Sermon Tone Analysis

10 Claims on God’s Authority

by Charles J. Peterson

Matthew 21.23:

And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things?

and who gave thee this authority?

Introduction

Ever since Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, his resurrection, his appearance to his apostles and disciples, and his subsequent ascension into Heaven, Christians have made claims on God’s authority to act in his name.

Most Christians would agree that Jesus Christ, who in the beginning possessed and continues to possess the keys of priesthood authority on this earth, passed that authority on to his apostles, and that they held that authority while they ministered among God’s children on the earth.

But what happened after the martyrdom of the apostles?

Who held, and more relevant to us today, who holds that authority in these latter days?

At the outset, let’s explore the concept of authority, or the authority given by God and Jesus Christ to mankind to act and be recognized and rewarded by God for those acts.

Christians all want to go to heaven, live with God through the eternities, and receive the highest reward for living the truly Christian life.

How does the Christian attain this final reward?

Or in other words, who has the authority, recognized by God, to conduct God’s affairs on earth according to his will on behalf of his children?

What does it mean to have authority?

It means that God recognizes or accepts the acts (ordinances, sacraments, rituals, practices), thoughts, and desires of individuals and the acts (ordinances, sacraments, rituals, practices) of spiritual leaders on behalf of God’s followers.

Peter puts it well when he says in I Peter 2:5, speaking of converts to the Church of Jesus Christ in the meridian of time:

Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

What are these spiritual sacrifices?

They consist of the acts, behaviors, ordinances, sacraments, rituals, practices, and the sacrifice of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.

These must be acceptable to God and Jesus Christ.

Any ordinance, sacrament, ritual, or practice that is not acceptable to God and Jesus Christ (or recognized by God and Jesus Christ) is at best meaningless, perhaps even detrimental, to the eternal salvation of the individual.

For example, I frequently climb a mountain near my home.

One morning I came to the summit of the mountain just as the sun was rising.

I noticed a couple standing on the top, facing the rising sun and chanting something that had a religious ring to it.

The question in my mind as I witnessed this ritual was: “Will God accept this chanting to the rising sun as a valid spiritual sacrifice, or is it just ritual created by man that will not help these people live with God once again?”

Ten Claims on God’s Authority

Ten claims on God's authority are extant in the Christian world today.

A claim on God’s authority is an assertion made by Christians that what they believe and what they practice will ultimately be recognized by God as sufficient spiritual sacrifice for receiving God’s greatest eternal reward, i.e., life with God in Heaven.

The following claims on God’s authority will be described with no attempt in this section to present any evidence of validity.

Apostolic Succession Reformation Apostasy/Restoration Authority of the Bible Priesthood of All Believers Divine Direction Born Again/Saved by Grace through Faith Salvation of the “Good” Many Roads to Heaven Universalism

1. Apostolic Succession

Most Christians would agree that Jesus Christ established his church during his earthly ministry.

He had the requisite authority or priesthood to save souls and to bring God’s children back to God’s presence, or to Heaven.

Most would agree that He passed this authority on to the apostles during the Meridian of Time.

The apostolic succession claim asserts that the authority or priesthood was passed down through a succession of Church leaders from the time of the apostles to the present.

Consequently, the leaders of these churches carry the authority to act in God’s name to this day as part of this claim.

Thus, the sacraments, ordinances, and rituals they perform on behalf of their congregations are acceptable to God.

And individuals who partake of these ordinances and live according to the teachings of the Church’s leaders will take their places with God in heaven.

The Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox churches make this claim, as do a few of the Protestant churches.

For further explanation of apostolic succession, refer to the following web page: http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostolic_succession

2. Reformation

As part of the reformation claim, it is generally agreed that Christ had the authority and passed it on to the apostles.

The authority was then passed on to other leaders, but after a period of time the leaders took the Church off the correct path, while retaining the authority.

After a lengthy period of being off-track, reformers risked their lives and reputations to bring the Church back on track.

This led to the formation of new churches designed to correct the doctrinal and ritual detours of the Mother church, while still retaining the authority through the apostolic succession (called lineal authority) through the centuries.

Some of the Protestant denominations make the reformation claim.

In conjunction with some of the claims below (authority of the Bible, priesthood of all believers, born again/saved by grace through faith) the reformation brought the doctrine and spiritual sacrifices back in line with what God will accept, providing these churches with the authority to conduct God’s work on earth.

For a further explanation of this claim, refer to the following web page: http://logosresourcepages.org/reformation.htm

3. Apostasy/Restoration

Those who espouse the apostasy/restoration claim acknowledge that Christ held the authority and passed it on to the apostles during his ministry.

