Are Paul's Writings as Authoritative as Jesus' Words?

Many years ago as a young man, I heard it said by a young lady of my own age that the apostle Paul just had a thing against women with the idea being that what he wrote on the subject of women had no authority but was merely the expression of personal prejudice on his part.  That young lady many years later became a preacher within her denominational body contrary to Paul's teaching on the subject in 1 Tim. 2:12.

Over the course of the many years that have transpired since that time, I have heard the same or similar comments regarding things Paul wrote.  It seems many believe he lacked the authority of Christ in the words he spoke or wrote.  That is the subject I wish to pursue in this article.  I add that the reality is that if what Paul wrote is not authoritative then we cannot stop there but have to go right down the line and ask about what Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, James, Peter, and Jude wrote. 

The truth of the matter is every single word of the New Testament excepting only those words added by translators for clarification (usually marked by being printed in italics) came directly from God the Father including the words of Jesus himself.  In John 1:1 Jesus is called "the Word" (NKJV) and he is recorded as saying, "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.  For I have not spoken on my own authority; but the Father who sent me gave me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.  And I know that his command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told me, so I speak." (John 12:48-50 NKJV)  He says again, "The word which you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me." (John 14:24 NKJV)  One could add to these references but the point has been made. 

Before Jesus ascended back to heaven he promised to send the Holy Spirit to his apostles.  "But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you." (John 14:26 NKJV)  "I will pray the Father, and he will give you another helper (the Holy Spirit--DS) … even the Spirit of truth." (John 14:16-17 NKJV)  "But when the helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, … he will testify of me." (John 15:26 NKJV)  Now here is where one needs to pay special attention.  Did the Holy Spirit speak free-lance style?  Listen carefully. 

"However, when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak; and he will tell you things to come.  He will glorify me, for he will take of what is mine and declare it to you.  All things that the Father has are mine.  Therefore I said that he will take of mine and declare it to you." (John 16:13-15 NKJV)  The apostles were commanded by Jesus to stay in Jerusalem until they were baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5 NKJV).  That day came on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2:1-4. 

The important thing to see thus far is the chain of command.  Even though God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all one, all being equally God, they have an order in which they of their own accord have chosen to work.  Jesus, "being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant." (Philippians 2:6-7 NKJV)  Jesus thus submitted himself to God the Father and spoke only the Father's words.  When the Holy Spirit came after Jesus returned to heaven it is clear from the passage just quoted in the prior paragraph (John 16:13-15) that he did not originate truth for he did not speak on his own authority but spoke what he heard.  He glorified Jesus by taking what was of or from Jesus and declared it to them. 

Thus when an apostle spoke by means of the Holy Spirit he spoke not out of himself but rather spoke the very words of God.  Peter speaks of "those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven." (1 Peter 1:12 NKJV)  On the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 Peter himself spoke just such a gospel sermon after the Holy Spirit fell on him and the other apostles.  Paul says, "No one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.  These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual." (1 Cor. 2:11-13 NKJV) 

If Paul was not an inspired writer (as well as a gospel preacher) then Peter was in error for he said of Paul's writings that some twisted them "to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the scriptures." (2 Peter 3:15 NKJV)  Not only does Peter compare Paul's writings with the rest of the scriptures but also says his writings can be twisted to one's destruction.  That would be a little hard to do if they were uninspired writings would it not?  If one recalls correctly Ananias was sent to Paul at his conversion with one reason being that Paul might be "filled with the Holy Spirit." (Acts 9:17 NKJV)  

Sometimes people latch on to a few statements made by Paul in 1 Cor. 7 and read into them more than they should in that they feel Paul is there giving uninspired advice or giving only his own judgment or opinion apart from any direction of the Spirit.  For example, Paul says in verse 12, "I, not the Lord, say," (NKJV) and then in verse 25 he says, "I have no commandment from the Lord; yet I give judgment as one whom the Lord in his mercy has made trustworthy." (1 Cor. 7:25 NKJV)  Well, is Paul trustworthy or not?  He closes this very chapter with these words, "According to my judgment—and I think I also have the Spirit of God." (1 Cor. 7:40 NKJV)  Do you think Paul had the Spirit of God?  Do you think he was questioning himself by making that statement?  You know better. 

Here is the bind that those get themselves into when they begin questioning scripture and taking some of it as inspired and other parts of it as not inspired—how do you decide which is which?  Are you that all wise and knowing so that you can declare beyond doubt that this scripture is inspired while that one is not?  How do the rest of us know you are that smart, even God-like, in your declarations?  How did you come to possess these mighty powers of discernment?  Maybe showing us a miracle would help the rest of us build confidence in you.  In New Testament times miracles were performed to confirm the word as being from God (Heb. 2:1-4).  We need confirmation of like nature if you are going to start cutting out scripture from the Bible for proof is needed that your word is from God when you do such cutting.   After all, you will be giving us a new Bible when your cutting is done. 

