Civil Government: Power, Nations, and Constitutional Order: War in the Gates

Authority - Part 2 of 2

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Civil Government

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2020-08-24

Synopsis: In this sermon, Pastor John Weaver continues his teaching on biblical authority, contrasting lawful, delegated authority with unlawful, usurped power. He expounds Luke 7:1-10, highlighting the Roman centurion's understanding of authority as a model of humility, submission, and faith. Weaver emphasizes that true authority is compassionate, recognizes other authorities, and ultimately submits to Christ's sovereign word. He applies these principles to family, church, and civil government, urging believers to submit to God's authority in order to be used by Him.

[John Weaver] All right, let's open our Bibles into Luke chapter seven, Luke chapter seven. We're going to read the first 10 verses. And, uh, for those who were not here last week, this is actually the second part and the exposition. From the hour long introduction that I gave last week, the subject is just simply authority. And last week I tried to deal with this historical and constitutional view of authority. And so today I'm going to be looking at a little of that, but then also mainly expounding this passage. So Luke chapter seven, verse one.

[John Weaver] Now, when he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum. And a certain centurion's servant who was dear unto him was sick and ready to die. And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying that he was worthy for whom he should do this.

[John Weaver] For he loveth our nation, he hath built us a synagogue. Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, Trouble not thyself, for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof. Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee, but say the word, and my servant shall be healed.

[John Weaver] For I also am a man set under authority. having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, go, and he goeth. To another, come, and he cometh. And to my servant, do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And they that were sent returning to the house found the servant whole that had been sick.

[John Weaver] I began this message last week By telling you the two words that were on the front of a t-shirt that was given to me, big bold letters, it just simply said, question authority. If you listened well to the message last week and remember anything about it, you will understand the importance of those two words, question authority. Because most authority today is illegitimate, unlawful, and usurped. Unlawful, legitimate authority is delegated authority, and it is limited. There is a proper source from which authority flows, and there's always a limitation placed upon it. So unlawful authority just simply demands that you submit. It demands that you surrender, and you do so without question.

[John Weaver] It was Ward Churchill who said this, the American people are free to do exactly what they are told. When you stop and think about that in light of what is happening, I saw a cartoon this week, and it showed adults, Americans, crawling on all fours with their face masks on, and below it said, Americans were informed that the coronavirus does not go below three feet. So they were crawling around.

[John Weaver] And that's what he's saying. Americans are free to do exactly what they're told. Well, not only does unlawful authority demand immediate and unconditional submission, it always grasps for more and more power. Rush Dooney, back in 1971, said this. Listen carefully. The authority of the state is everywhere in decay. But everywhere the state is grasping for more power as the cure-all for man's problems. The powers of the state are thus likely to increase markedly in years ahead, but that increase is the forerunner of the state's collapse as a saving agency."

[John Weaver] And when you stop and think about this quote and the illustration of a drowning man, And the rescuer gets to the drowning man. What does the drowning man do? He almost drowns this rescuer. He's seeking to save himself regardless of what it takes. And so thus Rosh Yoni is saying, the more the state's authority, quote unquote, decays, the more it is grasping for power as well. So practically everywhere you turn, you hear the word simply obey, obey, obey. And the interesting thing is, as I pointed out last week, our God-given rights never, ever stop. And there is never a time when we do not have those rights.

[John Weaver] Interesting, the United States Department of Justice In a recent statement of interest in support of the plaintiffs in the case of Temple Baptist Church against the city of Greenville and its mayor, because the city of Greenville and its mayor banned drive-in services for the church and started fining people who drove to those drive-in services. But the United States Department of Justice came out and said this, There is no pandemic exception, however, to the fundamental liberties the Constitution safeguards. Indeed, individual rights secured by the Constitution do not disappear during a public health crisis."

[John Weaver] Then it gives the quotes from the law dictionaries. and continues to say, these individual rights, including the protections in the Bill of Rights made applicable to the states through the 14th Amendment, are always in force and restrains government action. So we certainly have a right to question authority, especially when it contravenes Biblical authority and the Word of God and the commands that God has given us and the rights that God has given us. So unlimited submission belongs to God alone. It does not belong to any man or any government.

[John Weaver] Now, just a few days before the Declaration of Independence was signed, Pastor Samuel West said this in a sermon. He said, unlimited submission belongs to God alone. Listen now. Unlimited submission, obedience is due to none but God alone. And to suppose that he has given to any particular set of men a power to require obedience to that which is unreasonable, cruel and unjust is robbing the deity of his justice and goodness. So to suppose that God has given someone unlimited authority, he said, is robbing God of his justice and his goodness.

[John Weaver] Now, here's a thought that most people have never really entertained, and that is this, that congressional legislation is not necessarily binding upon the states. In other words, any law that Congress passes is not necessarily binding upon the states. You have to remember that the states created the federal government. The federal government did not create the states. The states and the people have reserved powers and rights that were not delegated to the federal government. For instance, the ninth amendment very clearly says the enumeration in the constitution of certain rights. We're talking about the bill of rights and the first 10 amendments. So the enumeration in the constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. So we have plenty of other rights that's not listed in the constitution. And then when you get to the 10th amendment, it says this, the powers not delegated to the United States by the constitution nor prohibited by it to the states are reserved to the states respectively or to the people thereof.

[John Weaver] So any power or any authority that was not given to the federal government is reserved to the states and to the people. Moreover, you have to understand that the states themselves were to interpose themselves between a corrupt and unconstitutional federal government and the people that resided in those states. In other words, there is a biblical doctrine of interposition. I was talking to a fellow this past week, trying to explain interposition. In fact, I preached on that several years back, but I was trying to explain interposition to him.

[John Weaver] And I said, suppose that you are being beaten to a bloody pulp by a thug on the street. And I walk by you and I see you being beaten within an inch of your life. I said, now here's my question. Do you want me to walk on by and totally ignore what's happening to you? Or would you like me to reach down and pull the thug off of you and save your life?

[John Weaver] and hold him till the cops get arriving. He said, I'd like for you to intervene. I said, then you do believe in the doctrine of interposition. You want me to interpose myself between you and the thug. And obviously, that's what interposition is. Long before the war of northern aggression, it was a United States Senator John C. Calhoun from North Carolina who said this. Listen carefully. Stripped of all its covering, the naked question is whether ours is a federal or consolidated government. a constitutional or an absolute one, a government resting solidly on the basis of the sovereignty of the states, or on an unrestrained will of a majority, a form of government, as in all others unlimited ones, in which injustice, violence, and force must ultimately prevail. And another interesting thing that John C. Calhoun said is this, listen carefully, he said, The Constitution has admitted the jurisdiction of the United States within the limits of the several states only so far as the delegated powers authorize.

[John Weaver] Beyond that, they are intruders and may be lawfully expelled. So let that sink in. So, the only authority then that the federal government has is that that the states gave them, and when they go beyond that, they are intruders and may be lawfully expelled. That is why the United States Constitution is referred to, number one, as an express powers document. Number two, by a limited powers document. When you talk about an express powers document, it means the only power that the federal government has is that which is expressed in the Constitution. When you call it a limited powers document, it means the only power they have is that which is limited to the Constitution.

[John Weaver] So when you stop and think of what is happening and has been happening in the last several months in our country, we have to ask concerning the rules, regulations, and directives whether we are being quarantined or whether we are being tyrannized. And here's a good definition. Quarantine is when you restrict the movement of sick people. Tyranny is when you restrict the movement of healthy people. In other words, there's a big difference between a quarantine and tyranny. Now, I pointed out in the closing of the first message that there's a vast difference between authority and power.

[John Weaver] So I could walk up to Marshall and I would say, Marshall, I authorize you to give James $1,000. Marshall could look at me and said, you don't have any right to authorize me to give James $1,000. And I said, you're right. I don't have that authority. But I pull out a pistol and stick it to his head. I said, you will give him $1,000. See, now that's power. I might not have the authority, but now I've got the power to do so. So usually you're going to find that unlawful authority always exercises force and power. Okay, now.

[John Weaver] Before I get started today is this. I want us to look at Luke 7 and we're going to do so, but let me give you about five principles concerning authority before we ever get to it. Here it is. First of all, number one, when you hear the word authority, the word authority is synonymous with the word ruling. There is no way that you can exercise a rule without authority. The Bible says in Proverbs 29 verse 2, listen carefully, when the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice, but when the wicked bear rule, the people mourn. So now you have authority and ruling. They are synonymous. In Mark chapter 10, And verse 42, our Lord said this, but Jesus called them unto him and said unto them, you know that they which are appointed to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them and their great ones exercise authority upon them. So now you have authority and rulership together as well. So the concept I think is very easily seen because it's impossible to rule without authority.

[John Weaver] You have to have authority to rule. So authority and rulership are usually synonymous.

[John Weaver] Secondly, those who have lawful authority, it is made evident in their lives. It is evident in their actions. Let me give you an illustration. In Matthew chapter 7 and verse 29, the Bible says this concerning Jesus Christ. For he taught them as one having authority, and not as a scribes. He taught them as one having authority, not as a scribes. In Mark 1 in verse 22. And they were astonished at his doctrine. For he taught them as one having authority, and not as a scribes. Then when you get to Mark 1 in verse 27, And they were all amazed insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? What doctrine is this? For with authority, he even commanded the unclean spirits and they obey him. And then you find the same thing in Luke 6 and verse 36, because he commands those unclean spirits and they obey him. So you're going to find that authority is not only equated with rulership, but it's also evident when someone has lawful authority. Here's a third principle.

[John Weaver] When one has a lawful and legitimate authority, there can be a proper delegation of that authority to those under him for specific tasks and duties. I could say this. I could say, I'm the head of my house. Does that mean I do everything in the house? No. No, not at all. Alice says she does everything in the past. I usually tell people, I say, well, I have to wash the dishes, mop the floor, iron the clothes, wash the clothes. And Alice just sits there and smiles and says, yeah, right. Yeah, sure.

[John Weaver] No, but the truth of the matter is this. I may have authority over my wife and I may have authority over my children. I have authority in my house, but that doesn't mean I have to do everything. I can delegate that authority. Same thing in a church as a pastor. I could delegate authority. Same thing in a civil government. I could delegate authority. So the Bible says this in Mark 13 in verse 34, For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commended the poor to watch. So here the Lord has given certain authority to perform certain tasks. And then when you get to Luke 9 in verse 1, the Bible says this, then called he his 12 disciples together and gave them power and authority over devils and to cure diseases. So lawful authority can be delegated. Unlawful authority is no authority at all, and therefore it cannot be delegated.

[John Weaver] But here's the fourth principle. All unlawful authority, is usurped authority.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to hold Luke chapter 7, but I do want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of 1 Timothy chapter 2. I'm going to show you a verse, and I'm going to show it to you in the context too, just momentarily. But 1 Timothy chapter 2, we need to understand the word usurped. The word usurped literally means to seize, to grasp, and to hold power or rights or authority that belongs to someone else.

[John Weaver] In other words, you are supplanting, you are occupying, you are taking that which does not belong to you. So, if you look in 1 Timothy 2 and verse 12, the apostle says this, But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to understand that this verse is in the context of the church. Because if you look in first Timothy chapter three in verse 15, he says, but if I tarry long that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and the ground of truth. So when you look in first Timothy, God is telling us how women ought to behave in church, how men ought to behave in church.

[John Weaver] And here's what he's saying. He said, I suffer not a woman to usurp authority over the man. Thus a wife then who rules over her husband is usurping authority. A woman who claims to be a preacher or a pastor is usurping authority. Anytime women in church try to teach the men, it is a usurpation of authority.

[John Weaver] Now, before I leave this point, I want you to look at the context. Look beginning in verse 11. The apostle says, let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Now, let me just point something out. The apostle Paul here gives three reasons why women should not rule over men. First of all, the woman is to be in subjection according to verse 11. Secondly, the creation order. Adam was first formed and then Eve. And thirdly, because the woman was in the transgression. I know that sin came into the world by man, but Eve was the first one who sinned, and then she gave that fruit to her husband. So here are three reasons. Now, let me point this out too. Go ahead and turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 11 in verse 3.

[John Weaver] Because in this passage, you will see that there is an order that God has ordained. There's no way that you can get around this ordained order, because here it is spelled out very clearly. Look in 1 Corinthians 11 in verse 3. Again, the apostle says, but I would have you to know that the head of every man is Christ. And the head of the woman is the man and the head of Christ is God. So here is God's order. Here is God. Here is Christ. Here is a man. Here is a woman. That is the way that God has ordained authority. And so this is why the apostle said in first Timothy chapter two. I suffer not a woman to teach, nor do usurp authority to be over a man. But please understand this.

[John Weaver] I don't care if it's the home. I don't care if it's the church. I don't care if it's civil government. Anytime someone usurps, seizes, steals, takes that which does not belong to them in the sphere of authority, it is a usurpation and it is theft. So here's the fifth principle, and that is this. There is a tendency to despise and even challenge lawful authority when one does not wish to be reproved and rebuked.

[John Weaver] For instance, the Bible says in the book of Titus chapter two in verse 15, Paul told Timothy, these things speak, exhort, reprove and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee. Let no man despise thee. Now the word despise is interesting. It means to condemn. It means to disparage. It means to despise anyone who is using lawful authority. So let me give you an illustration. Here we go. As a pastor, suppose I come along, Joshua's doing something wrong, and I give him a loving, kind, biblical reproof and rebuke. Do you know, I'm not saying this about Joshua, but I'm saying the average response of the average professing Christian is this. Well, who do you think he is to tell me something like that? Well, he's not my Lord, he's not my man. In other words, we have a tendency to rebel against lawful authority, especially when that lawful authority is attacking us in the sense of reproving and rebuking. And so the apostle says, look, you can't do that. Let no man despise. When a person despises authority, when lawful authority, it just proves that they are indeed a biblical fool.

[John Weaver] May I remind you that a fool in the Bible is not a mentally deficient person, but a fool in the Bible is someone who will not listen and receive rebuke and reproof. The Bible says in Proverbs chapter 14 verse 9, fools make a mock at sin. And then in Proverbs chapter 19, verse 29, judgment is prepared for scorners and stripes for the back of fools. So obviously, when you start to think about lawful authority and its use, unhappily, there are so many that will despise it.

