When Jesus spoke, people listened. The exorcisms and healings drew many to him, however, it was his voice of authority that kept them hanging off every word. But that which gripped the crowds infuriated the Scribes and Pharisees. Their powerless platitudes were being exposed by this uneducated preacher from Galilee—he had to be cut down to size.
Teaching with authority is the goal of every Christian teacher. It is never to be substituted with greater talent or superior learning. For these are but worldly traps that lull the teacher into thinking himself to be above others.
Instead, it is the built-in authority of the message itself that changes the world. It is the Bible, the Sword of the Spirit, that unleashes its power when penetrating the heart of a man. There it convicts him that he is a helpless sinner before God and offers him salvation in Christ.
God’s Word never fails in its mission. Either a man will repent, or he won’t. He who refuses may see Christ’s authority, and he may even want its blessings, but if he doesn’t humbly accept that Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth, his belief in the authority of Christ is no different to that of the demons.
We, though unable to cast out demons or heal the sick, are couriers of this authority. We too expose the powerless platitudes of those who seek religion’s favours without willingness to make its sacrifices.
We must be ever vigilant not to remove any of the authority of Christ’s Word. We put ourselves in the way of the gospel when we demonstrate a lack faith in its authority. This is clearest when we become unable to defend its saving doctrines or become unwilling to live them out in our life.
Authority is displayed most powerfully in the meek. It is they who present Christ in all His glory. Their humble spirits, devoid of the distractions of the ego, clear the way for the Holy Spirit to do his work.
John Staiger
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