Fundamentals of the Faith Lesson 3 – Authority; Part 1 Leviticus 10:1-2

God will not tolerate that which is not authorized Cain’s Worship of God 3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. Genesis 4:3-5 Whatever is offered as worship to God, which is not authorized by the NT, is not acceptable to Him. The fact that something is INTENDED to be worship to God does not mean that it will please God. Notice with me the worship of Cain (Gen 4:2-5), it was not acceptable to God. Next slide -

God will not tolerate that which is not authorized Unacceptable Offerings Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably?” Says the Lord of hosts. Malachi 1:8b God through Malachi, sought especially to correct the people with regard to their efforts to worship. God explained that their offerings were not acceptable (Mal 1:8b). Next slide

God will not tolerate that which is not authorized Commandments of Men are unacceptable And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ” Matthew 15:9 The Lord applied Isaiah’s prophecy to the Pharisees and scribes in Matthew 15:9 Next Slide

God will not tolerate that which is not authorized The use of the word “strange” in relation to worship 1 Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane (strange –KJV) fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. 2 So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. Leviticus 10:1-2 The Bible often uses the word “strange” in the sense of “not acceptable because not authorized.” Nadab and Abihu” in Lev 10:1-2 Next Slide

God will not tolerate that which is not authorized King Solomon married “strange women” Should we then hear of your doing all this great evil, transgressing against our God by marrying pagan women?” Nehemiah 13:27 King Solomon married “strange women”-women whom God had not authorized him to marry. This same kind of sin was a great problem in the days of Nehemiah (Neh 13:27). Next Slide

God will not tolerate that which is not authorized Strange Flesh 7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Jude 1:7 Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them went after strange flesh (Jude 7) Next Slide

God will not tolerate that which is not authorized Strange doctrines Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines… Hebrews 13:9a We are warned about being carried away with strange doctrines Heb 13:9 Next Slide

We must know how god does not authorize On the basis of personal likes and dislikes On the basis of what pleases me On the basis of false conclusions which may be reached On the basis of opinions On the basis of what is popular On the basis of what may be the consensus in someone’s lectureship.

We must know how god does not authorize On the basis of what some well-known and highly respected brother teaches or may have taught On the basis of human traditions On the basis of my inability to “see any harm in it” On the basis of long-standing practices On the basis of the silence of the Scriptures 7. “may have taught” includes those who are dead but taught certain ideas while living

The Silence of the Scriptures The Bible authorizes by WHAT IT SAYS NOT BY WHAT IT DOES NOT SAY. The Bible says nothing about counting beads in Christian worship, but this fact does not authorize the counting of beads in worship. If it is the case that all things about which the Bible is silent are things which can be done in worship, and if its is the case that counting beads is something which the Bible is silent: then it is the case that counting of beads is something which may be done in worship. This is false, silence does not authorize. Next Slide

The Silence of the Scriptures A SHOUTING example Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout.” Joshua 6:10 After the marching on the 6th day After the marching on the 7th day After the priestly-bearing the ark and the seven trumpets After the priestly-blowing of a “long blast” and the people’s hearing the sound of the “long blast”-THEN the people were to shout with a great shout. A) This does not authorize (1) shouting at some other time, (2) or making any noise at some other time, (3) or making just any kind of noise.

Conclusion We must be aware that God will NOT tolerate that which is not authorized. We must KNOW how God does not authorize. Finally, we must have a proper understanding of the silence of the scriptures. The issue of Bible authority has cause much difficulty within the church, we must know the truth on this subject.