ETERNAL FOUNDATIONS FOR MANKIND – Part 3
"Who’s in Charge?" – August 25, 2002
Tracy L. Moore
Riverwood Church of Christ
A couple was being questioned about the way they had completed their tax form. They were asked why they had failed to answer who was the head of household. Their answer was simple: "We have been arguing over the answer to that question for seventeen years. As soon as we agree, we’ll answer the question!"
The debate over "Who’s in Charge?" is nothing new to our society. In the 1960’s,
there were many campus sit-ins and draft dodgers that fled to Canada. In our schools, teachers are assaulted, but usually will not press charges unless there are witnesses, due to their testimony having equal weight. Parents and children run over the issue on a daily basis.
"Who’s in Charge?" Does anyone really have greater authority than another does? In my opinion that is the real question we are dealing with in society and even in the church.
It’s not always as simple as the farmer who made six holes in his door as exits for his six cats. A friend asked him one day, "Why do you make six holes in the door? One hole would have been enough." The farmer replied with emphasis, "When I say scat I mean scat!"
Yet, we live in a world that doesn’t ask "how high?" when told to jump. We are constantly questioning who has the right to tell us what to do.
This was nothing new in the days of Christ.
Matthew 21:23, "Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?’" (NKJV)
This came off the heels of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry, the cleansing of the temple, and the accepting of the praise of children. In Jesus’ world, as in ours, people looked for the outward sign of authority; education, title, position, and connections.
In essence, they wanted to know, "Who died and made you boss?"
The word, authority, means "the right to command and enforce obedience. The power or right to command or act; dominion; control. The power of one whose will and commands must be obeyed by others.
This sounds very negative, even demeaning, and that is the problem we face. But without it our lives would be chaotic. Therefore, authority is the great regulator of our lives. I don’t know about you, but I’m glad a doctor has to have a diploma from a reputable medical school before he can practice. I’m glad a policeman has to be given a badge before he carries out his duties. I’m glad that people must use passports before they enter our country. I’m glad there are referees to enforce the rules at our ballgames.
Authority is necessary, even if it is despised. Someone has to set the standard, and that leads us to our question today – "Who’s in Charge?" There are plenty of people who want to tell me what to do, but who should I listen to, and where can I turn when I am faced with difficult decisions on right and wrong? Who do I know something is right? Or wrong?
Let’s look into our Bibles and discover the answers to these questions.
In the military, and in many businesses, you hear this phrase used quite often. The Bible teaches there is a chain of command to follow and understand.
In Romans 13:1, it says "…There is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God." (NKJV)
The Bible says all authority is grounded in God. He is the final and ultimate authority, in religion as well as in everything else.
Why? Some might ask, "Who made Him God?" The answer is found in the very first verse in the Bible, "In the Beginning God created the heavens and earth." (Gen. 1:1 – KJV)
We established this fact in last week’s lesson. What more credentials do you need than that?
Think with me for a moment. If you draw up your own blueprints for your house. Then you buy the material to do the construction, then you build it all by yourself. You install the plumbing system, the electrical, the heating system – everything. It takes you many months to do the complete project. Do you think you know anything about your house? You sure do – you know where every nail is, the flaws, the good points and the weak points – you would be considered the sole authority on your house. As the authority you know everything about your house. It’s the same way with God.
He is the "Author and Finisher of our faith." (Heb. 12:2) He is the Creator of everything that exists – He is the authority on His Creation! His authority is unconditional and absolute.
Paul wrote, "One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." (Eph. 4:6 – KJV). In fact, we could even say that He is the author of authority. There has never been a time when man was without authority, but this does not mean man has always recognized and obeyed that authority.
Yet, the Father doesn’t hoard all the power, but shares it with others. God gave His authority, absolute authority, to Jesus Christ. As Jesus began His ministry on earth, he stopped off to be baptized by John the Baptizer. When we came up out of the water immediately the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended like a dove and settled on him. A voice came from heaven, it was the Father, and said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matt. 3:17 – NKJV)
This is the same the Father said at the Son’s transfiguration, only to add, "hear ye him." (Matt. 17:5 – KJV). In Matthew 28:18, it says "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth." (NKJV)
Many times over He proved His dominion through the fulfillment of many prophecies concerning his life. (Dan. 7:13-14) Through the miracles he worked. Such as His power over nature (Mk. 4:39), over disease and sickness (Matt. 4:23), over demons and the spiritual world (Mk. 1:21-28), and death (Matt. 28:1-8). The quality of his teaching (Matt. 7:28-29) and the perfection of His life show His authority over sin (I Pet. 2:22).
