Firming Your Foundation
How Does the Bible
Authorize?
(i.e. How God says in His written word what is ok with Him)
Part 1 of 5
by David Churchill
[advance to next article]
As
a quick reminder before we get started, remember to always apply
good Bible-study skills when evaluating what a passage authorizes.
Be
diligent to present yourself approved to God, Paul encourages us in 2 Timothy
2:15, a
worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the
word of truth.
Especially important to consider
are:
What are the context and the background? How does
the passage fit into the topic of the section or chapter and
into the overall themes of the book and the Bible?
Have you checked all
the related passages? Scripture is its own best interpreter,
so use it to interpret itself as much as possible.
Are you using the
simple & clear passages to understand the difficult &
confusing passages? Truth agrees with truth, therefore
the difficult passages do harmonize with the simple passages
if you force two passages to contradict each other so
that you can favor the correct one and ignore the
other, then you will misunderstand or even distort the facts
of one or both passages.
Have you discerned
the critical details involved Who? What? When?
Where? Why? How? Sometimes what appears
to be the same event (or discussion) recorded twice are actually
similar events on different occasions.
Have you determined
if and/or how the message in a passage applies to Christians?
What were the writers intentions and how did he expect
for us to respond? Does the passage demonstrate the right
things to do
or did the writer actually record an example
of someone saying & doing the wrong things? To help
illustrate why such discernment is necessary, here are a few
spoken commands & instructions which as recorded in the Bible
are not for Christians to do.
Let us make man in our
own image
Genesis 1:26 God talking to God
Make yourself an ark
of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and
outside with pitch. And this is how you shall
make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits,
its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. Genesis 6:14-15
God talking to Noah
Take now your son,
and offer him there as a burnt offering
Genesis 22:2 God testing Abraham
Curse God and die! Job 2:9 Jobs
wife disagreeing with Jobs loyalty to God
Yet forty days, and Nineveh
shall be overthrown!
Jonah 3:4 Jonah warning the people of Nineveh to
repent before their city is destroyed
Go and wash in the Jordan
seven times,
2 Kings 5:10 Elishas instruction to Naaman
the Syrian leper
, command that
these stones become bread.
Matthew 4:3 Satan tempting Jesus
God knows what pleases Him. Are
you doing it?
The
phrase name of the Lord occurs over 100 times
in the Bible, and in almost every instance it refers to Gods
authority. And
whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the
Lord Jesus,
the apostle Paul wrote to Christians in his letter to the church
in Colossae (Colossians 3:17). Earlier in this same letter,
he mentions he prays often for them
that you may be filled with
the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him,
being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge
of God; (Colossians
1:9,10). In his letter to the church in Ephesus, Paul worded
it this way, finding
out what is acceptable to the Lord
(Ephesians 5:10), and again a few verses later do not be unwise, but
understand what the will of the Lord is (Ephesians 5:17). [dc: emphasis mine]
Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort
in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just
as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please
God; for you know what commandments we gave you through the
Lord Jesus, Paul
wrote in his first letter to the Thessalonian Christians, tying
together obeying Gods word & Jesus teaching with
pleasing God & satisfying the will of God. For this is the will
of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from
sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess
his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of
lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should
take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because
the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned
you and testified. For God did not call us to uncleanness,
but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects this
does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy
Spirit. (1 Thessalonians
4:1-8) [dc:
emphasis mine]
These
passages are plain and clear God knows what pleases Him.
God reveals His will and authorizes people to do it. And
He is smart enough to identify who is doing His will and who
is not.
Yet all over America and around
the world, many so-called Christians claim to do
things in the name of the Lord (i.e. by His authority) without
actually doing what He has authorized. What does Jesus
have to say about such people? Not everyone who says to Me, Lord,
Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, we read Jesus words in Matthew
7:21-23, but
he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will
say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied
in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders
in Your name? And then I will declare to them, I
never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness! Likewise, But why do you call Me
Lord, Lord,
we read Jesus warning in Luke 6:45, and not do the things
which I say? Are
those people religious? Yes. Do they call Jesus Lord?
Yes, they do. Do they think they please God and have
His authority? Yes, that is what they claim. So what
is wrong? Perhaps the problem is not their lack of zeal
to please God, but rather their lack of the true knowledge of
His will.
The apostle Paul expresses this
same concern in his letter to the church in Rome. At the
end of chapter nine in that letter, he comments about the many
Gentiles that have obtained Gods righteousness by accepting
Christ and about the many Jews that still lack that righteousness
because they still seek it in the Old Law and so refuse Christ.
