How the Bible Authorizes – By Approved Example

How The Bible Authorizes
By Direct Statement - By Approved Example - by Necessary Inference

By Approved Example

What makes an example an approved example? There are a number of examples of tradition and practice in the New Testament, some of which are imitated by the modern church and some of which are not. How can we know which examples we ought to imitate and which we ought not?

For one thing, we must understand the difference between actions which are determined by local custom and tradition and actions which are part of the regular practice of religion. Jesus showed His disciples how to partake of the Lord’s Supper and then encouraged them to do so on a regular basis (Luke 22:19-20). It is an example that the Lord intended for Christians to imitate on a regular basis (1 Corinthians 11:24-25). This, obviously, is what we would call an approved example.

In John 13:1-17, we find that, on the same evening that Jesus instituted His Supper, He also washed His disciples’ feet. Jesus did for His disciples what would have been the job of the lowest ranking servant in any house. He made the point to His disciples that they all must be willing to serve one another, if they desire to be “great” in the kingdom of Heaven. When Jesus said, “For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you” (John 13:15), He was not instructing them to make the washing of feet a part of their worship, like the Lord’s Supper. Instead, He was calling upon His disciples to follow His example of selfless service (1 Peter 2:21).

Understanding the difference between practices that were customary and practices that were part of a regular pattern of divinely authorized religious exercise is essential!

“For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us and example, that ye should follow his steps” – 1 Peter 2:21

 Lies Men Have Told About The Bible

Common people can’t understand the Bible; they need the clergy to explain it to them. (Mark 12:37b) Only part of the Bible is inspired. (2 Timothy 3:16) The Bible is not complete; we need creeds and confessions of faith to supplement it. (2 Peter 1:3) The Bible is not supposed to be a pattern by which we are meant to live our lives. (2 Timothy 1:13) We will not be judged by the words of the Bible. (John 12:48)

What Does the Bible Say?

When it comes to religion, there is no shortage of opinions on the subject. In our community, there are dozens of denominations, each one teaching and practicing different things about salvation, worship and faithful living. Is every denomination right? How can they all come to different conclusions about what is written in the same Word of God? Is it God’s will that there be so much confusion in religion?

The Bible says that God "is not the author of confusion" (1 Corinthians 14:33), so the problem must lie with man. Much of the confusion in the modern religious world stems from a lack of understanding of how the Bible authorizes. If we are going to preach and practice with the authority of the Lord to back us up, then we must learn to ascertain Bible authority (Colossians 3:17). In the final analysis, it is what the Bible says that matters most of all, for it shall be the Word of the Lord that judges us, in the last day (John 12:48).