[John Weaver] Now, what I want you to do, having considered these principles, I want you to look back in your Bibles, Luke chapter 7, because I want you today to be astonished and amazed at the understanding that this Roman centurion had concerning authority. His concept of authority is not only clearly biblical, but it also produced what you and I would call a very practical resolution to a sick servant. Now, if you look in verse 2 of Luke 7, and a certain centurion's servant who was dear unto him was sick and ready to die. First of all, let me deal with the fact that he was a centurion, which means he was a Roman soldier. Okay. And a centurion had authority over at least a hundred soldiers, maybe more, but that's why he was called a centurion because he had authority over a hundred soldiers.

[John Weaver] Now here's the next thing. Look at it in verse two, a certain centurion's servant, Now the word servant there is actually the word for slave. So this man was a slave and look what the Bible says, that this slave was dear unto him and was sick and ready to die. We normally think of soldiers as rough, uncaring, uncompassionate, unconcerned, and desensitized to sickness and death because they see so much of it and oftentimes provide the means of so much of it. And yet here is a Roman soldier who was concerned about a slave. The interesting thing is the Bible says in verse two that this slave was dear unto him. Now the word dear is a very interesting word. The Greek word is etimos, and it literally refers to that which is dear, precious, and honorable. So his servant then was someone who was extremely honorable, someone that had integrity, someone that had character. And so here is a Roman soldier who is indeed concerned over this sick slave.

[John Weaver] Now, Let me give you my first point today, and I want you to listen carefully. And we're talking about biblical authority. We're talking about lawful authority. The first principle is very clear. Lawful and biblical authority does not deter, destroy, or nullify compassion and common sense. Here was a centurion. Here was a Roman soldier. and he was concerned about his slave. Let me put it to you very bluntly. Biblical and lawful authority does not run roughshod over people.

[John Weaver] It is not something that is cold, uncaring, unconcerned, unethical, and uncompassionate. Let me say this another way. Biblical and lawful authority does not use people. You will notice in the Bible If there is unlawful authority, that is when people are being used and abused. Let me give you an illustration. I want you to hold Luke 7, but turn in your Bibles to 1 Kings chapter 12. 1 Kings chapter 12.

[John Weaver] And let's begin reading there with verse 1. This is the story, of course, of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon. Solomon has died. Rehoboam is now king. Jeroboam fled from Solomon and was down in Egypt, and they called him back. So notice 1st Kings chapter 12 verse 1, and Rehoboam went to Shechem, and all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king. And it came to pass with Jeroboam's son Nebad, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, for he was fled from the presence of King Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt. that they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came and spake unto Rehoboam, saying, Thy father made our yoke grievous. Now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father and his heavy yoke which he put upon us lighter, and we will serve thee. And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, and come again to me, and the people departed. And King Rehoboam consulted with the old men that stood before Solomon, his father, while he yet lived, and said, How do you advise that I may enter this people?

[John Weaver] And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants forever. But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him. And he said unto them, What counsel give you, that we may answer this people, who have spoken unto me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter. And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou say unto this people that speak unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us. And thou shalt say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins. Now, whereas my father did lay you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions."

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you something. Here's the interesting thing. If you look back in verse seven, here is the wisdom of the old men. They say to Rehoboam, if thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and the word servant literally means a slave, They tell the king, if you will be a slave under this people this day and serve them, watch carefully, and answer them and speak good words to them, then they will

[John Weaver] be thy servants or thy slaves forever. So the council is king, You don't live for yourself. You live for the people. You live to minister to them. You live to be their servant. You live to be their slave. And if you live to be their slave, then they're going to turn around and be your slaves. In other words, it's a two-way street. It's a ministry. It's what it amounts to. But he forsook this council, and he took the counsel of the young men, which said, My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins.

[John Weaver] Helated you with heavy burdens. I'm going to add to it. He beat you with a whip. I'm going to beat you with scorpions. You know what happened? The kingdom divided. The kingdom divided. He had no authority to do that. He had no power to do that. He had no right to do that. And what he did was use force and abuse and try to run over the people and make them submit to his unreasonable, unconscionable demands. And he lost the kingdom. He split the kingdom and therefore you had the 10 tribes who went to the north and the two tribes stayed to the left. So please understand this lawful authority, biblical authority is always compassionate.

[John Weaver] It always uses common sense and it understands that it is to be used as a ministry. Now, I want you to understand also, if you would please, that the second principle is this. That a right perception of authority will always produce humility. If you look back in your Bibles to Luke chapter seven, again, notice if you would please verses three through six. Three through six of Luke chapter seven, watch carefully. Look what the Bible says.

[John Weaver] And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. When they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying that he was worthy for whom he should do this. For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. Then Jesus went with them, and when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying, Lord, trouble not thyself, for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to note this. The elders who went to Jesus said he's worthy. He loves our nation. He's built us a synagogue. Evidently, the centurion was quite wealthy because he built a special building for them to meet in. And but what did the centurion say to himself? I'm not worthy. I'm not worthy. In other words, real biblical authority understands what you and I would call biblical humility. And while I'm on this, let me mention something.

[John Weaver] I understand that everyone likes to be encouraged. And we like to receive encouragement. But may I point something out from a scriptural standpoint, and that is this. Our encouragement should always be when we do things that are over and above and beyond our duty. You need not have Encouragement just to do your duty. I mean that's required of you That's why our Lord in Luke 17 in verse 10 said this So then you likewise when you've done all these things which are commanded you then you say we are Unprofitable servants we've only done that which was our duty to do so commendation goes over and above and beyond your duty until you've done your duty and Really, you don't deserve a pat on the back because duty is just simply duty. That's something that you have to do.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask you this question. How then is it that biblical authority and lawful authority produces humility? And here it is. Here's the answer. Because when someone recognizes the true source of authority, he recognizes the only way that he can have any authority is in the providence of God that God gave it to him. Do you understand? Authority is not earned. Authority is not merited. Authority is not something that you work for. Authority is a gift from God. The husband did not work for authority to be named the head of the house. God made it that way. The pastor did not work for authority to be head of the local church under Jesus Christ. God made it that way.

[John Weaver] Likewise with the civil government. God made it that way.

[John Weaver] Now, listen to me very carefully. In Psalm 75, verses five through seven, the Bible says this, lift not up your horn on high. Speak not with a stiff neck, that is, don't be arrogant, don't be proud, don't be haughty, not minded. Here's why. For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south, but God is the judge. He putteth down one and setteth up another. So God is the one who takes down people in authority, and God is the one who sets people up in authority. So biblical and lawful authority are not proud, arrogant, and haughty. They're not seeking to run over people and trample people. Real biblical authority humbles you.

[John Weaver] Let me show you something. Look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 17. This is in relationship even to the king. Look at it, Deuteronomy chapter 17 and notice beginning there with verse 18, Deuteronomy 17 and verse 18. And it shall be when he that is the king sit upon the throne of his kingdom. that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priest, the Levite. So he had to have his own personal copy of the law. And it shall be with him and he shall read there in all the days of his life that he may learn to fear the Lord, his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes to do them.

[John Weaver] Now watch carefully that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren. and that he turn not aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel." Note if you would, that his heart being lifted up against his brethren. So anytime you are proud, arrogant, haughty, high-minded, and determining that you're going to run over people and make them do what you want them to do, you do not have lawful authority. You have unlawful authority. Because real biblical humility stems from the recognition of the fact that God has given you the authority. And the only reason you have it is God gave it to you. Here's the third principle. And that is authority recognizes authority.

[John Weaver] Look back in your Bibles, Luke chapter seven, if you would please, at verse eight. I'll explain this. When I say authority recognizes authority, look at Luke seven in verse eight. The centurion said, for I am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers. And I say to one, go and he goeth, and to another come and he cometh, and to my servant do this, and he doeth it. Now, please understand that here's a Roman centurion.

[John Weaver] He had a commander and that commander probably had someone over him. And the highest of course would be Caesar. But here is this Roman centurion, he had men under him. It's just like our modern day military. You have a private, you have a corporal, you have a sergeant, you have a master sergeant, you have a lieutenant, you have a captain, and on up the line. Now obviously a corporal has authority over a private. A sergeant has authority over a corporal. Master sergeant has authority over all that would be under him. The lieutenant would have authority over the master sergeant. So what I'm trying to say is this authority recognizes authority. So just because this Roman centurion had authority over a hundred soldiers did not mean that he did not recognize the authority of his commander or the authority of Caesar. Neither did it mean that he did not recognize that there were some men under him that had delegated authority that was given to them from him. So listen carefully. Lawful and biblical authority always recognizes other authorities.

[John Weaver] Let me say it like this. Think about this. The president of the United States does not have authority over the governors of each state. He can't tell the governors what to do. The governors are the head of their state. The president of the United States don't have authority over the church. President of the United States does not have authority over your home. He does not call the shots.

[John Weaver] When someone has lawful, legitimate authority, it always recognizes others who hold authority, whether it is a small amount or a great amount, you're not going to try to despair or disparage or to castigate off that authority they have. So let me say this again, like I said last week. God created only three institutions. He created the family, which is a ministry of education, the church, which is a ministry of grace, and the civil government, which is a ministry of justice. And he gave each one delegated limited authority, and each of these are to complement each other. That means they're to complete each other, because obviously the family can do things the church can't do, and the church can do things the state can't do, and the civil government can do things that neither the home or the church can do. So each one is an aspect of God's kingdom, and each one has authority in God's kingdom. And if there is a lawful authority, then that authority is not going to trample over and try to stamp over the authority of the others.

[John Weaver] Look, if you would, please, at this fourth principle. The fourth principle is this, that those that are under authority recognize superior and sovereign authority. Go back to verses seven and eight. Look in Luke seven, verses seven and eight. Look what the centurion said. Wherefore, neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee, but say the word and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man set under authority. having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, go, and he goeth, to another, come, and he cometh, and to my servant, do this, and he doeth it."

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to think about this for a moment. The fourth principle is that those who are under authority recognize superior and sovereign authority. Here was a Roman centurion who was set under authority. And when he saw Jesus and when he heard Jesus, he recognized here's a superior and here is a sovereign authority. Here's how this thing works. The Roman centurion had to obey those who were over him. Those who were under him had to obey him.

[John Weaver] He knew that he had to submit to his commander. And those under this centurion had to submit to him. Now, listen carefully. Here's what verse eight actually means. The centurion is saying this. When my commander speaks, I jump. In other words, all I need from my commander is his word. His word is sufficient. That's it. When I give an order to those under me, My word is sufficient. I don't need anything else. So he looks at Jesus Christ and he said, you just simply speak the word. So the centurion recognized in Jesus Christ, his power and his authority that he received from God. And he understood that since Christ was sovereign, that all he needed to do was speak. Now listen carefully.

[John Weaver] Here is where we fall short so many times. Here is where we err, and here is where we sin. Because we as Christians are usually more like Naaman the Syrian, rather than like this Roman centurion. If you will turn in your Bibles, hold Luke 7, but turn in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 5, Naaman the Syrian was a great warrior. There was only one problem with Naaman, and that was he was a leper.

[John Weaver] And he had captured a little Israelite maiden, and she was a house servant to him and his wife. And this little maiden said to his wife one day, would to God that my master was in Israel, so the man of God would heal him of his leprosy. Well, the king of Syria heard this. And if you look in 2nd Kings 5 verse 6, well, let's go to verse 5. And the king of Syria said, go to, go and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.

[John Weaver] And he departed and took with him 10 tallies of silver, 6,000 pieces of gold, and 10 chains of the ramet. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel saying, now when this letter is coming to thee, behold, I have sent thee Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of it from his leprosy. Now watch. Verse seven, and it came to pass when the king of Israel had read the letter that he ripped his clothes and said, am I God to kill and to make alive that this man does send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy?

[John Weaver] Wherefore, consider, I pray you would see, I would seek you to quarrel against me. So the king of Israel said, he's trying to start a war. I can't cure anybody from a leprosy. So Elisha hears it and he said, you send him down to me. And he'll know that there's a prophet of God in Israel. So Naaman proceeds down to the house of Elisha. Look at it in verse 9. So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. at Elisha.

[John Weaver] And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. What happened? Watch verse 11. And Naaman was wroth, He was wrath and went away and said, behold, I thought he will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord, his God, and strike his hand over the place and recover the leper or not abandon far, far rivers of Damascus. Better than all the words of Israel may not washing them and be clean. So he turned and went away in a rage.

[John Weaver] Look at this, if you would please. Naaman has come now to the Elisha. And Elisha doesn't even get up out of his chair. He doesn't even go outside. He sends a little messenger out and says, go tell him to wash in the Jordan seven times and he'll be clean. And now Naaman turns away in a rage. Why? Did you hear what I read? He said, I thought surely he would come out.

[John Weaver] and call upon his God and strike his hand over me." In other words, I was looking for an experience. I was looking for some emotional supercharged thing where the lightning flashes and the thunder rolls and the hair stands up on my neck. That's what I'm looking for. And all he does is send a word.

[John Weaver] Finally, the servant said to Naaman, If the prophet had bidden you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? He said, sure. Well, he said, how much easier it is to just go dip in the Jordan seven times and be clean. And he did. And he was cleansed. But here's the problem. The problem is most Christians today are not dependent upon Christ's word. They want the experience. They want the emotion. They want everything that they think should go with it. The centurion said, Lord, speak the word. I don't need lightning. I don't need to hear thunder roll. I don't need my hair to stand on end. Lord, you are sovereign. You just speak the word. Just like my commander's word is sufficient for me, my word is sufficient for those under me. Your word is sufficient. Just speak it and my servant will be healed.

[John Weaver] I suspect that one reason that you and I do not really recognize the sovereign authority of Jesus Christ. Remember he said in Matthew 28 and verse 18, all authority in heaven and earth is given unto me. One reason we do not recognize the authority of Jesus Christ is we're not in submission to that authority. And consequently, we don't recognize that all our Lord needs to do is to speak the word.

