Authority In Religion

When God began His revelation to man, He started with a declaration of authority. In the beginning of all things, God created everything. Everything that follows Genesis 1:1 must be accepted as the word of God because nothing existed before the power of God created the world. Authority comes from that which has the ultimate power to control all things, and only God has ultimate authority. He created light. By His hand, He formed the oceans and land. The sun, moon, and stars were placed in their exact position by the authority of God. Animals were formed through the creative design of the Lord. The authority of God was established over man when the Lord formed Adam from the dust of the ground and created a woman from the rib of man. Authority is resident in God and in all He says.

Authority in religion is measured by the word of God alone. There is no authority of man when it comes to worship and obedience. In the Garden of Eden, Satan challenged the authority of God when he deceived the woman. Cain and Abel offered sacrifices because God commanded them. Moses wrote the law for the people to read and understand who had final authority. As the Ten Commandments were delivered to the people, God reminded them who He was. He told them, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage” (Exodus 20:2). What He was telling them was He had all authority.

There are two parts to authority. On one occasion, when Jesus returned to the Temple to teach, the chief priests and elders came up to him demanding by what authority He was doing what He was doing and who gave Him His authority (Matthew 21:23). Their disbelief tainted the motive for the question Jesus was the Son of God, but their conclusions were accurate. Worship to God must be done with the right authority, and authority must be given by someone. Jesus taught what He taught because He spoke the words of His Father. The Father had given Jesus the authority to teach, heal the sick, raise the dead, make righteous judgments, and challenge the religious leaders of His day. Jesus established the authority of God by showing the will of the Father. No one can be saved unless they do the will of the Father.

Authority in religion must come from the word of God. There is no authority outside the Bible. The Holy Spirit delivered the holy scriptures in written form for men to read and understand the mystery of God in salvation. The apostle Paul said that men could read what he wrote and know God’s will. Obedience to God is not measured by strong emotional feelings within themselves. The reason there are so many different kinds of churches comes from the failure to honor the authority of God’s word. Men have itching ears to heap unto themselves teachers that will appeal to their carnal desires. The authority of men rests upon the whims of a religion created to satiate the masses rather than the pure word of God.

How many doctrines of men are not found in scripture? The question lies in where the authority is. Most religious people do not embrace the doctrine of authority, choosing to accept salvation by grace and faith without works. What this leads to in religion is the dogma of human authority, not the word of God. Authority in religion comes from recognizing the Bible as the final authority in all things. It means to handle the word of God in the fashion it was designed. All men can read and understand the Bible, and it is inherent for all men to read and understand the Bible. When a man speaks of God, let his lips speak the authority of Him who said, “In the beginning, God!”

While on maneuvers, a battleship lookout noted a light in the dark, foggy night. After noting the light’s coordinates, the captain recognized his ship was on a collision course with the other vessel. The captain instructed, “Signal the ship: We are on a collision course; advise you change course 20 degrees.” The return signal countered, “Advisable for you to change course 20 degrees.” The captain signaled, “I’m a captain; change course 20 degrees.” The response was, “I’m a seaman second class; you’d better change course 20 degrees.” By this time, the captain was furious. His signal curtly ordered, “I’m a battleship. Change course 20 degrees.” The reply: “I’m a lighthouse. You make the call.” God’s authority is never changing; it’s always constant. Whenever a change of course is required, we must make the correction from our end.