Authority of Christ

1. Authority of Christ CURRENT ERRORS Marriage, Divorce, & Remarriage Literal Days of Creation Literal Serpent in the Garden Fellowship

2. Authority of Christ Teaches Us How To Deal With Error • Must Examine What We Are Taught – 1 Jn. 4:1; Acts 17:11 • Must Oppose & Expose Error – Eph. 5:11; 2 Tim. 4:5 • Some do seek to destroy the church – Acts 20:29-30 • Will appear harmless – Mt. 7:15; 2 Cor. 11:13-15 • Will work undercover – 2 Pet. 2:1; Jude 4 • Must be marked & avoided – Rom. 16:17; Tit. 1:9, 11; 3:10 • Paul’s example – Phil. 3:2; 4:9; 2 Tim. 2:17-18; 4:14 • Paul exposed the sin of Peter – Gal. 2:11-14; 1 Cor. 4:6 • Must not aid error in any way – 2 Jn. 9-11

3. Matthew 16 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound [will have been bound] in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed [will have been loosed] in heaven.

4. The Divorced and Remarried Who Would Come To Godby Homer Hailey “In Romans he sets forth three laws under which men have lived and by which they will be judged: a universal moral law to which the world is accountable and by which it will be judged, the Mosaic law by which Jews from Sinai to Christ will be judged, and Christ’s law (the gospel) by which all in Christ will be judged….The Jews will be judged by the law they lived under; from the beginning to the end of history, men will be judged by the universal moral law of God which they rejected, and which sinners of today continue to transgress; and those under Christ, the spiritual kingdom, will be judged by the law of Christ.This is a crucial point in our discussion, and will be more fully developed later” (Pp. 29-30).

5. John 12:48 He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. 1 Peter 4:17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?

6. Matthew 19 9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.

7. Romans 7 2 For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man.

8. Newsweek Magazine on MDR “Although He wasn’t married himself, Jesus had some rather clear teachings on the subject. Adultery was sin, he declared, and that included even lustful looks at another woman. He was tough on divorce, too, saying that anyone who divorces and marries another also commits adultery. But, the authority of the Scriptures isn’t what it used to be—even for those who preach it from the pulpit.”(Kenneth L. Woodward; “Sex, Morality and the Protestant Minister”; Newsweek Magazine, 7-28-97; p. 62).

9. The Days Cannot Be LiteralShane Scott; Sentry Magazine; Vol. 21, No. 1 “Some Bible believers insist that the world must be only 6,000 years old, because the world was created in six days, according to Genesis 1…I will argue that the Bible allows for a much older earth, because the days of Genesis 1 should not be interpreted literally.” “Because of all the things that occurred on the sixth day as described in Genesis 2, the sixth day of Genesis 1 cannot be literal.”

10. Is the Serpent Literal?Marty Pickup; “The Seed of Woman” 2003 FC Lecture, p. 49-78 “It is also worth considering that the account of these events may be, to some degree, accommodative and symbolic. Genesis may use the serpent motif because it is borrowing imagery from the mythological culture of that day regarding a cosmological foe of Deity…Since ancient creation myths gave a serpentine form to the being who opposed the order of creation, it was fitting that the tempter in the garden be depicted in this way (Boyd, 156). Such a literary device may have been quite obvious to the original audience of Genesis.”

11. Canonicity of 2 Peter & JudeMarty Pickup; FC Lecture on Canonicity of the General Epistles, 2-08-06 “I think that the weight of the evidence tips the scale in favor of the authenticity of 2 Peter and Jude. That’s, that’s my conclusion. Now I will be very frank with you here. A fellow says, ‘ Now Marty, are you just totally certain about that?’ No. Have to be honest…I think the evidence tips the scale in favor of their authenticity. And that’s what I would argue, that’s what I’ve tried to argue here. But I would have to say, I can’t be dogmatic about that, I’m not a hundred percent certain about that.”

12. Ed Harrell On Fellowship and Romans 14 “Within certain limits, God grants to Christians the right to a private conscience in matters of ‘faith.’ I believe that right is discussed in Romans 14. However, whether or not one accepts my exegesis of that passage, honest minds must acknowledge the reality of a past and present Christian world that tolerates contradictory teachings and practices on important moral and doctrinal questions” (The Bounds of Christian Unity; Christianity Magazine; May 1990; p. 6). Instrumental Music Sprinkling – Baptism Women Preachers Homosexuality Divorce & Remarriage Theistic Evolution Serpent Motif Try this statement on:

13. Others • Bob Owen – Matters of indifference are matters of faith to some and Romans 14 applies (Sermon; Temple Terrace, FL, 9-2-1993). • Don Patton – Matter of faith to the meat-eater (Sermon Outline, Personal Convictions, Romans 14) • Ken Green – “Romans 14 includes some issues we consider matters of faith as opposed to matters of strict opinion and judgment.” (Receive the Weak; Gospel Anchor; Jan. 1993, p.10). • Dee Bowman – Agrees with Ed Harrell’s position (Letter; Sept. 10, 1993).

14. Categories of Action • Some Things Are Commanded • We have no choice, only one right way to act • Must do them if we are to adhere to God’s pattern • Some Things Are Forbidden • We have no choice, only one right to act • Must not do them if adhere to God’s pattern • Some Things Are Allowed • We have a choice, a plurality of right actions • May do or not do them without inherent sin • Depends on situation & personal conscience

15. Romans 14 1 Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. 2 For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 3 Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. 4 Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

16. Romans 14 5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike.Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.

17. Romans 14 14 I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense.

18. 2 John 9-11 9 Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; 11 for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.

19. Romans 16:17 17 Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. Ephesians 5:11 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.

20. J. W. McGarvey said to J. P. Sewell in 1902, “You are on the right road, and whatever you do don’t let anybody persuade you that you can successfully combat error by fellowshipping it. I have tried. I believed at the start that was the only way to do it. I’ve never held membership in a congregation that uses instrumental music. I have, however, accepted invitations to preach without distinctions between churches that used it and churches that didn’t. I’ve gone along with their papers and magazines and things of that sort. During all these years I have taught the truth as the New Testament teaches to every young preacher who has passed through the College of the Bible. Yet, I do not know of more than six of those men who are preaching the truth today. It won’t work.”(from Biographical Sketches of Restoration Preachers in a lecture by J. P. Sewell). McGarvey On Fellowshipping Those In Error

21. McGarvey’s Influence Condoned Error “…Even churches of Christ found McGarvey and enigma since he remained in close relation with the Disciples while opposing their basic liberalism. Harding felt McGarvey had neglected one passage of Scripture—Romans 16:17-18, and added ‘More congregations have been divided among us by pressing instrumental music into them than by all other causes. Next to the organ, the missionary societies have been our greatest cause of division and strife.’ Harding was sure that McGarvey’s toleration of these evils had influenced his colleagues, Moses E. Lard, I. B. Grubbs, and Robert Graham to do the same. If he had been less lenient, ‘maybe there would be a different story now,’ Harding mused.” (Search For The Ancient Order, Vol. III, Pp 50-51).