During
my junior year in High School, my football coach wanted to be the first team in
the state of Illinois to have football practice. We were allowed to start
practice with full contact on August 8th so we set practice for
12:00 am in our high school gymnasium. It was a great kick off to the football
season. Following practice, I drove a
few of my teammates to Denny’s for an early/late breakfast. After our meal, I was driving a few of my
friends home when one of my friends yelled, “Kiehn, the cops are following
you.” As a new driver, it was never a
comfortable feeling to know that a police car was following, and since I was
only 16, we were out past mandatory curfew for young drivers. As I turned my head over my right shoulder,
my left hand went in the opposite direction causing me to swerve the car. Of course, the police officer pulled me over.
This was my first experience being pulled over by the police and I was
terrified.
The
officer came to my door and asked for my license, but I handed him my whole
wallet instead. He politely said, “Can
you take the license out for me?” He could tell that I was a bit nervous. I explained about the midnight football
practice and grabbing breakfast afterward.
He graciously gave me a warning, but he did not have to. Police officers have the full authority to
enforce the laws of the state. Our
society is a better place because of the hard working men and women who enforce
our laws.
Authority
is essential for a well-ordered society. We will be celebrating Veteran’s Day
in a few days, and our armed service men and women understand the importance of
authority. Everyone in the United
States Military knows that in signing up for service, they are submitting to
the authority of their commanding officers.
My former boss and mentor, Barry Spofford, was a career naval
officer. He told me at one point in his
career he was responsible for all deployments in the entire Navy. He said that
many young men would come and plead with him about their upcoming deployment
saying that their wives were going to leave them if they were deployed. My friend would look them in the eye and say,
“You are in the Navy. You have to
go.” There is no debate on following
orders in the military.
Our
society has an aversion to authority. We
may not like the decisions of those in authority, but there are authoritative
relationships that most people do not question. Parents have authority over
their children. The government has
authority over their citizens. Commanding officers have authority over those
below them. Our society understands the
authority of certain systems, but what about the church? What authority does
the church have over someone’s life?
In
a recent study conducted by Lifeway Research, they asked a group of
self-identified evangelicals the question, “Does my local church have authority
to declare that I am not a Christian?” In the study, 9 out of 10 evangelicals
claimed that the church has no authority to claim someone is or is not a
Christian. How would you answer
that? Does your local church have
authority over your profession of faith?
If you start to live consistently contrary to the gospel of Jesus
Christ, does the church have authority to question your confession?
The
question of authority is nothing new.
Jesus faced people who questioned his authority during his
ministry. I pray that through this text
you will see the value of authority and correct your own view of those who have
authority over you.
Preaching with
the Authority of the Gospel of Christ
Jesus is getting
close to his death on the cross. He came
into the temple and called out the unrighteous practices of the worship of
God. His action in correcting the temple
worship was clearly an act of the Messiah where Jesus was establishing his
authority. He continues to establish his
authority, but through the preaching and teaching of the gospel, Luke 20:1,
One day, as Jesus
was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests
and the scribes with the elders came up.
If you read the Gospels closely,
you see that Jesus was constantly teaching and preaching the gospel to the
people. Jesus even states that as his
purpose, Luke 4:42-44,
And when it was
day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and
came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, but he said to them, “I
must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for
I was sent for this purpose.” And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
Jesus established his authority
through his teaching ministry.
At the end of the
Sermon the Mount, Jesus’ most famous sermon, this was the response of the crowd
in Matthew 7:28-29,
And when Jesus
finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was
teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
The authority of Jesus teaching was
why the people were hanging on every word at the end of Luke 19. The authority of Jesus’ ministry was built
upon his teaching and preaching. And the
authority of the Jesus is still built upon on teaching and preaching. Right before the Great Commission, Jesus
says,
And Jesus came
and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to
observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always,
to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
So Paul says in view of this same
authority in 2 Timothy 4:1-2,
I charge you in
the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the
dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season
and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and
teaching. (2 Timothy 4:1-2)
The authority of Jesus Christ is
established through the preaching and teaching of God’s Word.
The
church must always teach and preach God’s Word so that the authority Jesus
Christ is established in people’s lives. Churches that do not preach the gospel
and teach God’s Word do not establish the authority of Jesus Christ in people’s
lives. Churches are never about establishing their own authority, but the
authority of Jesus Christ. Does the church have authority? Yes, but it is to
establish God’s authority in people’s lives. So if Christians do not follow
God’s Word, it is the obligation of churches to enforce God’s authority.
Protesting the
Authority of the Gospel of Christ
The scribes and
the chief priest did not like Jesus’ teaching, because they did not want to
submit to His authority. Luke 20:1-2,
One day, as Jesus
was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief
priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to him, “Tell us by
what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.”
(Luke 20:1-2)
The leaders come to Jesus
questioning his authority, “Who do you think you are? And why give you the
right to do what you are doing?” The
leaders could have been referring to Jesus overturning the tables in the
temple, but the reference to his teaching broadens the complaint. The leaders’ reaction was in stark contrast
to the reaction of the people. The
people were hanging on every word and submitting to the teaching, while the
leaders were protested Jesus authority. How do you respond to Jesus teaching?
Are you more like the leaders or the people?
Are you protesting against Jesus or submitting to his Word?
For
most Christians the answers to the above questions are easy to answer. Of
course we say that we trust God’s Word and listen to his teaching. Of course we
say that we do not question Jesus’ authority. But is that true? Mark
Lierderbach, Professor of Theology, Ethics, and Culture at Southeastern Baptist
Theological Seminary shared a formula with me of how we know our real
beliefs. Our stated belief minus our
actual practice equals our real belief.
