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Establishing Bible Authority

Establishing Bible Authority. A Study of Acts 15. Do We Need Bible Authority?. Does the demand for Bible authority come from us, or from the Bible itself? Does the appeal to direct statement, approved examples, and necessary inference, come from us, or from the Bible itself?. Acts 15.

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Establishing Bible Authority

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  1. Establishing Bible Authority A Study of Acts 15

  2. Do We Need Bible Authority? • Does the demand for Bible authority come from us, or from the Bible itself? • Does the appeal to direct statement, approved examples, and necessary inference, come from us, or from the Bible itself?

  3. Acts 15 • The problem: • Circumcision & the Law was bound (vv.1,5) • It was a debated “issue” (vv.2-3,6-7) • It was taught without authority (v.24) • The solution: • The apostles appealed to divine authority (vv.6-21) • A letter was drafted and delivered (vv.22-35; 16:4) • Peace and unity resulted (vv.32-33; 16:5)

  4. Establishing Bible Authority • Peter appealed to necessary inference (vv.7-11) • Peter drew many inferences from what happened with Cornelius in Acts 10 (see also 10:28,34; 11:1-18) • Peter concluded that the Gentiles were saved by faith and cleansed apart from the Law of Moses • What was the necessary conclusion? The Gentiles need not be circumcised!

  5. Establishing Bible Authority • Paul appealed to approved example (v.12) • Paul and Barnabas told about the miracles God had worked among the Gentiles (Acts 13-14; see 14:3,10,27; 15:3-4; Gal. 2:2,7) • These examples showed that God had accepted the Gentiles without circumcision or obedience to the Law of Moses!

  6. Establishing Bible Authority • James appealed to direct statement (vv.13-21) • James quoted a direct statement from Amos 9:11-12 which does not include circumcision • James concluded that the Gentiles are not to keep the Law of Moses as a condition of salvation • God did not tell the Gentiles to keep the Law of Moses!

  7. Establishing Bible Authority • Direct statement authorizes (Mt. 28:20; Jn. 12:28; 14:15; etc.) • Approved example authorizes (Jn. 13:15; Phil. 3:17; 4:9; 1 Cor. 4:16-17; 11:1,20-22; 2 Thess. 3:6-7; Heb. 6:12; 1 Pet. 2:21; 1 Jn. 2:6; etc.) • Necessary inference authorizes (Mt. 22:15-33,41-46; Lk. 4:16-30; Ac. 16:10; Heb. 4:6-9; 7:11ff; etc.) • These three are not mutually exclusive. Sometimes they can all three be found together in one verse.

  8. Bible Authority Is A Must • All the people present in Acts 15 could understand the argument advanced by inferences, examples, and direct statements (15:22) • All the arguments by Peter, Paul, and James carried equal validity and authority; inferences and examples were not inferior to direct statements (15:14-15) • All the people attained unity of agreement through these means of establishing authority (15:22,25,28)

  9. Bible Authority Is A Must • We must use the same method of establishing Bible authority today as did Peter, Paul, and James • Appeal to “DS – NI – AE” is not an appeal to a man-made formula, but an appeal to divine authority • If our religious practice today is without “DS-NI-AE” it is without divine authority • Every religious practice today without divine authority will be judge (Mt. 15:13)

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