Presented, June 13, 2004 am
AUTHORITY IN RELIGION
One of the true tragedies of our society today is a failure to respect authority. What makes it such a tragedy is the fact that a failure to respect authority will be a major factor in the downfall of this nation. Where there is no respect for authority, chaos and confusion are bound to exist. Of equal concern is turning to the wrong source of authority. This is true not only in the secular world but in the religious world as well. One of the major factors of religious division is a failure to respect the authority of God’s word. As a reminder to many of us and to give a proper understanding to others, today we want to review the subject of authority and how to establish it.
I. What Is Authority?
A.
Roy E. Cogdill in his book, Waling by Faith
defined authority as “the right to command or direct and enforce obedience or
administer punishment.” This concurs with dictionary definitions of the word.
By authority in religion we mean that right which is established by accurately
handling God’s word to determine what He would have us to do and how to do it.
B. Establishing authority for what we do is the only safe course to ensure that we are pleasing God. We understand the need for authority in the world, whether it be obeying and enforcing laws or doing our job. Yet many who understand the importance of authority in the world readily dismiss it when it comes to religion. They freely act knowing that they cannot justify their conduct by God’s word. HOW CAN YOU KNOW God is pleased if you do not have HIS authority to do what you do?
C. Why do we need authority?
a. To prevent chaos
b. To prevent division – appealing to the same standard of authority is the only way to prevent divisions (John 17:20-21)
c. To bring accountability – people can’t just blame someone else for what they do or do not do. A case in point is the recent prisoner scandal – in the military, as a soldier, you are NOT authorized to break the law, even if a superior orders you to.
d. Because one day we will be judged by a standard – God’s word
II. The Authority of God’s Word
A. Key to establishing an acceptable standard that all will follow demands that we respect God’s word as that – GOD’S WORD. Any other standard will not be acceptable and is not reliable. But how can we demonstrate that the Bible IS God’s word?
B. God gave absolute authority to Jesus – Matthew 28:18; Hebrews 1:1-2; Ephesians 1:22-23
C. Christ gave binding and loosing authority to His apostles – Matthew 16:19. NOTE: The text does not say they had authority to do whatever they wanted to do, but rather they would enforce God’s law. Literally, the text teaches, “Whatever you loose on earth WILL HAVE been loosed in heaven and whatever you bind on earth WILL HAVE been bound in heaven.”
D. He promised when He left, He would give them the Holy Spirit who would guide them into all truth. John 14:26, 16:13.
E. As the Apostles and other writers wrote and taught by inspiration, it was through the direction of the Holy Spirit and not their own thoughts and writings.
a. Galatians 1:10 – Paul’s message came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.
b. Acts 15 finds the apostles resolving a problem. In their resolution they appealed to the teachings of God in various forms and concluded, “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden that these necessary things…” (15:28
c. It is because of their inspiration that we need to respect their writings – cf. 1 Corinthians 14:37
d. It is because of their inspiration that we can benefit and be complete in our service to God. 2 Timothy 3:16 – all inspired writings are profitable
F. Truly, respect for authority BEGINS with respect for God’s word.
But how do we rightly divide the word of God. When Paul told Timothy to do that in 2 Timothy 2:15, he was not just speaking of the difference between the Old Law and the New Testament, he meant to accurately handle ALL of God’s word.
Are there rules that we need to follow in establishing authority? If we expect unity and if we want to be SURE we please God then absolutely. Let us notice…
III. How To Establish Authority
A. In establishing authority, there are basically three avenues – Direct instruction, examples and necessary inference. Consider these examples in the business world briefly. When you start a job, how do you learn what to do? First you listen to what you are told to do. You may be taught by someone showing what you are supposed to do And in some cases, BASED on your understanding of your job, you observe approved behavior and you necessarily conclude what is and what is NOT acceptable. Do this, and you will do fine.
