{"id":57882,"date":"2023-01-14T16:11:34","date_gmt":"2023-01-14T22:11:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=57882"},"modified":"2023-01-21T13:16:11","modified_gmt":"2023-01-21T19:16:11","slug":"how-to-establish-biblical-authority","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-to-establish-biblical-authority\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Establish Biblical Authority"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

by Heath Rogers<\/p>\n

God is the proper source of authority<\/a> in religious matters. Our authority must come from heaven and not from men (Matthew 21:25). God has given authority to His Son, Who gave the Holy Spirit to the apostles. These and other inspired men have written the New Testament. Consider, then, the proper way to understand how God is speaking to us today through the New Testament.<\/p>\n

Communication from God<\/h2>\n

God reveals His wisdom and power through His creation (Psalms 19:1; Romans 1:20), but He has revealed His mind and will to us through the Scriptures. Some people have the idea that the Bible can’t be understood by ordinary people. They mistakenly believe one must be gifted or specially trained to properly understand the Bible.<\/p>\n

God created man and He created communication. He knows how we learn and comprehend, so He understands perfectly how to communicate His will to us. God’s word is meant to be understood (Ephesians 3:4). We can understand the New Testament by following the rules we use to communicate with one another: we listen to what others say and watch what others do.<\/p>\n

Direct Statements and Commands<\/h3>\n

God’s word speaks to us through direct statements of truth to be believed and commands to be obeyed. When the New Testament says Jesus is the Son of God (John 20:31), we are to believe this truth. When it commands us to repent and be baptized for the remission of our sins (Acts 2:38), we know we must meet these conditions to receive this great blessing.<\/p>\n

Approved Examples<\/h3>\n

Sometimes God’s will can be understood by following the examples of those who were acting with His authority. The apostle Paul told the Philippians, “Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern<\/em>” (Philippians 3:17). The apostles taught believers to observe all things commanded by the Lord (Matthew 28:20). Their obedient actions are a pattern for us to safely follow today.<\/p>\n

Necessary Inference<\/h3>\n

Sometimes we communicate with one another by “filling in the gaps.” An inference is when we aren’t told something specifically but understand it must be true from what we are told. For example, if I told you that I attended the funeral of a friend, you would probably offer condolences for the passing of my friend. I didn’t specifically say that my friend died, but you correctly understood this to be true from what I told you. God’s word does this as well.<\/p>\n

An Illustration: The Lord’s Supper<\/h2>\n

All of these methods are used regarding the Lord’s Supper. The observance of this memorial is a command “received from the Lord<\/em>” (I Corinthians 11:23). He commands us to “do this in remembrance of Me<\/em>” (I Corinthians 11:24-25). Through direct statements, we know the elements of the Supper are bread and fruit of the vine (Matthew 26:26-29). Following the approved example of the church in Troas, we assemble to partake of the Supper on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). Using necessary inference, we know the bread must be unleavened because this was the only bread available as Jesus was instituting the Supper (Matthew 26:17, 26). The frequency of this memorial is also established using necessary inference. Every week has a first day (Sunday), so it is necessary for us to infer that the church in Troas assembled to partake of the Lord’s Supper every first day of the week (Acts 20:7).<\/p>\n

These basic rules of communication are how we can properly understand God’s will from the New Testament.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBiblical Authority\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Heath Rogers God is the proper source of authority in religious matters. Our authority must come from heaven and not from men (Matthew 21:25). God has given authority to His Son, Who gave the Holy Spirit to the apostles. These and other inspired men have written the New Testament. Consider, then, the proper way…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[78,1609,1570,1610],"class_list":["post-57882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-authority","tag-command","tag-examples","tag-inferences"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":57025,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-proper-source-of-authority\/","url_meta":{"origin":57882,"position":0},"title":"The Proper Source of Authority","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Heath Rogers \"Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, \u02dcBy what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?'\" (Matthew 21:23). The chief priests and elders who confronted\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":58207,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/submission-to-authority\/","url_meta":{"origin":57882,"position":1},"title":"Submission to Authority","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 21, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Heath Rogers We have discussed the need for authority in religious matters, the proper source for authority, and how to establish Bible authority. In this article, we will consider the importance of responding properly to God's authority. Authority is defined as \"the power or right to give commands, enforce\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4201,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-authority-of-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":57882,"position":2},"title":"The Authority of the Church","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 2, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0by Dan Gatlin \u00a0 What is your attitude toward the church?\u00a0 For many sectarians, a foundational belief is that the church has all authority.\u00a0 Whatever the church says to believe and practice, that is what must be done without question.\u00a0 This is the basic attitude of the vast majority of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/03\/BibleAuthority.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":57315,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/improper-sources-of-authority\/","url_meta":{"origin":57882,"position":3},"title":"Improper Sources of Authority","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 26, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Heath Rogers \"Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, \u02dcBy what authority are You doing these things? 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How do we instill in our children and others\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":89836,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/by-what-authority-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":57882,"position":5},"title":"By What Authority? 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