It is written, Jesus said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." Matthew 28:18: [ESV]
It is written, "And what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might, that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him who fills all in all." Ephesians 1:19-23; [ESV]
I don't believe there can be any doubt about the authority of Christ. He has all authority in heaven and earth. He has been elevated above all rule, authority, power and dominion. He is head over all things to the church. And every Christian is under his authority.
I'd like to consider the ramifications of these statements. There is no one that has more authority than Christ. So, why in "Christianity" today are so many things done that are outside of the authority of Christ. Obviously that points to the fact that man has free will. It is man who established denominations, outside of the authority of Christ. Man has established a holiday called "Christmas" mixing the birth of Christ with pagan practices, outside of the authority of Christ. Man did the same thing with the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, by mixing these events with pagan practices established Good Friday and Easter, outside of the authority of Christ. If we cared about all the authority given to Christ, should we not ask, by whose authority are we doing these things? By whose authority have we mixed the birth of Christ with pagan practices? By whose authority have we mixed the death, burial and resurrection of Christ with pagan practices? You'll not find any authority from Christ for these things.
My final question - does any one care? Do you care that much of what Christianity does today has no authority from Christ to do? Denominations, Christmas, Easter, neither have been authorized by Christ, yet many who call themslves "Christian" defend these actions of man that have not been authorized by Christ.
If you can find any authority of Christ that these things should be done, please share it with me.
Romans 13:1. Does that mean abortion is okay as the governing authorities allow it.
mine here
no abortion is not ok. as the bible tells us in romans 13:3 that rulers are not a to be a terror to good works.. but only to evil.. abortion is clearly murder of innocents and clearly evil.. and breaks one of the ten commandments.. also breaks what JESUS told us was the 2 greatest commandments.
to celebrate JESUS and show love to JESUS and to your neighbor any day is not evil. it is good works and it should be done every single day... not just once a week or once a year.. but yet every single day..
see where you make a mislick in your judgement is youre sayin that christian folks are worshippin something or someone else other than CHRIST on them days.. it seems you feel as if folks are worshippin a pagan god or gods .. or maybe worshippin the tree hehe christian folks aint goin round bowin down to a tree or to pagan gods or worshippin them on christmas or easter. nope christian folks are worshippin and showin love to CHRIST and their neighbors them days. and the bible clearly tells us to do so everyday..
and you have no authority , nope none to tell christian folks that they cant do so any day of the year.. and you also have zero right to hurl false accusations to christian folks sayin theyre worshipping pagans or pagan gods or anything other than CHRIST HIMSELF on christmas or easter.
Samson: "Denominations, Christnas, Easter are all traditions of men - not of God."
Wow - I've just joined this thread and I can hardly believe anyone would become so legalistic about Christmas and Easter. Samson, why are you so strongly against celebrating the Lord's birth? It is NOT idolatry unless you're worshipping the holiday itself (and I agree that there are some people who do that, especially in our culture). But remembering the birth of our Savior and thanking God for sending us His son is NOT idolatry! Oh my goodness!
And as for Easter - Jesus himself told us to remember the shedding of His blood and the breaking of His body. He modeled this when He broke bread with the disciples. Would you say that we shouldn't have communion? Even you can't argue against that because Jesus himself gathered with the disciples and commanded them "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me" . . . and then "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you" (Luke 22:19, 20).
Now Samson, I agree that to some extent there are pagan practices that have been integrated into Christian holidays - but what does that matter? As long as we recognize the holiday for what it truly is, why not take the things of this world and use them for the glory of God?! Don't you think God has more power than the pagans? Why not take the things of this world and throw them in Satan's face just like Joseph did, and say "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good" (Genesis 50:20). Why not Samson? Why not? What better way to crush Satan under our feet than to take his devices and use them for the advancement of God's Kingom. Don't you think God has the power to do that? Even you would agree that God is more powerful and mighty than anything on this earth, including Satan and his evil ways.
One more thing I want to point out, Samson. I want you to think about this. When you take scripture out of context and throw it in our faces and use it for your defense, it is no different than when Satan used Scripture against Jesus in the wilderness. So don't think that using Scripture alone justifies what you're saying. It's so much more than that and I feel sorry for you because you are obviously missing the point here. Many of us on this website are genuine Christians who are seeking after God's truth and who live under Christ's authority. We are guided by the Holy Spirit and pray that one day, you will humble yourself and receive the same Spirit. Then, and only then, will you understand.
