Authority of Christmas

It's been exactly one year that I've been writing this blog. I started it last Christmas because of a local preacher that was teaching error about the meaning of Christmas and the church's role. His blog allowed comment, and I sent scripture to counter what he said and he deleted the post. As a moderator for my own posts, I understand when I must occasionally delete a comment because it may be silly, irrelevant or obscene. But when someone uses scripture to explain their view point, I would never delete it in an attempt to avoid discussion or controversy.

My family and I celebrate Christmas every year as a family tradition to spend time together, exchange gifts, have a special meal and enjoy one another. We do not celebrate it as having any religious significance. The birth of Christ is a very special event as outlined in the Gospel. However, as in our discussions, we never find that we are to celebrate his birth in any special way. Christmas has its roots in the Catholic church that competed with a pagan holiday or winter festival. The Catholics decided, on their own, to worship Christ in a way not mentioned in the New Testament.

We find that Christ does mention how we are to worship him. It must be in spirit and in truth, firstly.

John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

We find that he instituted a memorial to remember Him...not a manmade ritual that is materialistic in nature but rather a spiritual one that is accomplished every week. We are to commemorate His death and resurrection and, in turn, reaffirm our faith in God.

Matt 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. 27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

This is accomplished weekly as outlined in Acts 20:7 rather than once a year. The emphasis with God's memorial versus man's memorial is one of realizing that Jesus was here to fulfill God's eternal plan in being sacrifice for the remission of our sins rather than emphasizing the earthy birth that brought him here.

Many see no problem with celebrating His birth in worship and pagan rituals, but it all boils down to what I've been writing about for the last 12 months...authority of the scriptures. Can you find a command or an example or necessary inference that we should worship Christ in a special way that remembers His birth? ...or rather do we have authority to worship God by remembering His love for us by giving His only begotten son?

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Silence of the Scriptures

This week in our authority class we discussed the subject of the scriptures and its silence. Many topics and details are not discussed in the source of God's authority, the inspired writings of the New Testament. During the Restoration Movement, there were two major divisions in how groups approached this subject. Firstly, there were those that believed that the silence in the Bible gave freedom to do as they pleased (unless strictly forbidden...Martin Luther). The other group felt that the silence gave them no freedom to act on their own (Ulrich Zwingle).

Let's look at a few passages:

1 Peter 4:11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Cor 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

When God has been silent on a subject, he intentionally did not reveal His desires because he didn't need to do so. He expects us to obey and follow His revealed commands. To do otherwise would be to assume what God wants, and we know man's wisdom is really merely foolishness.

1 Cor 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God....

There are many things that I see denominations participating in such as burning incense, sprinkling and pouring for baptism, mechanical music in worship to God, missionary societies, church sponsored hospitals and orphan homes, etc. The list is endless in all the devices that mankind comes up with in an effort to worship God in a way that He has not authorized. Next week I will reflect on the one year anniversary of this blog and the impetus of why I started it.

Expediency - What is It?

I often hear people talk about how things are authorized or pleasing to God because they are expedient. Expediency is a word we often use loosely. It’s important to know that it is not a source of authority but a term to describe why we do a certain thing.

Expediency is defined as: appropriate to a purpose, convenient, a means to an end.

In our Bible study, we looked at a few important characteristics of expediencies that we must remember before we start using the term to describe our methods of worship or our individual actions. We listed four characteristics of expediencies that must be remembered:

1) It must be lawful.
2) It cannot be specified
3) It must edify
4) It must not offend the conscience of a brother.

Let’s look at these individually and elaborate.

1. An expedient must first be lawful. This is a basic truth in that an expedient authorizes nothing…it must first be proven to be lawful before one can consider it.

2 John 9 -11: Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 10 ¶ If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: 11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

Also see 1 Cor 6:12; 10:23 and how Paul describes expediencies.

2. An expedient must not have been specified. When God specifies a certain action, we have no choice to accomplish it His way to be pleasing to him.When God specifies a certain action, we have no choice to accomplish it His way to be pleasing to him. As we have seen in previous posts, Noah was told to make the ark of gopher wood (Gen 6:14). God was very specific and Noah obeyed. He may have found a more convenient wood in the area but it would not have been an authorized expedient to use it since God had already specified a certain wood.

