BIBLE MESSAGES

AUTHORITY IN CHRISTIANITY

It has been said that a subject clearly defined is to half argue it. I am not concerned with authority in religion, but authority in Christianity. Christianity is the system of life taught by Jesus Christ. "God who at various times and in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son." (Heb. 1:1,2) Authority is the right to command and enforce obedience, the right to act by virtue of the office, station, or relation.

There are two kinds of Authority, primary or inherent and delegated authority. All authority is inherent with God, religious or otherwise, by reason of the fact that He is our Creator and sustainer of life. He delegated authority to His Son. Jesus took Peter, James and John with Him up on a high mountain and there appeared Moses and Elijah and He was transfigured before them. Peter would have made all three equal by suggesting they make a tabernacle to honor all three. God said however, "This is My beloved Son in whom Iam well please, Hear Him!" (Mt. 17:1-5). Jesus delegated His power to His apostles. when they met Jesus in the mountain of Galilee after His resurrection as He had appointed them He said to them, "All authority is given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo I am with you to the ends of the age." (Mt. 28:18-20)

The book of Acts is a record of the work of the apostles as they went about the work of preaching the gospel and establishing the church. Inspired writers wrote twenty one letters to congregations and to individuals instructing them how to live the Christian life and how to organize and conduct the work of the church. We today get our instructions by studying the record left, telling us what they did and how they did it.

There are three ways we go about learning this: 1.) By the actual commands they gave. 2.) By the examples they left. 3.) By necessary inference

First, we notice the commandments they gave us as they began their work. They preached to the people who had come to Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost. They began by preaching the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When they told the people that they were responsible for crucifiying the Son of God, and that God had raised him from the dead, the people were "pricked in the heart" and asked "what shall we do?" They were COMMANDED TO "Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38). By studying all the cases of conversions recorded in the book of Acts it is obvious that we are to instruct any who would become a Christian that they must obey the same commandments to believe, repent, confess their faith in Christ and be baptized.

Secondly, we receive authority for doing the things we do today by following the EXAMPLES of the Apostles. In the eight chapter of Acts we find a man named Simon who practiced sorcery before he was converted. When he saw that through the laying on of the apostles hands, the power of the Holy Spirit was conveyed to that person, he wanted to buy this power to convey the Holy Spirit as the apostles were able to do. Peter told him that his heart was not right with God, that he needed to repent and pray to God for forgiveness. We know this is the proper way an erring child of God who has sinned must act today, because this is what the apostle told Simon he must do to restore his fellowship with God. In addition in (Acts 20:7) we learn that the Scriptures tells us when we must eat the Lord's Supper. "On the first day of the week when the disciples came together to break bread (eat the Lord's Supper) that Paul preached to them." This apostolic EXAMPLE tells us that we should do the same thing,i.e. we should come together on the first day of each week to eat the Lord's Supper.

Thirdly, we receive authority by what is commonly called NECESSARY INFERENCE. The fact that the disciples in Troas met upon the first day of the week, necessarily infers that 1.) they had to have a place to meet. We are not told where this was, so it was left up to the disciple own judgement as to where this would be, thus giving authority for a Meeting Place. and 2.) it necessarily infers that they met EVERY FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK. Because every week has a first day. In addition in (I Cor.16) Paul give the church at Corinth instructions to "lay by in store" i.e.give into a common treasury, upon the first day of the week. Here we have authority to take up a collection BY COMMAND plus there is also a necessary inference. If a collection was to be made someone had to take care of the collection until Paul came to collect it, thus giving authority for a TREASURER for the church, as well as telling us when this collection should be take, i.e. the First Day of The Week! By what authority do hundreds of churches today take up collections every time they can draw a crowd!

One thing that makes determining what we are to do and what we are not to do so serious, are stories given in the Old Testament, under the Law of Moses, of what happened to those people who took it on themselve to change the way God told them to worship him. They were often struck dead on the spot! We have two specific warnings given in the New Testament. Paul wrote the churches of Galatia, "But even if we or an angel from haven preach anyother gospel to you than what we have preached unto you let him be accursed." (Gal 1:8) He even repeats it in the ninth verse, I suppose to give emphasis to what he had just written. In the Revelation letter John closes his book by warning that if anyone added to the things that are written in this book God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the things written, God will take away his part from the book of life. How important it is then that we "should study to show ourselve approved unto God..."

Written by: Clifford Sims