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Bible.04: But Men Spoke from God

A parent leaves a kid at home with a note that reads “Clean your room!”  The kid respects the parent’s authority and so obeys the command, but if he interprets the note how he wants by stuffing toys out-of-sight in the closet or clean clothing under the bed, is he truly pleasing to his parent?  No, of course not!  Yet, even if we all can agree that God’s Word is authoritative over our lives but interpret it however we would would like, can we be pleasing to God?

I. 2 Peter 1:19-21.  Authority came from the Father to the Son to men inspired to write God’s Word for us to obey.  Just as a cop cannot interpret the law however he wants, we cannot make God’s Word mean whatever we would like it to or best suits our lifestyle.  Rather, we must discover what God intended for us to understand and obey.

II. 1 Corinthians 11:17-29.  Good Bible study techniques must be applied.  Who’s speaking?  To whom is the passage being spoken?  What is the type of literature and language being used?  What testament and book does it appear in?  What’s the general, specific, and historical context?  Is there a clear command?  For an example, take the issue of when to take the Lord’s Supper.  Is there an approved example (Acts 20:7)?  Is there an inference about how often Christians met (1 Corinthians 16:1-2)?

III.  Ephesians 5:19.  We must treat biblical silence as prohibitive rather than permissive.  We can get into much trouble when we say, “God didn’t say we couldn’t ….”  Once we open a door, where does it end?  If I order coffee at a restaurant, I expect the waitress to bring me a mug of black coffee.  If she puts in several packs of sugar and whitens it with cream, I would not be pleased.  Those things are innovations (something new introduced) rather than an expedient (a means to get to the command).  Thus, the mug is an expedient for me to have coffee in the same way that a songbook or pitchpipe would aid us in singing.  An addition of a guitar or choir in worship, however, would be an innovation.

So, to please the parent, the kid should ask himself, “How would mom want me to clean my room?  What would she want me to do with these toys and clean clothes?”  God’s inspired Word, just as the parent’s note, can never mean what it never meant.

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Seasoned with Salt

Benevolence springs from who we are in Christ.  Edification is the building up of and teaching truth to everyone around us so that we can get to our third main value as Christians: evangelism.  We can not, however, share the good news with others unless we are the type of people from whom the gospel can be received.  In the close of his letter to the Colossians, Paul gives us great insight into this:

Colossians 4:2-6
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.
4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.
5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

  1. We are to be devoted to prayer, being watchful and thankful.  Prayer is essential for open doors and for a clear proclaiming of the good news.

  2. We must be wise toward the lost, knowing our audience and making the most of every opportunity that God gives us.  We must also pray that God would open our eyes to recognize them as they come before us and for the wisdom, which God gives to us if we ask, to know what to do with the opportunities when He gives them to us.

  3. Finally, we must watch our words to answer everyone well.  They must be full of grace or, like tasty food that people would want to eat, seasoned with salt.   Salt also creates thirst–in this case spiritual thirst.

How are you prepared to share the gospel?

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Bible.03: By What Authority

“Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him.  ‘By what authority are you doing these things?’ they asked.  ‘And who gave you this authority?’” Matthew 21:23.  One of my students at a secular college once tried to argue in a paper with the question, “What gives God the right …?”  I told her that if she was going to refute God, she needed to prove that He wasn’t the sovereign Creator who did not have the right to establish His creation how He wanted to.  She chose a different argument.  God has all authority.  After the cross and His resurrection, Jesus said that all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to Him.  With His authority, we who are baptized into Him, are to “go and make disciples … teaching them everything [He has] commanded.”  To know what to teach, the Holy Spirit brought men into all truth and carried them along to record His inspired Word.  For a while, that authority entrusted to us was in spoken and written forms and confirmed by various gifts, but by the end of the 1st Century, we had His completed Word that thoroughly equips us written.  Does His Word have authority over you?

I.  Matthew 21:23-27.  The chief priests and elders believed they were in authority and so demanded from the Son of God in the flesh “by what authority” He was teaching and who gave it to Him.  They knew of course that God, as the sovereign Creator, had all authority but were unwilling to accept that Jesus had authority (Luke 5:20-24).  But, God now speaks to us through His Son (Hebrews 1:1-2).

II.  Hebrews 2:3-4.  What a confusing time the 1st Century must have been before the completed Word of God was written.  Before the cross, Jesus had promised that the Holy Spirit would lead them into all truth (John 14:26), and so through various gifts, God’s Word was spoken (1 Corinthians 14:1-5) and written down (2 Peter 1:19-21) until His authority was revealed (1 Corinthians 13:8-13).

III.  Matthew 28:18-20.  Because of mankind’s sin, the devil claimed to have authority to give Jesus if only He would worship him (Luke 4:5-8), but Jesus took the more difficult road to gaining all authority through the cross.  By His authority, now revealed to us through the completed Word of God that thoroughly equips us (2 Timothy 3:16-17), we are to go and make disciples of all nations.

Our reaction to the question “By what authority?” posed to Jesus should be “By what authority!”

 

 

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Take One/Leave One

The English teacher in me always get excited when I pass one of those free lending libraries around our area and see someone poking through the books.  It is an informal way for neighbors to help neighbors.  That’s how I see sermonlines.com–as a lending library of ideas and outlines that the preacher or teacher can peruse through and take.  But, leaving one for someone else to use is also encouraged!  What a great toolbox this site could be if brother helped brother in this way.

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Fundamentals of repentance

Kevin Cauley, in New Boston TX, starts a series on “Repentance Fundamentals.” You can see his extensive outline and listen to the audio at this link.

Repentance is a topic that frequently needs to be addressed, as often perhaps as baptism.

See also these six short quotes on repentance on the Quick Bible Truths site.

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Outline: Preaching about sex

Matthew Morine published a lengthy outline on his website that deals with how to preach about sex.

He deals with “The tension of a sexual culture,” “The tension of a sacred church,” and “The tension of intertexuality.”

Consult the outline here.

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Now available: The Right Kind of Christianity

The printer has delivered the book, The Right Kind of Christianity, and you can purchase it now.

With 13 chapters, the book makes an excellent quarterly study for groups and classes.

Twelve brothers on three continents contributed to the book. With experience in ministry, missions, servant training, personal evangelism, and mass media, they’ve been on the front line of expressing the truth of the gospel.

Discover how postmodernism seeks to change the Way. See how the truths of the gospel do not change.

Confirm your faith and help others to be confident that the original plan of Scripture for the gospel continues the same as ever.