Needless to say, all such approaches to scripture end up being faith-destroying.  How do you have faith if you do not know what to have faith in and what not to have faith in?  Yes, I know these types proclaim their faith but genuine faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Rom. 10:17) and not by one's own “I think so.”  It does not come by one declaring himself to be God and thus able to give man the true scriptures versus the false ones. 

The bottom line ends up being that one either has to hold to the scriptures as being authoritative, and verbally inspired by God, or else he holds to the words of some man that declares otherwise but can work no miracle in proof of his declaration. 

In closing yes the words of Jesus in red are authoritative but no more so than the words in black in your New Testament for the truth is the source of all inspired writings is God the Father.  When Paul or Peter or whomever the New Testament writer was spoke with pen and ink or otherwise on matters of the faith his words came from the same source that Jesus' did while Jesus was on the earth.  The idea that Paul was writing for Paul's sake promoting his own doctrine contrary to what Jesus would have said is as unscriptural as it gets. 

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Tim. 3:16-17 NKJV) 

Postscript:  This article is not meant to imply that Bible translations, man-made, are infallible.  However, to the extent a translation accurately represents the original manuscripts of the New Testament, it is reliable.

 

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Ashamed of Jesus and His Words

In Luke 9:26 Jesus made the following statement, "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." (NAS)  There are two things here that we are told we must avoid if we are to keep Jesus from being ashamed of us in the day he returns to judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31) – (1) being ashamed of Jesus and (2) being ashamed of the words of Jesus.

We might well ask what is there about Jesus to be ashamed of.  The answer is obvious, nothing at all.  But lest we think we are clear on this count and before we begin to pat ourselves on the back thinking we are not ashamed of him let us think a little deeper about the matter.  Is Jesus just talking about our state of mind about him when he gives this warning against being ashamed of him?  I think not.

Jesus made another statement found in Matt. 10:32-33 which I believe ties in with the Luke 9 passage just quoted above.  He says, "Everyone therefore who shall confess me before men, I will also confess him before my father who is in heaven.  But whoever shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my father who is in heaven." (NAS)  It is easy to say to ourselves I am not ashamed of Jesus and mean it but as the American idiom goes "when the rubber meets the road" and we should speak of Jesus, speak up and be heard when that test comes, is it not true that too often, maybe most all of the time, we hold our silence and fail to speak on his behalf?  I think that is generally true.

We do not speak because we do not want to be embarrassed or shamed by the world that ridicules faith in Jesus thus we are more concerned about receiving honor from men rather than the honor that comes from God alone.  We do not speak because we do not want to contend earnestly for the faith (Jude 3).  We do not speak because we do not want to wield "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." (Eph. 6:17 NAS)  We want to just get along.  As the saying goes there are two things you do not talk about lest you get into a fight--religion and politics.  However, man said that not God.  Jesus never held his peace and he was continually involved in verbal fights.

Yes, I am sure there is a time and a place for such discussions of Christ.  But here is the problem--we never find the right time or place do we?  It is like the right time and place never arises with us.  It is out there somewhere but we just never have found it and unless our hearts change we never will find it.  The bottom line is we are embarrassed or ashamed to talk of Christ to others unless we know them very, very well (immediate family?) and have judged what we think their reaction will be beforehand.  Others may know we are believers for we attend services regularly but they would never know it by our talking about Jesus.

Contrast that with Christ while he was on earth.  Every day he was talking religion, talking of God his Father, talking of faith and obedience and God's will for man.  Every day he was into discussions and often arguments with men over religion.  Is he our example?  Will we follow that example?  Are we afraid too?  Who are we more afraid of—other people or God?

That said there were two parts of the verse we are discussing, Luke 9:26.  We are also warned against being ashamed of the words of Jesus.  There are far more people who are willing to confess Jesus before men and uphold his honor in that regard than there are people who are willing to accept his words. 

First of all, I want all to understand that the words of Jesus are not just confined to the words printed in red in your New Testament.  Jesus, in John 16, spoke of the coming of the Holy Spirit and said this, "He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.  He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you." (John 16:13-14 NAS)  What was Jesus' that the Holy Spirit was to disclose?  The words of Jesus.

My copy of the original ASV of 1901 New Testament has on its title page these words: "The New Covenant commonly called The New Testament of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."  That is what it is exactly.  Every word on its pages came from Jesus either directly or indirectly through the Holy Spirit.

