Authority

[theophilus]

Nearly everyone has heard of the Sermon on the Mount found in chapters 5 to 7 of Matthew. Those who heard it were surprised by the authority with which Jesus spoke.

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching,for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
Matthew 7:28.29 ESV

The scribes frequently cited other teachers as proof of the truth of their words. Jesus didn’t do this but simply asserted that certain things were true. Two times in the sermon he even claimed that he was God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matthew 5:10-12 ESV

He equated being persecuted for righteousness’ sake with being persecuted for his sake. Only God, the source of all righteousness, could make such a claim.

Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?”

And then will I declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”
Matthew 7:21-23 ESV

He said that on the day of judgment he would decide who would enter the kingdom of heaven and who would be excluded. This is a privilege that belongs only to God.

A lot of people have claimed to be God and to possess divine attributes but Jesus backed up his claims by his actions.

When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”

And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Matthew 8:1-3 ESV

Normally anyone touching a leper would become unclean. That is because we are inherently unclean and any cleanness we possess has been given to us by God. Because he was God Jesus was clean by nature and couldn’t be made unclean. When he touched someone unclean it was his cleanness, rather then the other’s uncleanness, that was transmitted.

And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.”

And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.And the report of this went through all that district.
Matthew 9:23-26 ESV

Here Jesus demonstrated his ultimate authority, over life and death.

Since Jesus has such authority we must not only listen to what he says but also do what he says. He concluded the Sermon on the Mount with a parable showing how important this is.

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.

And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.
Matthew 7:24-27 ESV

Because Jesus is God he has absolute authority over us and is entitled to our absolute obedience. Our purpose in life is to listen to his words and obey them.

[sky]

Originally Posted by theophilus

Nearly everyone has heard of the Sermon on the Mount found in chapters 5 to 7 of Matthew. Those who heard it were surprised by the authority with which Jesus spoke.

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching,for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
Matthew 7:28.29 ESV

The scribes frequently cited other teachers as proof of the truth of their words. Jesus didn’t do this but simply asserted that certain things were true. Two times in the sermon he even claimed that he was God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matthew 5:10-12 ESV

He equated being persecuted for righteousness’ sake with being persecuted for his sake. Only God, the source of all righteousness, could make such a claim.

Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?”

And then will I declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”
Matthew 7:21-23 ESV

He said that on the day of judgment he would decide who would enter the kingdom of heaven and who would be excluded. This is a privilege that belongs only to God.

A lot of people have claimed to be God and to possess divine attributes but Jesus backed up his claims by his actions.

When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”

And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Matthew 8:1-3 ESV

Normally anyone touching a leper would become unclean. That is because we are inherently unclean and any cleanness we possess has been given to us by God. Because he was God Jesus was clean by nature and couldn’t be made unclean. When he touched someone unclean it was his cleanness, rather then the other’s uncleanness, that was transmitted.

And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.”

And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.And the report of this went through all that district.
Matthew 9:23-26 ESV

Here Jesus demonstrated his ultimate authority, over life and death.

Since Jesus has such authority we must not only listen to what he says but also do what he says. He concluded the Sermon on the Mount with a parable showing how important this is.

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.

And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.
Matthew 7:24-27 ESV

Because Jesus is God he has absolute authority over us and is entitled to our absolute obedience. Our purpose in life is to listen to his words and obey them.

' Our purpose in life is to listen to his words and obey them.[/quote] '



I personally think our purpose in life is to get to a stage where we don't need to ' Obey ' anyone and every thought, word and deed is wholesome and of benefit to all Sentient beings comes naturally and not under threat of repercussions....

[theophilus]

Originally Posted by sky123

I personally think our purpose in life is to get to a stage where we don't need to ' Obey ' anyone and every thought, word and deed is wholesome and of benefit to all Sentient beings comes naturally and not under threat of repercussions....