[John Weaver] Now, let me tell you something. I want you to mark this down in your mind. Write it down in your heart. Put it on paper if you want to, but mark it down. Here it is. God will never use you in a position of authority unless you're willing to be in submission to authority yourself. Let me say this another way. God will never use you to rebuke and reprove someone if you're not willing to be rebuked and reproved yourself.

[John Weaver] I've been preaching for 57 years, 56 years. I don't even remember. I didn't stop and count it up. But I remember when I started preaching, a young Christian, I had far more zeal than I did knowledge. And we had a pastor. And in that office, where I've been so many times, there's an old gold couch. That thing was so ugly to me. I never did like it. But the pastor would call me and said, you need to come in. Let's talk a while. I said, fine. Well, I'd go in and I'd talk with him, and we would fellowship. And next thing I know, he looks at me and he says, now, John, and when he said that, I knew I'd done something wrong. I didn't know what, but I knew I'd done something wrong. And he'd tell me what all I'd done or what I had said or what I should not have done or what I should have done. And I would end up on my knees on that floor of my face, buried in that old gold couch, weeping and crying and asking God to forgive me.

[John Weaver] I don't know how many times I got rebuked. I don't know how many times I got reproved. But by God's grace, I took the reproof and I took the rebuke. All I'm saying is this, folks, if we don't learn to submit to authority, God's authority, biblical authority, lawful authority, God's never going to use us in authority. And until we realize that unless we're willing to be rebuked, God's never going to use us to rebuke others. We have to learn to submit to his authority and his review.

[John Weaver] Now here's the fifth and final principle. I want you to go back to Luke chapter seven. Look, if you would please, at verses nine and 10. Luke seven, verses nine and 10. Here's the fifth principle. That is that those who rest in and honor biblical authority will be honored by God. So here it is, Luke seven, verse nine. When Jesus heard these things, that is when he heard the century speak.

[John Weaver] He marveled at him and turned him about and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. This was a Christian man who had great faith. And they that were sent returning to the house found the servant whole that had been sick. In other words, here is a centurion who honored our Lord by just saying, Lord, You don't have to come under my roof. You don't even have to be here. Just speak the word and it'll happen. And our Lord said, I have not found so great a faith, no, not in Israel.

[John Weaver] I want you to look back in your Bibles very quickly. The first Samuel chapter two, lest you think I might be exaggerating. I want you to see this. First Samuel chapter two. And what God said to Eli, Eli and his sons had sinned against God. And here's what God tells them. First Samuel chapter two, beginning there with verse 27. Look at it. And there came a man of God unto Eli and said unto him, thus saith the Lord, did I plainly appear to the house of thy father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house?

[John Weaver] And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon my altar to burn incense and to wear an ephod before me? And did I give unto the house of my father, thy father, all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel?

[John Weaver] Now look what he says to them. Wherefore, kick you at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation. Honorish thy sons above me. His sons were fornicators and thieves and liars. And honor thy sons above me to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of the offerings of Israel, my people. Wherefore, the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house and the house of thy father should walk before me forever. But now the Lord saith, be it far from me, For them that honor me, I will honor and those that despise me shall be likely esteemed. So God says, you honor me, I'm going to honor you.

[John Weaver] What did this century do? He honored our Lord by saying, Lord, you don't even need to be present. Just speak the word. And how did our Lord honor him? He said, I'm not found so great a faith, no, not in Israel. He is a man of great faith.

[John Weaver] Now it is true that this man had to be convicted by the Holy Spirit. He had to be regenerated by God. He had to be converted, but please understand something. It was his understanding of authority. It was his understanding of authority that led him to see the greatness of Christ's sovereignty and superiority and be willing to submit to that authority. He said, Lord, I'm a man under authority. I understand authority. So until you and I learn to submit to authority, God's authority, we're never going to be used by God.

[John Weaver] So let me make an application or two. Listen carefully. Authority does matter. Not only does authority matter, the source of authority matters as well. If you comprehend the fact that God the Father has given to Jesus Christ all authority in heaven and earth, it will make a difference in how you live, how you pray, and how you act. Let me say it to you very plainly. Jesus Christ has the absolute right to tell you how to live. He has an absolute right to tell you how to talk, how to act, how to walk, what to do, when to do it, where to go, how to go, because He's God. He's sovereign. He has all authority in heaven and earth.

[John Weaver] Once you grasp that, and once you grasp the fact that all He needs to do is speech, you don't need thunder and lightning. You don't need emotions. You don't need sensations. You just need to obey. Arush Duny said this, listen carefully. The godly man recognizes that he has been called and chosen by God. He is therefore under authority. His choices have been made by God and set forth in scripture.

[John Weaver] The Ten Commandments spell out God's choice and law. Man has no free option. One way is sin and the other faith. obedience and blessing. The godly man rejoices in God's word and choice, and it is his joy that God shall choose our inheritance for us.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn to one last passage. I want you to see this. Turn, if you would, please, to Matthew 11. Here's a passage that everyone knows. Most of you probably can quote it. So look in Matthew chapter 11 and let's begin reading there with verse 28. I want you to think about this. Matthew 11 verse 28. Our Lord says, come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. And then he says this, take my yoke upon you and learn of me. For I am meek and lowly and hearty, and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, my burden is light." Now look what he said in verse 29. Take my yoke upon you. You know what a yoke speaks of? Submission, obedience. Everyone in here has heard of a yoke of oxen. You take two oxen and place them in a yoke.

[John Weaver] Those things may weigh 2,000 pounds each. They can be strong as a bulldozer. They can have wheels of their own. But once you get them in that yoke, they're going to obey the driver. I've never driven a yoke of oxen. But I plowed mules, and I know gee and haw really well. And I know once you get those mules and those harnesses, and you get them in the trace, and you pull those reins, left, right, you slap them on the rear with it, they're going to go straight. You pull to the left, you gee and you haw, left and right, they're going to go. They're going to obey.

[John Weaver] This is what our Lord is saying. Take my yoke upon you. Submit yourself to me. I'll be your driver. You will find out that my yoke is easy and my burden is light. So just like those oxen submit to the yoke and are driven by the driver. So our Lord says, you submit to me and I'll drive you. The question is this. We know that he has spoken. It's in his word. The question is, will you submit and will you obey?

[John Weaver] You do not need lightning flashing and thunder rolling. You don't need great emotions and great upheavals. All you need is his word. And all you need to do is say, like little Samuel, Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth. His word is sufficient, for he has sovereign authority. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow before thee this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. We thank you, Father, for your authority. We thank you for your yoke. Help us, Lord, to obey. Help us, Lord, to understand that thy yoke is easy and thy burden is light. And help us, Lord, to love Thee, to live for Thee, to honor Thee, to glorify Thee in all that we say and do. And help us, Lord, to be willingly yoked unto Thee and driven by Thee for Thy honor and Thy glory. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen. and and you

Authority - Part 2 of 2

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	W2UOjqaemg8
Subject	Civil Government
Course	Civil Government: Power, Nations, and Constitutional Order: War in the Gates
Genre	Sermon
Date	2020-08-24
Dictation Name
Book	Book 013: Authority — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	84

Formatted Transcript

Introduction and Review of Authority Principles

Weaver reviews last week's message on authority, emphasizing that most authority today is illegitimate and usurped. He reiterates that lawful authority is delegated and limited, and that unlimited submission belongs to God alone.

All right, let's open our Bibles to Luke chapter 7, Luke chapter 7. We're going to read the first 10 verses. And for those who were not here last week, this is actually the second part and the exposition from the hour-long introduction that I gave last week. The subject is just simply authority. And last week I tried to deal with the historical and constitutional view of authority. And so today I'm going to be looking at a little of that, but then also mainly expounding this passage. So Luke chapter 7, verse 1.

Now when he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum. And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto him, was sick and ready to die. And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying that he was worthy for whom he should do this. For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof. Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say the word, and my servant shall be healed.

For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick. I began this message last week by telling you the two words that were on the front of a T-shirt that was given to me, big bold letters, it just simply said, "Question Authority." If you listened well to the message last week and remember anything about it, you will understand the importance of those two words, "Question Authority." Because most authority today is illegitimate, unlawful, and usurped. Lawful, legitimate authority is delegated authority, and it is limited. There is a proper source from which authority flows, and there's always a limitation placed upon it. So unlawful authority just simply demands that you submit. It demands that you surrender, and you do so without question.

It was Ward Churchill who said this, "The American people are free to do exactly what they are told." When you stop and think about that in light of what is happening, I saw a cartoon this week, and it showed adults, Americans, crawling on all fours with their face masks on, and below it said, "Americans were informed that the coronavirus does not go below three feet." So they were crawling around. And that's what he's saying. Americans are free to do exactly what they're told. Well, not only does unlawful authority demand immediate and unconditional submission, it always grasps for more and more power. R. J. Rushdoony, back in 1971, said this. Listen carefully. "The authority of the state is everywhere in decay. But everywhere the state is grasping for more power as the cure-all for man's problems. The powers of the state are thus likely to increase markedly in years ahead, but that increase is the forerunner of the state's collapse as a saving agency."

And when you stop and think about this quote and the illustration of a drowning man, and the rescuer gets to the drowning man. What does the drowning man do? He almost drowns the rescuer. He's seeking to save himself regardless of what it takes. And so thus Rushdoony is saying, the more the state's authority, quote unquote, decays, the more it is grasping for power as well. So practically everywhere you turn, you hear the word simply "obey, obey, obey." And the interesting thing is, as I pointed out last week, our God-given rights never, ever stop. And there is never a time when we do not have those rights.

Interesting, the United States Department of Justice, in a recent statement of interest in support of the plaintiffs in the case of Temple Baptist Church against the city of Greenville and its mayor, because the city of Greenville and its mayor banned drive-in services for the church and started fining people who drove to those drive-in services. But the United States Department of Justice came out and said this, "There is no pandemic exception, however, to the fundamental liberties the Constitution safeguards. Indeed, individual rights secured by the Constitution do not disappear during a public health crisis." Then it gives the quotes from the law dictionaries and continues to say, "These individual rights, including the protections in the Bill of Rights made applicable to the states through the 14th Amendment, are always in force and restrain government action." So we certainly have a right to question authority, especially when it contravenes biblical authority and the Word of God and the commands that God has given us and the rights that God has given us. So unlimited submission belongs to God alone. It does not belong to any man or any government.

Now, just a few days before the Declaration of Independence was signed, Pastor Samuel West said this in a sermon. He said, "Unlimited submission belongs to God alone." Listen now. "Unlimited submission and obedience is due to none but God alone. And to suppose that he has given to any particular set of men a power to require obedience to that which is unreasonable, cruel, and unjust is robbing the Deity of his justice and goodness." So to suppose that God has given someone unlimited authority, he said, is robbing God of his justice and his goodness.

Constitutional Limits on Federal Authority

Weaver explains that congressional legislation is not necessarily binding on states, citing the Ninth and Tenth Amendments. He introduces the doctrine of interposition, where states can interpose between a corrupt federal government and the people.

Now, here's a thought that most people have never really entertained, and that is this, that congressional legislation is not necessarily binding upon the states. In other words, any law that Congress passes is not necessarily binding upon the states. You have to remember that the states created the federal government. The federal government did not create the states. The states and the people have reserved powers and rights that were not delegated to the federal government. For instance, the Ninth Amendment very clearly says, "The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights"—we're talking about the Bill of Rights and the first 10 amendments—"shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." So we have plenty of other rights that are not listed in the Constitution. And then when you get to the 10th Amendment, it says this, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people thereof."

So any power or any authority that was not given to the federal government is reserved to the states and to the people. Moreover, you have to understand that the states themselves were to interpose themselves between a corrupt and unconstitutional federal government and the people that resided in those states. In other words, there is a biblical doctrine of interposition. I was talking to a fellow this past week, trying to explain interposition. In fact, I preached on that several years back, but I was trying to explain interposition to him. And I said, suppose that you are being beaten to a bloody pulp by a thug on the street. And I walk by you and I see you being beaten within an inch of your life. I said, now here's my question. Do you want me to walk on by and totally ignore what's happening to you? Or would you like me to reach down and pull the thug off of you and save your life?

and hold him till the cops get arriving. He said, "I'd like for you to intervene." I said, "Then you do believe in the doctrine of interposition. You want me to interpose myself between you and the thug." And obviously, that's what interposition is. Long before the War of Northern Aggression, it was a United States Senator John C. Calhoun from South Carolina who said this. Listen carefully. "Stripped of all its covering, the naked question is whether ours is a federal or consolidated government, a constitutional or an absolute one, a government resting solidly on the basis of the sovereignty of the states, or on an unrestrained will of a majority, a form of government, as in all others unlimited ones, in which injustice, violence, and force must ultimately prevail." And another interesting thing that John C. Calhoun said is this, listen carefully, he said, "The Constitution has admitted the jurisdiction of the United States within the limits of the several states only so far as the delegated powers authorize.

Beyond that, they are intruders and may be lawfully expelled." So let that sink in. So the only authority then that the federal government has is that which the states gave them, and when they go beyond that, they are intruders and may be lawfully expelled. That is why the United States Constitution is referred to, number one, as an express powers document. Number two, as a limited powers document. When you talk about an express powers document, it means the only power that the federal government has is that which is expressed in the Constitution. When you call it a limited powers document, it means the only power they have is that which is limited to the Constitution.

Distinction Between Authority and Power

Weaver distinguishes between legitimate authority and raw power, illustrating that unlawful authority often resorts to force. He defines quarantine versus tyranny in the context of recent government actions.

So when you stop and think of what is happening and has been happening in the last several months in our country, we have to ask concerning the rules, regulations, and directives whether we are being quarantined or whether we are being tyrannized. And here's a good definition. Quarantine is when you restrict the movement of sick people. Tyranny is when you restrict the movement of healthy people. In other words, there's a big difference between a quarantine and tyranny. Now, I pointed out in the closing of the first message that there's a vast difference between authority and power.

