I. Where authority comes from
A. Authority is "the power or right to give commands, enforce obedience, take
action, or make final decisions; jurisdiction". When we speak of Bible
authority, we are speaking of who has power to decide what is right.
B. All authority rests with God (Rom 13:1, John 19:10-11). Since God is
sovereign over all the world, only He has the right to tell anyone what to do.
He has all right to direct everything He has made, including people.
C. God delegated all authority to Jesus (Matt 28:18, John 17:1-2). Jesus could
teach with authority (Matt 7:28-29) and cast out demons with authority
(Matt 12:24-29) because God gave Him that power.
D. Jesus gave authority to His apostles (Matt 16:19, 1 Thess 2:13, Eph 2:20, 1 Cor
14:37). This does not mean they had the ability to make law, but it does
mean that they spoke directly for God.
E. Jesus' apostles and inspired men wrote the Bible (Eph 3:3-5, Rom 1:16). Now
the Bible has authority because it was written by God (2 Tim 3:16-17).
F. If we seek authority from God to do something in His name, it must come from
the Bible. This is where God has put all His authority for our actions.

II. How we derive authority
A. Knowing that authority can only be derived from the Bible, how do we go about
knowing what God wants us to do?
B. Sometimes authority is derived by simple commands in the Bible. We know
God wants us to do something because He tells us to do it. A good example
of this kind of authority is found in Acts 15:14-17. It is our duty to conform
to and obey God's commands.
C. Sometimes we derive authority from seeing examples of godly people recorded
for us in Scripture. A good example of this kind of authority is Acts 15:12.
If God wanted His people to do it in New Testament times, He wants us to do it today.
D. Sometimes we don't have a direct command or example about a matter, but
must draw conclusions from what we do read. Paul did this in Acts 16:6-10.
E. Having seen some ways Bible characters derived authority, let's apply some
issues about which we must use these methods to know what God wants.
F. Should we meet together to worship? Heb 10:24-25 tells us that we must. It is a
direct command from God, and to disobey is to sin.
G. What should we do when we worship? Acts 20:7 tells us of some that took the
Lord's Supper on the first day of the week. We should do the same, and to
disobey is to sin.
H. How should we gather money to do the Lord's work? Phil 4:15-16 and 2 Cor
11:7-8 show us that churches should support preachers. 1 Tim 5:16 shows
us the church has benevolent responsibilities. How does the church gather
its money? Only 1 Cor 16:1-2 shows a pattern for collecting for the church,
and it is this example, we conclude, that we must follow. Although its
purpose in this passage is simply for benevolence, we must assume that this
is also the way God wants money collected for evangelism and all other
authorized works of His church.

III. Generic and specific authority
A. Someone may object, "But the Bible doesn't say anything about gospel
meetings, newspaper articles, or radio preaching." That's true, but this does
not mean they are not authorized.
B. At times God's commands are general ["Go into all the world and preach the
gospel to every creature"(Mark 16:16)] and sometimes they are specific
["Make yourself an ark of gopher wood"(Gen 6:14)].
C. When God gives general commands ("Go into all the world"), He gives us the
leeway to decide how that is to be done. We may use a boat or plane, radio
or television, or any means necessary to preach God's word. We know He
wants it.
D. When God gives specific commands ("gopher wood"), He does not give us
leeway. He has decided the way He wants it, and all other ways are
excluded. Noah could not use oak or pine, just gopher.
E. We must remember in all of this the important principle: if we are going to do
something in the name of God, we must have God's word backing us up! If
not, we are acting without authority and are guilty of sin.
F. This also brings up an important principle in God's nature: if God gives us the
way to fulfill a command, all other ways are excluded. When He told Israel
to carry the ark by poles (Exodus 25:14-15), every other way was excluded
(1 Chr 13:7-10). When He said Levi would be priests, every other tribe was
excluded (Heb 7:14). In short, "He didn't say not to" is not authority, but a
smokescreen to cover a lack of authority.

We must be certain that we look for God's authority in all things we do in His name. He has put authority in His word, and to step beyond it (2 John 9) is to sin.

"And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the nanme of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him"(Col 3:17)p___Jacob Hudgins