Bible-believing Christians in their desire for independence have sometimes been characterized as rebels disapproving of most authority. This characterization should not be the case and our lives should reflect just the opposite mind-set and approach. Those who know the Lord should be the first to obey, submit to (Hebrews 13:17), and pray for (1 Timothy 2:1-2) those in authority. Those who walk in the flesh are the ones who“despise government” and “are not afraid to speak evil of dignities” (2 Peter 2:10; Jude 1:8). There are times when man’s authority comes into direct conflict with God’s authority. In these cases, men must choose to obey God (Acts 5:29). Yet, there are plenty of other times when the people of God need to learn a greater respect for authority.
Far too many believers today are guilty of a very dangerous practice of usurping authority that does not rightfully belong to them. As an apostle, Paul was given an elevated level of authority. As expressed in his writings, Paul understood that his authority differed from that of the other believers in Corinth. It is important to recognize that the apostles’ authority ended with their deaths. Believers only have the authority given to them in accordance to the holy scriptures. Unfortunately, many well-meaning Christians attempt to claim authority that belonged only to a special group of men that lived during the church’s infancy. This authority was given to them in order to confirm the word (Mark 16:14-20). Authority today resides within the word itself.
The world often accuses faithful believers of being arrogant or simply narrow-minded because of the believer’s unwavering certainty concerning the things he believes. Although there are times when believers reveal an unchristian arrogance, the godly believer is simply certain of his beliefs because he is certain of the authority substantiating those beliefs. According to Titus 2:15, the believer canand should “speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority.” Why? Because the Bible is the word of the God that has all authority and it offers to the believer that level of authority. It is not, therefore, arrogance which causes a godly believer to be unwilling to waver on what he believes, but faith in the written word and words of his God.
Why did men marvel when they heard the Lord Jesus speak? The reason is quite simple. The Lord spoke not as the other religious leaders spoke, but with authority! No scribe or man could have any greater authority to speak on the behalf of God than He who was God come to earth in flesh. Everything the Lord did during His earthly ministry testified of His absolute authority. At one point, the Bible says that all people were amazed when they saw the Lord command unclean spirits with authority and those spirits obeyed Him. In addition to this, the Bible declares that God the Father gave authority to the Son to execute judgment (John 5:27). Ultimately, any authority possessed by the people of God stems from the authority of God’s Son.
Authority resides upon those who have the right to rule; but, unfortunately, it is not always combined with the ability to rule wisely. In the most basic sense, authority is the right and responsibility to rule others as given to one individual by another. The centurion in Matthew 8:9 expressed this truth when he said that his authority gave him the right to issue commands to his soldiers. The apostle Paul referred to his authority to call for the arrest and persecution of Christians (Acts 9:14; Acts 26:10, 12). This truth was also taught in the parable of the nobleman and his servants where the reward given was authority to rule over cities (Luke 19:17). Unfortunately, this desire for authority over others has been the source of problems and troubles throughout history.
Man is not saved by works; however, through the new birth, he is “created in Christ Jesus unto” (Ephesians 2:10) and should be “zealous of” (Titus 2:14) good works. The Lord could easily save a man and immediately take him to heaven, but He chooses to leave man here on this earth to do a work for Him. Though the Lord’s work on this earth is made up of many details, it always includes “the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18). Similar to the responsibility to tell others about a known cure for a dreaded disease, every Christian has the responsibility to express to others their knowledge of the cure for the coming judgment of God and how to be reconciled to God.
Man does not change in order to be saved, but true salvation always brings about an evident change in the life of the new believer. Perhaps the change is less noticeable in some new believers and more noticeable in others; however, no change means no salvation. The change is not always an immediate outward change because it involves a change of the inward nature. A person who trusts Christ for salvation becomes a new creature (Galatians 6:15). It might be best to consider how this could be likened to a dog (Matthew 15:26-27) becoming a sheep (John 10:16). A new man now dwells within the new Christian to help combat and defeat the old sinful nature (Ephesians 4:22-24). Salvation is not merely the turning over of a new leaf; it is a new birth (John 3:3) where one is passed from spiritual death to spiritual life (John 5:24).
The working of God is quite often misunderstood due to its complexities. God often uses multiple things and allows them to work together to accomplish His will. He does this in the life of one who has been saved but also does this to bring about that person’s salvation. Just like medications offer active ingredients to cure a physical sickness, the Lord has several active ingredients to cure spiritual sickness. Without man’s faith (Romans 10:9) and repentance (Acts 20:21), Christ’s faith (Galatians 2:16), God’s grace (Ephesians 2:5, 8), His mercy (Titus 3:5), His word (1 Peter 1:23), Christ’s blood (Hebrews 9:11-14), and the Lord’s name (Acts 4:12), salvation would be inadequate. Anything presently identified as the gospel that excludes any of the above is a false gospel.
Man has corrupted the simplicity of salvation. Some say entrance to heaven is based upon following some set of creeds, joining a church, being baptized, or expressing some heartless prayer. Others have suggested that God will put each man’s good works in a balance with his bad works, and so long as the good outweighs the bad, man will find entrance into heaven. Still others suggest there is any number of ways to gain entrance into heaven. How can man possibly wade his way through the confusion and be certain that heaven will be his future destination? To a great extent, this was the question that the Philippian jailor posed to the apostle Paul. Paul boldly answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Paul told the jailor the truth and then prophesied that the family would follow his lead in salvation.
Man made himself the enemy of God when he chose sin (Romans 5:10), but God had no desire to remain man’s enemy so He provided the ultimate solution. Instead of returning man’s hatred, the Bible says that “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). The Lord knew man could never justly find salvation through his own merits and works (Titus 3:5). God knew man could never be reconciled on his own. Rather than simply allow countless multitudes to go to hell without hope, the Lord determined to provide Himself as the sacrifice for man’s sin. Man would not be dependent upon his own faulty righteousness, but on the righteousness of the spotless Lamb of God (1 Peter 1:18-20).