So I could walk up to Marshall and I would say, "Marshall, I authorize you to give James $1,000." Marshall could look at me and say, "You don't have any right to authorize me to give James $1,000." And I said, "You're right. I don't have that authority." But I pull out a pistol and stick it to his head. I said, "You will give him $1,000." See, now that's power. I might not have the authority, but now I've got the power to do so. So usually you're going to find that unlawful authority always exercises force and power. Okay, now.

Before I get started today is this. I want us to look at Luke 7 and we're going to do so, but let me give you about five principles concerning authority before we ever get to it. Here it is. First of all, number one, when you hear the word authority, the word authority is synonymous with the word ruling. There is no way that you can exercise a rule without authority. The Bible says in Proverbs 29:2, listen carefully, "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn." So now you have authority and ruling. They are synonymous. In Mark chapter 10, verse 42, our Lord said this, "But Jesus called them unto him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them." So now you have authority and rulership together as well. So the concept I think is very easily seen because it's impossible to rule without authority.

Five Principles of Authority

Weaver outlines five principles: authority is synonymous with ruling; lawful authority is evident in actions; it can be delegated; unlawful authority is usurped; and there is a tendency to despise lawful authority when it reproves.

Scripture Reading — Mark 10:42

You have to have authority to rule. So authority and rulership are usually synonymous. Secondly, those who have lawful authority, it is made evident in their lives. It is evident in their actions. Let me give you an illustration. In Matthew chapter 7 and verse 29, the Bible says this concerning Jesus Christ, "For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." He taught them as one having authority, not as the scribes. In Mark 1:22, "And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes." Then when you get to Mark 1:27, "And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him." And then you find the same thing in Luke 4:36, because he commands those unclean spirits and they obey him. So you're going to find that authority is not only equated with rulership, but it's also evident when someone has lawful authority. Here's a third principle.

When one has a lawful and legitimate authority, there can be a proper delegation of that authority to those under him for specific tasks and duties. I could say this. I could say, "I'm the head of my house." Does that mean I do everything in the house? No. No, not at all. Alice says she does everything in the past. I usually tell people, I say, "Well, I have to wash the dishes, mop the floor, iron the clothes, wash the clothes." And Alice just sits there and smiles and says, "Yeah, right. Yeah, sure."

No, but the truth of the matter is this. I may have authority over my wife and I may have authority over my children. I have authority in my house, but that doesn't mean I have to do everything. I can delegate that authority. Same thing in a church as a pastor. I could delegate authority. Same thing in a civil government. I could delegate authority. So the Bible says this in Mark 13:34,

Scripture Reading — Mark 13:34

"For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch."

So here the Lord has given certain authority to perform certain tasks. And then when you get to Luke 9:1, the Bible says this, "Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases." So lawful authority can be delegated. Unlawful authority is no authority at all, and therefore it cannot be delegated.

But here's the fourth principle. All unlawful authority is usurped authority. Now, I want you to hold Luke chapter 7, but I do want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of 1 Timothy chapter 2. I'm going to show you a verse, and I'm going to show it to you in the context too, just momentarily. But 1 Timothy chapter 2, we need to understand the word usurped. The word usurped literally means to seize, to grasp, and to hold power or rights or authority that belongs to someone else. In other words, you are supplanting, you are occupying, you are taking that which does not belong to you. So, if you look in 1 Timothy 2:12, the apostle says this, "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence."

Now I want you to understand that this verse is in the context of the church. Because if you look in 1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 15, he says, "But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." So when you look in 1 Timothy, God is telling us how women ought to behave in church, how men ought to behave in church. And here's what he's saying. He said,

Scripture Reading — 1 Timothy 2:11-15

"I suffer not a woman to usurp authority over the man."

Thus a wife then who rules over her husband is usurping authority. A woman who claims to be a preacher or a pastor is usurping authority. Anytime women in church try to teach the men, it is a usurpation of authority.

Now, before I leave this point, I want you to look at the context. Look beginning in verse 11. The apostle says, "Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." Now, let me just point something out. The apostle Paul here gives three reasons why women should not rule over men. First of all, the woman is to be in subjection according to verse 11. Secondly, the creation order. Adam was first formed and then Eve. And thirdly, because the woman was in the transgression. I know that sin came into the world by man, but Eve was the first one who sinned, and then she gave that fruit to her husband. So here are three reasons. Now, let me point this out too. Go ahead and turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 11:3.

Because in this passage, you will see that there is an order that God has ordained. There's no way that you can get around this ordained order, because here it is spelled out very clearly. Look in 1 Corinthians 11:3. Again, the apostle says,

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 11:3

"But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God."

So here is God's order. Here is God. Here is Christ. Here is a man. Here is a woman. That is the way that God has ordained authority. And so this is why the apostle said in 1 Timothy chapter 2, "I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man." But please understand this.

I don't care if it's the home. I don't care if it's the church. I don't care if it's civil government. Anytime someone usurps, seizes, steals, takes that which does not belong to them in the sphere of authority, it is a usurpation and it is theft. So here's the fifth principle, and that is this. There is a tendency to despise and even challenge lawful authority when one does not wish to be reproved and rebuked. For instance, the Bible says in the book of Titus chapter 2 and verse 15, Paul told Titus,

Scripture Reading — Titus 2:15

"These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee."

Let no man despise thee. Now the word despise is interesting. It means to condemn. It means to disparage. It means to despise anyone who is using lawful authority. So let me give you an illustration. Here we go. As a pastor, suppose I come along, Joshua's doing something wrong, and I give him a loving, kind, biblical reproof and rebuke. Do you know, I'm not saying this about Joshua, but I'm saying the average response of the average professing Christian is this. "Well, who do you think he is to tell me something like that? Well, he's not my Lord, he's not my man." In other words, we have a tendency to rebel against lawful authority, especially when that lawful authority is attacking us in the sense of reproving and rebuking. And so the apostle says, look, you can't do that. Let no man despise. When a person despises lawful authority, it just proves that they are indeed a biblical fool.

May I remind you that a fool in the Bible is not a mentally deficient person, but a fool in the Bible is someone who will not listen and receive rebuke and reproof. The Bible says in Proverbs 14:9,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 14:9; 19:29

"Fools make a mock at sin."

And then in Proverbs 19:29, "Judgments are prepared for scorners, and stripes for the back of fools." So obviously, when you start to think about lawful authority and its use, unhappily, there are so many that will despise it. Now, what I want you to do, having considered these principles, I want you to look back in your Bibles, Luke chapter 7, because I want you today to be astonished and amazed at the understanding that this Roman centurion had concerning authority. His concept of authority is not only clearly biblical, but it also produced what you and I would call a very practical resolution to a sick servant. Now, if you look in verse 2 of Luke 7, "And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die." First of all, let me deal with the fact that he was a centurion, which means he was a Roman soldier. Okay. And a centurion had authority over at least a hundred soldiers, maybe more, but that's why he was called a centurion because he had authority over a hundred soldiers.

The Centurion's Compassion and Humility

Weaver examines Luke 7:1-6, noting the centurion's compassion for his sick slave and his humility in considering himself unworthy for Jesus to enter his home, demonstrating that biblical authority does not nullify compassion.

Now here's the next thing. Look at it in verse 2, "a certain centurion's servant." Now the word servant there is actually the word for slave. So this man was a slave and look what the Bible says, that this slave "was dear unto him and was sick and ready to die." We normally think of soldiers as rough, uncaring, uncompassionate, unconcerned, and desensitized to sickness and death because they see so much of it and oftentimes provide the means of so much of it. And yet here is a Roman soldier who was concerned about a slave. The interesting thing is the Bible says in verse 2 that this slave was dear unto him. Now the word dear is a very interesting word. The Greek word is entimos, and it literally refers to that which is dear, precious, and honorable. So his servant then was someone who was extremely honorable, someone that had integrity, someone that had character. And so here is a Roman soldier who is indeed concerned over this sick slave.

Now, let me give you my first point today, and I want you to listen carefully. And we're talking about biblical authority. We're talking about lawful authority. The first principle is very clear. Lawful and biblical authority does not deter, destroy, or nullify compassion and common sense. Here was a centurion. Here was a Roman soldier, and he was concerned about his slave. Let me put it to you very bluntly. Biblical and lawful authority does not run roughshod over people.

It is not something that is cold, uncaring, unconcerned, unethical, and uncompassionate. Let me say this another way. Biblical and lawful authority does not use people. You will notice in the Bible, if there is unlawful authority, that is when people are being used and abused. Let me give you an illustration. I want you to hold Luke 7, but turn in your Bibles to 1 Kings chapter 12. 1 Kings chapter 12.

And let's begin reading there with verse 1. This is the story, of course, of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon. Solomon has died. Rehoboam is now king. Jeroboam fled from Solomon and was down in Egypt, and they called him back. So notice 1 Kings chapter 12 verse 1,

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 12:1-15

"And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king. And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;) that they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying, Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee. And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed. And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people?"

"And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever. But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him: And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter? And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou say unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins. And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions."

Now, let me show you something. Here's the interesting thing. If you look back in verse 7, here is the wisdom of the old men. They say to Rehoboam, "If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day," and the word servant literally means a slave. They tell the king, "If you will be a slave unto this people this day and serve them," watch carefully, "and answer them and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants or thy slaves forever." So the counsel is, "King, you don't live for yourself. You live for the people. You live to minister to them. You live to be their servant. You live to be their slave. And if you live to be their slave, then they're going to turn around and be your slaves." In other words, it's a two-way street. It's a ministry. It's what it amounts to. But he forsook this counsel, and he took the counsel of the young men, which said, "My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins.

He laded you with heavy burdens. I'm going to add to it. He beat you with whips. I'm going to beat you with scorpions." You know what happened? The kingdom divided. The kingdom divided. He had no authority to do that. He had no power to do that. He had no right to do that. And what he did was use force and abuse and try to run over the people and make them submit to his unreasonable, unconscionable demands. And he lost the kingdom. He split the kingdom and therefore you had the 10 tribes who went to the north and the two tribes stayed to the south. So please understand this: lawful authority, biblical authority is always compassionate.

It always uses common sense and it understands that it is to be used as a ministry. Now, I want you to understand also, if you would please, that the second principle is this. That a right perception of authority will always produce humility. If you look back in your Bibles to Luke chapter 7, again, notice if you would please verses 3 through 6. 3 through 6 of Luke chapter 7, watch carefully. Look what the Bible says. "And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this: For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof."

Now, I want you to note this. The elders who went to Jesus said he's worthy. He loves our nation. He's built us a synagogue. Evidently, the centurion was quite wealthy because he built a special building for them to meet in. And but what did the centurion say to himself? "I'm not worthy. I'm not worthy." In other words, real biblical authority understands what you and I would call biblical humility. And while I'm on this, let me mention something.

Authority Recognizes Authority

Weaver explains from Luke 7:8 that the centurion understood he was both under authority and had authority, and thus recognized Christ's superior authority. He applies this to the complementary roles of family, church, and state.

Look back in your Bibles, Luke chapter 7, if you would please, at verse 8. I'll explain this. When I say authority recognizes authority, look at Luke 7:8. The centurion said, "For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it." Now, please understand that here's a Roman centurion. He had a commander and that commander probably had someone over him. And the highest of course would be Caesar. But here is this Roman centurion, he had men under him. It's just like our modern day military. You have a private, you have a corporal, you have a sergeant, you have a master sergeant, you have a lieutenant, you have a captain, and on up the line. Now obviously a corporal has authority over a private. A sergeant has authority over a corporal. Master sergeant has authority over all that would be under him. The lieutenant would have authority over the master sergeant. So what I'm trying to say is this: authority recognizes authority. So just because this Roman centurion had authority over a hundred soldiers did not mean that he did not recognize the authority of his commander or the authority of Caesar. Neither did it mean that he did not recognize that there were some men under him that had delegated authority that was given to them from him. So listen carefully. Lawful and biblical authority always recognizes other authorities.

Let me say it like this. Think about this. The president of the United States does not have authority over the governors of each state. He can't tell the governors what to do. The governors are the head of their state. The president of the United States doesn't have authority over the church. President of the United States does not have authority over your home. He does not call the shots.

When someone has lawful, legitimate authority, it always recognizes others who hold authority, whether it is a small amount or a great amount, you're not going to try to disparage or to castigate off that authority they have. So let me say this again, like I said last week. God created only three institutions. He created the family, which is a ministry of education, the church, which is a ministry of grace, and the civil government, which is a ministry of justice. And he gave each one delegated limited authority, and each of these are to complement each other. That means they're to complete each other, because obviously the family can do things the church can't do, and the church can do things the state can't do, and the civil government can do things that neither the home or the church can do. So each one is an aspect of God's kingdom, and each one has authority in God's kingdom. And if there is a lawful authority, then that authority is not going to trample over and try to stamp over the authority of the others.

Look, if you would, please, at this fourth principle. The fourth principle is this, that those that are under authority recognize superior and sovereign authority. Go back to verses 7 and 8. Look in Luke 7:7-8. Look what the centurion said. "Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it."

Submission to Christ's Sovereign Word

Weaver contrasts the centurion's faith in Christ's mere word with Naaman's desire for an emotional experience. He stresses that God will not use those in authority who are unwilling to submit to authority themselves.

Now, I want you to think about this for a moment. The fourth principle is that those who are under authority recognize superior and sovereign authority. Here was a Roman centurion who was set under authority. And when he saw Jesus and when he heard Jesus, he recognized here's a superior and here is a sovereign authority. Here's how this thing works. The Roman centurion had to obey those who were over him. Those who were under him had to obey him.

He knew that he had to submit to his commander. And those under this centurion had to submit to him. Now, listen carefully. Here's what verse 8 actually means. The centurion is saying this. When my commander speaks, I jump. In other words, all I need from my commander is his word. His word is sufficient. That's it. When I give an order to those under me, my word is sufficient. I don't need anything else. So he looks at Jesus Christ and he said, "You just simply speak the word." So the centurion recognized in Jesus Christ his power and his authority that he received from God. And he understood that since Christ was sovereign, that all he needed to do was speak. Now listen carefully.

