Did Jesus Lie to His Brothers? by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=10&article=3781

Did Jesus Lie to His Brothers?

by	Eric Lyons, M.Min.

Scripture repeatedly testifies that Jesus never sinned. The prophet Isaiah, speaking as if Jesus had already lived and died, said that the Savior “had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth” (53:9). The apostle Peter quoted from Isaiah in his first epistle (2:22), and added that Jesus was “a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:19). Paul wrote to the Corinthians how Jesus “knew no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21). What’s more, according to Hebrews 4:15, Jesus “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). He was “pure” and “righteous” in the supreme sense (1 John 3:3; 2:1). Simply put, Jesus was perfect; He never transgressed God’s law.
If Jesus never sinned, and specifically never lied, some wonder why Jesus told his brothers, “I do not go up to this feast [the Feast of Tabernacles]” (John 7:8, NASB), if later, “when His brothers had gone...He Himself also went” (7:10, NASB)? Some allege that, in this instance, Jesus “broke his word” and “lied” (McKinsey, 2000, p. 787), and thus was not the Son of God as He claimed. What is the truth of the matter?
First of all, several early manuscripts of the gospel of John, including p66 and p75 (believed to be from as early as the late second and early third centuries), have Jesus saying, “I am not yet [oupo] going up to this feast,” rather than “I do not [ouk] go up to this feast.” Thus, it may be that the correct rendering is found in the KJV, NKJV, and NIV, rather than the ASV, NASB, and RSV.
Second, even if Jesus did say at one point to His brothers, “I do not go up to this feast,” but later He went, that still does not mean that He lied. Suppose a co-worker saw me leaving the office at 2:00 p.m. and asked me, “Are you going home?” and I said, “No,” but later went home that day at 5:00 p.m. Have I lied? Not at all. When I left the office at 2:00 p.m., I went to run a quick errand—I did not go home. When I departed the office at 5:00 p.m., however, I went home. “No” is often truthfully used in a time-sensitive manner. Simply because at 2:00 p.m. I said I was not going home, does not mean I could not go home at 5:00 p.m. My “no” meant “I’m not going home at the present.” Similarly, if Jesus used the term “not” [ouk] rather than “not yet” [oupo], He could just as easily been implying the same thing: “I am not going to the feast at the present.”
At the proper time, after Jesus “remained in Galilee” for a while (7:9), He did go to the feast. The proper time was not when his unbelieving brothers told Him to “depart” (John 7:5), but when the Son of God said it was time—a God-appointed time. Furthermore, His attendance at the feast was not for the purpose that His brothers envisioned (to show Himself to the world—7:3-4), rather Jesus went to the feast “not openly, but as it were in secret” (7:10, emp. added).
Just as we often say, “I am not going,” but mean “I am not going yet,” Jesus had every right to use that same kind of language. Although Jesus embodied truth (John 14:6) and always told the truth (1 Peter 2:22), He still used figures of speech and language men commonly understood—some even today.

REFERENCE

McKinsey, C. Dennis (2000), Biblical Errancy (Amherst, NY: Prometheus).

Cause and Effect—Scientific Proof that God Exists by Kyle Butt, M.Div.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=9&article=879

Cause and Effect—Scientific Proof that God Exists

by	Kyle Butt, M.Div.

The Universe exists and is real. Every rational person must admit this point. If it did not exist, we would not be here to talk about it. So the question arises, “How did the Universe get here?” Did it create itself? If it did not create itself, it must have had a cause.
Let’s look at the law of cause and effect. As far as science knows, natural laws have no exceptions. This is definitely true of the law of cause and effect, which is the most universal and most certain of all laws. Simply put, the law of cause and effect states that every material effect must have an adequate cause that existed before the effect.
Material effects without adequate causes do not exist. Also, causes never occur after the effect. In addition, the effect never is greater than the cause. That is why scientists say that every material effect must have an adequate cause. The river did not turn muddy because the frog jumped in; the book did not fall off the table because the fly landed on it. These are not adequate causes. For whatever effects we see, we must present adequate causes.
Five-year-olds are wonderful at using the law of cause and effect. We can picture a small child asking: “Mommy, where do peaches come from?” His mother says that they come from peach trees. Then the child asks where the trees come from, and his mother explains that they come from peaches. You can see the cycle. Eventually the child wants to know how the first peach tree got here. He can see very well that it must have had a cause, and he wants to know what that cause was.
One thing is for sure: the Universe did not create itself! We know this for a scientific fact, because matter cannot create matter. If we take a rock that weighs 1 pound and do 50,000 experiments on it, we never will be able to produce more than 1 pound of rock. So, whatever caused the Universe could not have been material.

