How To Establish Religious Authority #16

A. We’re in a series of lessons about how we must respect God’s authority in all matters of religious belief
and practice. In Jno. 4:24, Jesus said God requires and seeks those who will worship Him in spirit
and in truth. Col. 3:17. That phrase, “In the name of Christ.” means “By the authority of Christ.”
In matters of faith and religion we must do all that we do by the authority of Jesus. And our authority
to do what we do comes from the Word of God, and that authority is vested in the New Testament.
1. But, it’s not just enough to acknowledge that the scriptures are authoritative, we must believe that we
have a responsibility and obligation to understand how that Word of God relates to us and how it is to
be applied to our every day life. We must also pay close attention to how we understand and
interpret the meaning, the application and intent of God’s Word. There are millions of people in the
world who claim to be Christians and profess to have a love for and an appreciation of God’s Word.
a. Yet, they are so misguided, divided in their religious beliefs and practices that they do not even
resemble one another and yet they all profess to be Christian. They all get different, diverse,
contradicting beliefs and practices from the same book. And they do it to such a degree that
one is forced to believe that something is terribly wrong.
(A) We know there is nothing wrong with the Scriptures. They are the perfect, inspired,
infallible, understandable Word of God. The Word stands complete in every way. So
what’s wrong? If there is nothing wrong with the Word, the problem has got to be with
man and how he is interpreting the Word. Evidently, men are not applying the principles
of Bible authority in a correct manner.
(1) 2 Tim. 2:15. Study God’s Word so you can make a proper and correct application of
that word to your belief system and your life.
(a) Studying God’s Word means you have to find out to whom the Word is
speaking, what law is under consideration, If the command is to one person,
nation. Is it specific or is it generic. Is it limited or universal, temporary or
permanent? Is it a command or an example?
Do you understand the difference between and command and an example. If you don’t you can get into trouble very quickly and end up out in left field believing and practicing some absurd ridiculous doctrine.
(1) Examples are given in the Bible as illustrations of what is right or wrong, what will bring blessing and what will not bring blessings. Bible examples are powerful teaching tools. What is the authoritative nature of an example? There is power in examples. There are good examples and there are bad examples.
(1) Heb. 11:4. That’s an example that still speaks to us. That is a binding example to us. How is that a binding example? He believed what God said, and he offered sacrifices the way God commanded. His example is a binding example. That’s how we are to obey God’s commands.
(2) There are also bad examples. Acts 5:1-11. Ananias and Sapphira lied to the apostles, Holy Spirit and thus were harshly punished by God. Their example is on the Biblical record. But, it’s not an example you want to follow.
Not all good examples in the Bible are binding on us and we are not to follow them. There is an example of faith by Abraham in Gen. 22:1-10. That example is not binding on you and me. Gen. 6:11-22. Both of these examples are not commands for us today. They are illustrations, examples of how true faith brought Noah and Abraham into God’s grace. They encourage us by telling us Noah and Abraham’s faith and obedience are examples we should follow.
(2) You have to study the context to see when an example is binding and when it is not. The Bible gives clear examples of how people were baptized. Acts 8:36?39, Philip taught the gospel to the Eunuch as they traveled in a chariot. Matt 3:16. The example of baptizing is going down into the water and coming up out of the water.

(a) When Jesus gives the Great commission command to go teach and baptize taught believers, you understand that you do that by going down into the water and having baptized (Immersed) that person, you then come up out of the water.
(b) You need a place where the water is deep enough and abundant enough so people can go down into the water to be immersed. That’s the statement of Jno. 3:23. Baptism is an immersion in water and therefore requires that it be done in a place where there is water deep enough to immerse a person. Baptism is not a sprinkling with water.
(2) Acts 20:7. That’s how often they observed the Lord’s supper. How do I know that’s the subject under consideration? Acts 2:42
(a) 1 Cor 11:17?18, rebukes them for abusing the Lord’s Supper by turning it into an individual common meal and for not making it a united congregational observance “Now in giving these instructions (here is a corrective instruction, command) I do not praise you, since you come together (What’s the purpose of coming together? To break bread - That’s the Lords Supper) not for the better but for the worse. 18 “For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, (When did they come together as a church? On the 1st day of the week. That’s Sunday.) Vs. 20?21. They had made a mockery of this observance and it was no longer the Lords supper.
(b) Vs. 23-33. Gives instruction and a command. Here we learn that the Church was to gather together every first day of the week to observe the Lord’s Supper. And Heb. 10:25, commands us not to forsake that assembly. This is when we come together as a congregation to be reminded in a graphic, physical way of why Christ died on the cross. 1 Cor. 11:26, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, (How often? Every 1st day of the week)
you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.” How long are we to observe this weekly memorial? Until Jesus comes again.
(c) Acts 20:32.

Spur - 05/25/03 am