Exposing Counterfeit Authority

Published by Stanley Pouw in 2014 · 9 November 2014

Well, authority in the church is not popular, and even authority from the pulpit is not popular. I have no personal authority. The only authority that I have is when I rightly proclaim to you the truth of the Word of God. And so when we talk about ministry, we are talking about human beings called by God to proclaim His Word and His Word is authoritative by nature.

When we talk about authority in the church, we’re not talking about power wielded by people because of church law, the traditions of men, as Jesus referred to them. The Law of God is an authority. The gospel of Christ is an authority. Everything that God has said in the Word of God is the final word and that has authority. If you know the truth and you provide the truth, you are the authority.

No one ever walked this earth who had more authority than Jesus Christ. As far as God was concerned, He had the highest of all titles, Lord and God. As far as men were concerned, He had no title, He had no office. In fact, He was basically demeaned because He came from a nondescript area, Galilee, and even more nondescript town, Nazareth. He had no education. He had achieved nothing in the religious world. He had no authority in terms that people view as authority.

But when He spoke, for instance after the Sermon on the Mount, the people were stunned because He spoke as one having authority and not as the rabbis. Every single thing that came out of His mouth was absolutely true. He spoke only what the Father showed Him and only what the Father said. He further said that the Father had committed into His hands all authority in heaven and in earth. And the day will come when He will exercise the authority that goes with the title King of kings and Lord of lords.

Those then who are in the church proclaiming accurately the Word of God are speaking authoritatively. That is why believers are told in 1 Thessalonians 5:12, “And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake.” Or in Hebrews 13:7, “Remember those who led you, who spoke the Word of God to you and considering the result of their conduct imitate their faith, obey your leaders and submit to them.”

That is just hard for a contemporary church to swallow. They think the preacher should be a good story teller, a guy with a lot of insights, with which he should make some interesting talks with some good kind of intuitive perspectives, throw in a few personal illustrations, and that’s about it. But the idea of standing in a pulpit and saying, “Thus says the Lord...” and preaching the Word of God and making it binding on every person steps over the bounds and the tolerances of many people.

Did Jesus have a conversation with His enemies who disagreed with Him? Did He try to see where they could agree? Or did He flatly condemn them? The answer is very clear. In every volatile confrontation that Jesus had with His enemies, He never identified any common ground. He upheld the truth and inevitably condemned those who were in error. There are many people who feel that if you teach the truth of God, you will drive people away. However a church is an assembly of people who want to know God through knowing His Word. But there will always be counterfeit authorities.

Matthew 23:1-12, “Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, observe that and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. 4 For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 5 But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.”

“6 They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, 7 greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’ 8 But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. 9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. 11 But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

This is His final message to the Jews in the temple area, on Wednesday of the Passion Week. His last words warn people about counterfeit authority. And this is the full revealed text of what He said. Mark refers to what He said, Luke also only refers to what He said but Matthew gives us the full account, at least the full revelation that the Spirit intended for us.

Now, the first thing about the scribes and Pharisees can be seen by the repetition of one word as you look through this chapter. Verse 13, “hypocrites,” verse 14, “hypocrites,” verse 15, “hypocrites,” verse 25, “hypocrites,” verse 27, “hypocrites,” verse 29, “hypocrites,” they are therefore insidious and extremely dangerous. They have a deadly effect on the people who follow them. They lead them right into the mouth of hell.

Verse 15, “You travel about on sea and land to make one proselyte and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.” Counterfeit religious authority making sons of hell, which is why they are cursed. Verse 13, “Woe to you,” verse 14, “Woe to you,” verse 15, “Woe to you,” verse 16, “Woe to you,” and then verse 23, verse 25, verse 27, and verse 29. This is damnation pronounced upon religious hypocrites.

Why does our Lord call them counterfeit religious authorities? Number one, they are not authentic. Verse 2, ‘The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.” In each synagogue there was always a special seat called the “Moses’ Seat,” and it was the place where the leading expert in the Law and religion sat to teach. It was the seat of the reigning authority in religion, so when the Pope speaks ‘ex cathedra’, he speaks out of the official seat of authority which is deemed infallible.

The point is that the scribes and Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses. They were not put there by God. Jesus warns His own Apostles that the day will come when the Jews will throw you out of the synagogues. This will be led by those who have usurped the seat of authority there and see preachers of My gospel as threats. That’s what happened. Persecution first broke out in the synagogues, not only in the land of Israel but even in the Gentile world as Paul went from city to city. False spiritual leaders are always self-appointed experts.

There’s a reason that serious Christians throughout history have designed ways to train men before they place them in positions of leadership. Because a person in the place of authority and that tells others, “thus says the Lord,” better have the skills to know that his interpretation is accurate. You better have the necessary tools, spiritually and mentally, experientially to take on this formidable task. There’s a reason for ordination.