FROM NOTHING COMES NOTHING

I know that it is insulting to your intelligence to have to include this paragraph, but some people today are saying that the Universe evolved from nothing. However, if there ever had been a time when absolutely nothing existed, then there would be nothing now, because it always is true that nothing produces nothing. If something exists now, then something always has existed.

THE BIBLE SPEAKS ABOUT THE CAUSE

The Bible certainly is not silent about what caused the Universe. In the very first verse of the first chapter of the first book it says: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth.” Acts 17:24 records: “God, who made the world and everything in it…He is Lord of heaven and earth.” Exodus 20:11 notes: “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them.”

• God is undoubtedly an adequate cause, since He is all-powerful. In Genesis 17:1, God told Abraham “I am Almighty God.”
• He came before this material world, fulfilling the criteria that the cause must come before the effect. The psalmist wrote: “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God” (Psalm 90:2).
• And He definitely would instill within mankind the concept of morality, since He is a God of morals. Titus 1:2 says that He cannot lie.

Only God fits the criteria of an adequate cause that came before the Universe.

WHY DOES GOD NOT HAVE A CAUSE?

Hold on just a minute! If we contend that every material effect must have a cause, and we say that only God could have caused the Universe, then the obvious question is: “What caused God?” Doesn’t the law of cause and effect apply to God, too?
There is a single word in the law of cause and effect that helps provide the answer to this question—the word material. Every material effect must have a cause that existed before it. Scientists formulated the law of cause and effect based upon what they have observed while studying this Universe, which is made out of matter. No science experiment in the world can be performed on God, because He is an eternal spirit, not matter (John 4:24). Science is far from learning everything about this material world, and it is even farther from understanding the eternal nature of God. There had to be a First Cause, and God was (and is) the only One suitable for the job.

CONCLUSION

The law of cause and effect is a well-established law that does not have any known exceptions. It was not conjured up from the creationists’ magic hat to prove the existence of God (although it does that quite well). The evidence is sufficient to show that this material Universe needs a non-material cause. That non-material Cause is God. If natural forces created the Universe, randomly selecting themselves, then morality in humans never could be explained. Why is this Universe here? Because “in the beginning, God….”

Fishbowl Foolishness by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=7&article=1170

Fishbowl Foolishness

by	Dave Miller, Ph.D.

The town council of the city of Rome, Italy has passed some rather unusual laws recently. The most startling concerns the illegality of goldfish bowls. That’s right, goldfish bowls are now outlawed in Rome (“Rome Bans...,” 2005). Animal rights activists say the bowls are cruel. The council also passed a law requiring citizens to regularly exercise their dogs. Such pronouncements reflect significant erosion of the Christian worldview.
After creating the animals, God created the first human beings, setting them apart from the animal kingdom by creating humans in His own image (Genesis 1:27). Humans possess a soul—a spirit—that lives on after the death of the body (Ecclesiastes 12:7; Zechariah 12:1; Luke 16:22-31; Hebrews 12:9; James 2:26). Animals do not share this spiritual dimension in common with humans. Animals are not human, and are not to be regarded as such. The Bible speaks directly to the question of the relationship between humans and fish. Humans are to “have dominion (i.e., rule) over the fish of the sea” (Genesis 1:26,28; cf. Psalm 8:6-8)—which surely includes confining them to fishbowls! In fact, the Bible declares specifically that, among other things, “all the fish of the sea...are given into your hand...[and] shall be food for you” (Genesis 9:2-3, emp. added).
When humans stray away from God and the proper view of life and human existence provided in His inspired Word, they end up with distorted sensibilities (see Miller, 2004). They end up exchanging the truth of God for lies, and worshipping and serving the creature rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25).

REFERENCES

Miller, Dave (2004), “Where Godless Evolution Leads,” [On-line], URL: http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2651.
“Rome Bans Goldfish Bowls” (2005), Reuters, October 26, [On-line], URL: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051026/od_nm/italy_pets_dc;_ylt=ArSNdiSc xxeineP6q4Sq6Oys0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3NW1oMDRpBHNlYwM3NTc.