Great indeed is the number of those who claim to be Christians that will not believe but parts of the word and are thus ashamed of the words of Jesus.  How many denominationalists will ever preach what Peter preached, by means of the Holy Spirit, in Acts 2;38, "Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins"? (NAS)  They are ashamed of those words of Jesus and do not believe them and will not abide in them and will not teach them.  To them those gathered on that Pentecost day were saved the minute they repented and as they would put it "received Jesus into their hearts" so you cannot believe these words about baptism for the forgiveness of sins that Peter spoke on behalf of Christ.

You can go to other passages and try and convince them.  For example, Ananias told Saul, "Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name." (NAS)  To them, Ananias did not know what he was talking about Holy Spirit or no Holy Spirit for they say baptism cannot wash away sins even if God says it can.  To them, the Holy Spirit should have worded that passage differently.  

Peter says, by the Holy Spirit, "baptism now saves you" (1 Peter 3:21 NAS) but not with them for they will not believe the words of Jesus and are ashamed of all such as related to baptism.  Even when Jesus spoke directly on the subject, "unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5 NAS) it is not accepted.  Of such people, it will never be said of them that they obeyed Jesus who said, "If anyone keeps my word he shall never see death." (John 8:51 NAS)  His word is what they are not keeping.  This is only an example, one topic, where people are ashamed of the words of Jesus, even religious people.

I will say this; it is not easy to live up to the demands found in this Luke 9:26 passage.  It takes courage, great courage, to speak of Jesus to others and defend the words of Jesus.  It takes great courage to overcome the fear of contention, fights, debates, and strife that will naturally arise when one does speak up and does not hold his peace.

I am reminded, however, of the passage found in Matt. 10:34-36 where Jesus said, "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.  For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's enemies will be the members of his household." (NAS)  We all want peace but each of us has to make up his/her mind as to where we prefer that peace--here or the hereafter.  Which will last the longest? 

Jesus suffered a violent death and it was because he spoke up and did not hold his peace.  Most historians think most of the apostles suffered similar fates and we know from history of burnings at the stake and violent deaths of many early Christians.  Again it was not because they held their peace but because they spoke up.  They were not ashamed to speak up for Jesus and were not ashamed of his words.

It takes strength to defend the very words of the New Testament, the words of Jesus.  The Holy Spirit, speaking through Paul, said clearly, "The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths." (2 Tim. 4:3-4 NAS)  Many seem to feel that day is still in the future.  They are wrong.  It may continue to get worse but that day is already here.  Here is the proof.

People commonly believe that people in and from every denomination will be saved thus proving Paul's point when he said "they will not endure sound doctrine."  Follow the train of thought here.  If people are saved from every denomination, all teaching different doctrines, then there is no such thing as sound doctrine.  If one denominational doctrine is as good as another there is no such thing as sound doctrine or enduring sound doctrine.  That being the case what Paul prophesied is already here and does not need to await the future.

One can take the commonly accepted stance that the church of which one is a member does not matter and all will speak well of him, they will be glad to hear he feels that way.  One can take the stance that baptism is not for the remission of sins and receive the applause of men.  But, that will not change what the Bible says about either of those subjects.  "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for in the same way their fathers used to treat the false prophets." (Luke 6:26 NAS)  What we ought to do is quit being ashamed of the words of Jesus and start following them.

If Jesus is ashamed of us on the last day we are not going to be saved.  Most who read this article probably have children.  How would a parent feel, how does one feel, when his children are ashamed of him and his words?  Now apply that to how Jesus must feel when we are ashamed of him and his words.  There can be little doubt it hurts him deeply.

We all need to take Luke 9:26 to heart and do better.  It will take a great deal of strength and courage, even faith, to do so.  It will also take love for God.  Do we have what it will take and will we do it?  That is the question we all must answer. 

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Finding Truth

How can one find and know the truth of Christianity that comes from God in a world that is divided over that truth to the extent that today we have thousands and thousands of denominations because they cannot agree with one another over what that truth is?  Many no longer think it is possible to know the truth in any absolute sense.  It is just a matter of individual opinion is a common thought.  Consequently, it is not unusual to hear sentiments like as long as you believe in Jesus and are sincere that is all that matters and any church will do, just find the church of your choice.