Some examples of specified commands include singing ( Eph 5:19; Col 3:16), baptism or emersion for the remission of sins ( Rom 6:4), and elders overseeing the local church only (1 Peter 5: 1-4).

3. An expedient must edify.


1 Corinthians 14:26 How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.

When we have leeway in our actions for things that are not specified and yet authorized, we need to ensure that they are edifying. We don’t want to be divisive in our actions and cause a split because we want to press our own agendas.

4. An expedient must not offend the conscience of a brother.

1 Corinthians 10:31 - 33 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: 33 Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

Of course, this only applies to matters in which we have leeway not things specified. We must consider one another in our actions and think of those that may be weaker, more immature or less knowledgeable. To not consider them is to not love them as we should.

Our next class, which I will write about, will cover specific examples of expediencies in action.

Drinking Alcohol as a Christian

This past week I had a good Bible study with a brother at another congregation who wanted to study alcohol and the Christian. A couple of years ago as a new Christian, he had been offered a drink at a church member's house. He questioned whether it was right and was told it's no problem by his Christian host.

What does the Bible say about alcohol and our intake of it? I can't completely outline the arguments against a Christian's use of alcohol in this blog but will offer a few things to think about. Let me begin by recommending an article that thoroughly addresses this issue: http://www.watchmanmag.com/0502/050214.htm Alcohol and the Christian by Matt Miller. He shows in great detail the scriptures and arguments for avoiding fermented drink. His five basic approaches to this subject include:

1. the wine of the Bible is not the same as modern wine
2. the Bible contains two distinct evaluations of the word wine
3. specific passages which condemn the intake of fermented beverages are examined
4. some biblical principles which forbid the intake of fermented beverages are examined
5. the most common arguments in support of social drinking shall be critically examined

Let's look at a few scriptures and we'll see what God and his inspired writers have to say.

Proverbs 23:29 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? 30 They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. 31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. 32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. 33 Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. 34 Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. 35 They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.

Galatians 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Ephesians 5:17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. 18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

We can see from these passages what God's view is of strong drink or fermented alcohol. We are to be sober and vigilant at all times as Christians. We must view drunkenness as a process not an end result. As soon as we take that first drink, we have begun that process of drunkenness and set a bad example to our children, our peers, and fellow members of the church.

Generic and Specific Authority

I began to wonder if anyone was reading this blog and then we had visitors at our church from Alaska and was encouraged to hear that they had seen this. I don't get a lot of hits on it but hopefully it will teach or influence someone out there that is searching for God's authority. I hope that this blog may, at least, steer someone in the right direction and provide things to consider.

At our last authority class, we examined the classifications of authority -- generic and specific. Generic is broad and general commands and specific is something that is particular and specified in detail. God is often generic in His commands to us but when specific, we must obey Him as commanded.

As I have discussed in prior sessions, Noah was a good example of one following God's commands. God was very specific in how Noah was to build the ark to save him and his family. In Genesis 6:14, Noah was told to build the ark of gopher wood. When commanding him to use gopher wood, this necessarily implied that all other woods were excluded. When God specifies an action, we must exclude other methods.

For example, see Ephesians 5:19:

Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

This verse and those relating to music in the New Testament specify for us to sing and speak to one another. This excludes other forms of music such as instrumental, clapping, humming, whistling, etc. When Jesus told His disciples to partake of the Lord's supper as in Matthew 26: 26 -28:

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. 27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

...he was very specific on what to partake to remember Him--unleavened bread and fruit of the vine. We see in Acts 20:7 that we can infer that this was done on the 1st day of the week...every week when the brethren gathered together.

When God is general in his commands, such as in Matthew 28:18-20 (the great commission), we have leeway in how we can carry out His desires. For example, he said to "go ye therefore and teach all nations." The command "to go" means we can carry it out by walking, driving, train, plane, etc. However, in verses such as Mark 16:15 specify that we are "to teach" the gospel of Christ.

