The Sword Room

In the opening paragraph of Luke 20 (vv. 1-8) is the story about the Jewish leaders confronting Jesus as He taught in the temple. They asked Him where He received His authority or who had given it to Him. He replied with a question to them about John the Baptist–was his authority from heaven or from men. Caught in a dilemma the Jewish leaders refused to answer, and so did Jesus.

What the Jewish leaders were really asking is: Who gave you permission to come into our temple and teach the people? Jesus had not come up through any of the rabbinic schools, and He held no position of rank among the religious status quo.

On the surface their question did not seem unreasonable. In your standard church today the pulpit is not open to any Tom, Dick, or Harry who walks through the door. Normally churches select teachers based on giftedness, experience, and education. Some self-styled prophet who walks through the door is not automatically given the right to disrupt the service. The first Amendment does not give you the right to shout fire! in a crowded theatre or set up a soap box in the middle of a grocery store.

But the Jews should have recognized Jesus’ authority based on the confirming miracles He performed and by the content of His message. Jesus had an authority that was inherent in His person. People were blown away by the authority with which He spoke, in contrast to the dry teaching of the scribes in the synagogues.

We do not have authority in and of ourselves. As believers we have been entrusted with the gospel and the truth of God deposited in the scriptures. When we present the gospel clearly and accurately God’s word carries its own authority. It is my belief that if you are gifted in handling and presenting the word of God and you are walking with the Lord and trusting Him, then God has a place for you to minister. If you plug into a Bible-believing church and seek prayerfully to be used, God will open doors. To be very honest the churches today are seeing a famine for God’s word on par with the days of the prophet Amos. All manner of watered down culturally hip politically correct pabulum is being barfed forth from pulpits across North America, and many churches are becoming gargantuan goatfolds with a few sick sheep mixed in. Goats love garbage and if you feed them they will come. Give them shallow narcissistic albeit well-produced music, skits, puppet shows, and so-called Christian comedians. Anything but the clear teaching of the Bible–in context, properly exegeted.

I will give it to you straight up. One reason I left the pastorate is that it was a hindrance to my ministry. This blog and my men’s group (Fight Club) afford a golden opportunity to present truth. Who gave me permission to do this? Where does my authority come from? Ultimately the Word of God carries its own authority. My job is to handle it accurately and present it clearly. Beyond this I claim no spiritual authority except that which I exercise as I serve my family as a husband and father.

No–I am not telling you to name it and claim it or rebuke Old Slew Foot in the name of Jesus. Today I want to talk about real authority that is ours in Christ and how to use (not abuse) it.

In Mark 1:22 we see the following response from those who heard Jesus in the synagogue at Capernaum: And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. The Jewish teachers of Jesus’ day gave lip service to God’s Word, but in their discourses quoted lengthy sections from the commentaries of the noted Rabbis. “Rabbi Hillel says thus and such, but on the other hand Rabbi Shamai says…” Jesus’ approach was to simply tell people directly and clearly what God said: “You have heard it said that……..but I say to you…” The people were astonished and drawn to this new teacher from Galilee who spoke with such clear and unmistakable authority.

Where did this authority come from? It came from the person of God and from the Word of God. Of course Jesus is God, but in His incarnation He put aside the voluntary autonomous use of His divine attributes and submitted Himself completely to the Father in all his words and deeds. People are drawn to a man who speaks from the Word with authority from on high. When there is a famine of God’s Word in the land many will be attracted to false teachers and false prophets claiming a divine word.

Such was the case in this country in the 1830s, an era which saw the rise of Mormonism, Christian Science, The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (Jehovah’s Witnesses), and Seventh-Day Adventism (not to mention Dispensationalism). Joseph Smith said that he visited many churches, but no one could or would answer his questions from the Bible. So he sought extra-biblical revelation, started a new religion, and drew masses of followers now numbering around ten million worldwide. Why do people find cult groups attractive? Because they have a pseudo authority that mimics the true authority of Christ and His Word. This alleged authority looks even more attractive when the evangelical churches de-emphasize the Word in favor of social programs and a watered-down message.

We do well to remember that Christ’s main focus in His public ministry was not healing and feeding people and casting out demons. These  ministries functioned as confirmation of His person and message. When the throngs clamored for more of these kinds of signs Jesus often retreated and made statements like this: Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth (Mark 1:38).

The time has never been more ripe for the authoritatively delivered Word of God. Our culture is choking and drowning in secular humanistic relativism and mushy namby-pamby wishy-washy political correctness. While the church tries to make nice in this error-polluted culture  many are flocking to the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard or the Dali Lama or some other so-called guru like Deepak Chopra. Or the LDS Church, which is growing by leaps and bounds.

Dear believer–do not be afraid to speak the truth into the lives of others. Do it in love, of course. But remember that Christ has given you authority to speak His Word in His name. It is the Gospel, not your cologne or winning smile, that is the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16).