It is easy enough for the sincere seeker after truth to just throw up his/her hands in despair and give up but the Bible makes it clear that truth can be known and that it does matter what one believes and obeys.  Jesus said "to those Jews who believed Him, 'If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.'" (John 8:31-32 NKJV)  Abiding in the word of Jesus is thus essential to (1) being a disciple of Jesus and (2) to knowing the truth.  It is also essential to salvation for Jesus said, "If anyone keeps My word he shall never see death." (John 8:51 NKJV)

All the words in our New Testament are the words of Jesus, not just the red letter words.  The word Jesus spoke and gave to man was God the Father's.  Jesus himself said so.  "He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me." (John 14:24 NKJV)  John the Baptist was speaking of Jesus when he said, "For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure." (John 3:34 NKJV) 

Jesus made other statements to this effect as follows:  "The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority." (John 14:10 NKJV)  "I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him." (John 8:26 NKJV)  "As My Father taught Me, I speak these things." (John 8:28 NKJV)  "You seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God." (John 8:40 NKJV)  "But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me … He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God." (John 8:45-47 NKJV)  In his prayer in John 17 he says, "I have given to them the words which You have given Me." (John 17:8 NKJV)  That which Jesus spoke and taught came from God the Father.

When Jesus had ascended back to heaven the Holy Spirit was given to the apostles and prophets but the Spirit himself did not initiate new teaching but merely took of what was Jesus' and gave it to man.  This is clearly taught in John 16:12-15 where we have Jesus speaking and saying, "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.  However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.  He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.  All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you." (NKJV)

Jesus still had many things to say but he would not be saying those things now while still in the physical body but they would be spoken by the Holy Spirit who was going to take "what is Mine and declare it to you."  When Jesus said in John 14:18, in speaking to the twelve, "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you" (NKJV) he was speaking of coming to them via means of the Holy Spirit (read the statement in context—John 14:16-20).  This is the very thing he did on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 when the apostles were baptized in the Holy Spirit.

The New Testament is God's word; it is Jesus' word; it is the Holy Spirit's word.  Paul declares that he received what he preached by revelation of Jesus.  "But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.   For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ." (Gal. 1:11-12 NKJV)  At the same time he made clear that the words he spoke were from the Holy Spirit.  "These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual." (1 Cor. 2:13 NKJV)  Just 3 verses later he says, "We have the mind of Christ." (1 Cor. 2:16 NKJV)  To have the Holy Spirit is the same as to have the mind of Christ which is the same as to have "the Spirit who is from God" (1 Cor. 2:12 NKJV) which John the Baptist told us earlier God gave Jesus "without measure." (John 3:34 NKJV)

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Tim. 3:16-17 NKJV)  It is God's word which is truth for Jesus said in prayer to the Father, "Your word is truth." (John 17:17 NKJV)  It is that which makes free from sin (see John 8:31-32 quoted in the second paragraph of this article).  It is that by which we shall be judged for Jesus said, "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." (John 12:48 NKJV)

Jesus has defined love of God and what that means when he said, via the Holy Spirit speaking through the apostle John, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments." (1 John 5:3 NKJV)  He again says, "This is love, that we walk according to His commandments." (2 John 6 NKJV)  We find similar statements in the Gospel of John where Jesus speaks directly.  "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me." (John 14:21 NKJV)  "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word." (John 14:23 NKJV)  Jesus is "the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him." (Heb. 5:9 NKJV)  To obey Jesus one must obey the truth, the word of God, the words of Jesus whether spoken directly by him or indirectly by means of the Holy Spirit speaking through the apostles and the New Testament prophets.

Now it is time to make an application as it applies to the subject of finding truth in divided Christendom.  Where can truth be found?  The answer is simple—in the words of Jesus which is the New Testament, all of it.  But, it is often said we cannot agree on it.  We disagree with how passages are to be understood.  True, we do, but one must understand that truth is truth.

If you and I are reading the same passage and you say it teaches one thing and I say it teaches another that is not going to affect the truth of the passage one way or another; it will not change the truth one iota.  You may be wrong; I may be wrong; we both may be wrong; but, make no mistake about it, there is truth in the passage to be discovered.

There is no such thing as a separate truth for you and a separate truth for me out of the same passage.  At least one of us has to be in error and maybe both of us.  God will judge us by his word (John 12:48) which requires a correct understanding of it if a man is going to believe it and obey it.  We are foolhardy when we go off and say in our hearts that you see it one way and I see it another and we are content to leave it at that.

It is a direct command of God to, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth." (2 Tim. 2:15 NAS)  If we fail to do that--accurately handle the word of truth--then we simply become another blind leader of the blind which Jesus says will end up with both falling into the ditch.  It means disaster.

I say this without reservation; most people never learn the truth because they never study the truth.  They are far, far away from being diligent about personal Bible study and being a workman at doing it.  They may know well what it means to be a diligent workman studying a college course but they have never put forth that kind of effort into Bible study.  They do not like to read or study the Bible, they find it boring or they would rather do other things.

