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A Study of Authority in Religion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Bob Myhan<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is regrettable that many people do not even think about \u201cauthority\u201d in the realm of religion. Perhaps that is why there is so much disagreement among the religious groups. Even some in the Lord\u2019s church do not understand the difference between authority and expediency, for unscriptural practices are defended on the basis of \u201cexpediency.\u201d However, a thing must be authorized before the question of its expediency can even be discussed (see 1 Corinthians 6:12). The word \u201cauthority\u201d means, \u201cthe power of rule or government, the power of one whose will and commands must be obeyed by others\u201d (Vine\u2019s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words<\/em>, p. 91). The word \u201cexpedient\u201d means, \u201cto be an advantage, profitable\u201d (Vine\u2019s<\/em>, p. 402). Nothing can be spiritually profitable, if it is not first authorized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are two kinds of authority: general (or generic) and special (or specific). When Jesus told the apostles, \u201cGo ye into all the world\u201d (Mark 16:15), He authorized every mode of travel [walking, sailing, riding in a chariot, riding on a beast, etc.] because He did not stipulate (or specify) as to method. On the other hand, when He told them, \u201cPreach the gospel,\u201d He stipulated what they were to preach; hence they were not free to choose something else to \u201cpreach,\u201d although they were free as to method.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are two possible sources of authority \u2014 divine and human [please read Matthew 21:23-27]. The chief priests and elders asked Jesus, \u201cBy what authority doest thou these things? and who gavest thee this authority?\u201d (v. 23). Not only did they recognize the need for authority, but they also recognized that authority must come from the proper source. It was not their question, therefore, but their attitude that was wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus asked them if the baptism of John was \u201cfrom heaven or of men?\u201d (vv. 25, 26). They couldn\u2019t say \u201cfrom heaven\u201d because they would look inconsistent, not having been baptized by John. But neither could they say, \u201cof men\u201d because they feared the people. Thus, they answered, \u201cwe cannot tell.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every religious practice is either \u201cfrom heaven\u201d or \u201cof men.\u201d Either God authorized it or men took it upon themselves to do it. If it is \u201cfrom heaven\u201d the scriptures will furnish us unto it (2 Peter 1:1-3; 2 Timothy 3:16,17). Anything that is not furnished by the scriptures is \u201cof men\u201d (1 Peter 4:11; 1 Corinthians 4:6).<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the present New Testament age, Jesus has all authority both in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18-20). Thus, He is the only one \u201cwhose will and commands must be obeyed by others.\u201d Thus, in writing to the church at Colosse, Paul commanded, \u201cWhatsoever ye do, in word [teaching] or deed [practice], do all in the name of the Lord Jesus\u201d (Colossians 3:17). To do something \u201cin the name of Jesus\u201d means to do it \u201cin recognition of His authority.\u201d Hence, we must recognize the authority of the Lord Jesus in everything we teach and practice! Otherwise, He is not really our Lord. This means that authority must come from the New Testament, not from the Old Testament (Hebrews 9:15-17; 10:1-9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n One can ill afford to take it upon himself to do that which the Lord has not authorized. This is well illustrated in the account of seven Jewish men to whom had not been given the miraculous ability to cast out evil spirits (Acts 19:11-16). For this reason, they did not have the authority to demand the demons to leave the one whom they had possessed, but took it upon themselves to do so. The result was disastrous. Jesus, Paul, the other apostles and some upon whom the apostles had laid their hands, however, had such authority and were always successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The New Testament authorizes in three ways\u2014direct statement [such as a command], approved example, and implication. Jesus used all three methods to establish authority for His teaching and practice. He taught what His Father commanded Him to teach (John 12:48-50), He did what He saw His Father do (John 5:17-19), and He taught what was implied in God\u2019s word (Matthew 22:23-34). [This writer knows of no fourth method ever used by Jesus to establish authority for either His teaching or His practice, but will accept any method that either is self-evident or can be established by one of the these three.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n By their very nature, commands [and other direct statements] MUST BE authoritative (Matthew 8:5-13)! Since Jesus has all authority (Matthew 28:18), His commands MUST BE authoritative. Since those who receive\/reject His apostles receive\/reject Him (Matthew 10:40), the apostles\u2019 commands MUST ALSO BE authoritative. Since the New Testament prophets had \u201cthe mystery of Christ\u201d revealed unto them (Ephesians 3:1-5), their commands MUST BE authoritative, as well. The commands of Moses and the Old Testament prophets are no longer authoritative (Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:1-8; Luke 9:28-36; Hebrews 1:1-3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n We are commanded by the apostles to recognize approved examples as authoritative (1 Corinthians 4:16; 11:1; Philippians 3:17; 4:9). Of course, Jesus is the ultimate example (1 Peter 2:21), and He left us an example of using implication to establish authority (Matthew 22:23-34).