How To Establish Religious Authority #6
A. As we strive to be New Testament Christians, How do we determine
what we will believe, and what we will practice as we offer worship
to God? Do we follow the instructions of Gods Holy Spirit
inspired Word, or do we make those decisions and determinations
by taking a vote of the membership? Do we, as do the adherents
of rationalism, reject the miraculous events recorded in the Bible.
Will be content to limit God to our own very limited, puny, finite
human reasoning ability or do we accept Gods Word for what
it professes to be? Do we discard, everything in Gods word
we do not like or want to believe and just keep the good moral
truths and principles that are left?
Thats exactly what the denominational world has done and
the result has been a divided, emaciated, watered down form of
Pseudo-Christianity that is nothing like what Jesus established
in Jerusalem 2000 years ago. Christianity stands before the world
as a divided, bickering, squabbling, competing, back-biting, empty
shell of what the New Testament presents to humanity in the 1st
century.
a. We do not have the right to alter what the text of the Bible
says, just because it does not meet the approval or criteria of
my limited reasoning ability. Thats what rationalism, that
we talked about last week does. We have to trust what the Word
of God says, Preach what the Word says, and not be substituting
our own philosophy for it. You put your rationalistic thinking
above the word of God and you put your soul in grave danger.
Suggest you take the time to read the First 3 Chapters of First
Corinthians. In those three chapters..... No less than 23 times
Paul uses the word WISDOM as he warns against human
wisdom being substituted for the Divine Revelation. That was a
problem among the Corinthians. Thats why they were saying
in 1 Cor. 15:12, There wont be a resurrection of the
dead. That was their rationalization. In their human reasoning,
that did not make sense to them. The Greeks believed the flesh
was basically evil and not holy. To the Greeks it made no sense
for God to resurrect and save the evil, decaying body in view
of that pre-supposition which they held.
(1) Thus Paul says, Dont substitute your wisdom for
Gods wisdom. 23 times Paul contrasts the wisdom of
God with the wisdom of man. Thats why most of the Jews and
the Gentiles had a problem accepting the Gospel. Resurrection
form the dead was uniquely Christian concept.
(1) 1 Cor. 1:23, Paul said, ...it was a stumbling block
to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. Why? Because it did
not square with their human reasoning.
(2) Do you want to be able to determine the difference between
right and wrong? Make Revelation, not Reasoning supreme in you
belief system. Thats the only way you can worship God acceptably,
because thats the only way you can worship God in Spirit
and in truth.
(2) 1 Cor. 15:13?18.
(a) Human wisdom and reasoning negates, rejects, makes void the
Word of God.
You live by human reason, and not by faith.
(3) Reject Gods word and you reject God, Jno. 12:44-50.
Question? When Human wisdom, reason clash with Gods Word,
which will you accept?
Ever hear of Existentialism? Lot of people dont know what
that means. Existential ism. Whats that? Exist refers
to Existence. It is a thinking process that tries to figure out
the meaning of my existence. Who am I? Many ask that question.
Why am I here? Whats my reason for existing? How do I get
in touch with myself? Go to a Shrink, Head-doctor
and hell tell you, Go out and find yourself.
Be Exestential. Explore the meaning of your
existence.
(3) How do I do that? Your analyst says, You do that by
looking inside. You dont find who you are; you dont
find the meaning of your existence by looking in the Bible. You
ignore Gods Word. You look in your own mind and you invent,
make-up, in your mind, what you want to believe about yourself.
Go look in the mirror. Look at yourself and say, Self, youre
the greatest, be what you want, do what you want, ask what
you want, fulfill every desire and become a legend in your own
mind.
(4) Be as great, important, beautiful as your imagination will
allow.
(5) But Ive got news for you. You are not going to find
the meaning of your existence by looking in the mirror and doing
some kind of self-analysis. The Bible says, the meaning of your
existence is to, Reverence God and keep His commandments.
Ecc. 12:13.
(4) What about Pantheism, the New Age Movement? There is no God
who has revealed Himself to give us guidance and salvation. Nature
is God, everything is God. The whole Pantheon, the entire vastness
of the universe and everything in it is God. God is in everything
and everything is in God. And, even we, are as much God as is
everything else in the universe.
(6) We look for the meaning of our existence in being part of
the galaxies, the planets, the earth, trees, rocks, birds, animals.
Man is no more important than the tumble bugs, roaches, flies,
mice. Were all an equal part of this vast universe that
happened to bring itself into existence. You cannot cut down a
tree, pour asphalt to make a parking-lot, eat a chicken, fish,
cow. That would be like maiming, killing or eating a part of God.
Everything in the universe has equal rights or even more rights
than we humans.
(7) All these philosophies and methods weve been studying
have put a mind-set in people that is even invading the church
today. People are sitting around in Bible Classes. Taking turns
reading the Bible and then, asking, What does this mean
to you, and to you? You end up with as many different meanings
as there people in the class.
3. Problem. It does not matter what it means you. The point is,
What does it mean when the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to
write what he wrote? What did the Holy Spirit intend for
it to mean? Thats what Paul explains, 1 Cor. 4:17. Paul
taught one understandable, obeyable Gospel every where he went,
and condemned all else, Gal. 1:6-9. What he was taught by the
Holy Spirit, he wrote down and tells us in, Eph. 3:4, ...
when you read, what Ive written, you may understand my knowledge
in the mystery of Christ. In 1 Cor. 4:6, Learn not
to go beyond what is written.
(1) When there was division, failure to be united in the faith
Paul reprimanded them with these words in 1 Cor. 1:10-11.
(2) Be careful how you interpret and teach Gods Word. 2
Pet. 3:16?17, says, ...some things hard to understand, which
untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as
they do also the rest of the Scriptures....beware lest you also
fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error
of the wicked. The reason is explained in Jno. 12:48?49.
(1) Teaching Gods Word is the most important task in the
world. Lead people astray and you will answer to God.
(2) Acts 20:32.
Spur - 03/16/03 am
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