Here is where we fall short so many times. Here is where we err, and here is where we sin. Because we as Christians are usually more like Naaman the Syrian, rather than like this Roman centurion. If you will turn in your Bibles, hold Luke 7, but turn in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 5. Naaman the Syrian was a great warrior. There was only one problem with Naaman, and that was he was a leper. And he had captured a little Israelite maiden, and she was a house servant to him and his wife. And this little maiden said to his wife one day,

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 5:1-14

"Would to God that my master were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy."

Well, the king of Syria heard this. And if you look in 2 Kings 5:6, well, let's go to verse 5.

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 5:1-14

"And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel."

"And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy." Now watch. Verse 7, "And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy?" "Wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me." So the king of Israel said, "He's trying to start a war. I can't cure anybody of leprosy." So Elisha hears it and he said, "You send him down to me. And he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel." So Naaman proceeds down to the house of Elisha. Look at it in verse 9. "So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha."

"And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean." What happened? Watch verse 11. "But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage." Look at this, if you would please. Naaman has come now to Elisha. And Elisha doesn't even get up out of his chair. He doesn't even go outside. He sends a little messenger out and says, "Go tell him to wash in the Jordan seven times and he'll be clean." And now Naaman turns away in a rage. Why? Did you hear what I read? He said, "I thought surely he would come out,

and call upon his God, and strike his hand over me." In other words, I was looking for an experience. I was looking for some emotional supercharged thing where the lightning flashes and the thunder rolls and the hair stands up on my neck. That's what I'm looking for. And all he does is send a word. Finally, the servant said to Naaman, "If the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it?" He said, "Sure." Well, he said, "How much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?" And he did. And he was cleansed. But here's the problem. The problem is most Christians today are not dependent upon Christ's word. They want the experience. They want the emotion. They want everything that they think should go with it. The centurion said, "Lord, speak the word. I don't need lightning. I don't need to hear thunder roll. I don't need my hair to stand on end. Lord, you are sovereign. You just speak the word. Just like my commander's word is sufficient for me, my word is sufficient for those under me. Your word is sufficient. Just speak it and my servant will be healed."

I suspect that one reason that you and I do not really recognize the sovereign authority of Jesus Christ—remember he said in Matthew 28:18, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth"—one reason we do not recognize the authority of Jesus Christ is we're not in submission to that authority. And consequently, we don't recognize that all our Lord needs to do is to speak the word. Now, let me tell you something. I want you to mark this down in your mind. Write it down in your heart. Put it on paper if you want to, but mark it down. Here it is. God will never use you in a position of authority unless you're willing to be in submission to authority yourself. Let me say this another way. God will never use you to rebuke and reprove someone if you're not willing to be rebuked and reproved yourself.

I've been preaching for 57 years, 56 years. I don't even remember. I didn't stop and count it up. But I remember when I started preaching, a young Christian, I had far more zeal than I did knowledge. And we had a pastor. And in that office, where I've been so many times, there's an old gold couch. That thing was so ugly to me. I never did like it. But the pastor would call me and said, "You need to come in. Let's talk a while." I said, "Fine." Well, I'd go in and I'd talk with him, and we would fellowship. And next thing I know, he looks at me and he says, "Now, John," and when he said that, I knew I'd done something wrong. I didn't know what, but I knew I'd done something wrong. And he'd tell me what all I'd done or what I had said or what I should not have done or what I should have done. And I would end up on my knees on that floor, on my face, buried in that old gold couch, weeping and crying and asking God to forgive me.

I don't know how many times I got rebuked. I don't know how many times I got reproved. But by God's grace, I took the reproof and I took the rebuke. All I'm saying is this, folks, if we don't learn to submit to authority, God's authority, biblical authority, lawful authority, God's never going to use us in authority. And until we realize that unless we're willing to be rebuked, God's never going to use us to rebuke others. We have to learn to submit to his authority and his reproof.

Now here's the fifth and final principle. I want you to go back to Luke chapter 7. Look, if you would please, at verses 9 and 10. Luke 7:9-10. Here's the fifth principle. That is that those who rest in and honor biblical authority will be honored by God. So here it is, Luke 7:9. "When Jesus heard these things," that is when he heard the centurion speak,

Honor and Faith Recognized by Christ

Weaver concludes from Luke 7:9-10 that those who honor biblical authority will be honored by God, as seen in Christ's commendation of the centurion's great faith. He calls believers to submit to Christ's yoke.

"he marveled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." This was a centurion man who had great faith. "And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick." In other words, here is a centurion who honored our Lord by just saying, "Lord, you don't have to come under my roof. You don't even have to be here. Just speak the word and it'll happen." And our Lord said, "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." I want you to look back in your Bibles very quickly to 1 Samuel chapter 2, lest you think I might be exaggerating. I want you to see this. 1 Samuel chapter 2. And what God said to Eli. Eli and his sons had sinned against God. And here's what God tells them. 1 Samuel chapter 2, beginning there with verse 27. Look at it. "And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house?"

"And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel?" Now look what he says to them. "Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honorest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." So God says, "You honor me, I'm going to honor you."

What did this centurion do? He honored our Lord by saying, "Lord, you don't even need to be present. Just speak the word." And how did our Lord honor him? He said, "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." He is a man of great faith.

Now it is true that this man had to be convicted by the Holy Spirit. He had to be regenerated by God. He had to be converted, but please understand something. It was his understanding of authority. It was his understanding of authority that led him to see the greatness of Christ's sovereignty and superiority and be willing to submit to that authority. He said, "Lord, I'm a man under authority. I understand authority." So until you and I learn to submit to authority, God's authority, we're never going to be used by God.

So let me make an application or two. Listen carefully. Authority does matter. Not only does authority matter, the source of authority matters as well. If you comprehend the fact that God the Father has given to Jesus Christ all authority in heaven and earth, it will make a difference in how you live, how you pray, and how you act. Let me say it to you very plainly. Jesus Christ has the absolute right to tell you how to live. He has an absolute right to tell you how to talk, how to act, how to walk, what to do, when to do it, where to go, how to go, because He's God. He's sovereign. He has all authority in heaven and earth.

Once you grasp that, and once you grasp the fact that all He needs to do is speak, you don't need thunder and lightning. You don't need emotions. You don't need sensations. You just need to obey. R. J. Rushdoony said this, listen carefully. "The godly man recognizes that he has been called and chosen by God. He is therefore under authority. His choices have been made by God and set forth in Scripture.

The Ten Commandments spell out God's choice and law. Man has no free option. One way is sin and the other faith, obedience and blessing. The godly man rejoices in God's word and choice, and it is his joy that God shall choose our inheritance for us."

Now, I want you to turn to one last passage. I want you to see this. Turn, if you would, please, to Matthew 11. Here's a passage that everyone knows. Most of you probably can quote it. So look in Matthew chapter 11 and let's begin reading there with verse 28. I want you to think about this. Matthew 11:28. Our Lord says,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 11:28-30

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

And then he says this,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 11:28-30

"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Now look what he said in verse 29.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 11:28-30

"Take my yoke upon you."

You know what a yoke speaks of? Submission, obedience. Everyone in here has heard of a yoke of oxen. You take two oxen and place them in a yoke.

Those things may weigh 2,000 pounds each. They can be strong as a bulldozer. They can have wills of their own. But once you get them in that yoke, they're going to obey the driver. I've never driven a yoke of oxen. But I plowed mules, and I know gee and haw really well. And I know once you get those mules in those harnesses, and you get them in the trace, and you pull those reins, left, right, you slap them on the rear with it, they're going to go straight. You pull to the left, you gee and you haw, left and right, they're going to go. They're going to obey.

This is what our Lord is saying. "Take my yoke upon you. Submit yourself to me. I'll be your driver. You will find out that my yoke is easy and my burden is light." So just like those oxen submit to the yoke and are driven by the driver, so our Lord says, "You submit to me and I'll drive you." The question is this. We know that he has spoken. It's in his word. The question is, will you submit and will you obey?

You do not need lightning flashing and thunder rolling. You don't need great emotions and great upheavals. All you need is his word. And all you need to do is say, like little Samuel, "Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth." His word is sufficient, for he has sovereign authority. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow before thee this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. We thank you, Father, for your authority. We thank you for your yoke. Help us, Lord, to obey. Help us, Lord, to understand that thy yoke is easy and thy burden is light. And help us, Lord, to love Thee, to live for Thee, to honor Thee, to glorify Thee in all that we say and do. And help us, Lord, to be willingly yoked unto Thee and driven by Thee for Thy honor and Thy glory. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Lawful vs. Unlawful Authority

Summary: Weaver contrasts legitimate, delegated, limited authority with usurped, unlimited power that demands unconditional submission.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'Lawful, legitimate authority is delegated authority, and it is limited... So unlawful authority just simply demands that you submit.'

Biblical Humility in Authority

Summary: True authority produces humility because it recognizes that all authority is a gift from God, not earned.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Real biblical authority humbles you... because when someone recognizes the true source of authority, he recognizes the only way that he can have any authority is in the providence of God that God gave it to him.'

Submission to Christ's Word

Summary: Believers must submit to Christ's sovereign word without demanding emotional experiences, as the centurion did.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'The centurion said, "Lord, speak the word. I don't need lightning. I don't need to hear thunder roll... Your word is sufficient."'

Interposition and Limited Government

Summary: States have the right and duty to interpose between a tyrannical federal government and the people, based on constitutional principles.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'The states themselves were to interpose themselves between a corrupt and unconstitutional federal government and the people that resided in those states.'

Authority Recognizes Authority

Summary: Legitimate authority acknowledges other spheres of authority (family, church, state) and does not usurp them.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'When someone has lawful, legitimate authority, it always recognizes others who hold authority... you're not going to try to disparage or to castigate off that authority they have.'

Key Arguments

Unlimited submission belongs to God alone

Summary: No human authority can demand unconditional obedience; that is reserved for God.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Pastor Samuel West: 'Unlimited submission and obedience is due to none but God alone.'

The federal government has only delegated, limited powers

Summary: The Constitution is an express and limited powers document; states created the federal government and retain reserved powers.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'The only authority then that the federal government has is that which the states gave them, and when they go beyond that, they are intruders and may be lawfully expelled.'

Lawful authority is compassionate and serves others

Summary: Biblical authority does not run roughshod over people; it ministers to them, as seen in the centurion's care for his slave.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'Biblical and lawful authority does not run roughshod over people. It is not something that is cold, uncaring, unconcerned, unethical, and uncompassionate.'

God will not use you in authority unless you submit to authority

Summary: One must learn to be rebuked and reproved before being used by God to lead others.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'God will never use you in a position of authority unless you're willing to be in submission to authority yourself.'

Christ's word is sufficient for faith and obedience

Summary: The centurion's faith rested solely on Christ's spoken word, without need for signs or emotions.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'The centurion recognized in Jesus Christ his power and his authority that he received from God. And he understood that since Christ was sovereign, that all he needed to do was speak.'

Scripture References

Luke 7:1-10

Context: The main passage expounded, showing the centurion's faith and understanding of authority.

Proverbs 29:2

Context: Used to show that authority and ruling are synonymous; when the righteous rule, people rejoice.

Mark 10:42

Context: Jesus equates ruling with exercising authority.

Matthew 7:29

Context: Jesus taught as one having authority, not as the scribes.

Mark 1:22, 27

Context: Jesus' authority was evident in his teaching and command over unclean spirits.

Luke 4:36

Context: Jesus commands unclean spirits with authority.

Mark 13:34

Context: A man gives authority to his servants, illustrating delegation of authority.

Luke 9:1

Context: Jesus gave his disciples power and authority over devils and diseases.

1 Timothy 2:11-15

Context: Paul forbids women to teach or usurp authority over men, giving creation order and the fall as reasons.

1 Corinthians 11:3

Context: God's ordained order of authority: God, Christ, man, woman.

Titus 2:15

Context: Paul tells Titus to rebuke with all authority and let no man despise him.

Proverbs 14:9; 19:29

Context: Fools mock at sin and stripes are prepared for fools, showing the fool's rejection of reproof.

1 Kings 12:1-15

Context: Rehoboam's harsh rule and rejection of servant leadership led to the kingdom's division.

Luke 17:10

Context: We are unprofitable servants when we have only done our duty.

Psalm 75:5-7

Context: Promotion comes from God; he puts down one and sets up another.

Deuteronomy 17:18-20

Context: The king was to read the law daily so his heart would not be lifted above his brethren.

2 Kings 5:1-14

Context: Naaman's rage at Elisha's simple word contrasts with the centurion's faith in Christ's word.

Matthew 28:18

Context: All power is given to Christ in heaven and earth.

1 Samuel 2:27-30

Context: God honors those who honor him; Eli's house was rejected for despising God.

Matthew 11:28-30

Context: Jesus invites the weary to take his yoke, which is easy and light, signifying submission to his authority.

Historical References

Ward Churchill quote

Context: Weaver quotes Churchill: 'The American people are free to do exactly what they are told,' illustrating blind obedience to authority.

R. J. Rushdoony (1971)

Context: Rushdoony stated that the state's authority is decaying but it grasps for more power, foreshadowing collapse.

Temple Baptist Church v. Greenville

Context: The DOJ supported the church, stating there is no pandemic exception to constitutional liberties.

Pastor Samuel West sermon before Declaration of Independence

Context: West preached that unlimited submission belongs to God alone, influencing the founding era.

Ninth and Tenth Amendments

Context: Weaver explains these amendments reserve rights and powers to the states and people.

John C. Calhoun

Context: Calhoun argued the Constitution is a compact of sovereign states; federal overreach makes them intruders.

War of Northern Aggression (Civil War)

Context: Weaver references this term in context of states' rights and interposition.

Important Quotes

Lawful, legitimate authority is delegated authority, and it is limited.

Significance: Core definition of biblical authority as opposed to usurped power.

Unlimited submission and obedience is due to none but God alone.

Significance: Foundational principle that no human authority can demand absolute obedience.

The only authority then that the federal government has is that which the states gave them, and when they go beyond that, they are intruders and may be lawfully expelled.

Significance: States' rights and interposition doctrine summarized.

Quarantine is when you restrict the movement of sick people. Tyranny is when you restrict the movement of healthy people.