<\/p>\n\n\n\n {By way of clarification, a writer or a speaker implies and a listener or reader infers. Hence, implication is sometimes called \u201cnecessary inference\u201d (which means \u201cinescapable [logically unavoidable] conclusion\u201d). But a thing cannot be necessarily inferred unless it is implied. For example, we are specifically told that Nicodemus \u201ccame to Jesus by night\u201d (John 3:2), but the reason he \u201ccame to Jesus by night\u201d is neither directly stated nor implied. Hence, one reason or another might be inferred, but no reason can be \u201cnecessarily inferred,\u201d for he may have had any number of reasons for doing so \u201cby night.\u201d]<\/p>\n\n\n\n When questioned by the Sadducees [who believed in neither spirits nor angels\u2014Acts 23:8] about the resurrection, Jesus quoted from the Pentateuch [the only part of the Old Testament they accepted] to defend His teaching. His defense ran thus: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had been dead for hundreds of years, when God first appeared to Moses, but God identified Himself to Moses saying, \u201cI am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.\u201d In saying this, God implied [and we can necessarily infer] that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were alive (in some sense) at the time of Moses. To deny this is to implicitly affirm that God is \u201cthe God of the dead.\u201d This proved that there is a part of man that survives physical death and can be resurrected. If this is not true, why did Jesus bring it up? This was such a forceful argument, that it \u201cput the Sadducees to silence\u201d (v. 34).<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the example of the Lord Jesus is not enough, the apostles also used implication to establish the fact that Gentiles do not have to submit to physical circumcision to be saved (Acts 15:1-31). Peter necessarily inferred [from his experience with the household of Cornelius, recorded in Acts 10 & 11] that binding circumcision on the Gentiles would be tempting God and putting a yoke on the neck of those disciples (vv. 7-11). Barnabas and Paul necessarily inferred [from their first missionary journey] that Gentile converts do not need physical circumcision. They never demanded it, yet God endorsed their preaching with \u201cmiracles and wonders\u201d (v. 12). James stated that Peter\u2019s inference was in agreement with the prophets. He then quoted from Amos 9:11,12, and concluded that to bind circumcision would be to \u201ctrouble\u2026them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God\u201d (vv. 13-18). \u201cThe apostles and elders, with the whole church\u201d implied in their letter that physical circumcision was not essential to salvation, by stating that those who were binding circumcision were \u201csubverting\u2026souls\u201d in so doing (vv. 22-24). Finally, the disciples at Antioch used necessary inference when they read the letter and \u201crejoice for the consolation\u201d (vv. 30,31).<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have shown three methods of establishing religious authority. (1) It is self-evident that commands and other direct statements [of one who is in authority] are authoritative, (2) we are commanded to follow the approved examples of the apostles and others and (3) we have approved examples of Jesus and the apostles using implication, or necessary inference. Is there a command, approved example, or necessary inference that shows a fourth method may be used? If so, what is that fourth method? We have also shown that Jesus used these same three methods. Did either He or His apostles use a fourth method? If so, what was it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014 Via articles of the Forest Hills church of Christ, Macon, Georgia 1) Hear <\/strong>the gospel, for that is how faith comes (Rom. 10:17; John 20:30-31). Tebeau Street<\/strong> \u201cGo therefore and make disciples of all the nations\u2026teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age\u201d (Matthew 28:19-20, NASB).\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014- Contents: 1) A Study of Authority in Religion (Bob Myhan)\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014- -1- A Study of Authority in Religion Bob Myhan It is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":349,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247\/revisions\/349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014-<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
2) Believe <\/strong>in the deity of Christ (John 8:24; John 3:18).
3) Repent<\/strong> of sins (Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30).
4) Confess faith<\/strong> in Christ (Rom. 10:9-10; Acts 8:36-38).
5) Be baptized<\/strong> in water for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3-4; Gal. 3:26-27; 1 Pet. 3:21).
6) Continue in the faith<\/strong>, living for the Lord; for, if not, salvation can be lost (Heb. 10:36-39; Rev. 2:10; 2 Pet. 2:20-22).
\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
CHURCH OF CHRIST<\/strong>
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA\u00a0 31501<\/strong>
Sunday services:<\/strong>9:00 a.m. (Bible class); 10 a.m. & 5 p.m. (worship)
Wednesday:\u00a0<\/strong>7 p.m. (Bible class)
evangelist\/editor:<\/strong>\u00a0Tom Edwards (912) 281-9917
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com<\/a>
http:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/go<\/a> (Older version of Gospel Observer website without pictures, but back to March 1990)
http:\/\/tebeaustreetchurchofchrist.org\/<\/a>
http:\/\/ThomasTEdwards.com\/audioser.html<\/a> (audio sermons)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"