Albert Einstein said, “If I had an hour to solve a problem…I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper questions to ask, for once I know the proper question, I can solve the problem in less than five minutes.” When it comes to the Bible, many times we do not ask the proper question. Typically, when we want to know if something is permissible, we ask the question, “Does the Bible say I can’t?” We might ask, “Does the Bible say we can’t use instrumental music? Does the Bible say we can’t baptize babies? …we can’t take the Lord’s Supper on days other than Sunday? …we can’t have women elders? …etc.”
However, according to Scripture, this is the wrong question to ask. Paul tells us, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father” (Colossians 3:17). The phrase, “in the name of” means, “by the authority of.” Paul clearly says that whatever we do or say, we must have God’s authority, or permission, to do it. He says again, “Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us you may learn not to exceed what is written, so that no one of you will become arrogant in behalf of one against the other” (1 Corinthians 4:6). Paul says that what is written, i.e. Scripture, sets a boundary around what is permissible and we must not go outside of that boundary. Thus, if God tells us what to do and how to do it, then we do not have permission and must not go outside the boundary of what he has told us to do, even if there is no Scripture specifically forbidding it. Thus, the right question to ask is, “Is it authorized by God,” or, “Did God give us permission to do it or to do it this way?”
“Why can’t we use instrumental music?” Because God told us to make music with our voices and our hearts (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16), which excludes all other instruments. “Why can’t we baptize babies?” Because God told us in word and example to only baptize those who can believe, repent, and confess (John 3:16; Acts 2:38; Romans 10:9-10, et al), which excludes those who cannot/do not, like babies. “Why can’t we take the Lord’s Supper on days other than Sunday and have women elders?” Because God told us to do it on Sunday (Acts 20:7), which excludes all other days, and God told us that a man can aspire to the office of elder (1 Timothy 3:1), which excludes the female gender. Let us strive to ask the right question, “is it authorized,” so that we will come to the right answer and please God.
By Will Hanstein