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A Study of Authority
Lesson 7
“And if anyone hears My words and does not believe,
I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save
the world. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that
which judges him; the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last
day” (John 12:47-48).
Recapping What It Is…
Christ is the source of authority as King and head
over the church
The will of Christ is set forth in the New
Testament
Authority is established through direct command,
example, and necessary inference
Generic authority is broad authority, such as the
command to build an ark
Specific authority is tighter authority, such as
specifying the ark being constructed from gopherwood
Recapping What It Isn’t…
The Doctrine and practices of the Old Testament
What the Preacher Says
Creeds of men
Desires of the congregation
Elders of a local church
The Results accomplished
Recapping the Expediency…
An expediency does
not authorize anything on its own, it merely modifies existing authority
It must be lawful
to be an expedient
You can’t “change”
what is specifically authorized by calling its replacement an expediency
Since an expediency
cannot authorize by itself, you cannot use an “expedient” to add to, or
take away from the scriptures
Even a lawful
expedient, if it causes division, becomes unlawful
Next Lesson
Does the Silence of the Scriptures “Authorize?
First look at what we do, a study on the
authority instrumental music in the church today
Today’s Lesson:
What about things
they did in the 1st century, how do we know which examples
still apply to us today?
Walking everywhere
they went, taking a ship to our next preaching destination, riding on a
donkey into Jerusalem, are all examples of things they did that
certainly do not apply to us today. These are all simple. We have
cars, etc. But what about things like foot washing and anointing our
heads with oil?
If it was simply
a custom of the times, they do not apply to us today. Examples:
Luke 2:27 And
when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to
the custom of the law,
John 18:39 "But
you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover.
John 19:40 Then
they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the
spices, as the custom of the
Jews is to bury
Acts 18:18 He
had his hair cut off at Cenchrea, for he had taken a vow.
Acts 21:24 Take
them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may
shave their heads,
Acts 22:23-24
they cried out and tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air,
James 5:14-15 Is
anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and
let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
1 Cor 14:25
falling down on his face, he will worship God
Rom 16:16, 1 Cor
16:20, 2 Cor 13:12, Greet one another with a holy kiss
1 Thess 5:26
Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss.
2 Thess 3:10 If
anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.
1 Tim 2:8 I
desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands,
Event related
instruction, does not apply to us today
Acts 16:3 And he
took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that
region, for they all knew that his father was Greek.
Acts 19:19 Also,
many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and
burned
1 Tim 5:23 No
longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake
1 Cor 10:28 But
if anyone says to you, "This was offered to idols," do not eat it for
the sake of that one
Acts 15:29 you
abstain from things offered to idols
1 Cor 16:1-3 Now
concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the
churches of Galatia, so you must do also: 2 On the first day of the week
let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper,
that there be no collections when I come. 3 And when I come, whomever
you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to
Jerusalem.
1 Cor 14:27 If
anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each
in turn
1 Cor 14:1
Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may
prophesy
Acts 15:29 from
blood, from things strangled
John 13:8 Jesus
answered him, "If I do not wash your feet, you have no part with Me."
John 13:14-15 If
I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to
wash another's feet.
1 Cor 11:34 But
if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for
judgment.
1 Cor 11:19-21
For there must also be factions among you, Therefore when you come
together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper. 21 For in
eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry
and another is drunk. The act itself was condemned because of
their abuse only. If they were instructed not to eat together, the
Bible would contradict itself because of passages in Jude 12, Acts
2:46-47 and Matt 14:16.
If there are 3
examples the 1st century church did it, and 1 verse that
tells of it, then it is an approved act. If it is an approved act for
them to perform, would performing this act in a building be authorized
as an expediency?
Custom of the
times some still observe today
(
I don’t believe it is binding in any way,
but it may be good for a person to do)
Acts 14:23 So
when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting,
Matt 9:15
bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.
Matt 6:17-18 But
you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
1 Cor 14:16-17
Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the
place of the uninformed say "Amen" at your giving of thanks, since he
does not understand what you say?
A command that
still applies to us today
Gal 6:10
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to
those who are of the household of faith.
1 Tim 2:1 that
supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for
all men
Why? Kindness
never goes out of style, and is preached by Jesus over and over
Many
“churches” fail to accept this
A command that
does not lead to understanding by itself. It was definitely a custom
back then, but does it still apply today?
Woman head
covering (Intro, we will
discuss in a later lesson)
1 Cor 11:10 For
this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head,
because of the angels.
The reason for a covering was because of
the angels that might be in attendance. Do angels attend our services
today? If so, the women should probably be covered, if not, a covering
would not be required.
1 Cor 11:13-16
Judge among yourselves. Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her
head uncovered?
1 Cor 11:4-5
Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his
head. 5 But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered
dishonors her head,
Women keep
silence in the church (intro,
we will discuss in a later lesson)
1 Cor 14:34-35
Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted
to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. 35 And if
they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home;
for it is shameful for women to speak in church.
1 Tim 2:11-12
Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. 12 And I do not permit
a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.
Eating together
(how many approved examples
do I need to show to prove it was acceptable?)
Matt 14:16 But
Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away. You give them
something to eat."
If it
was good enough for Jesus it is good enough for me
Acts 2:46-47 So
continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from
house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of
heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people.
They were praising God and
eating from house to house. If it was good enough for them, it’s good
enough for me
Acts 6:2-3 Then
the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, "It is not
desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. 3
Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good
reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over
this
Why
were they were to appoint men of wisdom, full of the Holy Spirit just to
serve tables?
Jude 12 These
are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear,
serving only themselves
Excerpt from Barnes
Notes on Jude 12:
There can be no
doubt that such a custom early existed in the Christian church, and
extensively prevailed; but it can readily be accounted for without
supposing that it had the sanction of the apostles, or that it existed
in their time.
(a) Festivals prevailed among the Jews,
and it would not be unnatural to introduce them into the Christian
church.
(b) The custom prevailed among the
heathen of having a "feast upon a sacrifice," or in connection with a
sacrifice; and as the Lord's Supper commemorated the great sacrifice for
sin, it was not unnatural, in imitation of the heathen, to append a
feast or festival to that ordinance, either before or after its
celebration. (from Barnes' Notes,)
Jude 12 The word
used by Jude means, properly, "a rock" by or in the sea; a cliff, etc.
It may either be a rock BY the sea, against which vessels may be
wrecked, or a hidden rock "in" the sea, on which they may be stranded at
an unexpected moment. The idea here seems to be, not that they were
"spots and blemishes" in their sacred feasts, but that they were like
hidden rocks to the mariner. As those rocks were the cause of shipwreck,
so these false teachers caused others to make shipwreck of their faith.
They were as dangerous in the church as hidden rocks are in the ocean.
If this “feast” can be destroyed by false teachers (like the hidden
rock would imply) then it must not be talking about the Lord’s supper as
many would suggest, as the Lord’s supper is a private affair. The more
likely target would be their actual feasts they would participate in,
where a person bent on destruction could cause harm and division
James 5:16
Confess your trespasses to one another
James 4:15
Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this
or that." |
