Teaching Truth with Authority
It was said of the Master, when He finished His Sermon on the Mount, that “He taught them as one having authority, and not as other scribes”; and because He taught in this way, the multitudes were astonished at His teaching. The Master had a definite knowledge of truth. He definitely taught the Old Testament Scriptures, which He had inspired the prophets to write. The individual who knows truth, and who speaks it, must speak it with the earnestness of authority. The positive statement of any truth is bound to produce conviction. The positive statement of truth is interesting also, and entertaining. The positive truth of God’s word opens the only door of hope to us poor mortals who are stranded on this sin-cursed planet. And why should we not study that Word until we know it? And why should we not teach it with authority, as did our Master? There is power in divine truth. The Bible says, “Thy word is truth.” Then the work for Christians is to study the Bible until they know it and are imbued with its converting power; and then, like their Master, they can speak with authority, for they know the sure foundation upon which they stand. There is no element of doubt or uncertainty in positive truth. One of the most expressive statements in the word of God is the text, “Jehovah’s hand is not shortened, that it can not save; neither His ear heavy, that it can not hear; but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, so that He will not hear.” God has infinite power. He saves to the uttermost (Heb. 7:25); but He does not save us in sin—He saves us from sin; and it is only when we persist in clinging to our sins, regardless of His entreaties, that we make it impossible for Him to save us. Whenever we are willing to give up the sin, we will find the Lord always ready at hand to save us. For is it not said in the Word, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life”? And again, we have the question, “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” Rom. 8:32. The love that prompted the Father to yield up His Son is yearning over us to save us, and He knows that we could not be happy while our sins are clinging to us, so He insists upon separating us from these sins. We may take our choice,—we may cling to our sins and be separated from God, or by accepting Him we may have our sins taken away from us, and enjoy the great privilege of everlasting life.