Mr 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

Even though we may often not understand why God specifies certain actions such as immersion, acapella singing, raising church funds only through offering on the 1st day of the week, etc., we must trust His infinite wisdom and keep it as simple as He meant it to be.

In our next class, we will discuss expediencies and how they play into our quest to only do what is pleasing to God. Thank you for reading.

How to Establish Authority

Our Bible study at my home is going well. It is very encouraging to be with a group of brethren that take God's authority seriously. So many people do their own thing without a single thought whether God's is pleased by it or not. We discussed the importance of using tools to access God's inspired written word to ensure we do all in His name as he would have us to do.

We discussed the three ways that we establish authority in all things that we do. This applies to schools, work, homes, etc. We may not always outline the method but we logically derive what we can and cannot do upon these three ways.

They are:

1) Direct command,
2) Approved example,
3) Necessary implication or inference.

Sometimes this is referred to as CEI (command, example, inference). This is not a doctrine taught by the scriptures but rather a respectful tool that we use to ensure we do all things by God's authority and that we do not stray from his written word.

Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

Acts 5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

Our love for God and respect for His authority leads us to ensure we don't haphazardly start doing things that God may be displeased with. Let's look at these three methods of establishing authority:

1) Direct Command (or statement): This is an obvious understanding that God and his inspired writers gave commands and made direct statements on what we are to do as Christians, as individuals and as a church.

Examples:
a. All must repent: Acts 17:30; Luke 13:3
b. Assembling of the saints: Hebrews 10:25
c. Disciples are to contribute: 1 Cor 16: 1-2

2) Approved Example: Situations and example given for our benefit by the inspired individuals of the Bible.

Examples:
a. Breaking bread on first day of week: Acts 20:7
b. Churches sending relief to other brethren: Acts 11:29-30

3) Necessary Inference: A logical conclusion that can necessarily be drawn from the data given.

Examples:
a. Before he was baptized, Jesus with down into the water: Matthew 3:16
b. Christians met on the first day of every week and broke bread: Acts 20:7

In my next blog, I will look at using all three of these methods in how we partake of the Lord's Supper.

Sources of Authority

I apologize for not writing regularly for the last two months. Much has been going on with the kids out of school, vacation and my work schedule. I have been encouraged with the Bible study that we have been conducting twice a month on the subject of authority in the church. We are using a book as a guide entitled Authority in the Church by Billy Moore. I highly recommend it as an organized guide to approaching the scriptures.

The last two meetings of our study group have concerned things that are and are not sources of authority in the religious realm. We began with listing thing that are not sources of authority. These include: the Old Law, preacher directives, legislative edicts by elders, church traditions and doctrine, opinions of man, and the Machiavellian idea that the end justifies the means.

We see much abuse when it comes to these items. People use these things as sources of authority without giving it any thought. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 28:18, “…all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” He has the authority and no one else. We see in other verses that the old covenant was put away and had its purpose.

Hebrews 8:13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

Hebrews 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. 16 For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. 17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.

Once Christ died on the cross, his new will or New Testament came into force. This made the Old Testament obsolete and no longer valid. This includes the Ten Commandments. That’s right…the Ten Commandments were delivered to the Israelites and not to us today. I once had a fellow pilot sarcastically ask if we could then commit murder…of course not. We find that in Christ’s law that nine of the Ten Commandments are “reissued” to us to be followed with the exception of remembering the Sabbath.

Have you ever noticed when watching people on TV discuss religion or arguing on these topics that they rarely use Scripture to justify or back their statements? This is a dangerous road and is fruitless when stating only their opinions. Throughout my years, I have been to Bible classes and heard sermons that had little to no scripture, and I am completely amazed that they would even consider taking on this responsibility without referring to His holy word.


1 Timothy 1:5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: 6 From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; 7 Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.

The scariest part is all the people that accept it. They will listen to a preacher or priest and never hold them to the truth. The Catholic church has manipulated members to believe that their leaders are the only ones that can properly understand the word of God. We find no where in the Bible that only an elite group exists that can understand God’s word. We are all to study and come to know the truth.

John 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

In the next couple of weeks, we will be getting into the basic approach to how to establish authority. It’s an approach that we all use in our day to day lives but usually don’t organize or verbalize it.