Accepted(Recognized) Christian Authority-1

ACCEPTED(Recognized) CHRISTIAN AUTHORITY-I—1Timothy 1:1-2

In order to fill the shoes of the faithful, one must first recognize his/her authority.

The greeting of the letter is contained in :1-2:

It contains the Writer, Recipient, the Authority by which it is sent, & Blessings.

Paul approached Timothy thru accepted authority.

The faithful Christian accepts God’s authority.

How do the faithful recognize Christian authority?

10 qualifiers of acceptable Christian authority.

1—A qualifier of an accepted Christian authority is...

Recognized FAMILIARITY(:1)

Explanation:(:1)

:1—“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior & the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope,”

Paul was a man who was birth name was “Saul.” He is first mentioned in Acts 7:58, negatively associated with Stephen.

Stephen—One of the first deacons(Acts 6:1-5, 8, 9)—he was “full of faith & the Holy Spirit” & “full of faith & power, did great wonders & signs among the people.” Acts 6:9-10—“Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, & those from Cilicia & Asia), disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom & the Spirit by which he spoke.”

Thru false witnesses, Stephen was brought before the council of the Sanhedrin to hear his ‘false’ testimony. Even in their midst, “all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.”(Acts 6:15).

Even so, Stephen was killed by means of that council. They stoned him to death with rocks thrown.

More importantly, for our text, it is recorded in Scripture (Acts 7:58, 8:1) that those who stoned Stephen “... laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.” & we are plainly told “Now Saul was consenting to his death.”

Thereby Saul was in full support of the council’s actions.

Also “At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; & they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea & Samaria, except the apostles.”(Acts 8:1).

In fact, Saul was so against the testimony of Christians that we are told, “As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, & dragging off men & women, committing them to prison.”(Acts 8:3).

Paul did not accept Christians as authoritative. He saw them as blasphemers against his God. His God was the God who had been traditionalized thru silly oral traditions intended to protect believers from transgressing the written revelation of God contained in the OT.

Acts 26:9-11—““Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. This I also did in Jerusalem, & many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; & when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in every synagogue & compelled them to blaspheme; & being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.” However while Saul was engaged in the search & imprisonment of Christians, his life was radically changed.

Acts 9:1-18—“Then Saul, still breathing threats & murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest & asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he journeyed he came near Damascus, & suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, & heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” So he, trembling & astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise & go into the city, & you will be told what you must do.” And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground, & when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand & brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, & neither ate nor drank. Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; & to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” So the Lord said to him, “Arise & go to the street called Straight, & inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. “And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in & putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.” Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, & the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” And Ananias went his way & entered the house; & laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight & be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, & he received his sight at once; & he arose & was baptized.”