When the apostles were martyred, the keys (the authority to delegate priesthood authority) to the authority or priesthood was not passed on to any other Church leaders.

It was lost.

Some time later heavenly messengers appeared to a prophet of God and restored the proper priesthood authority.

From that point on, the priesthood keys were passed on to a succession of individuals called prophets.

Thus, ordinances and spiritual sacrifices performed by the prophet and his delegated agents are recognized and accepted by God.

And those individuals who follow the leadership of the prophet, partaking of the accepted ordinances and living according to the prophets’ teachings, will be given a place in heaven with God the Father.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) subscribes to the apostasy/restoration claim.

For further explanation of the apostasy/restoration claim, refer to the following web pages: http://www.mormon.org/learn/0,8672,1083-1,00.html

http://ourworld-top.cs.com/mikegriffith1/id75.htm

4. Authority of the Bible

Those who make the authority of the Bible claim accept the fact that Jesus Christ held God’s authority during his earthly ministry and passed it on to his apostles.

These apostles and other disciples wrote as inspired by Christ himself and by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost.

Consequently, their writings, known as the Holy Bible (including the writings of the Old Testament prophets), are the final word or final authority.

It follows then that any of God’s children who adhere to the teachings of the Bible will find their spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God and will be entitled to eternal salvation.

Many evangelical and Protestant churches and individuals today hold the claim that the Bible is the ultimate authority by which their members find acceptance with God.

For further explanation of authority of the Bible, refer to the following web pages: http://www.thebiblespeaks.com/Authority/bible.htm http://www.wtcoc.com/Sermons/s194.html

5. Priesthood of All Believers

According to those who espouse the priesthood of all believers claim on God’s authority, all who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior hold the priesthood.

They base their claim on basically two scriptures (among others) that address the issue of priesthood.

I Peter 2:5: “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.”

I Peter 2:9: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; ….”

See also Romans 12:1-8.

Assuming that these verses address every member of Christ's church during apostolic times, the claim is made that priesthood authority is vested in the individual church member.

Therefore no priestly class is required to perform intermediary sacraments on behalf of individuals.

Belief and faith are sufficient to reap God’s greatest rewards.

For further details on priesthood of all believers, check out the following web page: http://www.gracevalley.org/articles/Priesthood.html

6. Divine Direction

Those who claim divine direction as their authority profess to have been spoken to by the Spirit or even spoken to by God (or Jesus Christ) himself.

They feel that God has directed them to start a ministry to help God’s children achieve the level of spirituality they need to be acceptable to God.

They may provide ordinances, sacraments, teachings, or rituals to others as directed by God and the Spirit.

Thus, because they were directed by God, their spiritual sacrifices on behalf of others are accepted by God.

As long as the spiritual leaders’ directions are followed, these followers’ sacrifices are acceptable to God and they are entitled to their heavenly reward.

No particular educational or denominational requirements are necessary since God has directed them in their spiritual missions.

Many non-denominational churches have had their roots established in an individual who claims such divine direction.

For further explanation of divine direction, check out the following web page: http://www.victoirechretienne.com/divine_direction-1.htm (from google cache)

7. Born Again/Saved by Grace through Faith

Those who claim God’s authority through being born again or saved by faith in Jesus Christ believe that God accepts those who accept Jesus Christ as their savior.

Some believe that they must confess this belief or faith in Jesus Christ to a recognized spiritual leader.

And then God accepts their spiritual sacrifice.

Others believe that they must have God “speak to them” by the Spirit to convey the message that God accepts their spiritual sacrifice.

No earthly spiritual leader is necessary in this process.

Many in the evangelical movements of the world believe in this claim on God’s authority.

They may combine their claim on authority with the authority of the Bible, being born again or saved by faith, or priesthood of all believers, or divine direction.

For further explanation of born again/saved by grace through faith, refer to the following web page:

http://www.born-again-christian.info/how.to.be.born.again.htm

8. Salvation of the “Good”

According to a survey published in 1996, the Barna Research Group1 found that 57% of people claiming Christian religious beliefs felt that all “good people” will go to heaven, no matter what religious affiliation they retain, and no matter what religious devotions they practice in their lives.

Therefore, if this claim is true, God accepts the “goodness” of people as sufficient spiritual sacrifice for being awarded their place in Heaven.

People who are good neighbors, good spouses and parents, kind to others, generous with their time and financial resources, contributors to their communities, and believers in God will once again live with him.