One Question, Three Different Answers by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

http://apologeticspress.org/AllegedDiscrepancies.aspx?article=646&b=Acts

One Question, Three Different Answers

by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

Three times in the book of Acts, Luke the physician recorded non-Christians asking what they needed to do to be saved, and three times a different answer was given. The heathen jailor from Philippi asked Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?,” and was told: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (16:30-31). The Jews on Pentecost asked the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?,” and were instructed to “repent and be baptized” (2:37-38). A few years later, Saul (later called Paul—Acts 13:9) asked Jesus, Who appeared to Saul on his way to Damascus, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” (9:6; 22:10). After being told to go into Damascus to find out what he “must do” to be saved, Ananias, the Lord’s servant, commanded Saul to “[a]rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (22:16). The question that many ask is: “Why are three different answers given to the same question?” Are these answers contradictory, or is there a logical explanation for their differences?
The reason that three different answers were given to the question of salvation is because on each occasion the questioners were at different “locations” on the road to salvation. The rationality of such answers can be illustrated by considering what a person is told in reference to his physical distance from a certain city. If a friend calls me to ask how far it is from his house in Jackson, Tennessee to my parents’ house in Neosho, Missouri, I would inform him that he is 475 miles from Neosho. If he calls me back the next day, notifying me that he is now in Little Rock, Arkansas, and asks about the distance to Neosho, I would give him a different answer. He now would be 260 miles from Neosho. If, later that evening, he called me one last time and asked how far Fort Smith is from Neosho, again I would give him a different answer—130 miles. No rational person would accuse me of contradicting myself, since each question was asked from a different reference point. Three different answers were given, but all three were correct. Likewise, the New Testament records three different answers given to the question, “What must I do to be saved,” because the sinners who asked these questions were at different places of understanding on the road to salvation.
The Philippian jailor was commanded to believe in Christ, because he had not yet heard and believed the saving message of Jesus (Acts 16:31-32; Romans 10:17). It would have been pointless for Paul and Silas to command the jailor to repent and/or be baptized when he had not yet even heard the Gospel. If today, a Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist, asked a Christian the same question the Philippian jailor asked Paul and Silas, the same answer would need to be given. Before ever teaching a Muslim about the essentiality of repentance and baptism, he first must express belief in Jesus as the Son of God. If this step (i.e., believing) is never taken on the road to salvation, the other steps are meaningless. [NOTE: The Bible reveals that after Paul and Silas “spoke the word of the Lord” to the jailor and his household, they believed and “immediately” were baptized (Acts 16:33). By implication, Paul and Silas must have taught the jailor and his family about the essentiality of baptism after stressing the need to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ” (cf. Acts 8:35-36,38). Question: If water baptism has nothing to do with salvation, then why were the jailor and his household immersed in water not long after midnight (cf. Acts 16:25,33)?]
The Jews on Pentecost had already heard Peter’s sermon when they asked their question about salvation (Acts 2:37). Peter knew that they already believed, and that such belief came from hearing the message he preached (cf. Romans 10:17). The Jews had passed the point of belief (being “pricked in their heart”), and were told to “repent and be baptized” in order to obtain salvation (cf. Mark 16:16).
Still, someone might wonder why Ananias told Saul neither to believe nor repent when he informed him about how to have his sins washed away. The reason: Saul already was a penitent believer in Christ by the time he came in contact with Ananias. Saul did not need to be told to believe or repent, since he had already done so. He knew the Lord existed, having spoken directly with Him on the road to Damascus, and he expressed a penitent attitude by praying to God and fasting for three days (Acts 9:9,11). At this point, Saul lacked only one thing: he needed to be baptized (Acts 22:16).
The reason these sinners were told three different things regarding salvation was because they were at different starting points when given the various answers. It is as if the jailor were in Jackson, Tennessee, the Jews on Pentecost in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Saul in Fort Smith. All wanted to go to the same place, but were at different starting points when they asked the question, “What must I do to be saved?” The unbeliever was told to believe. The believers were told to repent. And the penitent believer was told to be baptized. The three statements may be different, but they are not contradictory. For a person to become a child of God, he or she must do all three (see John 8:24; Luke 13:3,5; Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16).

What does God want me to do? by Roy Davison

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/032-whatdoes.html
 

What does God want me to do?

People who heard the gospel on Pentecost cried out: “What should we do?” (Acts 2:37).

This is a good question -- also for Christians. Instead of doing what we want to do, we should continually ask ourselves: “What does God want me to do?”

How can we know what God wants us to do? Only through the holy Scriptures. “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 Timothy 3:16, 17).

As we study the Scriptures we should ask ourselves, “What does God want me to do?”

The Scriptures are full of instructions for daily living. Jesus tells us to follow Him, to repent, to bear fruit, to be meek, to hunger for righteousness, to be merciful, to be pure in heart, to be peacemakers, to do good, not to call anyone a fool, not to commit adultery, not to look at a woman lustfully, not to divorce our spouses without a valid reason, not to swear, not to resist one who is evil, to go the second mile, to love our enemies, to be perfect like our Father, not to be religious for show, to forgive, not to lay up treasures on earth but in heaven, not to serve money, not to be anxious about physical needs, to seek God's kingdom and righteousness first, not to judge, to do to others as we want them to do to us, to do what He says and not just listen, to be wise as serpents and harmless of doves, to endure to the end, to be like Him, to preach the gospel, to mention just a few items from the first ten chapters of Matthew.

