Category: Authority
Subject: Authority
The Patternists: The Model Prayer
Jesus taught his disciples how to pray in His sermon recorded in Matthew 5-6. The prayer is found in 6:9-13:
“In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Amen.”
This prayer rather unfortunately has been designated as the Lord’s Prayer. I say unfortunately because it has become the practice of many to recite it as a prayer to God, rather than offering prayers “in this manner.”
The Patternists: “They Understood the Words”
The eighth chapter of Nehemiah is a wonderful narrative to help establish the importance of knowing and following the will of the Lord.
On this occasion, following the rebuilding and defense of the wall which had been erected to protect Jerusalem, the remnant of Judah (released from captivity), gathered together for a reading of the law. There were a number of times during Israel’s history where a renewal of the covenant between God and His people were made. It happened prior to Moses’ death in Moab (Deuteronomy 29). It happened again as Joshua neared his death (Joshua 24). When the lost law was found again during the reign of Josiah, he made the people commit to the covenant (2 Kings 23).
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That Which is Perfect
The thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians serves as a parenthetical discussion of the importance of love, within the greater context of spiritual gifts. In the twelfth chapter, Paul admonished the Corinthians not to turn their use of spiritual gifts into a contest. The gifts all emanate from the Holy Spirit, and He gives the gifts “to each one individually as He wills.” (11). Since this is so, no man should be seeking to elevate himself above another based upon the gift the Holy Spirit has given him. Nor should any Christian perceive his own gift to be insignificant or unneeded.
Paul ends the chapter with these questions, “Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way” (29-31).
So, what is that better way? It is the way of love. Tongues and prophecy without love do no good (cf. 13:1-2). Even charity or self-sacrifice, if love is not present will be of no profit (cf. 13:3).
The Patternists: Solomon’s Heart Turns from the Lord
“But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites — from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.’ Solomon clung to these in love.” (1 Kings 11:1-2).
This passage is one among several that should give pause to every Christian of marrying age. Love is a powerful thing. Over the years, I have witnessed many Christians who have had their hearts turned away from God because of matters of the heart.
Much discussion has been had regarding whether a Christian should marry a non-Christian. Is it a sin? Is it allowed? Is it best?
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The Patternists: What is the Rapture?
The word rapture is used to describe a transformation of believers who will be taken from the earth prior to the millennial reign of Christ. It is a central tenet of Premillennial doctrine. It also is lacking in any scriptural basis.
The problem is not in the idea that at Christ’s second coming the righteous will meet HIm in the air. In fact, this truth is taught clearly in scripture. For example, in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18:
“For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
The problem is that many seek to differentiate this event from the resurrection of the wicked to eternal condemnation. The Premillennial view is that the righteous will be snatched away, and the wicked will remain on the earth, to be judged at a later time. This is demonstrably untrue.
First, note the context of Paul’s words to the Thessalonians. His essay was an answer to a question they were asking. They wanted to know what would happen to those who die before Christ’s coming. “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope” (vs. 13).
There is no mention of the wicked in 1 Thessalonians 4 because the question directed to Paul regarded only the righteous. In that day, both the living and dead who are righteous will be caught up together in the air.
Jesus taught about His second coming in judgment in Matthew 25:31-46. There He clearly tells us that the granting of an eternal reward for the righteous will occur on the same occasion that God sentences the wicked to the “everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (vs. 41). His conclusion regarding the wicked, “And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” The idea of the wicked being left behind, with tribulation, a physical reign, great battles and another coming of Jesus yet future, is found only in the imaginations of men.
This is clearly established by Peter, who also wrote about Jesus’ coming. Read 2 Peter 3:10-13:
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”
The second coming of Christ is certainly a rapturous event for the righteous. However, the idea of a rapture as a separate event that takes place long before the ending of the physical universe is not true! When Christ comes, that will be the end! Rapture for the Christian. Grief for the wicked. Destruction for the physical universe. That is the event to which Paul refers in 1 Thessalonians 4.
