By What Authority Do You Do These Things?

“And it came to pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple, and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon him with the elders, And spake unto him, saying, Tell us, by what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority? And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me: The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, if we shall say, from heaven; he will say, why then believed ye him not? But and if we say, of men; all the people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a prophet. And they answered, that they could not tell whence it was.’ And Jesus said unto them, neither tell I you by what authority I do these things’’  Luke 20:1-8. There are additional passages to consider in relation to Luke 20; Matthew 21:23-27 and Mark 11:28-33.

The text under consideration leads us to conclude that Jesus was in the temple teaching the people and preaching the gospel, when the chief priests and scribes come to him inquiring by what authority are you doing these things. From the text the indication is that they were asking him by what or whose authority are you teaching these things. Jesus -knew that their inquiry was not sincere but rather to entrap him. He knowing their hearts asked them a question that put them in a difficult situation. He asked, “The baptism of John was it from heaven or from men?” The question that was asked by the chief priests and scribes was not the problem, it was the motive. We today need to be asking the question, by what authority are you teaching such things, especially since all we teach and do is to be by the authority of Christ, Colossians 3:17 “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”

Preachers and church leaders need to be asked by what authority do you teach that a person is saved by faith only. The question is not are we saved by faith the Bible clearly teaches that we are saved by faith John 3:16, 36 also Romans 5:1. The real question is, is a person saved
by faith alone, nothing but faith to the exclusion of any other condition. The truth is the Bible teaches that we are saved by faith but not faith only. To be saved a person must repent of his sin to be saved. In Luke 13-5 a person is told to repent or he will perish. In 2 Peter 3:9, we learn the Lord is not willing that nay perish but that all come to repentance. A person is also to confess the deity of Christ, Romans 10:9-10. A person is to confess with his mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in his heart that he was raised from the dead in order to be saved. To be saved a person must also be immersed in water. The reasons are clear: to be saved 1 Peter 3:21, Mark 16:16. To receive the remission of sin Acts 2:38, to undergo the spiritual operation of God at which times one’s sin is removed, Colossians2:11, 12. This being true we must ask “by what authority do you teach the doctrine of faith only?”

Preachers and church leaders by what authority do you teach that sprinkling and pouring are scriptural modes of baptism. The Bible teaches that baptism is a burial, Romans 6:3, 4 and Colossians 2:11, 12. When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist he was immersed, Matthew 3:13-17. The word translated baptized comes from a word that means to dip, immerse, or plunge beneath. It is used of dyeing clothes. There is no doubt what mode of baptism the Lord had in mind when he used the word translated baptism.

Preachers and church leaders need to be asked by what authority do you teach that infants are proper subjects for baptism. Some advocate that children are born with the inherited sin of Adam and thus need to be baptized to remit that sin. I wonder what they think about the destiny of those children who are not sprinkled to remove that inherited sin, lost or saved. The fact of the matter children are born sinless they do not inherit the sin of Adam. Jesus said that children will not inherit
the sin of their fathers, Ezekiel 8:20. Jesus said in Matthew 19:14, “suffer little children and forbid them not, to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Since a candidate for baptism is to be a believer and since infants cannot believe then they are not a candidate for baptism. Since a candidate for baptism is to repent of his sin and since an infant has committed no sin then an infant is not a candidate for baptism. Thus the question remains, by what authority does one teach that infants are a candidate for baptism?

Preachers and church leaders must be asked, by what authority does one teach that one church is as good as another? Jesus came to build his church Matthew 16:18, “upon this rock I will build my church.” The church is the body of Christ Ephesians1:22, 23 also consider Colossians 1:18. Christ is the head of the body the church. In Ephesians 4:4, we learn there is one body, therefore one church. Someone may say, well that is true but all religious groups make up that body. Have you really thought through the statement? If that statement is true the following is also true: One, God is the author of confusion rather than peace. Yet the scriptures declare by inspiration, 1 Corinthians 14:33 that God is not the author of confusion. Two, Truth becomes relative rather than absolute. In other words truth becomes what one chooses to believe. Yet the Bible says a failure to abide in the
teaching of Christ will bring condemnation upon the one so teaching, 2 John 9-11. In 1 Corinthians 1:10 it says we are all to speak the same things and there is to be no division among us. How do we unify? By going back to the Bible, lay aside man made doctrines and creeds and stand together on the sacred writings of the word of God.

Friends do not take for granted what you are hearing, try the spirits 1 John 4:1. When your soul is at stake, do not take anything for granted. Paul told Timothy, Take heed to yourself and unto the doctrine for in doing this you will save yourself and them that hear thee. IT DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE WHAT YOU HEAR, DO, AND TO WHAT CHURCH YOU AFFLIATE. Be sure and ask your church leaders by what authority they do and teach what they do, it may save your soul.

Bill Cantrell