“Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?’” (Matt. 21:23).
In last week’s article we noted that the chief priests and elders who confronted Jesus were asking a legitimate question. Authority has to do with the right or power to give commands, enforce obedience, take action, or make final decisions. We must have authority for everything we believe, teach, and practice as individual Christians and collectively as a local church. This authority must come from the proper source.
When asked why they believe or practice things, religious minded people will sometimes offer various answers that are not proper sources of authority.
1. Themselves. Man is often using himself as a source of authority. However, we are not capable of providing guidance for ourselves. “O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (Jer. 10:23).
2. Traditions. Some appeal to their church or family traditions to authorize their religious beliefs and practices. While nothing is wrong with handing down beliefs and practices from one generation to the next, these traditions are not more important than God’s word (Matt. 15:6).
3. Creeds of men. Every denomination or religious group has a creed, manual, discipline, or catechism that contains its doctrines and procedures. These creeds have come from men, and we can’t please God while following the commandments of men (Matt. 15:9; Col. 2:20-22).
4. What the preacher says. Some use their preacher as their source of authority. Preachers are messengers - not legislators. They are to preach the word - not their word (2 Tim. 4:2). We are not to take a preacher’s word for it but examine his message in light of Scripture (Acts 17:11).
5. The results accomplished. Few people even stop and consider the need for authority in their practices. For many, the “ends” justifies the “means.” If good is being accomplished, they assume God is pleased and will accept their efforts. The Bible teaches that right things can be done in a wrong way: Cain’s offering (Gen. 4:3-5); Nadab and Abihu offering incense to God (Lev. 10:1-2); David moving the ark of the covenant (2 Sam. 6:1-11); King Uzziah burning incense in the temple (2 Chron. 26:16-20).
6. The doctrines and practices of the Old Testament. Some go back to the Old Testament to justify religious practices like tithing, infant baptism, polygamy, and using instrumental music. While it is good that they are appealing to the Bible, they fail to recognize that the Law contained in the Old Testament was done away with when Jesus died on the cross (Col. 2:14). This portion of Scripture is for our learning (Rom. 15:4; 1 Cor. 10:6, 11), but we are under a different covenant today.
People have many places they can go to try to justify their religious beliefs and practices. Most of them fall short of providing real authority. Next week we will consider our proper source of authority.