The Branches of Authority
Today’s topic is vital and one that concerns us all. This is no doubt the principal issue of religion which makes it detrimental to the wellbeing and destiny of every soul. The question is authority—who has authority to order and govern us? There are many sublevels to this question but always there will be an ultimate authority who gathers all lesser authorities under one headship of governance. As Christians, we have no arguments about who holds this position. The ultimate authority is God our Creator who by virtue of His omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence, claims this authority for Himself. No entity grants this right; He claims it because of His self-existence.
While we will not argue who is the supreme authority, we often argue about nearly every other authority above us. I am unable to discuss these many others, but I would like to take a moment to discuss one. This is the authority of the church, an authority granted by the founder of the church, the Lord Jesus Christ. The operation of the church and the internal authorities of the church derive their motions from the head. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus said: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” This is the authorization for new churches and our protocol for operation—doing all things Christ commanded.
After the gospel accounts, the rest of the New Testament is a manual of church information, whether of history, procedures of operation, doctrinal clarifications, or instructions for personal interactions. The church passes these through to new converts by the authority given to pastors and deacons who are the leadership of the church. The membership of the church must recognize this authority and submit to it for good order and thus proper growth in sanctification. At the same time, the Bible, our rule book, prevents church leadership from self-exaltation. Any proper act of leadership does not originate with the pastor but with the ultimate authority who is Christ.
In the past year, I have dealt with three different families who objected to pastoral and church authority by refusing to abide by sanctification directives as taught in God’s word. Since I am the one who has church authority to teach against these activities, I bear the blame as if I claim inherent authority for these positions. Rejection of these teachings is not rejection of me but rejection of the order of authority that is higher than mine. Circling back to the beginning of this article, this authority is Jesus Christ who is God. If rejection is because I overstepped my authority or misinterpreted the doctrinal basis of my teachings, there is a route of proper determination. This does not rest in the individual, but in the body of Christ. If we do not function this way, chaos rules not Christ.
The Lord blessed me with the calling to the pastorate of Berean Baptist Church. I am thankful for more than two decades of confidence placed in me by the membership. As well as I can decide, I have not changed in these many years. I uphold the same doctrines and the same Statement of Faith I started with. There is no excuse for anyone not to have the lengthy history of where we have been, thus a reasonable expectation of where we are going. The path we gladly choose is one of surrender to the Higher Authority, not to ourselves.
Pastor V. Mark Smith