Brethren,
my hearts desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they
may be saved, we
read his passionate concern in Romans 10:1. Why are they
not yet saved? Paul explains why in verses two through
four, For
I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not
according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of Gods
righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness,
have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who
believes. [dc: emphasis mine] They pretend to serve God by making
up their own form of righteousness
by being their own
authority in religion and that is why they are not yet
saved.
On one hand, it seems that a lot
of sincere religious people are claiming Jesus as their Lord
while making up for themselves how to serve Him. And if
Jesus is right, then these people have a serious problem because
Jesus promises He will NOT accept that. On the other hand,
the people who are learning and doing the will of God are entering
the kingdom of heaven and Jesus promises He will confess that
He knows them as His servants.
We have a choice to make. Do
we really want to risk hearing Jesus say that He doesnt
know us? Or, would we rather hear Jesus acknowledge to
God that we please God and act with His authority?
Some general observations about Bible
authority
Let
me ask you some questions about Bible-based authority. Heres
the first one. If in the Bible God makes statements about
something that pleases Him in other words, something that
is acceptable to Him is that something approved by God?
Well, of course it is, youre probably
thinking. If it pleases God, then its acceptable
its approved
its OK with Him because its
something He likes. Yes, I agree it only
makes sense that God would approve what pleases Him, doesnt
it?
Lets try another question.
If along with this stating of His will, God also commands
us to do it, instructs us how to do it, and shows us examples
of how to do it in other words, gives us guidelines about
pleasing Him is He giving us His authority to do it? Do
we have His permission? Well, obviously, the authority
is built into that should be going through your mind.
If God tells me to do something and expects me
to do it, then I already have His permission for that
I
dont need to ask for it. Yes, I have to
agree with that Gods guidelines also provide us
with Gods authority.
Heres another related question.
If in the Bible God gives us a margin of freedom to exercise
our some of own discretion and preferences is that freedom
intended for ignoring or breaking His guidelines? Well,
certainly not, youre thinking right now, arent
you? Whatever freedom God gives us to manage our
own actions, were still restricted to managing authorized
actions. Yes, that does stand to reason, doesnt
it the freedoms we have within Gods authority do
not give us permission to go beyond or outside that authority.
One more question before we move
on. In the Bible, how much effort should God put into describing
what He has NOT given us permission to do in other words,
does God need to go into great detail forbidding every single
little thing He can think of that He doesnt want us doing?
Well, wouldnt it be a lot simpler &
easier if God just wrote down what he wants us to do,
you might be responding, and maybe added some forbidding
for spelling out whatever hes being extra careful to discourage
and for whenever we might confuse some not-approveds
as approveds. Yes, thats how
I see it, too in telling us everything He approves Gods
permission already leaves out all the stuff that lacks permission,
so Gods forbidding something is actually extra effort to
be careful on Gods part.
Its a lot like the mother
who sends her little boy to the store to buy a few things. She
tells him what to buy and gives him a list that says one
loaf of bread, one jar of peanut butter, one jar of jelly, and
a quart of milk, not chocolate milk along with more than
enough money to buy those items. Obviously, shes
planning on making her sons favorite lunch peanut-butter
& jelly sandwiches. So he brings home bread, peanut
butter, strawberry jelly (his favorite flavor), whole milk (because
thats what Mom usually buys) and her leftover change.
Everything is fine and they have lunch.
Now imagine her surprise
if he had brought home an opened bag of chocolates, a bucket
of minnows, and a toy car along with a pocketful of gumballs.
Our young man would be in trouble with his upset mom, wouldnt
he? Suppose he argues to her that she didnt tell
him NOT to buy those things or that she didnt ask him to
bring back the leftover change. Still in trouble, isnt
he? He has his moms permission to buy what he was
told to buy, and nothing else; she wrote not chocolate
milk so he wouldnt get confused about what kind of
milk; and since the money to spend belongs to Mom, so does the
leftover change and of course she expects him to return it to
her whether she asks him for it or not.
Well and good, Im glad were
in agreement this much about authority and permission. (Youd
be surprised how many people think T-H-E-Y tell God what He accepts
instead of letting Him tell them.) Ive reworded these
general observations a little simpler here so theyre easier
for us to keep them in mind while we study.
Authority = permission
= ok = approved = acceptable
= pleasing to God
Permission, because
it identifies and authorizes all that is ok or approved,
already excludes anything else as not ok or not
approved.
Forbidding is simply
extra effort to avoid confusion about some specific that already
lacks permission.
A lack of permission
and a lack of forbidding is still a lack of permission.
This authority from God does come
to us in what might be described as a chain of command.