For example, a stated belief is that water is the best drink for your
body, minus my actual practice of only drinking soda and sweet tea, equals the
real belief of water is that it actually is not the best drink for my body. Or
maybe we can use the church. A stated
belief of the church is that the gathering of the church should be a priority
of one’s life, minus the actual practice of regularly missing church gatherings
for sports activities and sleep, equals the real belief that the church is
really not a priority in one’s life.
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We
do not want to pay lip-service to Jesus in regards to his authority. Jesus wants your stated belief and your
actual practices based on your beliefs to be very similar. For if you do not live by the Word, then
Jesus says to us, as he does to others in Luke 6:46-49,
“Why do you call
me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears
my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man
building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a
flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it,
because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is
like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream
broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”
(Luke 6:46-49)
In what areas in your life are you
not listening to Jesus? Where do your stated beliefs not match up to your
actual practice?
One of the most
consistent ways people protest against Jesus’ authority is to protest against
the church’s authority. In Matthew 16, Jesus asked them what the people were
saying about him and then he turned to them and said,
He said to them,
“But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the
Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon
Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who
is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my
church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the
keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in
heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew
16:15-19)
Peter’s confession is
representative of the church. Jesus will build His church on people’s
confession of the gospel. A biblical
confession of the gospel is not merely stating words, but confessing with your
mouth and believing in your heart that Jesus died for your sins and rose from
the dead. Simply, a biblical confession
is repenting of your sins and living by faith in the Jesus Christ.
Have
you made a biblical confession? Have you
repented of your sins and put your faith in Jesus Christ? As Christians, we do not believe that our
good works save us. We all are sinners.
And when we were dead in our trespasses and sin, God sent Jesus to die for us.
Jesus died in the place of sinners and three days later rose from the dead
offering living hope of eternal life to anyone who repents of their sins and
puts their faith in Him. Christ. He is the Sovereign Lord and the King of kings
Repentance is changing your mind about the identity of Jesus Christ. Repentance
is living in that reality.
One sign of
repentance is the submission to a local church.
The church has been given the keys of the kingdom of heaven in binding
and loosing. The concept of binding and
loosing is one that makes judgments on people’s faith and repentance. This binding and loosing of a church is
expressed through the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is
the visible sign of entering into Christ’s kingdom. Baptism is church’s visibly and publicly
binding of someone to Christ (i.e. opening the door with the keys of the
kingdom). The Lord’s Supper is the visible sign of continuing in Christ’s
Kingdom.
Remember that earlier question, “Does my local
church have authority to declare that I am not a Christian?” Listen how Dr.
Jonathan Leeman, the author of Church Membership and Church Disciplines answers
this question,
“Church
membership, made visible through the ordinances, is a public affirmation of
someone’s profession of faith. Church discipline is the removal of that
affirmation. The latter is not a denial that someone is a Christian; it’s the
statement that the church is no longer willing to affirm someone’s profession[1].”
The church does not make people
Christians, only God gives salvation.
The church’s role is to exercise the authority of Jesus based on their
stated beliefs and their actual practices.
If people are not abiding or trusting in Christ, then the Church, based
on the authority vested in her by Jesus Christ, removes their public
affirmation of faith. The church is not
fully denying that someone is a Christian, but they are saying that there is
good reason to doubt it.
This
may sound strange to our 21st century post-modern ears, but this is
how the church has functioned for generations. Our culture is very quick to
throw history under the bus, thinking that our modern minds know better. Our culture is arrogant and prideful in ignoring
our rich Christian heritage. Let us not follow the cultural protest of the
authority of Jesus Christ, but trust His Word and His church, who He has given
authority to bind and loose things on earth as they are in heaven.
Passing Over the
Authority of the Gospel of Christ
Jesus answers his
critics with a question to help expose their lack of trust in his authority.
What you will see is that they are not really concerned with the true
authority, but in protecting their own authority. Luke 20:3-8,
He answered them,
“I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, was the baptism of John from
heaven or from man?” And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we
say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ But if we say,
‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that
John was a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know where it came
from. And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do
these things.” (Luke 20:3-8)
Jesus asked them a question
regarding the authority of John the Baptist which provides only two responses:
his authority is either from heaven or from man.
 |
The
scribes and the Pharisees attempted to trap Jesus, but instead were trapped by
Jesus. Jesus backed them into the corner
and said choose. They all huddled up and
talked over the options and decided not to choose, but just to say they didn’t
know. They had to choose if Jesus had
the authority of God or of man, but tried a third way. However, their decision
not to choose was a choice. They passed
on submitting to the authority of God because they did not want to submit. Protesting against God’s authority will
eventually lead to passing on his authority.
And if you do not align yourselves with God, you are aligning yourself
up against Him.
Jesus is no longer
physically present with us, but has left his authority with us in His Word. Last year I was at the South Carolina Baptist
Convention and there was a resolution on the floor about the authoritative
preaching of God’s Word. A young pastor went to the mic and asked for the word “authority”
to be removed from the resolution because he did not believe that we are called
to preach with authority. As he was
speaking the end of Titus 2 came to my head which says,
For the grace of
God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce
ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and
godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of
the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to
redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own
possession who are zealous for good works. (Titus 2:8-14)
It is a beautiful presentation of
the gospel how Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us, but then he adds
these words for pastors:
Declare
these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you. (Titus
2:15)
This is the calling of the church:
to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with all authority.
The church is left
with one question today: “Is the Bible from heaven or from man?” If it is from
heaven, we preach it with authority, but if it is from man, it is merely a
suggestion. Let us not disregard the authority of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
but know His Word has come from heaven. Let us preach it with authority and
receive it as our authority.
[1]
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2014/november/does-my-local-church-have-authority-to-declare-that-i-am-no.html
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