Articles
How to Establish Bible Authority
The Bible is our ONLY source of authority in religion today. How do we establish Bible authority? Bible authority is established by:
1. A DIRECT STATEMENT OF FACT OR DIRECT COMMAND. From the beginning of time this has been so when God said to Adam and Eve, "Thou shalt not eat of it" (Genesis 2:17). That was a simple statement of fact, a direct command from God. When Adam and Eve broke that law, they sinned against God. Today, under the Law of Jesus Christ, there are many direct statements of fact or direct commands that establish the authority of God and those that do not obey God's law sin against God. Jesus said, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark 16:16); this being a direct statement from Jesus Christ Himself, who am I to deny or refuse to obey God Almighty? The Apostles of Jesus Christ on the day of Pentecost revealed to man entrance into the Kingdom of God saying, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:38). Notice the apostles said, "in the name of Jesus Christ", which means by the authority of Jesus Christ. To refuse to obey a direct statement of fact or direct command of God is to sin against God.
2. AN APPROVED ILLUSTRATION OR EXAMPLE. It should be obvious to us all that Judas hanging himself wasn't an approved illustration or example for us to follow today. The important thing is, you should always examine the context of the passage and see who's doing the speaking and who is being spoken to. The first century Christians followed the example of the Apostles (Acts 2:42); who were following the example of Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 11:1). An approved illustration or example is recorded in (Acts 20:7) concerning the partaking of the Lord's Supper on the first day of the week. To partake of the Lord's Supper on Saturday is to do so without Bible authority.
3. NECESSARY INFERENCE OR ESSENTIAL CONCLUSION. This does not mean "think so's" or "might be's". Everything we say is either explicit or implicit. By explicit we mean speaking plainly in so many words; and implicit means to speak by implication or to imply something. An example of this is in Matthew 3:16 concerning Jesus coming "straightway out of the water" which is explicit. However, nothing was explicitly said about Jesus going into the water. So by implication we know that Jesus did indeed go into the water because the Bible says he came out of the water.
My friend, the Bible teaches that, "we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7) and that "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). Thus, we must study the Word of God (2 Timothy 2:15; Ephesians 5:17) to do ALL things according to God's Will or Authority (Colossians 3:17). "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God" (2 John 9).