Significance: Distinction between legitimate public health measures and governmental overreach.

God will never use you in a position of authority unless you're willing to be in submission to authority yourself.

Significance: Key application: submission precedes leadership.

Lord, speak the word. I don't need lightning. I don't need to hear thunder roll. I don't need my hair to stand on end. Lord, you are sovereign. You just speak the word.

Significance: The centurion's faith in Christ's word alone, contrasting with modern desire for emotional experiences.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Significance: Christ's call to submit to his authority, which brings rest.

Discussion Questions

How does the centurion's understanding of authority challenge our modern view of leadership and submission?

Context: Weaver highlights the centurion's recognition of being under authority and his humility.

In what ways do we, like Naaman, seek emotional experiences rather than simply trusting and obeying God's Word?

Context: Weaver contrasts Naaman's rage with the centurion's faith in Christ's spoken word.

What does it mean for the church to interpose itself between a tyrannical government and the people, and is this biblical?

Context: Weaver discusses the doctrine of interposition and states' rights.

How can we cultivate a heart that is not 'lifted up above our brethren' when we are in positions of authority?

Context: Weaver references Deuteronomy 17:18-20 and the danger of pride in leadership.

Why is it difficult to submit to authority that reproves and rebukes us, and how can we grow in receiving correction?

Context: Weaver shares his personal experience of being rebuked by his pastor and the necessity of submission.

Applications

Submit to Christ's Word without demanding signs

Summary: Believers should trust and obey Christ's commands in Scripture without waiting for emotional experiences or supernatural signs.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'You do not need lightning flashing and thunder rolling. You don't need great emotions and great upheavals. All you need is his word.'

Learn to receive rebuke and reproof

Summary: To be used by God in authority, one must first learn to submit to authority and accept correction humbly.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'If we don't learn to submit to authority... God's never going to use us in authority.'

Recognize and respect God-ordained spheres of authority

Summary: Understand the distinct roles of family, church, and state, and do not allow one to usurp the authority of another.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'God created only three institutions... each one is an aspect of God's kingdom, and each one has authority in God's kingdom.'

Exercise authority with compassion and humility

Summary: Those in leadership should serve others and not use their position to run roughshod over people.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Biblical and lawful authority does not run roughshod over people. It is not something that is cold, uncaring, unconcerned.'

Question unlawful authority

Summary: Believers have a right and duty to question authority that contravenes God's Word and constitutional liberties.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'We certainly have a right to question authority, especially when it contravenes biblical authority and the Word of God.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T01:22:13Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T15:22:51Z

