Day 102-9/10/2016

B. Modern Applications of the Need for Bible Authority

We have examined how the principles we are studying are demonstrated by various Bible events or applied by faithful Bible teachers. Let us now apply the same principles to some practices we may consider today.

Note the chart below that summarizes these points:

Going and preaching the gospel — Mark 16:15,16

God said to go preach the gospel to every creature. If we preach man-made doctrines, we are not preaching the gospel. Therefore, to preach them is unacceptable.

On the other hand, there are many ways a person might “go” into all the world. He might walk or use an “aid,” such as riding a donkey, car, chariot, plane, etc. These things may not be specifically mentioned, but any or all of them would be acceptable because they fit the definition of what is stated: “go,” preach the gospel.

In the same way, there are many things a person could do that would constitute preaching the gospel.

He might speak directly to a group of people, write them a letter, divide them up into classes.

Or he might use an “aid,” such as radio or TV, blackboard, projector, or Internet.

All such would be acceptable, though not specifically mentioned, because they fit the meaning of what God said to do.

When doing them, we are simply doing what God said:

preach the gospel.

Baptism — Romans 6:4; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38

God said people should be “buried” in baptism. Sprinkling and pouring do not constitute burial. They do not fit the definition. If God did not care what action was involved, He could have simply said, “Put water on the people,” or “Make them wet.” But when He said to bury them, and nowhere said to sprinkle or pour, then sprinkling and pouring must be wrong.

Likewise, we are told that, before they can be baptized, people must hear the gospel and believe it, and repent of sins. Babies and animals cannot do these things, so to baptize them would be to do differently from what God said. This would not fit the meaning of God’s instructions. God may not have expressly said not to baptize babies or animals, but to do so would be wrong.

Suppose someone says, “I think it would be beautiful to dip a rose in water and sprinkle the water for baptism.” Would the rose be a legitimate “aid” to baptism? No, the rose might be an aid to sprinkling, but baptism is a burial and sprinkling does fit. So the rose is not a true aid.

On the other hand, you can bury someone in water in a river, lake, or man-made baptistery. No matter which you use, you are doing what God said. You are burying people in baptism. So the river, baptistery, etc., are all legitimate aids to baptism.

The collection — 1 Corinthians 16:1,2

God said for the church to obtain funds by taking up a collection of the first day of the week and each person gives according to his prosperity. Nowhere did He say for churches to have rummage sales, bake sales, or to operate businesses for profit to make money. To do these would be to do something different from what He said.

Likewise, to take up collections on some other day of the week would be different from what He said. He may not have expressly said not to do these things, but when He said to take up collections on the first day, and He never said to do these other things, then we can know that to do them would be to displease Him.

On the other hand, God said the first day of the week, but no particular time is mentioned. So whether we do it morning, afternoon, or evening would not matter, as long as it was the first day of the week.

Suppose, someone says, “I think we should start a grocery store to raise money.” If someone objects, they say the store is just an “aid” for raising money. A store may be an aid for operating a business, but operating a business is different from collecting money that people give as they have prospered.

On the other hand, when we take up collections, there are many different kinds of containers we might use: hat, basket, tabletop, etc. Any of these would be legitimate aids, because we are still doing what God said: taking up a collection.

The Lord’s Supper — Matthew 26:26-29; Acts 20:7

Regarding the Lord’s supper, Jesus said to use bread and fruit of the vine. And we are taught by inspired example that the church did this on the first day of the week, the same day on which they had the collection. To have the supper on some other day of the week would be to do different from what Jesus said. Likewise, if we added hamburger and Coke, they would be additions, not “aids” to the Lord’s Supper.

God specified bread and fruit of the vine. That would displease Him as surely as would the pine wood in the ark or the sprinkling for baptism.

On the other hand, like with the collection, God has not specified any particular kind of container, nor any particular time on the first day for the Lord’s supper.

The container(s) would be legitimate aids, and the time of day would not matter, because we would still be doing what God said: eating the bread and drinking the fruit of the vine on the first day of the week.