Fundamentals: Authority

     A friend recently made an interesting...and valid...observation concerning this broadcast.
     "You sure quote a lot from the Bible," he noted.  "Every other word is from this chapter and that verse."
     No finer compliment could be made!  "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel," Paul boasts in Romans 1:16, "for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."
     "And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom," Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, "proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
     "For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.  And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.
     "And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God."
     We can study and learn and evaluate, but we can never improve on the Word of God.  We are not afraid to tell you what we believe straight from the pages of the Bible.  And we have enough faith in your intelligence to allow you to arrive at your own conclusions about what the Bible says.
     We challenge you to compare what you hear on this program with what you hear on other broadcasts and from other religious speakers.  If they don't back up what they are saying with the authority of the Scriptures, ask yourselves, "Why not?"
     No man-made creed can help a person make even the first step along the road to salvation.  Beware of those who say that they follow the Bible but deny it through their teaching and actions.  Beware of those who say they follow the Bible but work to defend man-made creeds and doctrines.
     Did we make up this warning?
     "Any one who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God;" 2 John 9-11 states, "the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son.
     "If any one comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds."
     What kinds of things should we watch for?  We should consider teaching on subjects such as authority, salvation, christian living, worship, and the organization and function of the church.
     What about authority in religious matters?  We have already seen what John wrote in his second epistle.
     "What was from the beginning," the same Apostle writes in 1 John 1:1-4, "what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of life-and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us-what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, that you may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
     "And these things we write, so that our joy may be made complete."
     For more of John's statements about the New Testament look at John 20:30-31 and 21:24-25.
     "If any one thinks he is a prophet or spiritual," Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 14:37, "let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord's commandment."
     To learn more of what Paul says about the New Testament read his first and second letters to Timothy and his epistle to Titus.  These books are not very long, and what they have to say may be surprising.
     Peter backs up Paul's claim of inspiration in 2 Peter 3:14-18, where he also points out that those who distort the Scriptures do so to their own destruction.
     "For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ," Peter claims of his own writings as well as of the rest of the New Testament in 2 Peter 1:16-21, "but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.
     "For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, 'This is My beloved Son with who I am well pleased,'-and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.
     "And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.
     "But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God."
     What about authority in religion?  The Bible is the first, last and only authority.  The Scriptures teach this.  The early church believed and practiced this.  What are you being taught today?
     What about salvation?  

     Ephesians 2:1-10 is just one of many passages that teach that we are saved by the grace of God.  There are no works of law that we can carry out to earn our salvation.  Salvation is totally unmerited.  But this does not mean that salvation is unconditional.  There is no use denying this, every religious body this side of those who believe in universal salvation of all men teaches that salvation is conditional upon something.  And, even if no religious body accepted this, it would still be true, since it is what the Bible teaches.  There is much disagreement about the condition itself, but we all agree that it exists.  So it is an empty claim to say that placing a condition or conditions on salvation makes it salvation by works.
     The Bible also clearly teaches, in verses such as Revelation 1:5, that salvation is from the blood of Christ.  To seek salvation outside the blood of Christ is hopeless.  So we are saved by the grace of God through the blood of Christ.  But what are the conditions?
     Romans 10:8-17 states clearly that hearing the word of Christ must precede faith.  This isn't too hard to understand.  These verses also point out that faith and the confession of Jesus as Lord are conditions of salvation.  There are many passages that stress hearing, believing and confessing as conditions for salvation, and we would be glad to supply more for anyone who would like to write.
     Notice also in verse 13 that "calling on the name of the Lord" is a condition for salvation.  File this away and we will look at it in a little while.
     Acts 2:38 says that repentance is a condition of salvation.  So we have hearing, believing, repenting and confessing as prerequisites for salvation.  So, if we do these things we have it made, right?  Wrong!  We haven't dealt with "calling on the name of the Lord."  No, this is not a simple "inviting the Lord to come into your heart" as some religious groups claim.
     This phrase occurs three times in the New Testament.  Let's look at the other two to see what it means.  But perhaps we should explain first that "calling upon the name" of someone means to rely upon the power or authority of that one to grant a request.
     Peter uses this phrase in Acts 2:21 where he quotes from Joel, the original source.  The crowd asks in verse 37 what they must do to be saved.  Peter has already said, "call on the name of the Lord."  Is he going to give them a different answer the second time?  Or is he going to give them the same answer in a different form?
     "Repent, and let each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins," is how Peter defines "calling on the name of the Lord" in verse 38.
     The other reference is Acts 22:16, where Ananias tells Paul, "Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name."
     We call upon the name of the Lord when we are baptized in His name.
     Read Galatians 3:27, Colossians 2:11-14 and 1 Peter 3:21 and draw your own conclusion.  Is baptism a condition of salvation?
     Those who hear, believe, repent, confess and are baptized are saved.  This is what the Bible teaches.  This is what the early church practiced.  What are you being taught?
     There is so much to consider concerning baptism.  Can infants and small children be baptized?  Do they need to be baptized?  What form must baptism have?  Pick up your Bible and find the answers.  We'll consider these and other questions, Lord willing, next week.
     In the meantime, remember that doctrines and creeds of men can only bind you.  It's the truth that sets you free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission."