Why We
Must Speak With Authority!
By Dr. Ken Matto
Mark 1:22 (KJV) And they were
astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and
not as the scribes.
When I use the term “Bible” in this
article I am referring to the King James Bible and not the modern counterfeits.
One of the sayings I have on my website
Table of Contents page is “God gives His children the authority to speak with
authority.”
(www.scionofzion.com/toc.htm) What does it mean to speak with authority?
Does it mean we are to yell as some preachers do?
Does it mean to accost someone with language like “turn or burn”?
Does it mean to respond in a snide manner when they espouse beliefs like
evolution? The answer to the last
three questions is absolutely no, even though it causes us to burn inside when
someone teaches that evolution is correct or sodomy is just an alternate
lifestyle. What it means is that we are
to order our teachings as well as our lives from the Scriptures.
We are to base everything we teach according to the Scriptures and
nothing else. I want to give some
reasons why we are to speak with authority.
The Bible is the Authoritative Word of
God
There is one thing Christians forget
and that is the fact that the Bible is the authoritative Word of God.
I am not speaking about the modern versions because they are all
counterfeits. God authorized the
translation of the King James Bible in 1604 with the Hampton Court Conference
and the Bible became available for printing in 1611.
This was the product of several prior translations which began with the
1526 Tyndale Bible and culminated with the King James Bible.
When this Bible was completed it ushered in a new era of Christianity and
it was the era where everyone who could read would now become ambassadors for
Christ bringing the message to the world.
2 Corinthians 5:20 (KJV) Now then
we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you
in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
It is important to know the function of
an ambassador. An ambassador is a
person who represents their country and its policies.
There is one principal responsibility of the ambassador and that is they
do not bring their own opinions but they bring the policies of their own
government and do not change anything to please themselves.
They are to bring the decisions their governments make and that is it.
They do not go beyond those resolutions nor do they remove anything from
them.
In like manner the Christian is to
bring the Word of God and all its teachings.
We are not to withhold any of the teachings just because we find them
offensive or we think someone else will find them offensive.
Acts 20:27 (KJV) For I have not
shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
The apostle Paul knew this well and did not shrink back from bringing the
whole counsel of God. That includes
hell as well as heaven. That
includes judgment as well as salvation.
That includes judgment as well as deliverance.
The authority the Christian was given is contained within the entire
Bible and nothing in it should be rejected for preaching.
Authority is not yelling at someone or accosting someone, it is bringing
the full counsel of God. This is
the problem with many churches in that the Pastor preaches only what is pleasant
and never gets down to “Thus Saith the LORD.”
People come into church and leave unchanged.
The Great Missionary movements of the 18th and 19th
centuries were accomplished by Christians who brought the full counsel of God
and that resulted in the salvation of many people groups around the world
including cannibals in the South Pacific.
Many false religions teach from their
false books like Book of Mormon, Divine Principle, Koran etc. and they teach
whatever is in them. The Christian
must never shirk their duty in teaching the authoritative Word of God.
If we want God’s blessing on our ministry, then it is imperative that we
teach only the revealed Word of God.
Eternal Issues are at Stake
We are not talking about investments
for retirement or something which will affect us for years to come like bad or
good eating habits, the ministry we have received has eternal issues at stake.
When we preach the Word of God in its fullness it will create conviction
in those whom God has predestined for salvation and they will become saved.
It may not be right away, but it will happen.
I heard my first true sermon preached when I was 12 years old and did not
get saved till I was 27. The age of
12 was not my time of visitation but the fact is that I heard a true gospel
message at some time in my life.
Heaven and Hell is for eternity and there is no end to eternity. That is why it
is so important that we look at our ministries through the eyes of eternity.
We have Nothing to be Ashamed of
The way some people bring the gospel
message it is as though they were ashamed of the message.
Keep in mind it is not our message but the message of the LORD.
The Muslims are not ashamed of who they are.
The Roman Catholics are not ashamed of who they are.
The Jews are not ashamed of who they are, then why are so many Christians
ashamed? You can tell there is
shame when they drive and do not even have one bumper sticker on their car and
if you drive 10 miles to work, you can witness to a hundred people or more who
will see the stickers. No, I don’t
mean stickers that say “God loves you” or “Jesus loves you” because you do not
know if they are divinely loved especially if they are not saved.
God’s love is qualified and bestowed upon the believer.
When a person is unsaved they are the enemy of God.
Psalm 5:5 (KJV) The foolish shall
not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
Psalm 5:5 does not sound like God’s loves the sinner and hates the sin.
Remember, on Judgment Day the sinner is the one being cast into hell for
their sins. This is the message
that must be preached otherwise known as the full counsel of God.
If you are too timid to get the truth out then at least support those who
are doing it. When was the last
time you included a tract in your bills, how about in your Christmas cards to
relatives or friends? Quite frankly, if you are doing nothing to get the gospel
out to the world, then your Christian life is useless and you need to ask
yourself if you are really saved.
No Christian was ever saved to live a life as a recluse or just to jump up and
down in their church or at some pseudo-Christian concert.
We are the bearers of truth not Imams,
Rabbis, Monks, or Priests
Every false religion has its leaders
and adherents. One thing which
differs Christianity from false religions is that the entire body of believers
is the priesthood.
1 Peter 2:9 (KJV) But ye are a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye
should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into
his marvellous light: Every
true believer has the responsibility of being a priest to those around them,
that is, you are placed within a group of people whether at work or home or at
play who possess eternal souls and you are to bring them the truth.
They will never get the truth about their eternal destiny from a Catholic
Priest, Islamic Imam, Buddhist Monk, or a Jewish Rabbi because they all reject
the Lord Jesus Christ as being the only way to Heaven.
They all rely on works to get them there and truth is all our works are
sin-tainted, no matter what we try to do.
Even religion is sin-tainted since it too tries to go around the cross
and go directly to God the Father which is impossible unless one goes through
the Lord Jesus Christ. A true
Christian who holds a Bible has more truth than any world religion.
The Bible holds the truth about how a person can get to heaven.
World religions hold the way to eternal
damnation and that is all of them. This is why the world hates Christians
because we hold the truth inside us by means of the indwelling Holy Spirit and
in our hands with our Bible and world religions and their leaders cannot accept
the idea that they are wrong. All world religions are inferior to Christianity
because they offer no means of salvation which means the only thing they offer
is eternal damnation and that is why we must preach and teach the full counsel
of God as circumscribed by the Bible alone.
So the people know the difference
between Opinion and Bible
We live in a time when if you put three
Christians in a room you will come out with four opinions.
Many theologians write books which give their opinions and many who read
them begin to take theological opinion as gospel.
Ecclesiastes 12:12 (KJV) And
further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end;
and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
Ecclesiastes teaches us that there is weariness in much study and it does
not have to be that way. If we
studied the Bible as our primary source, we would eliminate probably about 90%
of all unneeded books which just espouse opinions.
We need to quote the Bible in our conversations and teaching and not some
theologian. Now I am not saying
that all of them are wrong and many do say proper biblical things, but they
cannot be the source of our message.
It must be the Bible alone.
Remember the ambassador does not bring their own opinions but they bring the
policies and position of their government.
This is what the Christian is to do.
Unfortunately we have adopted sayings which are unbiblical and instead of
checking these things out we just use them.
Can someone find for me in Scripture the typical saying “Accept the
Lord?” It is nowhere to be found in
Scripture yet millions of Christians use it every day.
Remember it is not our opinion that convicts people of their sins and
need for a Savior, it is the preaching of the Bible and its convicting power.
So People will know the Lord Jesus
Christ is God and not just a Prophet
Many false religions around the world
downgrade the Lord Jesus Christ from being the Son of God, the second person of
the trinity, to a prophet or a good man with a positive message.
What is positive about “Ye are of your father the devil…?” (John 8:44)
The Bible gives us no uncertainty about who the Lord Jesus Christ is.
People have to be told that if they do not become saved, then on the last
day they will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ in judgment and will have to
give an account of their sins. This
means that all those in Roman Catholicism, apostate Protestantism, Islam,
Judaism, Buddhism, New Age, Mormonism, and any other false religion will face
the Judgment Seat of Christ on the last day and being without a Savior, they
will be cast into the lake of fire eternally.
Many people have rejected the idea of a final judgment and the gospel
that many churches preach today is normally void of this teaching but the Bible
is not void and states that all those who are outside of Christ on the or their
last day will be judged for their sins and no one will get away with anything
because all sins have been observed in heaven, even back room deals or secret
hideaways where people think no one sees.
Isaiah 29:15 (KJV) Woe unto them that
seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark,
and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?
Jeremiah 23:24 (KJV) Can any hide
himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill
heaven and earth? saith the LORD.
Most people see Jesus as the good, meek
teacher who walked the dusty streets of Judah and Samaria and just did good
deeds and he did, but they never go beyond that and see him as God the Judge who
will be presiding over the fate of unbelievers on the last day.
