Establishing Authority [3]
 

For the past two weeks, we have considered the matter of how to properly establish authority, particularly noting the two categories in which all commands may be found [generic and specific] and the means by which we may know God's will on any matter [direct commands or statements, divinely-approved examples, and necessary inference]. It is important we understand that these are all means by which our Lord and His apostles taught the truths of God's word to others, and are the only available means of knowing what God would have us to do. Improper methods of establishing authority are just as dangerous and erroneous and as no authority at all, for both are in conflict with the will of God.
 

But often, in the midst of searching to know God's will on a particular matter, someone will presume to have authority where God has said nothing, and will defend their presumption by simply saying, "But God didn't say not to!" Others have said, similarly, "Where God does not expressly forbid it, we have liberty." Still others have said, "Silence is permission." It is here I must strongly disagree - and not just because it is my opinion that this is wrong. God's word says such attitudes are erroneous! Consider the matter of building the temple in Jerusalem. Once, David - one of God's most favored men and whom He described as "a man after mine own heart" (Acts 13:22) - desired that God have a more permanent dwelling place and decided to build a temple. It was then he said to Nathan, the prophet of God, "See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under tent curtains." (1 Chron. 17:1). Nathan seemed to agree, and replied, "Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you." (v. 2) So far, so good, right? Looking at the motives of David and the opinion of God's prophet, it would seem like God would surely accept this "good work," right?
Wrong!
 

The word of God came to Nathan that very night, and He said, "Go and tell My servant David, 'Thus says the LORD: "You shall not build Me a house to dwell in. For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought up Israel, even to this day, but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another. Wherever I have moved about with all Israel, have I ever spoken a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, 'Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?'"'" (vv. 4-6) Let us note some important points from this situation:
 

[1] David's good intentions did not guarantee God's approval. I doubt anyone would argue that David's intentions were not sincere or that he was not doing a "good work." But, God did not - and still does not - approve or disapprove solely on the basis of good intentions or motives. Being a "good work" does not mean that God will necessarily approve of the work. We must have God's express [i.e., written] will to know what pleases Him. Anything else is mere speculation, and as we have just seen, speculation is often wrong. Don't put your soul on the line by presuming to know what God will approve when He did not say so.
 

[2] The opinion of men is not the gauge of God's approval. When David thought about it, the ark of the covenant of the Lord being in tents just did not seem right to him. His opinion was that it should be in just as nice a house as what he himself dwelt. And when he told Nathan about this, Nathan's opinion was that David should go and do whatever was in his heart. Note well that Nathan did not tell David to follow the express will of God, but merely gave his own opinion. Though Nathan was a man of God, that position did not permit him to make judgments of right and wrong by his own personal opinion. After he approved, God vetoed it.
 

[3] God's silence on this matter did not mean He approved. Nathan - and, eventually, David - found out that silence on a matter does not mean God approves. Let us note well that God pointed out His silence to Nathan to show that He did not approve of what was in the mind of David! Though David thought it was a good idea and though Nathan gave his consent, God did not! God never asked for a temple to be built by David, and it would not ever be. Though God blessed him in another way, building the temple was not in the plan of God for David.
 

[4] What man thinks is 'right and fair' does not mean God agrees. Quite a few people wonder at the denial of God. This was David, of all people - a man after God's own heart! Isn't that unfair to deny him the right to build this temple as a show of love and reverence to God? Many people would say, "Yes," but consider the events that followed.
 

After God denied David the right to build Him a temple, He then turned around and promised David a greater blessing - far greater than the right to build a temple. It is here that God promised David that one of his sons would build the temple (vv. 11, 12), and that He would establish through his descendants a kingdom that would stand forever (v. 14). This was the promise that would be eventually fulfilled in Jesus the Christ! When we think about this, building a temple looks almost insignificant, does it not?
 

Let us now review these important points and make application. First, good intentions are not the mark of God's approval. Many men are trying to defend their current teaching and practice by describing it as "a good work." Most of the time, this is a matter of human judgment but, even if they were right, that does not mean God approves of it. Second, opinion is far too often used as the final say in what many religious people do. In recent discussions with another faithful brother in Christ, we both have repeated the obvious truth of religious service that seems to be most prevalent today: People do what they want to do. In the end of too many discussions of truth, men ultimately make their decisions based on nothing more than their personal opinion, or [like Nathan] the opinions of men who claim to be speaking for God. Let us admit that opinions are nothing more than that, and that opinion will not be what judges us in the last day. It will be the words Jesus spoke that will judge us (John 12:48).
 

Thirdly, silence does not mean [God's] consent. I want us to note that the word "silence" uses the same letters as the word "license" - but they do not mean the same thing! Presuming to know what God will approve when He did not tell us is just that: presumption! God tells us that the only way we may know the His will is if and when His Spirit tells us, and that was done through the apostles who spoke and wrote those revelations in the first century (1 Cor. 2:10-13). If we cannot find it within God's written word, we cannot presume to know for certain that He will approve. Do you want to rest your eternal fate on a presumptive guess about what God approves? I do not, and I hope you are honest enough to say that you do not, either, and then act accordingly.
 

Finally, often what we think is "unfair" is but a prelude to greater blessings. Yes, it seems unfair for David to not be able to build the temple because, after all, he meant well. That is the thinking of many men, yet those same men who think it was "unfair" do not read on and discover that God blessed David far more than even he could ever have imagined, and he humbly accepted the decree of God (1 Chron. 17:16-27) and then went on to do everything but build the temple! [See chapters 22-29.] How many times do we look at the decrees of God as "unfair" to certain individuals without thinking of the greater blessings that await them if found faithful in the end? Let us not be hasty in our judgment of God's decrees, but let us humbly accept them and look to the greater blessings that await His people.
 

Hopefully, this study of how to establish authority has been beneficial to you. Maybe you have learned something about what is acceptable in the sight of God. Next week, we will consider some applications of the principles we have learned.
 

-- Steven Harper