A “THUS SAITH THE LORD” IS NEEDED - 7
The churches of Christ Greet You (Romans
16:16)
1. One of the
greatest errors being perpetuated today
a. is that one may do any religious act that
is not expressly forbidden
in the Bible.
b. The truth of the
matter is that one must
have a “thus saith the Lord”
c. for what he does in
religion.
2. The silence of the Scripture is to be respected,
a. but one must understand that silence does
not authorize.
b. The question is
not “where does the Scripture
forbid an action,”
c. but rather “where does
the Scripture authorize
an action.”
3. Do you remember in 1 Samuel chapter 13
a. when King Saul decided
to offer the sacrifice
b. because he thought Samuel would not
arrive in time?
4. The issue was not whether Samuel would arrive in time to make
the offering
–
a. the issue was that King Saul was not
authorized to make the sacrifice.
b. When Samuel
arrived he said to Saul,
“Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the
commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee" (1
Sam. 13:13).
c. Sacrifice
without obeying God’s word
is worthless (cf. 1 Sam. 15:22).
5. The eternal principle is made clear when Moses said, “Ye shall
not add unto the word
which I command you, neither shall ye diminish from it, that
ye may keep
the
commandments of Jehovah your God which I command you” (Deuteronomy
4:2).
6. John, in the last book of the New Testament, warns, “I testify
unto every
man
that
heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any
man shall add unto them,
God
shall add unto him the plagues which are written in this
book: and if any man
shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy,
God shall take
away
his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city,
and from the things
which are written in this book” (Revelation 22:18-19).
7. God’s word is truth (John 17:17),
a. and it is only truth that will save or set
one free from his sins
(John 8:32).
b. Truth must be
taught not in part but
in its entirety.
c. A little truth
mixed with a little error
is deadly!
8. The apostle Paul knew the danger of only teaching partial
truths and thus he proclaimed,
“Wherefore I take you to record this day,
that I am pure from the blood of all men.
For
I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of
God” (Acts 20:26-27).
a. Many who profess to
be members of the body of Christ
b.
need to resurrect this scripture
from wherever they have buried it.
9. Bible authority must be recognized as being absolute.
a. It is sad to
realize that today even
many who are members of the Lord’s church
b. will argue that one
does not need authority
for all that he does in religion.
1. Yet, the apostle
Peter sets forth a principle regarding the
necessity of authority
2. that will be
binding as long as this earth stands.
3. Peter said, “If any
man speak, let him speak as the oracles
of God …” (1 Peter 4:11).
10. The Old Testament affirms this eternal principle regarding
authority.
a. God told Jonah,
“Arise, go unto Nineveh,
that great city, and preach unto it
the
preaching that I bid thee” (Jonah 3:2).
b. Any teaching or
preaching not authorized
by God is in vain and for naught! (cf. Matthew 15:8-9).
11. Friends, the Bible teaches that we are to be
judged
by the words of Jesus (John 12:48).
a. Does this mean
that only the words in
the red letters (those spoken personally by Christ)
b. shall be our judge?
c. Certainly not!
12. We must also abide by the teaching of His apostles (cf. John 14:26;
16:13; 15:20).
a. The words of the
apostles are the words
of Jesus.
b. To reject their
writings is to reject
the words of Christ.
13. Many people will be lost because they refuse to obey the will of
God
(Matt. 7:21-27).
a. These people
call Jesus, “Lord, Lord,”
b. yet they fail to abide by the authority of
His word.
14. It is not enough to do wonderful works in His name.
a. We must do the
will of the Lord!
b. The wonderful
works must be His will
and not works of our own while using His name.
15. For you and I to be saved,
a. it is God’s will that we hear the truth
(Acts 15:7),
b. believe the truth (John 8:24; 14:6),
c. and obey the truth (cf. Luke 13:3; Rom.
10:9-10; Acts 2:38; Gal.
3:27).
16. We beg you to visit a congregation of the Lord’s people
a. (the churches of Christ)
b. and allow them to assist you in obeying the
will of God.
Go To: Part Eight
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To Divine Authority