For I, too, am a man under authority...

On Sunday, our guest speaker mentioned this passage of scripture.  It's found in Matthew 8.  A Roman Centurion approached Jesus and asked Him to heal a trusted servant.  The servant lay dying at the home of the Centurion.  Jesus immediately agreed to go and heal him.  However, the Centurion said, "I'm not worthy that you should enter into my home. If you just say the word, my servant will be healed."  Then he made a profound observation.

He said, "For I, too, am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
As westerners, we often miss a subtle part of that statement.  We often rejoice in the authority we have. We sometimes boast about it.  An American might even say, "For I, too, am a man of authority."  It's the way we are raised and is the way we approach life.  In the Evangelical Movement, we've been taught to recognize our authority in Christ.  We write books about it.  We sing songs about the enemy being "under our feet."  I've even heard some people actually try to "command" angels or even "command" God to do something.  (This is not a practice I would endorse, as I'm not all that fond of electricity, fire or brimstone.)

This Centurion, however, had a different perspective.  He recognized the source of his authority.  He wasn't a man of authority.  He was a man under the authority of Rome.  When he spoke, he spoke with the voice of Caesar.  When he gave an order, his subordinates heard it as if Caesar himself had spoken to them.  He knew that Jesus spoke with the authority of the One whose power is beyond that of any man.  "...only say the word where you are, and my servant will be healed."

I read a book called The Existence and Attributes of God by Stephen Charnock a few years ago.  This was not a light or easy read.  It was written sometime in the late 1600s.  In it, Mr. Charnock makes some brilliant points.  At one point, the author posits that there is a little bit of atheism within each of us.  His rationale is that if we truly believed God to be who He says He is, if we truly believed the Bible as it was written, we would be far too terrified to sin.  We would never choose to anger a God who held all power over life and death in his very words.  A God who could speak the universe into being, who could part the waters of the sea, who could open the earth to swallow faithless multitudes, who could flood the earth, is not One you would want disappointed with you.  I tend to agree.  Just sayin'.

For several years I was involved in a church in California that was teaching some aberrant doctrines.  Of course, I didn't recognize it until God opened my eyes through His word.  The church was very heavily into the Word-Faith Movement.  It was a large church that had many prominent special guests each year.  I "rubbed elbows" with some of the most well-known individuals in Christian broadcasting, music and preaching.  It was exciting and I felt like I was really in the main thrust of a mighty move of God.
However, as I began to dig further into scripture (yeah, blast that inquisitive mind God gave me!), I saw inconsistencies between the teachings of my church and that of scripture.  I saw ministers preaching on key words and talking points, while overlooking pivotal doctrines of scripture.  I saw people by the thousands who absolutely ate up the uplifting messages that made us all feel important and powerful.  And I saw the faith of many of those same people crumble as they faced trials that their positive confessions couldn't combat.

The problem is that the Word-Faith Movement has something very much in common with the new age movement and secular humanism.  It's egocentric.  It focuses on the individual.  It extols the power of an individual's faith, while subtly taking the participants eyes off of the One with the true power.

May I take a moment and explain something very essential to the Christian faith?  The "original sin" was not the consumption of the forbidden fruit in the garden.  Sin preexisted mankind.  The original sin was committed by Lucifer when he determined that he would "ascend above the heights of the clouds" and would "be like the Most High."  There is a reason Yahweh God is called the Most High.  None can exalt himself above Him.  No one can stand beside Him.  He is the ultimate being.

Given that thought, who are we to say that we have authority?  Are we not mere men and women?
Many will quote the scripture where Jesus said those who have faith in Him would do "greater works" than even those that He had done in His ministry.  They'll tout the idea that this "proves" the authority of the believer and demonstrates the "fact" that followers of Christ are powerful beings whose words of faith can change the course of history.  There are many word-faith teachers who even claim that we become "little gods" who can speak things into being.  What they fail to recognize is that it isn't their words that does it.  They, in themselves have no authority.  They are as innumerable as the sand on the seashore, and yet they are as insignificant as a single grain.  Jesus said, just a few verses earlier that it was the Father who was doing the work.

Who are we, that we should think so much of ourselves?  It is God alone who can save and heal.  It is God alone who can deliver the bound.  It is God alone who can create.  In Him we live an move and have our very being! The only authority you have is that which Christ has given you!  You are mere man, not a god.  Yes, you can do great things.  However, you must remember that it is His power, His authority, and His glory.  We are nothing without Him!  As the song says, "Who am I that the Lord of all the earth would care to know my name...would care to feel my hurt?  Who am I that the bright and morning star would choose to light the way for my ever-wandering heart?"

Ladies and gentlemen, the first sin was self-exaltation.  The first sin was pride...thinking more highly of oneself than is proper.  Even the prophet Isaiah, when he stood in the presence of God was immediately reminded of his frailty and failures when compared to the brilliant glory he beheld.  Who are we that we should think more highly of ourselves?

Our God is able to save, deliver and heal.  We simply need to remember that it is God, not us, who has the power and authority.  You'll notice that this Centurion said he was a man under authority.  While he could walk in that authority, he was also governed by it.

Likewise, we, as followers of Christ, walk in the authority of Christ.  However, the authority is not our own.  It is His.  We use His authority at His bidding and for His pleasure.  It is not for our own gain, but for the glory of God.  The power in which we tend to revel is not ours, but Christ's.  Can we do greater things than raising the dead and healing the lame?  Yes!  We can demonstrate the power of God in our lives.  We can demonstrate the redemption of a lowly, sinful life into a life of dedication and worship to the God of creation!  We can lead others to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ!  We can be the vessels by which God transforms lives physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  Yes, God heals!  Yes, God saves!  Yes, God delivers!  He takes joy in doing these things.  But it is not we who do these miracles.  It is God.  Best that we should remember this, for He will not share His glory with any man.