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Sermon: Divine Implication
Faith in God is reasonable. It takes diligence of mind to ascertain the Lord’s will. One way this is done is by reasoning from the Word to determine all that is Divinely implied.
The Patternists: What is Profane Fire?
The question for our consideration is taken from Numbers chapter 3, when Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, lost their lives for disobeying God. “Nadab and Abihu had died before the Lord when they offered profane fire before the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai…” (3:4). The full account is found in Leviticus 10:1-3.
Both these men, serving as priests, took their censers, put fire in them, and offered it up to the Lord. However, the Lord did not accept their sacrifice. “So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord” (Leviticus 10:2).
The Absence of Elders
God’s plan for local congregations included qualified men serving in a capacity of oversight over the group. These men are identified as “elders” (Acts 20:17), “overseers” (20:28), and “shepherds” (cf. 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2-3).
Early on, not every New Testament congregation had elders. On two different occasions, men were sent to various congregations to identify and “appoint” men to that position in the local churches.
Paul and Barnabas: “So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed” (Acts 14:23).
Timothy: “For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you” (Titus 1:5).
The Patternists: Proper Preparation for Christ’s Coming
It is common for religious people to try and predict the time when Christ will come again. They seek to correlate current events with Biblical prophecies to determine the day, and even the hour when Christ will return to the earth.
Scripture clearly shows this to be impossible. Paul and Peter both state that the “day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10). The thief depends upon surprise, coming when he is not expected. This phrase clearly indicates that we can’t know when Christ will come.
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Sermon: The Church Belongs to Christ!
The New Testament is full of proofs that the church belongs to Christ. Since this is true, it is the responsibility of the church to accept His headship and authority, and limit themselves to His desires for her.
The Patternists: Restoring a Penitent Man
In 1 Corinthians 5, the apostle Paul admonished the congregation there for maintaining fellowship with a sexually immoral man, “such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife!” (1).
He called upon them to withdraw their fellowship from this man. “Deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh…” (5). The purpose of this disciple was “…that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (5).
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The Patternists: The Purpose of Musical Worship
One mark of Christian worship is its simplicity. Though much pomp and circumstance has cropped up in the centuries following Christ’s establishment of His church, the first century Christians were humble and in the worship they offered up to God.
When they gathered together on the Lord’s day, they prayed, sang, gave as they were prospered by God, heard the word of God taught, and remembered the Lord’s death through the simple feast Jesus instituted. There were calls for them to wait on one another, to be unified, to edify one another, and to give glory to God. Worship was never about them. Never about their own talents. Never about how the church could serve them. It was always and only about what they could do for God and for each other.
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The Patternists: Entrusted by God
The necessity, on every occasion, to respond to God’s authority in an appropriate manner is a central pattern found throughout scripture. While men feel that God is permissive and does not expect fealty from men, the Bible reveals otherwise, both explicitly, and implicitly.
As an example, consider Paul’s explanation of his God given stewardship in his first letter to the Thessalonians. “But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts” (1 Thessalonians 2:4).
The Patternists: Behave Like a Christian
One of the paragraph headings the translators add to the book of Romans is found in the context of Romans 12:9-21. It reads “Behave Like a Christian.”
Though supplied by uninspired men, the paragraph heading is well chosen. There are certain behaviors that should be characteristic of Christians. We are servants and disciples of Jesus. Our lives must reflect that in order to please Him. So, what are these behaviors, as listed by Paul in this passage?
The Patternists: Responding to God’s Chastisement
In the book of Amos, the prophet recorded God’s disappointment with Israel. God had chastised His people in myriad ways, and yet they refused to come to repentance. Consider the ways that God chastised His people.
POVERTY: “‘I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities. And lack of bread in all your places; yet you have not returned to Me’, says the Lord” (4:8).
DROUGHT: “‘I also withheld rain from you, when there were still three months to the harvest… Yet you have not returned to Me’, says the Lord” (4:7,8).
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