We live in a time today when anybody who wants to can open a church with no doctrinal statement, no board, no accountability, no training, nothing, and go off and say whatever he wants to say in whatever way he wants to say it and become a self- appointed and self-controlled entrepreneur. Today you don’t even have to know any theology. It’s kind of popular to say, “I don’t know about that.” And that’s the whimsical new way to minister.

In Jeremiah 14:14-15, the Lord said, “The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them, nor spoken to them.” You think that has gone away? That hasn’t gone away. Therefore, verse 15, “Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who are prophesying in My name, although it was not I who sent them, yet they keep saying there shall be no sword or famine in this land. By sword and famine those prophets shall meet their end.”

In contrast to that, someone has been called by God, gifted by God, confirmed by the leaders of the church and faithful to the Scripture, that’s where true authority comes from. Counterfeit authority inevitably is self-appointed, and when you try to hold them to a biblical standard, they will scream that you are intolerant, narrow minded, bigoted, judgmental and condemning because that’s their only defense and that defense has worked well in contemporary evangelism.

Secondly, counterfeit authority lacks integrity. Verse 3, “Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, observe that and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.” They tell you what Moses said, and they certainly do that. So, do what they say but do not do according to their deeds for they say things and do not do them. In other words, when they do reflect the Law of Moses and they try to press it upon you, it is something they themselves do not even obey. They have no integrity.

False teachers are always corrupt on the inside because counterfeit religious authority cannot restrain the flesh. If you’re not a true Christian, there is nothing in your false religion that can contain your flesh. As far as people could see, Paul lived a blameless life as a Pharisee, but his heart was rotten. And as he came to understand the reality of that, it led him to Christ. The flesh is only being contained and it is building pressure.

That’s a sad state. That’s why Jesus said in Matthew 7:16, “You’ll know them by their fruit.” Time and truth go hand in hand. Eventually the truth will be known. False teachers are full of mass vice. They possess a superficial goodness. So what you want to do when you’re looking at someone who supposedly has spiritual authority is you want to see the life. God intended those who are true leaders of His church to live with His people and have their lives under constant scrutiny.

Thirdly, characteristically it lacks sympathy. Verse 4, “For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.” They gave people many rules, regulations, financial demands that were impossible to do. There were well over 600 laws that all people were supposed to conform themselves.

And then it says, “They themselves will not move them with so much as a finger.” No sympathy, no care, they are loveless and they are abusive. Ezekiel 34:3-4, “You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them.”

In Matthew 12:15 Jesus heals a whole group of people following Him. And it is said that this is a fulfillment of what was spoken through Isaiah 42:1-3, “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, my Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. 2 He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. 3 A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench.”

In other words, Jesus picks up the broken, He picks up the bruised, the very kind of people that the Pharisees and the scribes totally ignored. In fact, the Pharisees and the scribes were convinced that they were in the desperate condition they were in because of the judgment of God. Counterfeit spiritual authority always abuses people and they will abuse the people who are least able to defend themselves.

Number four, and they lack spirituality. Verse 5, “They do all their deeds to be noticed by men, for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.” Jude 1:19 says, “These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.” They’re spiritually dead, even though they head up religious schools and colleges and seminaries and denominations and call themselves pastors and preachers, it’s all for show. They convince themselves that public acclaim is equal to spirituality.

And Jesus describes some of the things they actually did, they broadened their phylacteries. Phylacteries were little leather boxes that they placed on their body because Deuteronomy 11:18 said, “Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.” Actually that was metaphoric and symbolic, to make sure that what you think and do is according to the Word of God. But instead they enlarged their boxes to parade their increased spirituality.

Finally, they lacked humility. It’s already hinted at in the phylacteries and the tassels, but the Lord gets even more specific in verses 6-7, “they love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces and being called by men rabbi.” Rabbinic writings give elaborate explanations as to the place and rank and treatment of Pharisees, and punishments for those who fail to do it. The Mishnah says, “It is more punishable to act against the words of the scribes than against the words of the Scripture.”

Jesus is warning these people about them and He is saying to His own in verses 8-12, “But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. 9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. 11 But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

You be the opposite. Don’t let anybody call you rabbi as if you are the one in whom all truth resides. For one is your teacher and you are just brothers. And don’t let anybody call you father as if you are the source of spiritual truth and life. There is only One who is the source, the One who is in heaven. And don’t even be called leaders. There is just one leader and that is Christ. You are all brothers and followers.

Repeatedly He told the disciples if you want to be first, be last. True spiritual authorities faithful to the Word of God are called by God, gifted by God, set apart by God, not self- appointed. They seek to serve, not to be served. They are faithful in preaching the Scripture, not inventing their own ideas. They feed the flock and sympathize with the flock. They seek to demonstrate the meekness and gentleness of Christ. Seek no honor for themselves but all honor for Christ. They do not preach what they will not live. They lift up the broken and the bruised. Amen? Let us pray.