Many churches just preach and teach love, but they never preach the other
side of the Gospel and that is Judgment Day is coming and the only way to
prepare is to become saved through Christ, the very one who will otherwise judge
you for your sins.
We live in perilous times which demands
Confrontation – Jude 3
Jude 3 (KJV) Beloved, when I gave all
diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to
write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith
which was once delivered unto the saints.
The main teaching is that we “should earnestly contend for the faith.” “Should
earnestly contend” is one word in the Greek text. It is “epagonizomai” which
carries with it the meaning of “fight or struggle.” A cognate of this word is
“agonizomai” which is used in Paul’s Epistles in 1 Corinthians 9:25. (1 Cor
9:25 KJV) And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all
things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. It
is the word “striveth” which is also in the present tense. The Bible is teaching
that we are to struggle as in a contest. One enters a contest to win but if they
don’t, then, at least, to make a good effort. This is what the Christian is to
do, we are to enter the defense and propagation of the Gospel with the intensity
that someone enters a mere earthly contest. When one looks at an athlete, they
see a person in good shape but what we do not really see is the struggles and
battles that athlete had to endure behind the scenes just to get to the point of
competition. How does a Christian
earnestly contend for the faith in our day and age?
There are two basic ways:
1. We contend according to and with the Scriptures.
A Christian can never be a contender for
the faith without having their Bible or knowing their Bible.
All the incontrovertible evidence of
Christianity is in Scripture. If we try
to defend the faith apart from the Bible, we are relying upon our physical
intellect to do a spiritual battle. This is why many Christians lose their
battles because we are drawn into a war of wits instead of sticking to the
biblical manuscript.
2. We maintain and hold to all the principles and teachings found in Scripture,
even in the face of opposition. This was
the underlying strength of the martyrs of the early and medieval church when
they tenaciously held to the Scriptures as the final authority.
This is why Rome feared the word of God
then and fears it now because it exposes their heresy and false dogmas.
Once we move away from the Scriptures,
we will amalgamate worldly teachings and then actions according to these will
follow.
If God states that we are to contend
for the faith, it is not wrong to engage unbelievers in dialogue or discourse
for the fact about bringing out the truth. You
may not win the argument at that time but remember a seed planted means a flower
grows.
When Christians
spoke boldly God Moved
I left this one for last because it is
a very important principle which we must never forget and that is when any
Christian begins to proclaim boldly the Word of God, then the Lord will move to
action on their behalf. The reason
we do not see this today is because Christians have cowered in fear before the
world and many have adopted the phony love of the world and do not find it
beneficial to speak boldly and courageously in defense of the Gospel.
However, no matter what the timid Christians of today feel, the principle
of bold speech and actions has been proven many times in church history.
Let us look at a few examples from history within the Bible and after the
completion of the Bible.
In the Bible
Moses – Used of God to free Israel,
confronted Pharaoh considered a god among the
Egyptians resulting in their freedom and the total destruction of the Egyptian
Army thus breaking their power never to become
a major kingdom again.
David ----He dared to confront Goliath
and called the armies of Israel the armies of the
living God resulting in the death of Goliath and the defeat of the Philistines.
Nathan – He was used of God to confront
David about his adultery with Bathsheba and his murder
of Uriah.
Apostle Paul – Confronted the Leaders
of Israel wherever he went and started churches and
penned 13 books of the New Testament.
Spoke the truth before kings like
Agrippa.
John the Baptist – He confronted Herod
about his marriage to his brother Philip’s Wife
Herodias and was a fulfillment of prophecy as the forerunner of the
Messiah.
After the Bible’s
Completion
William Tyndale – He translated the
Bible into English in defiance of the Roman
While he
was being martyred in 1536 he stated
“Lord Open the King of England’s eyes” and in
1604 we got the Hampton Court Conference and in 1611
we received the King James Bible
Martin Luther – He defied the
Roman Catholic Church and all its pagan rituals and
teachings. He broke away from them and
brought about the Protestant Reformation in
1517 thus breaking Europe free from the yoke of
Rome.
William Carey – Defied his
Minister’s association and went on to become the “Father of
Modern Missions” by opening schools in India including
a seminary.
Madge Moult ---Escaped from
the Benedictine Convent in East Burkholt, Suffolk in
a railroad station and she
started screaming that she was not going back.
The railroad staff intervened and she
was freed from the grip of the nuns.
Miss Moult
later undertook a speaking tour, lecturing on convent
life and its dangers.
Summary