Before Jesus established His church, He established His absolute authority for it. In fact, there were several occasions when the early church leaders made spoke a command "in the name of Jesus Christ." That is a name of ultimate authority.
Yet, Jesus isn’t walking the earth, physically, as He did in the first century. So how do we know what is authorized or not? That brings us to the next chain in command.
Again we see the delegated authority passed down from the Father. The Spirit would use this authority teach truth. Which links into the next chain of delegated command.
This does not mean the apostles could teach anything they wanted and become a dictator to the people – the authority had to be inspired by God the Spirit, as we read in John 14 and 16. Their work, as with the prophets, was to reveal the will of God to man (Eph. 3:5; II Pet. 1:19-20).
This authority was given to them, not by the Spirit, but by Christ. Jesus said to His apostles, "He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me." (Matt. 10:40 – NKJV)
He told Peter, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." (Matt. 16:19 – NKJV) This is why we can trust the example left by the apostles, as being truth. Some people think the only authority and example we must follow is in red ink in our Bibles. But this would do away with the authority of the Holy Spirit and the apostles.
But again, just as with Christ, we don’t have apostles to follow around and ask questions of right and wrong. So who’s in charge?
The very first week in this series we established the trustworthiness of the Bible. To know that what we have in our laps is truly the words of God. This came about when "holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." (II Pet. 1:21 – NKJV)
This takes us right back to the top of our chain of command – God – because the Bible is written by God Himself. It is God-breathed and God filled. It’s alive (II Tim. 3:16).
If you want to know how to get to heaven – you go the Scriptures. If you want to know about how worship God – you open up this book. If you want to know about God’s plan for the family – start reading. Everything that pertains to life and godliness is contained in the Bible. (II Pet. 1:3)
Who’s in Charge? God is, and He has left His message with us today. Not only that, but we will be judged by the authority of the Word (Jn. 12:48; Rom. 2:2; Jms. 2:12).
If you are arrested and carted off to court, you will be judged on the laws written for mankind. And this is a blessing, because you don’t want to be judged on the opinions of others or on things that you were never told. Our government would face lawsuits or riots if they had people arrested for things the government kept secret.
We serve a just God. He has given us laws written out of love – otherwise known as the law of Christ (I Cor. 9:21). As God’s children, we are expected to follow those laws out of love for the Master. (Jn. 14:15)
It will not matter what the world said was acceptable or not on the Day of Judgment. Our standard of authority comes from the Holy Scriptures.
Which leads us into our second main point.
We have just been given the Biblical chain of authority. I doubt very seriously anyone disagrees with what has been studied thus far. But what about broken chains?
ADDING LINKS TO GOD’S CHAIN.
In Revelation 22:18 it says , "For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book." (NKJV)
I realize this warning is given to the readers of the book of Revelation, but throughout Scripture God has laid down this principle.
He says in Deuteronomy 4:2, "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you..." (KJV)
Deuteronomy 12:32, "What things soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto…" (KJV)
Proverbs 30:6, "Add thou not unto his words least he reprove thee…" (KJV)
Jesus spoke of scribes and Pharisees adding to the words of God by their traditions. (Matt. 15:6-9, 13)
Notice that adding to God’s Word is not just bringing in things unauthorized by God, but making a command where there isn’t any, such as our traditions. Therefore, adding to God’s Word could be going beyond the example of New Testament worship. Or it could as simple as binding a tradition as God’s standard.
Have you ever tried to add another link to a chain? It doesn’t look natural. There’s something about it that isn’t right. The same is true when we try to add links to God’s standard. The CHURCH is not the standard of authority. This is the Roman Catholic view of authority. While the Bible is significant, it is to be officially interpreted by the hierarchy of the church. The final authority, of course, rests in the Pope. Yet, we sometimes do the same thing, if we are not careful, allowing our traditions, Christian colleges, or church-wide publications to set the standard.
The elders of the church do not make religious laws, but preserve the one’s God gave us in His book. Certainly they make traditions for us follow, not as a matter of salvation, but as a matter of expediency or order. However, the church is not the standard. Don’t expect to stand on the Day of Judgment and tell the Lord, "but that’s what the preacher told me" or "our religious manual or creed book said…". (Col. 2:8)
The CONSCIENCE is not the standard of authority. This view holds that authority is internal, resting within the person himself. It is the authority of one’s inner feelings or reason. Yet, there was a time when Saul believed in this kind of authority, at least in part (Acts 23:1). Just because something seems right doesn’t mean that it is, nor that it will be an acceptable excuse on the judgment (Prov. 14:12; 16:25).
