of human transgression in the blood of Christ. It is the rock of everlasting truth. It is the word of God. All else is shifting sand. It will confront men at the final judgment. Why should not men confront it now and accept its saving truth?