The first step in reaching such a stage is to eliminate the sin which separates us from God. Jesus came to do just this. When he died he shed his blood to atone for our sins. His death and resurrection are the only way our sins can be forgiven. Anyone who repents of sin and places his faith in Jesus has taken the first step in being transformed by God into just the kind of person you describe.

Jesus is the only way we can be forgiven. Here is a site that explains in detail how we can receive this forgiveness: http://carm.org/answers-for-seekers

[sky]

Originally Posted by theophilus

The first step in reaching such a stage is to eliminate the sin which separates us from God. Jesus came to do just this. When he died he shed his blood to atone for our sins. His death and resurrection are the only way our sins can be forgiven. Anyone who repents of sin and places his faith in Jesus has taken the first step in being transformed by God into just the kind of person you describe.

Jesus is the only way we can be forgiven. Here is a site that explains in detail how we can receive this forgiveness: http://carm.org/answers-for-seekers

What about those who have never heard of Jesus, won't they be forgiven?

[FallingLeaves]

Originally Posted by sky123

What about those who have never heard of Jesus, won't they be forgiven?

this argument is posted a lot. My reaction today was 'what if there isn't anyone who HASN't heard of jesus'. Wouldn't this make such an argument as above irrelevant?

Hearing apparently being more than trading words like we do on these forums.

[sky]

Originally Posted by FallingLeaves

this argument is posted a lot. My reaction today was 'what if there isn't anyone who HASN't heard of jesus'. Wouldn't this make such an argument as above irrelevant?

Hearing apparently being more than trading words like we do on these forums.

It doesn't have to be an argument does it?

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by FallingLeaves

this argument is posted a lot. My reaction today was 'what if there isn't anyone who HASN't heard of jesus'. Wouldn't this make such an argument as above irrelevant?

Hearing apparently being more than trading words like we do on these forums.

GOOD POINT!

Jesus did say people would be 'preached' to. Those who want to learn will learn, those who don't want to learn, will obviously not learn.

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by theophilus

Nearly everyone has heard of the Sermon on the Mount found in chapters 5 to 7 of Matthew. Those who heard it were surprised by the authority with which Jesus spoke.

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching,for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
Matthew 7:28.29 ESV

The scribes frequently cited other teachers as proof of the truth of their words. Jesus didn’t do this but simply asserted that certain things were true. Two times in the sermon he even claimed that he was God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matthew 5:10-12 ESV

He equated being persecuted for righteousness’ sake with being persecuted for his sake. Only God, the source of all righteousness, could make such a claim.

Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?”

And then will I declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”
Matthew 7:21-23 ESV

He said that on the day of judgment he would decide who would enter the kingdom of heaven and who would be excluded. This is a privilege that belongs only to God.

A lot of people have claimed to be God and to possess divine attributes but Jesus backed up his claims by his actions.

When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”

And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Matthew 8:1-3 ESV

Normally anyone touching a leper would become unclean. That is because we are inherently unclean and any cleanness we possess has been given to us by God. Because he was God Jesus was clean by nature and couldn’t be made unclean. When he touched someone unclean it was his cleanness, rather then the other’s uncleanness, that was transmitted.

And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.”

And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.And the report of this went through all that district.
Matthew 9:23-26 ESV

Here Jesus demonstrated his ultimate authority, over life and death.

Since Jesus has such authority we must not only listen to what he says but also do what he says. He concluded the Sermon on the Mount with a parable showing how important this is.

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.

And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.
Matthew 7:24-27 ESV

Because Jesus is God he has absolute authority over us and is entitled to our absolute obedience. Our purpose in life is to listen to his words and obey them.

I agree with what you say except for the second to the last sentence. If you had written "Because Jesus is a god" I probably would be in full agreement.

[JosephineB]

And the tribes people with little or no contact with the outside world. Past and present day?

[sky]

Originally Posted by JosephineBloggs

And the tribes people with little or no contact with the outside world. Past and present day?

Exactly, but I'm not holding my breath for an explanation


I've asked this before in bible study groups and they quickly change the subject....