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 (continued
from previous page) to a great extent unaware of what is at
stake here. When protestants said, "the church must be
judged by the Scriptures" they were declaring God's word
superior to its product; that each individual was answerable directly
to God, on the basis of His word, rather than through an
institution with its clergy. Some called this
"Bibliolatry" but such a charge discounts the divine
nature of the Spirit-filled word. The choice is between
"Church" (which must claim inspiration to even get in
the race) and the "Bible" (whose inspiration has stood
the test of time; and to which even the church must make
appeal). Our "more sure word of prophecy" (2 Pet.
1:19) excels even eyewitnesses’ accounts of God's majesty (vs.
13-21). "Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the
Holy Ghost." When man applies himself to God's word, he can
understand (Eph. 3:2-6), God knows his heart, and a direct
relationship is developed between God and man.
God
has never abdicated His throne. When the Lord said,
"Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth...." he did not
give the Apostles a decision-making job. They were not to
originate the truth bound. The Greek uses periphrastic future
tense here (future perfect passive) saying literally "shall
have been bound in heaven." That is, by the time you bind
it on earth it will have originated and been bound in heaven.
This fits perfectly with all of Christ's instructions:
"Tarry... until you are endued with power from on
high." The Apostles were to speak only as divine power
inspired them to speak. (Matt. 16:19; 18:18) "There is one
lawgiver, who is able to save and destroy: who art thou that
judgest another?" Look at Jas. 4:12 closely, and you will
see that legislative, executive, and judicial authority remain
in ONE, the
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ultimate God authority.
Delegated
Authority is restricted by stipulated purpose or intent. The
Apostles were never anything more than inspired messengers
"sent" to deliver a divine message. "They were
simply to interpret and apply the terms of salvation and the
ethical demands of the gospel but were not to intrude between
God and man in such a way as to make decisions which God would
be expected to ratify." (From a doctoral thesis by Wilber
T. Dayton.)
We
can do little more than suggest a few points in this space, but
if you have thought these through, make application to some
common problems.
(1)
God's word must be approached objectively, looking
outside ourselves to His stated will. Our wish, or our feelings,
can never take the place of what God says about any given
subject. Science, History, Research, etc., can never "prove
God right." What He said is right because He said it.
Miracles only proved the source of the message.
(2)
Elders can not make decisions which become God's way. The
"authority" they have to make decisions was given them
by the congregation. God directs us to appoint them, but does
not inspire their conclusions.
(3)
There is no "great middle section" of the church that
should be our guiding light. Each of us will be judged by our
response to God's word, directly applied to our conscience.
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