Sunday, September 11,
2011 am
“COMFORT DOCTRINES” 8
“The Bible Doesn’t Mean That” (2)
We are continuing our study of “Comfort Doctrines”.
We have examined several doctrines that give false comfort to
believers. Last week we
began addressing many who have rejected or watered down the word of God
to justify sinful conduct.
We identified various ways that the word of God is attacked
including: Questioning its inspiration and accuracy, watering down its
effectiveness by calling it outdated or changing how one uses the word
of God to establish authority, appealing to silence and emotions, and
manipulating the words or context to justify sinful behavior (cf.
homosexuality, MDR, etc.).
In our previous lesson we briefly identified that the Bible is
inspired, accurate and relevant.
Today we want to examine how to properly establish authority and
discuss the problem with silence or emotions (subjective interpretation)
as a form of authority.
I.
How Is Authority
Established?
a.
What is authority?
i.
Roy E. Cogdill in his
book, Walking by Faith defined authority as “the right to command
or direct and enforce obedience or administer punishment.”
ii.
Simply stated, the word
means permission. In other
words, we are examining how to determine what we CAN do, HOW to do it
and what we are forbidden from doing based upon the word of God.
b.
The first key to
establishing authority is respect for the word of God.
Last week we examined that the Bible is the word of God and as
such ought to be respected.
We need to take His word literally and apply it to our lives.
c.
In the Bible God has
established a pattern that we are expected to follow.
2 Tim. 1:13, “Hold fast the
pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love
which are in Christ Jesus.”
In Heb. 8:5 we find the author making analogy to the pattern God had
given Israel at Mt. Sinai.
The point he was making was that when God gave specific instructions, He
knew what He was doing and had something in mind.
The same thing is still true today.
The New Testament is a pattern for us to follow.
In Phil. 3:17 Paul stated that he and others were a pattern to
follow.
Establishing authority is the only safe course to ensure that God is
pleased with what we are doing.
d.
How authority is
established.
i.
How do we determine
God’s boundaries? We
sometimes describe the process as the method of establishing authority.
It is commonly accepted that there are three legitimate avenues
through which authority is properly established: Command, example and
necessary conclusion.
ii.
Direct command
- means that we have a specific statement either instructing us to do
something (or how to do it) OR that prohibits us from doing something.
Most of what we have recorded in the Bible is by direct command.
Most of what we establish through the other avenues are based upon
direct commands.
Examples of direct commands:
The 10 commandments – Exodus 20:1-17,
Mark 16:15-16 – he who believes and is baptized shall be saved.
Col. 3:16 says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching
and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
Col. 3:12-13 regulates that type of attitudes we need to have including
forgiveness
Col. 3:9 – do not lie. Eph.
5:18 – “Do not be drunk with wine…”
Sometimes “lists” are commands governing behavior – Gal. 5:19-21, 1 Cor.
6:9-11, 2 Pet. 1:5-7 – the fruit of the spirit.
iii.
Approved example –
this has reference to ways approved by God to carry out specific
instructions.
1.
There are approved
examples whose lives are to be imitated – John 13:15, Jesus gave to His
apostles an example of how to serve one another.
Phil. 3:17, “Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who
so walk, as you have us for a pattern.”
Heb. 4:11, “Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone
fall according to the same example of disobedience.”
James 5:10, “My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of
the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience.”
2.
There are examples of
HOW to do something -
Acts 20:7 gives us an example of WHEN the disciples met to partake of
the Lord’s Supper – it was “On the first day of the week.”
1 Cor. 16:1-2 – we know they gave “on the first day of the week.”
iv.
Necessary inference –
this is a term that means when you put all the facts together, you can
reach an unavoidable conclusion.
Roy E. Codgill in Walking by Faith defined this term as, ““That which, though neither expressly stated nor specifically
exemplified, [yet] is necessarily implied by the clear import & meaning
of the language used.”
1.
In Gen. 4 we read of the
sacrifices of Cain and Abel.
We know from the text that God accepted Abel’s offering and rejected
Cain’s (Gen. 4:4-5). Even
though we are not specifically told so, we can necessarily conclude that
God had given specific instructions as to how to offer sacrifices to Him
to both Cain and Abel.
2.
John 3:2 when Nicodemus
came to Jesus he said, “We know you are a teacher come from God; for no
one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
3.
Matthew 19:3-6, when
Jesus was asked about divorce notice the conclusion based upon what the
Old Law said, He concluded: “What
God has joined together, let not man separate.”
4.
Hebrews 7:12, “For the
priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the
law.” Notice how there was
an obvious conclusion based upon what scriptures taught.
5.
An example of this would
again be Acts 20:7. While we
are told they came together on “the first day of the week” to break
bread, we are not told HOW OFTEN.
When you put together everything scripture says about the saints
assembling, it is necessarily concluded that they did this weekly.
Therefore we do the same.
v.
These are the only three
legitimate ways to establish sure authority for something. We understand
this in every other avenue of life.
How will you learn what to do on your job?
You will be told what to do, you will be shown what to do and/or
you observe what is happening and reach conclusions that you know are a
part of your job.
If there is another way, please let me know what it is.
II.
Can we appeal to silence
for consent?
a.
We often hear people
say, “We’ll it doesn’t say that we can’t do it that way” or “God didn’t
say not to do that so it must be acceptable.”
b.