The MAJORITY is not the standard of authority. Jesus taught us this truth long ago (Matt. 7:13-14). We could go on and on about these adding links of authority, such as the will of a parent in spiritual matters (Matt. 10:37), worldly philosophers (I Cor. 1:26), later day revelations (Jn. 16:13), etc.
SUBTRACTING LINKS FROM GOD’S CHAIN.
Revelation 22:19, "And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." (NKJV) Just as there are those who want to add to God’s commands, there are those who want to subtract. There are times I wish I could take some scissors and cut certain commands out of the Bible. Not with great wisdom, but selfishness. There are some good people who refuse to follow the Bible. That is when we cut links of God’s authority out of the Bible and make ourselves the standard in matters of worship, family, salvation, etc. But cutting out commands from God’s Word doesn’t free us of His Judgment.
For example, during World War II the city of Palermo, Sicily, a military objective of the Allied Powers, was to be bombed by the American Air Force. To warn the Sicilians, telling them to flee, thousands of pamphlets were dropped on the city beforehand, but the citizens simply did not believe the warning. They listened, but they did not hear! When the American planes came and dropped their bombs, hundreds of Sicilians were killed; in fact, in some cold, dead hands were found the very pages urging them to leave the city.
God wants to save mankind, and so He has given us His Divine Word, spending years having it written and carefully handed down to our generation. But merely having God’s Word will not save us, any more than it saved the Sicilians who clinched the warning of the air raid in their hands. God’s Word becomes useless to us on the Day of Judgment. It’s power resides in the here and now. To cut away links from God’s authority is deadly.
The purpose of God’s Word is not to make our lives miserable, or to simply increase our knowledge, but to change our lives into the image of Christ. (I Cor. 8:1-2)
THE CHAIN GANG.
If we recognize authority, it is important we link together to follow its message for mankind. However, submitting to authority is the difficult part. Therefore, we need to be like these chains, unbroken, and joined together. Holding on to each other as we struggle through life.
So how do we do it?
HUMILITY
In my opinion, this is the greatest obstacle we face. No one wants to be subservient to others, but this is the very message of Christ (Jn. 13). The no one’s going to tell me what to do attitude will never inherit eternal life (Matt. 23:12). Maybe we would never say that, but we act it in our daily lives to those God-ordained authorities, such as government (Rom. 13), your employer (Eph. 6), your husband (Eph. 5), parents (Eph. 6), or the elders of the church (Heb. 13:17). If you go into religion planning to change God’s mind on issues you’re sadly mistaken, because God doesn’t change (Mal. 3:6). Christianity is about people changing their lives to live for God. To do it any other way is deadly.
Let me illustrate it with a story you have probably heard on many occasions, but its message is powerful.
In U.S. Navel Institute Proceedings, the magazine of the Naval Institute, Frank Koch illustrates the importance of obeying the Laws of the Lighthouse. Two battleships assigned to the training squadron had been at sea on maneuvers in heavy weather for several days. Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing reported, "Light, bearing on the starboard bow." The captain called out, "It is steady or moving astern?" The lookout replied, "Steady, Captain," which meant they were on a dangerous collision course with that ship. The captain then called to the signalman, "Signal the ship: ‘We are on a collision course, advise you change course 20 degrees." Back came the signal, "Advisable for you to change course twenty degrees." The captain said, "Send: ‘I’m a captain, change course 20 degrees." "I’m a seaman second-class," came the reply. "You had better change course 20 degrees." By that time the captain was furious. He spat out, "Send, ‘I’m a battleship. Change course twenty degrees’." Back came the flashing light, "I’m a lighthouse."
God’s Word is our lighthouse in this dark world. He doesn’t change. If we are going to follow Him, we must change. Don’t let your pride destroy your soul.
FAITH.
This is trusting God to do what He says He will do, and to trust Him to know what is best for us. Isn’t that one of the biggest problems as to why people reject authority? We think we know what is best for us. Yet, establishing the fact that God is our Creator, do we really believe we know more than the one who gave us life? Let go, and allow God to work in your life. I’m going to stop here, because next weeks lesson is about our faith.
Who’s in charge of your life? Is it your parents? Is it the world’s view? I want more than anything for this congregation to stand together, as links in a chain, to make God’s Word our authority for living. Are we humble enough to except His message to us? Do we trust Him enough to follow Him?
References:
Lesson notes from Hermeneutics class under Wendell Winkler.
Sermon illustrations from sermoncentral.com