B. Consider these three avenues in establishing authority for what you do in service to God…
a. Direct command – when God specifically says to do something you know you have to do it. When He specifically says NOT to do something, there is NO misunderstanding. For example:
i. God said – Forgive others – (Matthew 6:14,15; Colossians 3:13, etc.) – its NOT an option
ii. Don’t lie – Colossians 3:9. We KNOW we can’t lie and please God – cf. Revelations 21:8
iii. We are expected to partake of the Lord’s Supper – 1 Corinthians 11:24-25; Matthew 26:29
b. Approved Apostolic Example – Based upon what God has commanded us to do, we can learn details about HOW to fulfill those commands by approved apostolic example
i. By approved we mean it is deemed pleasing to God
ii. Apostolic means the apostles or those associated with the apostles a certain way that me with God’s approval
iii. Example – means learning from them
1 Corinthians 11:1 – Paul admonished them to imitate him, as he imitated Christ
Concerning the Lord’s supper – Acts 20:7 tells us that they
partook of the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week. Note vs. 6 where
Paul waited 7 days to assemble with them.
From this example we can learn that the day we ARE to partake of the memorial is
Sunday.
c. Necessary Inference
i. Also based upon what God has commanded, this method helps us understand how to fulfill specific commands. This just not simply mean anything that is implied, but that which is unavoidably concluded, or necessarily understood from the text
ii. It can be necessarily implied that God gave Cain and Abel some instructions about how to worship Him. We know this because Abel pleased God and Cain didn’t.
iii.
Concerning the Lord’s Supper – we learn HOW OFTEN
by necessary conclusion. We already noted Acts 20:7 which says the first day of
the week. But how often on that day do we need to observe this memorial? It
can be concluded from this text that it is EVERY week. NOTE that the religious
world has no problem with 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 meaning every week.
We need to observe on the first day of the week as often as it comes around.
BTW, there is precedence in the Sabbath (though we are not under that law)
d. In Acts 15, the apostles used all three avenues to establish their decision.
i. Direct Command – James appealed to the law – Acts 15:15-17 where the Old Law is quoted (note the question arose from the teachings of the Old Law)
ii. Approved Example- 15:7 – Peter recounts Cornelius’ conversion. Paul and Barnabas refer to God blessing their efforts among the Gentiles – 15:12
iii. Necessary Conclusion – 15:15-19 – James made a necessary conclusion “therefore I judge”
e. These are the only legitimate avenues of authority. Others appeal to silence which is always a dangerous thing or other sources that are equally example. We have the precedence of scripture to establish authority for what we do and how we do it through His word.
C. Generic and Specific Authority
a. A final observation concerning establishing authority for what we do is an understanding of the difference between generic and specific authority. What we mean by this is learning to respect the boundaries of God’s commands. When He specifies HOW to do something that limits what we can do. When He does not specify, in that matter we have liberty. Let us consider some examples:
b.
Matthew 28:18-19 – Go therefore and make disciples.
The command to “Go” and “make disciples” are specific in that they tell you what
you HAVE to do to be pleasing to God. You HAVE TO go (i.e. – you cannot stay)
and you have to make disciples (you cannot choose to NOT teach others and still
please God.)
BUT, in going and making disciples we are NOT told how to go – we have generic
authority (liberty) in choosing the way to go – whether it be walking, by ship,
horseback or today by car, airplane, etc. Where God has NOT bound we have
liberty.
c.
Ephesians 5:19 – we are commanded to sing
Singing is specific as to the type of music. God said “sing” and He did NOT say
“play musical instruments”
Yet in singing, we can choose how, whether it be four part harmony, unison, etc.
Because we have to be decent in our worship, we can use songbooks to help us
sing the same thing and pitch pipes to establish a proper pitch.
d.
Philippians 1:1 – church government
This text shows that the church is governed by elders at the local
congregational level. They have NO jurisdiction larger than the local church
(Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2). God specified the pattern for the local church –
answering directly to Christ, Him being the head. Since God specified through
command, example and inference the organization of the local church, man CANNOT
change it by creating an institution larger than the local church (or smaller
either).
This has been a brief study of how to establish authority for what we do. Just as we need authority in society, so we need authority in our religion. Let us strive to always appeal to God for authority in all that we do. When He speaks, let us speak “as the oracles of God” and when He is silent, let us respect His silence and not go beyond what He has written.