Let us examine just three of these points.

God wants me to follow Christ.

“And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, 'Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men'” (Matthew 4:18, 19).

“Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, 'Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.' And Jesus said to him, 'Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.' Then another of His disciples said to Him, 'Lord, let me first go and bury my father.' But Jesus said to him, 'Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead'” (Matthew 8:19- 22).

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me'” (Matthew 16:24). “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:38).
“Jesus said to him, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me'” (Matthew 19:21).

God wants me to be meek.

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).

To be meek is to be mild tempered, soft, gentle, humble, lowly, unpretentious, yielding, not easily provoked or irritated, enduring injury with patience and without resentment.

Is this the way we tend to be? Is this the way the world thinks people should be? The world tells us that we should be self-assertive, stand up for our rights, not allow others to get the best of us. But God wants me to be meek.

This is part of following Christ, for He said: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Meek is the best way to be. If we are self-assertive and aggressive, others will resist us and try to beat us down.

Meekness must be genuine. Some people appear meek as a lamb when all is going their way, but if something irritates them they begin to snarl and snap and growl like a vicious wolf.

Meekness can be learned. It is not how we tend to be. To have peace for our souls we must follow Christ and learn to be gentle and lowly in heart. Our glorious King came to us lowly, riding on a donkey (Matthew 21:5).

God wants me to be merciful.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7).

To be merciful is to have a kind, compassionate and forgiving attitude that overlooks injuries and does not give deserved punishment.

“But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Matthew 9:13).

Jesus refers to Hosea 6:4-6.
“O Ephraim, what shall I do to you?
O Judah, what shall I do to you?
For your faithfulness is like a morning cloud,
And like the early dew it goes away.
Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets,
I have slain them by the words of My mouth;
And your judgments are like light that goes forth.
For I desire mercy and not sacrifice,
And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”

A similar thought is found in Micah 6:6-8.
“With what shall I come before the Lord,
And bow myself before the High God?
Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings,
With calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
Ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?”

Jesus also referred to this principle when His disciples were condemned by the Pharisees for plucking grain on the Sabbath: “But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless” (Matthew 12:7).

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!” (Matthew 23:23,24).

God wants me to be merciful. “For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13).

What does God want me to do? I must continually study the Scriptures to find out. We have examined three things from the book of Matthew. Although sermons and group Bible studies are helpful, we must all spend time studying the Scriptures ourselves to learn all that God wants us to do.

God wants me to follow Christ, to be meek and to be merciful.

Roy Davison

The Scripture quotations in this article are from
The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982, Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers.
Permission for reference use has been granted.

Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)

What matters by Gary Rose

I love this time of year in central Florida. The weather is mild and the air conditioning is off, the windows are open and the fresh air is wonderful!!! The oppressive heat of the summer months are fading from my memory and life is GOOD!!!

When I saw this jpeg today, I was reminded that it is based on a jpeg written by an eight year old girl (printed, not cursive, of course) and marveled at its wisdom. I couldn't help but wonder how one so young could be so insightful.  Then, I realized that if a person truly understands love, so many other things just "fall into place"!!

Consider this passage from Paul's letter to the Romans...


Romans, Chapter 8 (World English Bible)

  28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose. (verse 28 - emp. added GDR)  29 For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.  30 Whom he predestined, those he also called. Whom he called, those he also justified. Whom he justified, those he also glorified. 

  31 What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  32 He who didn’t spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how would he not also with him freely give us all things?  33 Who could bring a charge against God’s chosen ones? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, yes rather, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 

  35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Could oppression, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Even as it is written, 

“For your sake we are killed all day long. We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”


  37 No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  38 For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,  39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from God’s love which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  

(verse 37-30 - emp. added GDR)

The hymn says "Jesus loves me, this I know" and if you believe it, you have come a long way in this life. You have an advantage in everything you do, including the way you look at life. The girl who originally wrote the saying and the "Little church mouse" are a success in life because of their attitude. And the weather doesn't really matter, does it?

What really matters? God loves you and you love God. Jesus died for your sins and showed his love for you- what have you done in response??

"THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW" He Taught As One Having Authority (7:28-29) by Mark Copeland

                        "THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW"

              He Taught As One Having Authority (7:28-29)

INTRODUCTION

1. During His earthly ministry, Jesus astonished the people with His
   teaching...
   a. He astonished them in the synagogues - Mk 1:21-22; 6:2
   b. They were astonished by His sermon on the mount - Mt 7:28-29

2. What impressed the people was that "He taught as one having
   authority"
   a. Unlike the scribes, who simply interpreted the Law
   b. Jesus spoke as One had the right to make the law!
      1) E.g., "But I say to you...But I tell you..." - Mt 5:22,28,32,
         34,39,44
      2) E.g., "Take heed...You shall not be...Do not..." - Mt 6:1,2,5,
         8,19,25

3. The question might be raised, "Did Jesus have the authority to speak
   this way?"
   a. He may have taught with authority, but was it His to do so?
   b. Should we, who read that which He taught, give heed to obey what
      He said?

4. At a time when many do not heed the words of Jesus...
   a. Not only those in the world
   b. But, sadly, even many who profess Him to be Lord
   ...the authority of Jesus needs to be recognized and followed by all,
      but especially by those who claim to be His disciples

[In this study, we shall review the authority that Jesus has, beginning
with...]

I. THE INHERENT RIGHT OF JESUS' AUTHORITY

   A. BY VIRTUE OF BEING THE CREATOR...
      1. All things were made through Him - Jn 1:1-3; He 1:2
      2. All things were made by Him and for Him - Col 1:16
      -- As Creator, Jesus has the authority to expect and demand
         whatever He desires of His creation

   B. BY VIRTUE OF BEING THE HEIR...
      1. As prophesied, Jesus would be given all things - Ps 2:8
      2. As the Son, Jesus has been appointed heir of all things
         - He 1:2
      -- As the Heir, Jesus has authority over that which has been
         given Him

   C. BY VIRTUE OF BEING THE REDEEMER...
      1. Jesus has redeemed us from our sins - 1Pe 1:18-19
      2. This He has done with His own blood - Ep 1:7; Ac 20:28
      -- As our Redeemer, He certainly has authority over those who
         have been purchased by His blood!

[As Creator, Heir, and Redeemer, Jesus has both the inherent right and
the earned right to speak with authority.  Dare we living today not
recognize such authority?  Consider others who gave voice to...]

II. THE RECOGNITION OF JESUS' AUTHORITY

   A. HE WAS WORSHIPPED BY ANGELS...
      1. When He came into the world - He 1:6
      2. As He sat on the throne of God - Re 5:11-12
      -- Angels deemed Him worthy to receive power (authority)

   B. HE WAS RECOGNIZED BY DEMONS...
      1. They acknowledged He had the authority to destroy them - Mk 1:
         23-24
      2. They obeyed His rebuke - Mk 1:25-26
      -- Demons, even when possessing power of their own, could not
         resist His authority

   C. HE WAS PRAISED BY THE REDEEMED...
      1. Those before the throne and the Lamb ascribed salvation to God
         and the Lamb - Re 7:9-10
      2. Even as John praised Him for having authority over the kings
         of the earth - Re 1:5
      -- If we are among the redeemed, should we not also recognize His
         authority?

[Finally, let's note...]

III. THE EXTENT OF JESUS' AUTHORITY

   A. HE HAS ALL AUTHORITY IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH...
      1. As announced by Him prior to His ascension - Mt 28:18
      2. As received when He ascended to sit at God's right hand
         - Ep 1:20-22; 1Pe 3:22
      3. Including ruling over the kings of the earth as King of kings
         and Lord of lords - Re 1:5; 1Ti 6:14-15

   B. HE IS HEAD OVER THE CHURCH...
      1. He is the head of the body, the church - Col 1:18
      2. Even as He is the savior of the body - Ep 5:23
      3. As the Head, He has delegated His authority to His apostles
         a. Promising His Spirit to guide them into all the truth- Jn16:12-13
         b. Commanding them to teach others to observe all that He
            commanded - Mt 28:20
         c. Proclaiming that whoever receives them, receives Him - Jn13:20

CONCLUSION

1. As revealed in the New Testament, Jesus clearly has all authority...
   a. Which must be confessed in order to be saved - Ro 10:9; Php 2:9-11
   b. Which will be confessed at the Judgment - Ro 14:10-12

2. The key issue, then, is what we do in light of this authority...
   a. Will we listen to Jesus and heed Him who speaks with such
      authority?
   b. Will we as His church allow His apostles to lead and guide us
      through the authority delegated to them?

Those willing to accept Jesus as Lord, will do what He says (cf. Lk 6:
46); as prophesied by David, they will freely volunteer in the day of
His power (Ps 110:1-3).

May we all honor and accept the authority of Jesus Christ!

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2016