BIBLE AUTHORITY IN RELIGION

Victor M. Eskew

 

          On one occasion in the life of Moses, he hit a rock, and it brought forth water to the children of Israel.  When Moses did this, God was well-pleased with him (See Exo. 17:1-7).  On another occasion, Moses smote another rock, and God was angered with him (See Num. 20:1-13).  Why was the reaction of God different on these two occasions?  The answer lies in what God had authorized Moses to do. 

          At Rephidim, God specifically told Moses to smite the rock.  “And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.  Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there the people may drink.  And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel” (Exo. 17:5-6).  In the second account, Israel was in the desert of Zin and had encamped at Kadesh.  “And there was no water for the congregation…” (Num. 20:2).  When Moses approached God with this delicate situation, God gave Moses his instructions.  “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock:  so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts to drink” (Num. 20:7-8).  Note that God told Moses to “speak ye unto the rock before their eyes.”  Moses failed to do this.  “And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice…”  His failure to follow God’s directions brought divine punishment upon him.  “And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them” (Num. 20:12).

          These two incidents in the life of the lawgiver reveal the importance of adhering to divine authority.  According to Colossians 3:17, we must have divine authority for all we do religiously.  “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Col. 3:17).  The words “whatsoever” and “do all” are comprehensive in nature.  The word “whatsoever” means “anything that, no matter what.”  “All” is defined as “the whole of.”  Everything, anything, all, and no matter what must be done “in the name of the Lord.”  “In the name of the Lord” simply means “by the authority of the Lord.”  If a criminal is fleeing a crime, a police office might yell:  “Stop in the name of the law.”  What he  means is understood, that is:  “Stop by the authority of the law.” 

          The idea of having authority for “everything” we do religiously is confusing to many.  They are under the assumption that we do many things for which there is no Bible authority.  Where is the authority for a church building?  Where is the authority for a sound system?  Where is the authority for PowerPoint?  Where is the authority the Bible classes?  Where is the authority for a fellowship hall?  Where is the authority for a parking lot?  Where is the authority for a treasurer?  Where is the authority for a song director?  When we turn into the pages of the New Testament, we nowhere find these things specifically commanded for us to have.  Therefore, they reason, we are doing these things without authority.  This, however, is not so.

          There are two kinds of authority set forth in the Scriptures.  There is specific authority, and there is general authority.  An explanation of these two types of authority is best seen from Noah and the ark.  When God came to Noah and told him about the destruction of the earth to come, he gave Noah some commandments.  Some of these commands were specific.  Others were general in nature.  Let’s look at one verse, Genesis 6:14.  It reads:  “Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.”  Let’s divide the things commanded in this verse into specific and general authority.

 

Specific Authority                                                   General Authority

1.  An ark                                                              1.  Make  

2.  Gopher wood                                                     2.  Rooms

3.  Within and without                                            3.  Pitch

 

Noah was specifically commanded to build an ark.  An ark was a vessel that would float in water.  He was not to construct a building, a tower, or castle.  He was, however, told to “make” the ark.  Make is general in nature.  God did not specify the tools to be used.  The command to “make” an ark was the only commanded to authorize Noah to use whatever types of tools necessary to construct the ark.  Hammers, saws, nails, planes, lifting devices, crowbars, and other tools were authorized under the general command “to make.”  On the other hand, gopher wood was specific.  Noah could not use oak, pin, cedar, maple, or any other type of wood in the ark’s construction.  The specific command ruled out all other types of wood.  Noah was also commanded to make rooms in the ark.  This is a general command.  Note, the precise number of rooms was not given.  Noah was also commanded to use pitch to seal the ark.  There may have been many “recipes” for pitch in those days.  Since God did specify the type of pitch, Noah was free to use the pitch of his choosing.  Notice the final specific command.  Both the inside and the outside of the ark was to have pitch put on it.  Since God was specific, Noah could not choose to do only one or the other.  He had to do both.

          In like manner, God has given specific commands and general commands to His children today.  We have been commanded to assemble on the Lord’s day (Acts 20:7; Heb. 10:25).  The Lord’s day is specific in nature.  We must assemble on the first day of the week.  The command to assemble is general in nature.  Several things are needed in order for the church to comply with the command to assemble.  The church must have both a time and a place of assembly.  We are free to meet any time as long as it is on the first day of the week.  We can assemble in a field, a cave, a home, a rented facility, or a building that the church has constructed.  In addition, there are additional things that are needed for an assembly:  seats, bathroom facilities, a drinking fountain, heating and cooling, lights, a nursery, a sound system, etc.  All of these things are part of the general command to assemble. 

          Let’s look at another command that is both specific and general in nature.  When the church assembles for worship, one of the avenues of worship involves singing.  In Colossians 3:16, Paul commands:  “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”  There are two specifics given in this verse.  First, we are to sing.  We are not to hum.  We are not to sing and place instruments of music.  We are to sing.  That is all that has been authorized.  We are also told exactly “what” is to be sung:  songs, hymns, and spiritual songs. 

These commands also carry a general component.  We must have a collection of songs to sing.  This would authorize a song book or a collection of songs for PowerPoint like the Paperless Hymnal.   We need someone to lead the church in the song service.  Thus, we need a song director.  The director needs to lead the songs on key.  Therefore, he has the authorization to use a pitch pipe or tuning device.  (NOTE:  The song leader is NOT using the pitch pipe while the song is being sung.  It is for obtaining the pitch only). 

When we look at the things that we are doing religiously, we must ask ourselves:  “Do we have the authority from God to do this?”  If not, we must not act.  We can also ask:  “Is this a specific command?”  If so, it is to be followed to the letter.  Another example of a specific command is found in what is to be preached by the preacher.  Paul command us to “preach the word” (2 Tim. 4:2).  A final question we can ask is:  “Is this a general command?”  If so, what are the things that are needed to effectively carry out the general command?  Jesus has commanded us to “teach” in Matthew 28:20.  There are many effective methods of teaching God’s Word:  handouts, sheet sermons, overhead projectors, PowerPoint, good illustrations, etc.  These are some of the things needed to carry out the command to teach effectively.  Note that general authority will be carried out differently from person to person and church to church.  The most important thing is that whatever we do or say must have authorization.  Jesus specially told the apostles that they could only teach that which had been commanded (Matt. 28:20).  If is not commanded either specifically or generally, it is to be omitted.