God's Authority - Commands

The question that we want to answer in this article is: “given that we believe in God, how do we learn God’s will for us?” How do we know that the Bible is God’s word, and what are the first steps that we take to understand it?

In our last issue we saw that the determination of how God communicates with us today involves the selection from a very small number of alternatives. According to Paul's writings (Rom. 10:17): "So faith {comes} from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." Let me issue this challenge to you: Start TODAY. Read a chapter of God’s word each day, and meditate upon it, attempting to understand each and every verse before you go to the next. If you run into problems contact someone who you can trust who is knowledgeable of the Bible and discuss it with them until you resolve your problems. Start with the book of John and read through the book of Acts. This will take about two months. If you are not totally convinced at that point that the Bible is the word of God, please contact us and let us know. According to Rom. 10:17, those who faithfully apply themselves to this type of study of God’s word will receive the faith that only "comes from ... the word of Christ."

In this issue we want to go on to consider just how the Bible communicates God’s will to us today. The first "how" is the obvious: direct command. All other methods of authority stem from direct command. We need to see just how we receive commands from the New Testament, and how we determine those that apply to us. May God bless you in your study of His word.

Receiving Direct Commands

"Then his wife said to him, ‘Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!’" (Job 2:9)

It’s in the Bible, and it is a command. Obviously, it does not convey God’s will either for Job or for us. Given as an extreme example, it demonstrates a biblical principle: it is essential that we determine from the context who is speaking, who is being spoken to, and just what was the intent of the statement. While this would seem to be common sense, most abuses of the Bible are violations of this principle. Why do people accept such error? Answer: they are just too lazy to check it out. Your eternal fate is at stake; this is not a time for laziness.

            In the New Testament very few commands are given as "thou shalt" or "thou shalt not." Perhaps the closest to these would be Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5, 6, 7): "I say unto thee ..." followed by a principle or a direct command. These are very high moral principles that involve our proper attitude toward God’s law in general, and our love for God and our fellow man in particular. They are not details regarding God’s plan of salvation, nor instructions for the work/worship of the church. Most commands involving such instructions are given as conditions as opposed to direct commands of the church. Most commands involving such instructions are given as conditions as opposed to direct commands. Examples with regard to the plan of salvation are in such passages as Jn. 6:44-45; Jn. 3:16; Lk. 13:3; Mt. 10:32, Jn. 3:5, and Mk. 16:16. Each of these is stated as a condition of salvation, not as a direct command. Conditions are in the form of: "If this ... then that." However, this is just another way of stating a command.

The question of which of these commands apply to us and which do not can be resolved by studying the context. We repeat: studying. There is no easy way around this. Sometimes it involves reading a few verses before and after, sometimes the entire chapters, and once in a while the entire book.

So what is a young Christian to do? Do you have to just accept what the more experienced teacher says? No! Remember, the burden of proof is on the teacher. He must provide both the scripture and an explanation of its context that is convincing before you accept what he sates as the doctrine of God. Do not fear to ask for proof.

Ye often hear it said ...

"You can prove anything with the Bible."

but Paul, speaking of his own writings, said (Eph. 3:4) ...

" And by referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ..."

We hasten to admit that there is a sense in which the first quote above is true. Peter stated of Paul’s writings (2 Pet 3:16): "...speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as {they do} also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction." To the "untaught and unstable" it is possible to "prove" anything; but this "proof" exists only in their minds ... it is not reality. God has given us the Scriptures so that when we read them we can have a knowledge of the truth, and so that we can act on that knowledge to produce the type of behavior within ourselves that glorifies our God and Father in heaven.

There is not error so pernicious as that which denies the very source of our only hope to know God’s will. Those who disparage our efforts to learn it and teach its truth will state that "it’s only your interpretation" and "there are many ways all leading to God." Some teach that an experience is worth a thousand scriptures, leading you to believe that you are just wasting your time in Bible study. Let us remember the words of Jesus when he was quoting scripture (Matt. 4:4): "It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” Is this not good enough for us?