Clean Transcript

Authority - Part 2 of 2

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

All right, let's open our Bibles to Luke chapter 7, Luke chapter 7. We're going to read the first 10 verses. And for those who were not here last week, this is actually the second part and the exposition from the hour-long introduction that I gave last week. The subject is just simply authority. And last week I tried to deal with the historical and constitutional view of authority. And so today I'm going to be looking at a little of that, but then also mainly expounding this passage. So Luke chapter 7, verse 1.
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Now when he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum. And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto him, was sick and ready to die. And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying that he was worthy for whom he should do this.
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For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof. Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say the word, and my servant shall be healed.
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For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick.
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I began this message last week by telling you the two words that were on the front of a T-shirt that was given to me, big bold letters, it just simply said, "Question Authority." If you listened well to the message last week and remember anything about it, you will understand the importance of those two words, "Question Authority." Because most authority today is illegitimate, unlawful, and usurped. Lawful, legitimate authority is delegated authority, and it is limited. There is a proper source from which authority flows, and there's always a limitation placed upon it. So unlawful authority just simply demands that you submit. It demands that you surrender, and you do so without question.
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It was Ward Churchill who said this, "The American people are free to do exactly what they are told." When you stop and think about that in light of what is happening, I saw a cartoon this week, and it showed adults, Americans, crawling on all fours with their face masks on, and below it said, "Americans were informed that the coronavirus does not go below three feet." So they were crawling around.
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And that's what he's saying. Americans are free to do exactly what they're told. Well, not only does unlawful authority demand immediate and unconditional submission, it always grasps for more and more power. R. J. Rushdoony, back in 1971, said this. Listen carefully. "The authority of the state is everywhere in decay. But everywhere the state is grasping for more power as the cure-all for man's problems. The powers of the state are thus likely to increase markedly in years ahead, but that increase is the forerunner of the state's collapse as a saving agency."
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And when you stop and think about this quote and the illustration of a drowning man, and the rescuer gets to the drowning man. What does the drowning man do? He almost drowns the rescuer. He's seeking to save himself regardless of what it takes. And so thus Rushdoony is saying, the more the state's authority, quote unquote, decays, the more it is grasping for power as well. So practically everywhere you turn, you hear the word simply "obey, obey, obey." And the interesting thing is, as I pointed out last week, our God-given rights never, ever stop. And there is never a time when we do not have those rights.
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Interesting, the United States Department of Justice, in a recent statement of interest in support of the plaintiffs in the case of Temple Baptist Church against the city of Greenville and its mayor, because the city of Greenville and its mayor banned drive-in services for the church and started fining people who drove to those drive-in services. But the United States Department of Justice came out and said this, "There is no pandemic exception, however, to the fundamental liberties the Constitution safeguards. Indeed, individual rights secured by the Constitution do not disappear during a public health crisis."
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Then it gives the quotes from the law dictionaries and continues to say, "These individual rights, including the protections in the Bill of Rights made applicable to the states through the 14th Amendment, are always in force and restrain government action." So we certainly have a right to question authority, especially when it contravenes biblical authority and the Word of God and the commands that God has given us and the rights that God has given us. So unlimited submission belongs to God alone. It does not belong to any man or any government.
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Now, just a few days before the Declaration of Independence was signed, Pastor Samuel West said this in a sermon. He said, "Unlimited submission belongs to God alone." Listen now. "Unlimited submission and obedience is due to none but God alone. And to suppose that he has given to any particular set of men a power to require obedience to that which is unreasonable, cruel, and unjust is robbing the Deity of his justice and goodness." So to suppose that God has given someone unlimited authority, he said, is robbing God of his justice and his goodness.
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Now, here's a thought that most people have never really entertained, and that is this, that congressional legislation is not necessarily binding upon the states. In other words, any law that Congress passes is not necessarily binding upon the states. You have to remember that the states created the federal government. The federal government did not create the states. The states and the people have reserved powers and rights that were not delegated to the federal government. For instance, the Ninth Amendment very clearly says, "The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights"—we're talking about the Bill of Rights and the first 10 amendments—"shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." So we have plenty of other rights that are not listed in the Constitution. And then when you get to the 10th Amendment, it says this, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people thereof."
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So any power or any authority that was not given to the federal government is reserved to the states and to the people. Moreover, you have to understand that the states themselves were to interpose themselves between a corrupt and unconstitutional federal government and the people that resided in those states. In other words, there is a biblical doctrine of interposition. I was talking to a fellow this past week, trying to explain interposition. In fact, I preached on that several years back, but I was trying to explain interposition to him.
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And I said, suppose that you are being beaten to a bloody pulp by a thug on the street. And I walk by you and I see you being beaten within an inch of your life. I said, now here's my question. Do you want me to walk on by and totally ignore what's happening to you? Or would you like me to reach down and pull the thug off of you and save your life?
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and hold him till the cops get arriving. He said, "I'd like for you to intervene." I said, "Then you do believe in the doctrine of interposition. You want me to interpose myself between you and the thug." And obviously, that's what interposition is. Long before the War of Northern Aggression, it was a United States Senator John C. Calhoun from South Carolina who said this. Listen carefully. "Stripped of all its covering, the naked question is whether ours is a federal or consolidated government, a constitutional or an absolute one, a government resting solidly on the basis of the sovereignty of the states, or on an unrestrained will of a majority, a form of government, as in all others unlimited ones, in which injustice, violence, and force must ultimately prevail." And another interesting thing that John C. Calhoun said is this, listen carefully, he said, "The Constitution has admitted the jurisdiction of the United States within the limits of the several states only so far as the delegated powers authorize.
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Beyond that, they are intruders and may be lawfully expelled." So let that sink in. So the only authority then that the federal government has is that which the states gave them, and when they go beyond that, they are intruders and may be lawfully expelled. That is why the United States Constitution is referred to, number one, as an express powers document. Number two, as a limited powers document. When you talk about an express powers document, it means the only power that the federal government has is that which is expressed in the Constitution. When you call it a limited powers document, it means the only power they have is that which is limited to the Constitution.
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So when you stop and think of what is happening and has been happening in the last several months in our country, we have to ask concerning the rules, regulations, and directives whether we are being quarantined or whether we are being tyrannized. And here's a good definition. Quarantine is when you restrict the movement of sick people. Tyranny is when you restrict the movement of healthy people. In other words, there's a big difference between a quarantine and tyranny. Now, I pointed out in the closing of the first message that there's a vast difference between authority and power.
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So I could walk up to Marshall and I would say, "Marshall, I authorize you to give James $1,000." Marshall could look at me and say, "You don't have any right to authorize me to give James $1,000." And I said, "You're right. I don't have that authority." But I pull out a pistol and stick it to his head. I said, "You will give him $1,000." See, now that's power. I might not have the authority, but now I've got the power to do so. So usually you're going to find that unlawful authority always exercises force and power. Okay, now.
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Before I get started today is this. I want us to look at Luke 7 and we're going to do so, but let me give you about five principles concerning authority before we ever get to it. Here it is. First of all, number one, when you hear the word authority, the word authority is synonymous with the word ruling. There is no way that you can exercise a rule without authority. The Bible says in Proverbs 29:2, listen carefully, "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn." So now you have authority and ruling. They are synonymous. In Mark chapter 10, verse 42, our Lord said this, "But Jesus called them unto him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them." So now you have authority and rulership together as well. So the concept I think is very easily seen because it's impossible to rule without authority.
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You have to have authority to rule. So authority and rulership are usually synonymous.
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Secondly, those who have lawful authority, it is made evident in their lives. It is evident in their actions. Let me give you an illustration. In Matthew chapter 7 and verse 29, the Bible says this concerning Jesus Christ, "For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." He taught them as one having authority, not as the scribes. In Mark 1:22, "And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes." Then when you get to Mark 1:27, "And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him." And then you find the same thing in Luke 4:36, because he commands those unclean spirits and they obey him. So you're going to find that authority is not only equated with rulership, but it's also evident when someone has lawful authority. Here's a third principle.
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When one has a lawful and legitimate authority, there can be a proper delegation of that authority to those under him for specific tasks and duties. I could say this. I could say, "I'm the head of my house." Does that mean I do everything in the house? No. No, not at all. Alice says she does everything in the past. I usually tell people, I say, "Well, I have to wash the dishes, mop the floor, iron the clothes, wash the clothes." And Alice just sits there and smiles and says, "Yeah, right. Yeah, sure."
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No, but the truth of the matter is this. I may have authority over my wife and I may have authority over my children. I have authority in my house, but that doesn't mean I have to do everything. I can delegate that authority. Same thing in a church as a pastor. I could delegate authority. Same thing in a civil government. I could delegate authority. So the Bible says this in Mark 13:34, "For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch." So here the Lord has given certain authority to perform certain tasks. And then when you get to Luke 9:1, the Bible says this, "Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases." So lawful authority can be delegated. Unlawful authority is no authority at all, and therefore it cannot be delegated.
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But here's the fourth principle. All unlawful authority is usurped authority.
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Now, I want you to hold Luke chapter 7, but I do want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of 1 Timothy chapter 2. I'm going to show you a verse, and I'm going to show it to you in the context too, just momentarily. But 1 Timothy chapter 2, we need to understand the word usurped. The word usurped literally means to seize, to grasp, and to hold power or rights or authority that belongs to someone else.
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In other words, you are supplanting, you are occupying, you are taking that which does not belong to you. So, if you look in 1 Timothy 2:12, the apostle says this, "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence."
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Now I want you to understand that this verse is in the context of the church. Because if you look in 1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 15, he says, "But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." So when you look in 1 Timothy, God is telling us how women ought to behave in church, how men ought to behave in church.
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And here's what he's saying. He said, "I suffer not a woman to usurp authority over the man." Thus a wife then who rules over her husband is usurping authority. A woman who claims to be a preacher or a pastor is usurping authority. Anytime women in church try to teach the men, it is a usurpation of authority.
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Now, before I leave this point, I want you to look at the context. Look beginning in verse 11. The apostle says, "Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." Now, let me just point something out. The apostle Paul here gives three reasons why women should not rule over men. First of all, the woman is to be in subjection according to verse 11. Secondly, the creation order. Adam was first formed and then Eve. And thirdly, because the woman was in the transgression. I know that sin came into the world by man, but Eve was the first one who sinned, and then she gave that fruit to her husband. So here are three reasons. Now, let me point this out too. Go ahead and turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 11:3.
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Because in this passage, you will see that there is an order that God has ordained. There's no way that you can get around this ordained order, because here it is spelled out very clearly. Look in 1 Corinthians 11:3. Again, the apostle says, "But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God." So here is God's order. Here is God. Here is Christ. Here is a man. Here is a woman. That is the way that God has ordained authority. And so this is why the apostle said in 1 Timothy chapter 2, "I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man." But please understand this.
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I don't care if it's the home. I don't care if it's the church. I don't care if it's civil government. Anytime someone usurps, seizes, steals, takes that which does not belong to them in the sphere of authority, it is a usurpation and it is theft. So here's the fifth principle, and that is this. There is a tendency to despise and even challenge lawful authority when one does not wish to be reproved and rebuked.
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For instance, the Bible says in the book of Titus chapter 2 and verse 15, Paul told Titus, "These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee." Let no man despise thee. Now the word despise is interesting. It means to condemn. It means to disparage. It means to despise anyone who is using lawful authority. So let me give you an illustration. Here we go. As a pastor, suppose I come along, Joshua's doing something wrong, and I give him a loving, kind, biblical reproof and rebuke. Do you know, I'm not saying this about Joshua, but I'm saying the average response of the average professing Christian is this. "Well, who do you think he is to tell me something like that? Well, he's not my Lord, he's not my man." In other words, we have a tendency to rebel against lawful authority, especially when that lawful authority is attacking us in the sense of reproving and rebuking. And so the apostle says, look, you can't do that. Let no man despise. When a person despises lawful authority, it just proves that they are indeed a biblical fool.
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May I remind you that a fool in the Bible is not a mentally deficient person, but a fool in the Bible is someone who will not listen and receive rebuke and reproof. The Bible says in Proverbs 14:9, "Fools make a mock at sin." And then in Proverbs 19:29, "Judgments are prepared for scorners, and stripes for the back of fools." So obviously, when you start to think about lawful authority and its use, unhappily, there are so many that will despise it.
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Now, what I want you to do, having considered these principles, I want you to look back in your Bibles, Luke chapter 7, because I want you today to be astonished and amazed at the understanding that this Roman centurion had concerning authority. His concept of authority is not only clearly biblical, but it also produced what you and I would call a very practical resolution to a sick servant. Now, if you look in verse 2 of Luke 7, "And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die." First of all, let me deal with the fact that he was a centurion, which means he was a Roman soldier. Okay. And a centurion had authority over at least a hundred soldiers, maybe more, but that's why he was called a centurion because he had authority over a hundred soldiers.
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Now here's the next thing. Look at it in verse 2, "a certain centurion's servant." Now the word servant there is actually the word for slave. So this man was a slave and look what the Bible says, that this slave "was dear unto him and was sick and ready to die." We normally think of soldiers as rough, uncaring, uncompassionate, unconcerned, and desensitized to sickness and death because they see so much of it and oftentimes provide the means of so much of it. And yet here is a Roman soldier who was concerned about a slave. The interesting thing is the Bible says in verse 2 that this slave was dear unto him. Now the word dear is a very interesting word. The Greek word is entimos, and it literally refers to that which is dear, precious, and honorable. So his servant then was someone who was extremely honorable, someone that had integrity, someone that had character. And so here is a Roman soldier who is indeed concerned over this sick slave.
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Now, let me give you my first point today, and I want you to listen carefully. And we're talking about biblical authority. We're talking about lawful authority. The first principle is very clear. Lawful and biblical authority does not deter, destroy, or nullify compassion and common sense. Here was a centurion. Here was a Roman soldier, and he was concerned about his slave. Let me put it to you very bluntly. Biblical and lawful authority does not run roughshod over people.
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It is not something that is cold, uncaring, unconcerned, unethical, and uncompassionate. Let me say this another way. Biblical and lawful authority does not use people. You will notice in the Bible, if there is unlawful authority, that is when people are being used and abused. Let me give you an illustration. I want you to hold Luke 7, but turn in your Bibles to 1 Kings chapter 12. 1 Kings chapter 12.
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And let's begin reading there with verse 1. This is the story, of course, of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon. Solomon has died. Rehoboam is now king. Jeroboam fled from Solomon and was down in Egypt, and they called him back. So notice 1 Kings chapter 12 verse 1, "And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king. And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;) that they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying, Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee. And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed. And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people?"
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"And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever. But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him: And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter? And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou say unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins. And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions."
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Now, let me show you something. Here's the interesting thing. If you look back in verse 7, here is the wisdom of the old men. They say to Rehoboam, "If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day," and the word servant literally means a slave. They tell the king, "If you will be a slave unto this people this day and serve them," watch carefully, "and answer them and speak good words to them, then they will
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be thy servants or thy slaves forever." So the counsel is, "King, you don't live for yourself. You live for the people. You live to minister to them. You live to be their servant. You live to be their slave. And if you live to be their slave, then they're going to turn around and be your slaves." In other words, it's a two-way street. It's a ministry. It's what it amounts to. But he forsook this counsel, and he took the counsel of the young men, which said, "My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins.
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He laded you with heavy burdens. I'm going to add to it. He beat you with whips. I'm going to beat you with scorpions." You know what happened? The kingdom divided. The kingdom divided. He had no authority to do that. He had no power to do that. He had no right to do that. And what he did was use force and abuse and try to run over the people and make them submit to his unreasonable, unconscionable demands. And he lost the kingdom. He split the kingdom and therefore you had the 10 tribes who went to the north and the two tribes stayed to the south. So please understand this: lawful authority, biblical authority is always compassionate.
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It always uses common sense and it understands that it is to be used as a ministry. Now, I want you to understand also, if you would please, that the second principle is this. That a right perception of authority will always produce humility. If you look back in your Bibles to Luke chapter 7, again, notice if you would please verses 3 through 6. 3 through 6 of Luke chapter 7, watch carefully. Look what the Bible says.
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"And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this: For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof."
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Now, I want you to note this. The elders who went to Jesus said he's worthy. He loves our nation. He's built us a synagogue. Evidently, the centurion was quite wealthy because he built a special building for them to meet in. And but what did the centurion say to himself? "I'm not worthy. I'm not worthy." In other words, real biblical authority understands what you and I would call biblical humility. And while I'm on this, let me mention something.
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I understand that everyone likes to be encouraged. And we like to receive encouragement. But may I point something out from a scriptural standpoint, and that is this. Our encouragement should always be when we do things that are over and above and beyond our duty. You need not have encouragement just to do your duty. I mean that's required of you. That's why our Lord in Luke 17:10 said this, "So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do." So commendation goes over and above and beyond your duty. Until you've done your duty, really, you don't deserve a pat on the back because duty is just simply duty. That's something that you have to do.
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Now, let me ask you this question. How then is it that biblical authority and lawful authority produces humility? And here it is. Here's the answer. Because when someone recognizes the true source of authority, he recognizes the only way that he can have any authority is in the providence of God that God gave it to him. Do you understand? Authority is not earned. Authority is not merited. Authority is not something that you work for. Authority is a gift from God. The husband did not work for authority to be named the head of the house. God made it that way. The pastor did not work for authority to be head of the local church under Jesus Christ. God made it that way.
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Likewise with the civil government. God made it that way.
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Now, listen to me very carefully. In Psalm 75:5-7, the Bible says this, "Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck." That is, don't be arrogant, don't be proud, don't be haughty, high-minded. Here's why. "For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another." So God is the one who takes down people in authority, and God is the one who sets people up in authority. So biblical and lawful authority are not proud, arrogant, and haughty. They're not seeking to run over people and trample people. Real biblical authority humbles you.
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Let me show you something. Look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 17. This is in relationship even to the king. Look at it, Deuteronomy chapter 17 and notice beginning there with verse 18, Deuteronomy 17:18. "And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites." So he had to have his own personal copy of the law. "And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them."
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Now watch carefully, "that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel." Note if you would, that his heart being lifted up against his brethren. So anytime you are proud, arrogant, haughty, high-minded, and determining that you're going to run over people and make them do what you want them to do, you do not have lawful authority. You have unlawful authority. Because real biblical humility stems from the recognition of the fact that God has given you the authority. And the only reason you have it is God gave it to you. Here's the third principle. And that is authority recognizes authority.
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Look back in your Bibles, Luke chapter 7, if you would please, at verse 8. I'll explain this. When I say authority recognizes authority, look at Luke 7:8. The centurion said, "For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it." Now, please understand that here's a Roman centurion.
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He had a commander and that commander probably had someone over him. And the highest of course would be Caesar. But here is this Roman centurion, he had men under him. It's just like our modern day military. You have a private, you have a corporal, you have a sergeant, you have a master sergeant, you have a lieutenant, you have a captain, and on up the line. Now obviously a corporal has authority over a private. A sergeant has authority over a corporal. Master sergeant has authority over all that would be under him. The lieutenant would have authority over the master sergeant. So what I'm trying to say is this: authority recognizes authority. So just because this Roman centurion had authority over a hundred soldiers did not mean that he did not recognize the authority of his commander or the authority of Caesar. Neither did it mean that he did not recognize that there were some men under him that had delegated authority that was given to them from him. So listen carefully. Lawful and biblical authority always recognizes other authorities.
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Let me say it like this. Think about this. The president of the United States does not have authority over the governors of each state. He can't tell the governors what to do. The governors are the head of their state. The president of the United States doesn't have authority over the church. President of the United States does not have authority over your home. He does not call the shots.
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When someone has lawful, legitimate authority, it always recognizes others who hold authority, whether it is a small amount or a great amount, you're not going to try to disparage or to castigate off that authority they have. So let me say this again, like I said last week. God created only three institutions. He created the family, which is a ministry of education, the church, which is a ministry of grace, and the civil government, which is a ministry of justice. And he gave each one delegated limited authority, and each of these are to complement each other. That means they're to complete each other, because obviously the family can do things the church can't do, and the church can do things the state can't do, and the civil government can do things that neither the home or the church can do. So each one is an aspect of God's kingdom, and each one has authority in God's kingdom. And if there is a lawful authority, then that authority is not going to trample over and try to stamp over the authority of the others.
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Look, if you would, please, at this fourth principle. The fourth principle is this, that those that are under authority recognize superior and sovereign authority. Go back to verses 7 and 8. Look in Luke 7:7-8. Look what the centurion said. "Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it."
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Now, I want you to think about this for a moment. The fourth principle is that those who are under authority recognize superior and sovereign authority. Here was a Roman centurion who was set under authority. And when he saw Jesus and when he heard Jesus, he recognized here's a superior and here is a sovereign authority. Here's how this thing works. The Roman centurion had to obey those who were over him. Those who were under him had to obey him.
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He knew that he had to submit to his commander. And those under this centurion had to submit to him. Now, listen carefully. Here's what verse 8 actually means. The centurion is saying this. When my commander speaks, I jump. In other words, all I need from my commander is his word. His word is sufficient. That's it. When I give an order to those under me, my word is sufficient. I don't need anything else. So he looks at Jesus Christ and he said, "You just simply speak the word." So the centurion recognized in Jesus Christ his power and his authority that he received from God. And he understood that since Christ was sovereign, that all he needed to do was speak. Now listen carefully.
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Here is where we fall short so many times. Here is where we err, and here is where we sin. Because we as Christians are usually more like Naaman the Syrian, rather than like this Roman centurion. If you will turn in your Bibles, hold Luke 7, but turn in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 5. Naaman the Syrian was a great warrior. There was only one problem with Naaman, and that was he was a leper.
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And he had captured a little Israelite maiden, and she was a house servant to him and his wife. And this little maiden said to his wife one day, "Would to God that my master were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy." Well, the king of Syria heard this. And if you look in 2 Kings 5:6, well, let's go to verse 5. "And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel."
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"And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy." Now watch. Verse 7, "And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy?"
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"Wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me." So the king of Israel said, "He's trying to start a war. I can't cure anybody of leprosy." So Elisha hears it and he said, "You send him down to me. And he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel." So Naaman proceeds down to the house of Elisha. Look at it in verse 9. "So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha."
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"And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean." What happened? Watch verse 11. "But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage."
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Look at this, if you would please. Naaman has come now to Elisha. And Elisha doesn't even get up out of his chair. He doesn't even go outside. He sends a little messenger out and says, "Go tell him to wash in the Jordan seven times and he'll be clean." And now Naaman turns away in a rage. Why? Did you hear what I read? He said, "I thought surely he would come out,
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and call upon his God, and strike his hand over me." In other words, I was looking for an experience. I was looking for some emotional supercharged thing where the lightning flashes and the thunder rolls and the hair stands up on my neck. That's what I'm looking for. And all he does is send a word.
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Finally, the servant said to Naaman, "If the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it?" He said, "Sure." Well, he said, "How much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?" And he did. And he was cleansed. But here's the problem. The problem is most Christians today are not dependent upon Christ's word. They want the experience. They want the emotion. They want everything that they think should go with it. The centurion said, "Lord, speak the word. I don't need lightning. I don't need to hear thunder roll. I don't need my hair to stand on end. Lord, you are sovereign. You just speak the word. Just like my commander's word is sufficient for me, my word is sufficient for those under me. Your word is sufficient. Just speak it and my servant will be healed."
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I suspect that one reason that you and I do not really recognize the sovereign authority of Jesus Christ—remember he said in Matthew 28:18, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth"—one reason we do not recognize the authority of Jesus Christ is we're not in submission to that authority. And consequently, we don't recognize that all our Lord needs to do is to speak the word.
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Now, let me tell you something. I want you to mark this down in your mind. Write it down in your heart. Put it on paper if you want to, but mark it down. Here it is. God will never use you in a position of authority unless you're willing to be in submission to authority yourself. Let me say this another way. God will never use you to rebuke and reprove someone if you're not willing to be rebuked and reproved yourself.
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I've been preaching for 57 years, 56 years. I don't even remember. I didn't stop and count it up. But I remember when I started preaching, a young Christian, I had far more zeal than I did knowledge. And we had a pastor. And in that office, where I've been so many times, there's an old gold couch. That thing was so ugly to me. I never did like it. But the pastor would call me and said, "You need to come in. Let's talk a while." I said, "Fine." Well, I'd go in and I'd talk with him, and we would fellowship. And next thing I know, he looks at me and he says, "Now, John," and when he said that, I knew I'd done something wrong. I didn't know what, but I knew I'd done something wrong. And he'd tell me what all I'd done or what I had said or what I should not have done or what I should have done. And I would end up on my knees on that floor, on my face, buried in that old gold couch, weeping and crying and asking God to forgive me.
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I don't know how many times I got rebuked. I don't know how many times I got reproved. But by God's grace, I took the reproof and I took the rebuke. All I'm saying is this, folks, if we don't learn to submit to authority, God's authority, biblical authority, lawful authority, God's never going to use us in authority. And until we realize that unless we're willing to be rebuked, God's never going to use us to rebuke others. We have to learn to submit to his authority and his reproof.
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Now here's the fifth and final principle. I want you to go back to Luke chapter 7. Look, if you would please, at verses 9 and 10. Luke 7:9-10. Here's the fifth principle. That is that those who rest in and honor biblical authority will be honored by God. So here it is, Luke 7:9. "When Jesus heard these things," that is when he heard the centurion speak,
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"he marveled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." This was a centurion man who had great faith. "And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick." In other words, here is a centurion who honored our Lord by just saying, "Lord, you don't have to come under my roof. You don't even have to be here. Just speak the word and it'll happen." And our Lord said, "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel."
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I want you to look back in your Bibles very quickly to 1 Samuel chapter 2, lest you think I might be exaggerating. I want you to see this. 1 Samuel chapter 2. And what God said to Eli. Eli and his sons had sinned against God. And here's what God tells them. 1 Samuel chapter 2, beginning there with verse 27. Look at it. "And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house?"
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"And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel?"
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Now look what he says to them. "Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honorest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." So God says, "You honor me, I'm going to honor you."
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What did this centurion do? He honored our Lord by saying, "Lord, you don't even need to be present. Just speak the word." And how did our Lord honor him? He said, "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." He is a man of great faith.
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Now it is true that this man had to be convicted by the Holy Spirit. He had to be regenerated by God. He had to be converted, but please understand something. It was his understanding of authority. It was his understanding of authority that led him to see the greatness of Christ's sovereignty and superiority and be willing to submit to that authority. He said, "Lord, I'm a man under authority. I understand authority." So until you and I learn to submit to authority, God's authority, we're never going to be used by God.
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So let me make an application or two. Listen carefully. Authority does matter. Not only does authority matter, the source of authority matters as well. If you comprehend the fact that God the Father has given to Jesus Christ all authority in heaven and earth, it will make a difference in how you live, how you pray, and how you act. Let me say it to you very plainly. Jesus Christ has the absolute right to tell you how to live. He has an absolute right to tell you how to talk, how to act, how to walk, what to do, when to do it, where to go, how to go, because He's God. He's sovereign. He has all authority in heaven and earth.
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Once you grasp that, and once you grasp the fact that all He needs to do is speak, you don't need thunder and lightning. You don't need emotions. You don't need sensations. You just need to obey. R. J. Rushdoony said this, listen carefully. "The godly man recognizes that he has been called and chosen by God. He is therefore under authority. His choices have been made by God and set forth in Scripture.
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The Ten Commandments spell out God's choice and law. Man has no free option. One way is sin and the other faith, obedience and blessing. The godly man rejoices in God's word and choice, and it is his joy that God shall choose our inheritance for us."
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Now, I want you to turn to one last passage. I want you to see this. Turn, if you would, please, to Matthew 11. Here's a passage that everyone knows. Most of you probably can quote it. So look in Matthew chapter 11 and let's begin reading there with verse 28. I want you to think about this. Matthew 11:28. Our Lord says, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." And then he says this, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Now look what he said in verse 29. "Take my yoke upon you." You know what a yoke speaks of? Submission, obedience. Everyone in here has heard of a yoke of oxen. You take two oxen and place them in a yoke.
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Those things may weigh 2,000 pounds each. They can be strong as a bulldozer. They can have wills of their own. But once you get them in that yoke, they're going to obey the driver. I've never driven a yoke of oxen. But I plowed mules, and I know gee and haw really well. And I know once you get those mules in those harnesses, and you get them in the trace, and you pull those reins, left, right, you slap them on the rear with it, they're going to go straight. You pull to the left, you gee and you haw, left and right, they're going to go. They're going to obey.
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This is what our Lord is saying. "Take my yoke upon you. Submit yourself to me. I'll be your driver. You will find out that my yoke is easy and my burden is light." So just like those oxen submit to the yoke and are driven by the driver, so our Lord says, "You submit to me and I'll drive you." The question is this. We know that he has spoken. It's in his word. The question is, will you submit and will you obey?
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You do not need lightning flashing and thunder rolling. You don't need great emotions and great upheavals. All you need is his word. And all you need to do is say, like little Samuel, "Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth." His word is sufficient, for he has sovereign authority. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow before thee this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. We thank you, Father, for your authority. We thank you for your yoke. Help us, Lord, to obey. Help us, Lord, to understand that thy yoke is easy and thy burden is light. And help us, Lord, to love Thee, to live for Thee, to honor Thee, to glorify Thee in all that we say and do. And help us, Lord, to be willingly yoked unto Thee and driven by Thee for Thy honor and Thy glory. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T01:22:13Z