Peter said that Paul wrote some things hard to understand "which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures" (2 Peter 3:16 NKJV) so scripture can be twisted and turned to teach what it does not teach but again to do so means destruction.  One must educate himself not in what men say the scriptures teach but in the exact wording of scripture so he knows for himself what it teaches.  The Bereans "searched the scriptures daily." (Acts 17:11 NKJV)

How many people today are almost solely dependent on their preacher for their religious instruction?  If their preacher was a blind leader how would they know it no more than they study for themselves?  One is going to have to want to go to heaven if he/she is going to get there.  Studying, serious study, is a part of the want to process.  One comes to understand the scriptures correctly the same way he comes to understand any other academic subject—by study.  It was God who said, "Come now, and let us reason together." (Isa. 1:18 NKJV)  You have to know what he said before you can reason on it.

Jesus taught that a man can know the truth but there was a stipulation—"if anyone wants to do his will." (John 7:17 NKJV)  Here is the whole verse with Jesus being the speaker, "If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority." (John 7:17 NKJV)  Many New Testament doctrines are rejected today because men do not want to do God's will.

One of the most prevalent is that of marriage, divorce, and remarriage for causes other than that given in Matt. 19:9—the cause of fornication (sexual immorality in most modern-day translations).  A divorce and remarriage for any other reason is adultery.  Likewise some religious groups today want to legalize in their religious body homosexuality, that is to declare a practicing homosexual a faithful Christian.  Others desire to place women in positions of authority over men in the church.  Is the Bible unclear on these subjects?

Hear the New Testament on the subject of homosexuality, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,  nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Cor. 6:9-10 ESV)  As for women in leadership roles in the church over men Paul said, "Let a woman learn in silence with all submission.   And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence." (1 Tim. 2:11-12 NKJV)

What is the point?  One cannot know the truth unless he wants to do God's will just as Jesus said in John 7:17.  Jesus said the same thing using other words in Mark 4:24, "Then He said to them, 'Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.'" (NKJV)  If one is not willing to obey the truth (use it) what makes him think he is going to learn the truth?

Such a man will read a passage of scripture in a different way than will a man who is willing to accept and obey what is said.  He will justify himself by twisting the scriptures and declare his twisting to be the real truth.  Because he does not like what he hears and does not want to obey it he declares he hears something in the passage that an honest-hearted man would never hear.

In a similar vein all those religious bodies who declare themselves to be Christian but are willing to step outside the bounds of scripture for justification and authority are merely seeking to set up the commandments of men as equal to the word of God.  There are today all kinds of governing bodies that make rules and regulations, laws and commandments, for their faithful just by the vote of those elected or appointed delegates to their various conventions, etc.  At least the Catholics are honest enough to admit that they do not derive their authority solely from the Bible.  Some of the denominations ought to fess up too, just as many of them as have national conventions or governing bodies that set their doctrines.

If one needs reminding of what God said about teaching the doctrines of men then here is the reminder, "'In vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'" (Matt. 15:9 NKJV)  The problem was, "'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.'" (Matt. 15:8 NKJV) No single man or group of men has the right to make a single law for God.  We live in the kingdom of God and kings rule in kingdoms.  The church is not a democracy where we vote on what we will believe and practice.

Finally, tradition plays an awfully big role in leading people away from the truth.  Jesus, in speaking to the Pharisees and scribes, said, "For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men." (Mark 7:8 NKJV)  Again, "He said to them, 'All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.'" (Mark 7:9 NKJV)  Does anyone think that kind of thing came to an end at the end of the first century?

The key to detecting this today within a group is the phrase, "you reject the commandment of God."  One can see the commandments of God by reading the New Testament.  When one or more of those commandments are no longer being followed by a religious body that ought to tell you something about them and a good place to start looking is at their traditions and how they are ruled.

If I was to tell you all you needed to know the truth was your New Testament you might find that hilarious in view of all the conflicting beliefs that men who claim to follow it have come up with.  Yet, if I was to tell you the truth could be found somewhere else I would be in conflict with what God has said and would find myself fighting against God.  The truth is found in your New Testament, because it is the word of Jesus, but it takes a good and honest heart to find it and accept it.  The real test of whether or not a man or woman has found the truth is found in 1 John.

"Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.  He who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.  But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him." (1 John 2:3-5 NKJV)

Are you doing that?  The congregation or church of which you are a member, are they doing that or have they rejected some of God's commandments and set up some of their own traditions?  Read your New Testament and you decide.  I hope you are able to do that with a good and honest heart but be careful for God has said, "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?" (Jer. 17:9 NKJV) 

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