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 God’s 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 God’s Word for what it professes to be? Do we discard, everything in God’s word we do not like or want to believe and just keep the good moral truths and principles that are left?
That’s 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. That’s 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. That’s why they were saying in 1 Cor. 15:12, “There won’t 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, “Don’t substitute your wisdom for God’s wisdom.” 23 times Paul contrasts the wisdom of God with the wisdom of man. That’s 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. That’s the only way you can worship God acceptably, because that’s 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 God’s word and you reject God, Jno. 12:44-50. Question? When Human wisdom, reason clash with God’s Word, which will you accept?
Ever hear of Existentialism? Lot of people don’t know what that means. Existential – ism. What’s 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? What’s my reason for existing? How do I get in touch with myself? Go to a Shrink, Head-doctor
and he’ll 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 don’t find who you are; you don’t find the meaning of your existence by looking in the Bible. You ignore God’s 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, you’re 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 I’ve 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. We’re 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 we’ve 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? That’s 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 I’ve 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 God’s 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 God’s 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