In verse 42-43 of John 17, the writer warns us that many
of the Jewish leaders did believe in Jesus, but they did not
confess Him because they preferred pleasing men rather than God.
Then, in verses 44-50, Jesus told those people (and us,
too!) that listening or rejecting Jesus words really means
listening or rejecting Gods words. For I have not spoken
on My own authority;
Jesus said plainly in verses 49-50, but the Father who sent Me gave Me a
command, what I should say and what I should speak. And
I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore,
whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak. Imagine that! Not
even Jesus presumed to speak religiously on His own authority
as the divine son of God, but instead spoke only within the authority
given him by Gods word!! This same understanding
begins the letter to the Hebrews God, who at various times
and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the
prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son,
whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He
made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the
express image of His person, and upholding all things by the
word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins,
sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become
so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained
a more excellent name than they.
(Hebrews 1:1-4) [dc:
emphasis mine]
So the authority from God starts
with the God the Father who gives all of that authority to Jesus.
In turn, Jesus teaches Gods authority to the apostles
and inspired writers, who in turn teach that authority to us
using the New Testament. As recorded in Matthew 28:18-20,
Jesus came and spoke to the apostles, saying All authority has been
given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples
of all the 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
always, even to the end of the age.
[dc: For
an advanced study exercise, as you read the Bible start keeping
track of all the different times Jesus or the writers refer to
the written or established word of God or to why they themselves
are writing. Youll be amazed!!]
Primary Ways the Bible authorizes Christians
today
Commands -- God orders
the dos and donts
Sooner or later, if God wants strongly
enough for us to do something, Hes going to tell us to
do it. In other words, Hes going to command us, isnt
He? For example, look at the Scriptures we read earlier
about God knowing what pleases Him. Most of them involve
commands to Christians commands to find out what is pleasing
to God, commands to consider carefully what pleases God, and
commands to do what pleases God.
If we compare Gods authority
to a box drawn around everything we can do with Gods approval,
then Commands is the obvious first side to that box.
If we obey Gods commands for Christians, we are definitely
acting within or inside the authority of God. If we refuse
to obey those commands, then we are definitely acting without
or outside Gods authority.
We need to mention here that oftentimes
Gods commands reflect the progress of a situations
particular needs or a persons particular level of growth.
For example, in Genesis chapter six when God commanded
Noah to prepare him for building the ark, Noah was told he will
be bringing aboard two of every land and flying creature.
Then, in chapter seven just before the Flood started when
God commanded Noah to prepare him for entering the ark, Noah
was told he will be bringing aboard two of every unclean
land and flying creature and seven of every clean land
and flying creature. Is this a contradiction? No,
the timing of the commands was obviously intended to correspond
to the progress of the project just like in chapter eight
after the Flood was over when God commanded Noah to prepare to
leave the ark because the purpose of the ark was fulfilled.
This point reminds us again how
necessary it is to correctly understand concerning the who, what,
when, where, why, and how, as well as the context and background
of each passage. Who is speaking to whom, and why? Is
the passage intended to be understood literally (such as in
Hebrews 10:24-25) or figuratively (such in Matthew 5:29;
7:3-5; & 18:9)? In our example of Gods commands
to Noah about the ark, clearly they were not intended for Christians
to obey yet the Genesis record of the Flood can teach
Christians a lot about an important event in mankinds history,
and about Gods character in how & why He commands.
Before we move on to drawing the
next side of our box defined by Gods authority, we should
also note that Jesus ties together our obedience to God with
our love for God. John 14:15 records Jesus saying, If you love Me, keep
My commandments.
Six verses later in verse 21, Jesus repeats, He who has My commandments
and keeps them,
it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved
by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him. After being asked how He
will manifest Himself to His followers, Jesus answers beginning
in verse 23, If
anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will
love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
He who does not love Me does not keep My words;
and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Fathers
who sent Me. Obeying
Jesus commandments is not only how we please God, but is
also how we show God we love Him and how we let Him abide with
us.
In
the upcoming parts two through 4, well continue examining
the primary ways the Bible authorizes Christians today. Well
see how Commands and Direct Statements
combine together with Instructions and Approved
Examples forming the four boundaries of what Christians
may believe and do with Gods authority.
In part five, we will explore the
two secondary ways permitted Christians working inside these
boundaries
"Implied Requirements" and "Personal
Preferences." You might consider these as the leeway
God entrusts Christians to exercise their own discretion and
discernment. We will consider ways to live up to this trust.
Unfortunately, many in the religious world abuse this leeway
into selfish excuses for ignoring and breaking the authority
provided by Gods commands, direct statements, instructions,
and approved examples.
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