Authority - Part 2 of 2

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

In this sermon, Pastor John Weaver continues his teaching on biblical authority, contrasting lawful, delegated authority with unlawful, usurped power. He expounds Luke 7:1-10, highlighting the Roman centurion's understanding of authority as a model of humility, submission, and faith. Weaver emphasizes that true authority is compassionate, recognizes other authorities, and ultimately submits to Christ's sovereign word. He applies these principles to family, church, and civil government, urging believers to submit to God's authority in order to be used by Him.

Introduction and Review of Authority Principles

Constitutional Limits on Federal Authority

Distinction Between Authority and Power

Five Principles of Authority

Scripture Reading — Mark 10:42

You have to have authority to rule. So authority and rulership are usually synonymous. Secondly, those who have lawful authority, it is made evident in their lives. It is evident in their actions. Let me give you an illustration. In Matthew chapter 7 and verse 29, the Bible says this concerning Jesus Christ, "For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." He taught them as one having authority, not as the scribes. In Mark 1:22, "And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes." Then when you get to Mark 1:27, "And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him." And then you find the same thing in Luke 4:36, because he commands those unclean spirits and they obey him. So you're going to find that authority is not only equated with rulership, but it's also evident when someone has lawful authority. Here's a third principle.

Scripture Reading — Mark 13:34

"For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch."

Scripture Reading — 1 Timothy 2:11-15

"I suffer not a woman to usurp authority over the man."

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 11:3

"But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God."

Scripture Reading — Titus 2:15

"These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee."

May I remind you that a fool in the Bible is not a mentally deficient person, but a fool in the Bible is someone who will not listen and receive rebuke and reproof. The Bible says in Proverbs 14:9,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 14:9; 19:29

"Fools make a mock at sin."

The Centurion's Compassion and Humility

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 12:1-15

"And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king. And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;) that they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying, Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee. And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed. And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people?"

Authority Recognizes Authority

Submission to Christ's Sovereign Word

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 5:1-14

"Would to God that my master were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy."

Well, the king of Syria heard this. And if you look in 2 Kings 5:6, well, let's go to verse 5.

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 5:1-14

"And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel."

Honor and Faith Recognized by Christ

Scripture Reading — Matthew 11:28-30

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

And then he says this,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 11:28-30

"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Now look what he said in verse 29.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 11:28-30

"Take my yoke upon you."

You know what a yoke speaks of? Submission, obedience. Everyone in here has heard of a yoke of oxen. You take two oxen and place them in a yoke.

Authority - Part 2 of 2

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	W2UOjqaemg8
Subject	Civil Government
Course	Civil Government: Power, Nations, and Constitutional Order: War in the Gates
Genre	Sermon
Date	2020-08-24
Dictation Name
Book	Book 013: Authority — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	84

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and Review of Authority Principles: Weaver reviews last week's message on authority, emphasizing that most authority today is illegitimate and usurped. He reiterates that lawful authority is delegated and limited, and that unlimited submission belongs to God alone.
Constitutional Limits on Federal Authority: Weaver explains that congressional legislation is not necessarily binding on states, citing the Ninth and Tenth Amendments. He introduces the doctrine of interposition, where states can interpose between a corrupt federal government and the people.
Distinction Between Authority and Power: Weaver distinguishes between legitimate authority and raw power, illustrating that unlawful authority often resorts to force. He defines quarantine versus tyranny in the context of recent government actions.
Five Principles of Authority: Weaver outlines five principles: authority is synonymous with ruling; lawful authority is evident in actions; it can be delegated; unlawful authority is usurped; and there is a tendency to despise lawful authority when it reproves.
The Centurion's Compassion and Humility: Weaver examines Luke 7:1-6, noting the centurion's compassion for his sick slave and his humility in considering himself unworthy for Jesus to enter his home, demonstrating that biblical authority does not nullify compassion.
Authority Recognizes Authority: Weaver explains from Luke 7:8 that the centurion understood he was both under authority and had authority, and thus recognized Christ's superior authority. He applies this to the complementary roles of family, church, and state.
Submission to Christ's Sovereign Word: Weaver contrasts the centurion's faith in Christ's mere word with Naaman's desire for an emotional experience. He stresses that God will not use those in authority who are unwilling to submit to authority themselves.
Honor and Faith Recognized by Christ: Weaver concludes from Luke 7:9-10 that those who honor biblical authority will be honored by God, as seen in Christ's commendation of the centurion's great faith. He calls believers to submit to Christ's yoke.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Unlimited submission belongs to God alone

No human authority can demand unconditional obedience; that is reserved for God.

Weaver quotes Pastor Samuel West: 'Unlimited submission and obedience is due to none but God alone.'

The federal government has only delegated, limited powers

The Constitution is an express and limited powers document; states created the federal government and retain reserved powers.

Weaver says, 'The only authority then that the federal government has is that which the states gave them, and when they go beyond that, they are intruders and may be lawfully expelled.'

Lawful authority is compassionate and serves others

Biblical authority does not run roughshod over people; it ministers to them, as seen in the centurion's care for his slave.

Weaver states, 'Biblical and lawful authority does not run roughshod over people. It is not something that is cold, uncaring, unconcerned, unethical, and uncompassionate.'

God will not use you in authority unless you submit to authority

One must learn to be rebuked and reproved before being used by God to lead others.

Weaver says, 'God will never use you in a position of authority unless you're willing to be in submission to authority yourself.'

Christ's word is sufficient for faith and obedience

The centurion's faith rested solely on Christ's spoken word, without need for signs or emotions.

Weaver explains, 'The centurion recognized in Jesus Christ his power and his authority that he received from God. And he understood that since Christ was sovereign, that all he needed to do was speak.'

Scripture References

Luke 7:1-10: The main passage expounded, showing the centurion's faith and understanding of authority.
Proverbs 29:2: Used to show that authority and ruling are synonymous; when the righteous rule, people rejoice.
Mark 10:42: Jesus equates ruling with exercising authority.
Matthew 7:29: Jesus taught as one having authority, not as the scribes.
Mark 1:22, 27: Jesus' authority was evident in his teaching and command over unclean spirits.
Luke 4:36: Jesus commands unclean spirits with authority.
Mark 13:34: A man gives authority to his servants, illustrating delegation of authority.
Luke 9:1: Jesus gave his disciples power and authority over devils and diseases.
1 Timothy 2:11-15: Paul forbids women to teach or usurp authority over men, giving creation order and the fall as reasons.
1 Corinthians 11:3: God's ordained order of authority: God, Christ, man, woman.
Titus 2:15: Paul tells Titus to rebuke with all authority and let no man despise him.
Proverbs 14:9; 19:29: Fools mock at sin and stripes are prepared for fools, showing the fool's rejection of reproof.
1 Kings 12:1-15: Rehoboam's harsh rule and rejection of servant leadership led to the kingdom's division.
Luke 17:10: We are unprofitable servants when we have only done our duty.
Psalm 75:5-7: Promotion comes from God; he puts down one and sets up another.
Deuteronomy 17:18-20: The king was to read the law daily so his heart would not be lifted above his brethren.
2 Kings 5:1-14: Naaman's rage at Elisha's simple word contrasts with the centurion's faith in Christ's word.
Matthew 28:18: All power is given to Christ in heaven and earth.
1 Samuel 2:27-30: God honors those who honor him; Eli's house was rejected for despising God.
Matthew 11:28-30: Jesus invites the weary to take his yoke, which is easy and light, signifying submission to his authority.

Historical References

Ward Churchill quote: Weaver quotes Churchill: 'The American people are free to do exactly what they are told,' illustrating blind obedience to authority.
R. J. Rushdoony (1971): Rushdoony stated that the state's authority is decaying but it grasps for more power, foreshadowing collapse.
Temple Baptist Church v. Greenville: The DOJ supported the church, stating there is no pandemic exception to constitutional liberties.
Pastor Samuel West sermon before Declaration of Independence: West preached that unlimited submission belongs to God alone, influencing the founding era.
Ninth and Tenth Amendments: Weaver explains these amendments reserve rights and powers to the states and people.
John C. Calhoun: Calhoun argued the Constitution is a compact of sovereign states; federal overreach makes them intruders.
War of Northern Aggression (Civil War): Weaver references this term in context of states' rights and interposition.

Important Quotes

Lawful, legitimate authority is delegated authority, and it is limited.

Core definition of biblical authority as opposed to usurped power.

Unlimited submission and obedience is due to none but God alone.

Foundational principle that no human authority can demand absolute obedience.

The only authority then that the federal government has is that which the states gave them, and when they go beyond that, they are intruders and may be lawfully expelled.

States' rights and interposition doctrine summarized.

Quarantine is when you restrict the movement of sick people. Tyranny is when you restrict the movement of healthy people.

Distinction between legitimate public health measures and governmental overreach.

God will never use you in a position of authority unless you're willing to be in submission to authority yourself.

Key application: submission precedes leadership.

Lord, speak the word. I don't need lightning. I don't need to hear thunder roll. I don't need my hair to stand on end. Lord, you are sovereign. You just speak the word.

The centurion's faith in Christ's word alone, contrasting with modern desire for emotional experiences.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Christ's call to submit to his authority, which brings rest.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does the centurion's understanding of authority challenge our modern view of leadership and submission?

[Context]

Weaver highlights the centurion's recognition of being under authority and his humility.

[Question]

In what ways do we, like Naaman, seek emotional experiences rather than simply trusting and obeying God's Word?

[Context]

Weaver contrasts Naaman's rage with the centurion's faith in Christ's spoken word.

[Question]

What does it mean for the church to interpose itself between a tyrannical government and the people, and is this biblical?

[Context]

Weaver discusses the doctrine of interposition and states' rights.

[Question]

How can we cultivate a heart that is not 'lifted up above our brethren' when we are in positions of authority?

[Context]

Weaver references Deuteronomy 17:18-20 and the danger of pride in leadership.

[Question]

Why is it difficult to submit to authority that reproves and rebukes us, and how can we grow in receiving correction?

[Context]

Weaver shares his personal experience of being rebuked by his pastor and the necessity of submission.

Applications

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