WHY IS THERE A NEED FOR DIVINE AUTHORITY? - 2
The churches of Christ Greet You (Romans
1. Loved
ones, Divine
authority is needed
a. because man is not capable of successfully
directing his own steps.
b. God’s prophet, Jeremiah, said,
“O
Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself:
it
is not in
man that walketh to direct his steps” (Jeremiah 10:23).
2. Human authority is not reliable because it is a product of
fallible
man.
a. As God said to His people, “My thoughts are
not
your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways …” (Isaiah 55:8).
b. The Creator intended for the Word of God
(the
Bible) to be a
“lamp unto
our feet and a light unto our path” (Psalms 119:105).
3. The opinions of folks will always differ,
a. but opinions are not to be our source of
authority.
b. The wise man reminded, “There is a way
which
seemeth right unto a man;
But
the end
thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs
c. Paraphrased, this passage might say, “Man
has an
opinion which seems right, but the end will lead to death.”
4. Divine authority or the right to command belongs to Christ.
a. And because of this truth
b. the Scripture says, “Neither is there
salvation in
any other; for there is none other name
under heaven
given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
5. This above point proves
a. that the other three man-made sources of
authority
-
1) religious
experience,
2) traditions or
doctrines of
the church,
3) one’s own reason or
opinion
b. are false sources of authority.
6. These three are not to be followed
a. if one desires to walk that narrow road
b. which leads to life eternal (Matt.
7. What does God say one MUST do to get on that narrow road?
a. He says you must hear His word (Rom.
b. We must believe Jesus is the Savior, the
Son of God
(John
1. You must repent of
your
sins (Acts 17:30; Luke 13:3).
2. And you must be
immersed in
water (Col. 2:12; Rom. 6:3-4)
3. to wash your sins
away by
the blood of Christ (Acts 22:16; Rev. 1:5).
8. Jesus will then indwell you through His Spirit and add your
saved soul
to His church (Acts 2:38, 47),
a. the
b. If you will then live faithfully unto/until
death,
c. God will bless you with life eternal (Rev.
2:10;
Matt. 10:22).