Authority
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton
I. Suppose you were studying with someone about the gospel of Christ
A. We will assume that the person believes in God and that the Bible is God’s Word
B. There are many who fit this description; yet, they do not obey the teachings in the Scriptures
C. How do you show such a person that it is important to obey God?
II. God has the right to be obeyed
A. He has the right of ownership
1. I have a car. I can drive it wherever I want to. I can dispose of it in a variety of ways. Why? Because I own it
2. In the beginning, God created this world. Before that time, nothing existed - Genesis 1:1
3. The earth and all its fullness belong to God - Psalms 24:1-2
4. God made man in His image - Genesis 1:26
a. In other words, He gave each of us a spirit
5. As a result, all souls are God’s - Ezekiel 18:4
B. It is our duty to serve God
1. God created us to serve Him. The whole duty of man is to serve Him - Ecclesiastes 12:13
2. The apostles recognized that it is more important to obey God than to obey man - Acts 5:29
3. Who are we to decide otherwise - Job 38:1-41
C. Man cannot direct his own way
1. Unless God directs our way, our lives are useless - Psalms 127:1
2. People cannot accurately choose the best way - Proverbs 14:12
III. God expects us to obey His commands
A. There are numerous examples and statements that show that God expects to be obeyed
B. King Saul was given a specific command - I Samuel 15:2-3
1. He chose his own way to fulfill the command and condemned as a result - I Samuel 15:9-11
2. Obedience is more important than coming up with your own way to worship God - I Samuel 15:22-23
C. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ holds the authority of the Godhead - Matthew 28:18
1. All things are placed under Jesus’ feet - Ephesians 1:21-22 (also Colossians 2:10; I Peter 3:22)
2. No one can approach God except through Jesus - John 14:6
D. As a result, in our love for Christ, we will obey what he commands - John 14:15
E. It is not just the direct teachings of Christ for he appointed the apostles to represent him after his death - Matthew 28:19-20
IV. There are some within the church who teach that only commands are authoritative. Anything else that we glean from the Scriptures are examples of ways to fulfill those commands, but they do not have to be followed
A. There are many things that we practice that are only based on examples
1. Meeting on the first day of the week and partaking of the Lord’s Supper - Acts 20:7; I Corinthians 16:1
2. Collecting for the work of the church - I Corinthians 16:1-2
3. Preachers located in an area and working with a congregation
B. Some even challenge the idea of a local congregation. They argue that there is only authority for the global or universal church
C. Does this mean that:
1. We can meet and partake of the Lord’s Supper on days other than Sunday?
2. Collecting is optional?
3. Having a local preacher is unnecessary?
D. We are commanded to follow examples
1. Imitate Paul as he imitates Christ - I Corinthians 11:1
a. Here we have a command to follow an example
2. We must do the things we have learned, heard, and seen - Philippians 4:9
3. We ought to follow Paul and the other preachers because they set a proper example - II Thessalonians 3:7
a. Notice that it is not just the apostles to be followed
4. Follow Paul and those who follow the same path - Philippians 3:17
V. What about implications or things necessarily inferred?
A. We make conclusions throughout our lives
1. How did Noah build the ark? Did he use tools?
2. Did Peter have a wife? Yes because Jesus healed his mother-in-law - Mark 1:30
B. Some things we do that are based on inference
1. The use of grape juice and unleavened bread in the Lord’s Supper
2. Partaking of the Lord’s Supper on every first day of the week
C. Can we substitute tomato juice and loaf bread? Can we partake of the Lord’s Supper once a month or once a year?
D. We have an example of the disciples settling a difficult problem by drawing a conclusion from the evidence that God presented - Acts 15:4-19
1. They cited the commands of God
a. The sending of Peter to the Gentiles
b. The prophecies of the Old Law
2. They cited examples
a. The giving of the Holy Spirit to Gentiles
b. The miracles done by Peter and Barnabas while working with the Gentiles
3. From this they drew the conclusion that God did not want the Gentiles to keep the Law of Moses
a. This is not stated directly anywhere
b. But inference leads you to this conclusion
E. We can see God holding men accountable for not making the proper conclusions
1. God told Moses to speak to the rock so that water would come forth - Numbers 20:1-2
2. Did Moses speak to the rock? Yes, he did!
3. Then why was Moses punished? Because he also struck the rock, which God said indicated that Moses did not believe God, and Moses took credit for bring forth water instead of exalting God
4. Moses was punished because he did not conclude that when God said “speak,” that eliminated all other actions.
a. And he forgot that even though he and Aaron appeared before the people, the power solely belonged to God
F. The Hebrew writer uses an inference in Hebrews 4:6-10
1. Psalms 95:11 and Psalms 95:7-8 are cited. Since this Psalm of David was written after Joshua led the Israelites into Canaan, the conclusion is that there is another rest God is speaking about – a rest in heaven
VI. We will explore later that what God doesn’t say is just as important as what God does say.
