An archaic question

1

• An archaic question
• A scorned question
• An unwelcome question
• An ignored question
• A legitimate question?
• By what authority are you doing these things,
• And who gave you this authority?

2

• Matthew 2123
• When He entered the temple, the chief
• priests and the elders of the people came to
• Him while He was teaching, and said,
• "By what authority are you doing these things,
• And who gave you this authority?"

3

• Matthew 2124
• Jesus said to them, "I will also ask you one
  thing, which if you tell Me,
• I will also tell you by what authority
• I do these things.

Jesus legitimized the question By what
authority are you doing these things?
4
Legitimate questions

• What is authority?
• Must we have authority for what we do in
• work, worship and service to God?
• Where does this authority come from?
• How do we establish this authority?

5
What is authority?Matt. 89

• For I also am a man under authority, with
  soldiers
• under me
• and I say to this one, "Go! and he goes,
• and to another, "Come! and he comes,
• and to my slave, "Do this! and he does it.

Authority The right to command and expect
obedience
6
Must we have authority?
7
Must we have authority?

• Nadab
• and
• Abihu
• the sin
• Lev. 101-2

• Now Nadab and
• Abihu, offered
• strange fire before
• the LORD,

8
Must we have authority?

• Nadab
• and
• Abihu
• why sin?
• Lev. 101-2

• which He
• had not
• commanded
• them.

9
Must we have authority?

• Nadab
• and
• Abihu
• the punishment
• Lev. 101-2

• And fire came out
• from the presence
• of the LORD and
• consumed them,
• and they died
• before the LORD.

10
Must we have authority?

• King Saul
• the order
• 1 Samuel 153

• Now go and strike
• Amalek and utterly
• destroy all that he has,
• and do not spare him
• but put to death both
• man and woman, child
• and infant, ox and sheep,
• camel and donkey.

11
Must we have authority?

• King Saul
• the disobedience
• 1 Samuel 159

• But Saulspared Agag
• and the best of the sheep,
• the oxen, the fatlings, the
• lambs,..all that was good,
• not willing to destroy
• them utterly but
• everything despised and
• worthless, that they
• utterly destroyed.

12
Must we have authority?

• King Saul
• the condemnation
• 1 Samuel 1522-23

• Has the LORD as much
• delight in burnt offerings
• and sacrifices as in
• obeying the voice of the
• LORD? Behold, to obey
• is better than sacrifice,
• and to heed than the
• fat of rams.

13
Must we have authority?

• King Saul
• the condemnation
• 1 Samuel 1522-23

• For rebellion is as the sin
• of divination, And
• insubordination is as
• iniquity and idolatry.
• because you have
• rejected the word of
• the LORD, He has also
• rejected you from being
• king.

14
Must we have authority?

• King Uzziah
• the sin
• 1 Chron. 2616

• But when he became
• strong, his heart was so
• proud that he acted
• corruptly, and he was
• unfaithful to the LORD
• His God, for he entered
• the temple of the LORD
• to burn incense on the
• altar of incense.

15
Must we have authority?

• King Uzziah
• why sin?
• 1 Chron. 2618

• It is not for you, Uzziah,
• to burn incense to the
• LORD, but for the
• priests, the sons of Aaron
• who are consecrated to
• burn incense.

16
Must we have authority?

• This people honors me with their lips, but
• their heart is far away from me. But in vain
• do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the
• precepts of men.
• Matthew 158-9

17
Must we have authority?

• Everyone who practices sin also practices
• lawlessness and sin is lawlessness.
• 1 John 34
• Anyone who goes too far and does not abide
• in the teaching of Christ, does not have God
• the one who abides in the teaching, he has
• both the Father and the Son.
• 2 John 9

18
Summation of OT NT Evidence

• There is a way which seems right to a man,
• But its end is the way of death.
• Proverbs 1412 1625
• I know, O LORD, that a man's way is not in
• himself, Nor is it in a man who walks to direct
• his steps.
• Jeremiah 1023

19
By what authority are you doing these things?

• A
• legitimate
• question?

• A failure to be
• concerned with this
• question lies at the
• root of all religious
• differences and
• apostasies.