“AUTHORITY: IN WHAT IS STATED”

 I have often thought that if we applied what we use in everyday language to the scriptures, we would have much less trouble. We recognize that ‘saying what a thing is, eliminates saying what it is not’. It is understood that “the authority” is in the statement of “what is said”; not in “the silence of what is not said”.

A few examples:

1. In Cooking ~ When a recipe calls for 4 eggs, must it state, “this does not mean 1,000 eggs”?

2. In a Wedding Invitation ~ When the date and time are listed, such as Thursday, September 21, 7:30 p.m., must it also state, “this does not mean to come at 2:00 or at 9:00 p.m., or on Saturday, or on the 23^rd”?

3. In Advertising Our Assembly times ~ When we list the time of Bible study at 9:00 and the assembly at 10:00, must we explain that we do not meet at 7:30 for Bible study and 11:15 for the assembly?

4. In Giving My Telephone Number ~ When I give my telephone number to someone, must I say, “Now you must dial it in the order that I give it, and be sure you do not invert the order”?

5. In Ordering Shoes...?

6. In Naming a Child...?

7. In Buying a Car...?

Perhaps these are sufficient to see that we live, work, worship, and buy by ‘the thing stated, not by what isn’t stated’. The answer to all the above items is, of course, “no”. The reason is so simple. Authority is in the stated; the written.

Remember, God's power and the source of our faith is God's word (Rom. 1:16; 10:17).