Silence is NEVER a safe
way of establishing authority. We understand that in society.
When we order something at a drive-thru, we don’t have to tell
them everything we don’t want (but it seems they don’t get that because
they ask you, “Do you also want…?”)
Even when we consider the laws of the land we see the dangers of
appealing to silence. Sadly,
many take silence as consent when it is not.
Many will “get away” with something that they know was not
intended to be allowed because the law is not specific enough.
The result is new laws are continually being written to close the
“loopholes”. But the point
is that, as a rule, laws are not written with intent of silence being
consent. That is an ABUSE!
And we know it!
c.
But I find it
interesting that while we understand this principle in every other realm
of society, when it comes to the Bible and serving God, it is
increasingly more and more the primary source of authority.
d.
Silence was never
acceptable to God.
When He gave instructions for something to be done a specific way
it excluded all others.
i.
Why did He destroy Nadab
and Abihu? Lev. 10:1 says,
“Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put
fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord,
which He had not commanded them.”
When God gave instructions about the fire to be offered He didn’t
have to say what was not authorized.
ii.
Another example of this
would be the Levitical priesthood.
We know from the Old Law that only Levites could be priests (Num.
1:49-50) in Israel. Heb.
7:14 draws a conclusion, “For it
is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke
nothing concerning priesthood.”
iii.
Acts 15:24 – “to whom we
gave no such commandment.”
There were Judaizing teachers who were wanting to add to the
commandments of Jesus to become a Christian.
The added circumcision and other observances.
The apostles were clear in saying, “we never said that!”
iv.
These are examples that
demonstrate when God says to do something a certain way, it prohibits
every other way. Silence is
NOT consent.
e.
Consider also these
passages:
i.
1 Cor. 4:6 – “not to
think beyond what is written.”
To appeal to silence for consent is clearly moving beyond what is
written.
ii.
2 John 9, “Whoever
transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ…”
The word “transgress” means “to go beyond” or “to go ahead of” (Louw
& Nida) or “to overstep.” (KIttel)
The idea of the text is one who oversteps one’s boundaries.
iii.
Rev. 22:18-19, Deut.
4:1-2, 12:32, etc. When we
appeal to silence as authority we are adding to what God said.
III.
What about appealing to
emotions?
a.
An emotional appeal is
ALWAYS dangerous. Such
appeals are subjective and clouded by personal experiences and wants.
You can NEVER rely exclusively on emotional appeals.
As one author said, “Emotions tell us how we feel – not whether
we are right or not.”
b.
The challenge in this
area is so prevalent because many of the decisions we make in life are
based upon emotions – God given emotions.
When benevolence is practiced it is based upon emotion and
promoters know that more emotional they can make it the greater their
chance of success.
c.
Furthermore, emotions
are a part of our faith. The
Christian will experience joy, peace, happiness, and love.
They might also face fears, disappointment, grief, frustrations,
anger, and other such emotions.
You cannot separate emotions from true faith.
IF you do not have an emotional tie to God and things associated
with Him, you will face serious struggles and a whole other set of
emotions.
d.
Emotions can be
deceitful. If we are not
careful, emotions can deceive one into false securities.
It can lead him down the road of error.
Today, there are many who allow their decisions to be based upon
emotions at the expense of truth.
And they are enabled by teachers of “comfort doctrines”.
i.
Simon, in Acts 8:9
deceived the people with his sorceries and astonished them.
They thought he was someone great.
People “thought” he had the power of God.
They were wrong!
ii.
As you examine the
warnings about false teachers you will see, that they “exploit you with
deceptive word.” (2 Pet. 2:3)
Matt. 24:5 says, “Many will come in My name saying, ‘I am the Christ’
and will deceive many.” IN
so doing they will appeal to one’s emotions – that is often how they do
it.
iii.
Men to be avoided
because of their selfishness, will “creep into households and make
captive of gullible women loaded down with sins.” (2 Tim. 3:6)
iv.
Paul indeed, “thought I
must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
(Ac. 26:9).
e.
Emotions that promote
ungodly conduct do not change the truth –
i.
Moses, when he became
angry with the people and stuck the rock did not change the punishment
he faced because he disobeyed God (Num. 20:1-12)
ii.
The jealousy of the
Pharisees did not change the truth Jesus was teaching – Matt. 27:15-18
Acts 13:44-45 where Paul was in Antioch of Pisidia teaching.
When Gentiles came to hear, the Jews were envious.
It did not change the truth of the message.
iii.
While these are negative
examples, the same would be true with ANY emotion.
If it is not based upon TRUTH it will deceive you!
And it doesn’t matter what some preacher says!
f.
The key to emotions and
our faith is to ensure that they are based upon TRUTH.
g.
Emotions do NOT change
the truth -
We need to ensure that everything we do is based upon TRUTH.
Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (John
8:32)
John 17:17 says, “Sanctify them by
Your truth, Your word is truth.”
You may notice that in this entire study of “comfort
doctrines” we have examined a number of key issues that are at the
foundation of our faith. We
have talked salvation, obedience, faith, works, sin, the importance of a
proper attitude, respect for God’s word and many other things.
Thus we can see that this entire concept of “comfort doctrines”
is dangerous to the core of our beliefs.
We need to be alert of anything anyone says that excuses sin in
our lives. In our next
lesson we will concluded this series by making some observations about
how we can find true comfort.