Authority and merit are inseparable
People are quick to claim the effects of being like Jesus, but slow to choose to live as he would in their place. It is dishonest to desire the effects of being like Jesus without first desiring to adopt the attributes that cause them.
The authority and power of Christ comes from his character attributes. While you refuse to take up his character attributes, he will refuse to give you his authority and power.5
If you believe it is impossible to live as Jesus would in your place when it comes to preferring service over selfishness and obedience over indulgence, honesty compels you to similarly believe that it is impossible to perform miracles, receive revelation, and lead other disciples of Christ.
The Lord said that his authority over the world would be detectable through the improvements it provides over what the world offers.6 What is from God is what is better than what you already have, and what is better than what you already have is from God. The world provides a different definition of authority—one where authority is intrinsic and detached from actual merit.
Modern religious, government, and research institutions have all committed the same cardinal mistake of separating authority from merit. In such institutions, actual merit has been replaced by institutional ranking. Authority does not come from titles. Though authority can co-occur with titles, it is increasingly the opposite of what you find in practice. Jesus was devoid of any earthly religious credentials. Bestowal of titles and honors independent of competence and contribution assures disaster when problems arise.
The idea that institutions have inherent value is, of course, tantalizing to institutions. Imagine how tempting it would be to receive all the proceeds due to a valid institution without the need of providing any value! There is no such thing as inherent value, nor any such thing as inherent authority. Authority is inseparable from merit. If an institution claims that its authority is its merit, it has neither.
Valid authority comes through and cannot be separated from actual merit. When authority is taken beyond the merit provided, we call it apostasy in religion,7 tyranny in government,8 and scientism in research.9 In all cases, dominion is exercised beyond the limits of virtue, and the costs to the people exceed the benefit provided.
Authority does not come through shallow mimicry of those with the power.10 The Pharisees pretended to revere Moses, and claimed to hold authority from him, yet didn’t obey the commandments he gave!11 Many Christians repeat this mistake, pretending to revere an individual they claim authority through without even bothering to become familiar with their teachings, let alone obeying them.12 Empty reverence for those who had power does not reproduce power13 replication of their works14 and motive15 does.
God’s authority is never present without evidence of it. Instead of working in concert with individuals’ God-given ability to reason, providing logical arguments and visible evidence for their truth claims, false messengers simply say: “I have God’s authority, listen to me.” Instead of making the case for each idea they present, they pretend that the task is for you to figure out if they are “from God,” so that you will automatically and unthinkingly accept everything they say. Beliefs should never be separated from the reasons for them. Claims of authority do not take the place of actual evidence. Self-claimed titles are not valid substitutes for actual evidence. It is through the accumulation of evidence via successive validation of ideas that a true messenger gains someone’s confidence—not through feelings in response to prayer.
Tokens of true messengers are obvious,252 but rare. They provide evidence that the putative messenger knows more about God and lives more like him than you do.253 True messengers have repented of all their sins. They live what they teach and they teach what they live.254 They help others become more like Jesus. They are able to answer questions and solve problems. They are efficacious.255 They are offensive to those who do not love improvement, because they say and do what needs to be said and done—what actually works, even if it is often perceived as uncomfortable or discouraging.256
Footnotes
- 1. 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. (Mark 1:27) ↩
- 2. But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord. (Jeremiah 9:24) ↩
- 3. Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion. (Mark 2:9-12) ↩
- 4. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. (Matthew 15:14) ↩
- 5. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven (Matthew 10:33) ↩
- 6. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? (Matthew 7:16) ↩
- 7. The practice of the forms of religion without the promised power is apostasy. ↩
- 8. What portion of your taxes would you pay if there were no penalty for not paying, other than the loss of what they paid for? ↩
- 9. Jay Bhattacharya, head of the NIH, recently spoke of how scientists overextended their authority during the COVID response: “They trespassed the normal authority they had and did things far beyond what their scientific knowledge should have empowered them to do.” He was one of a group of renown researchers whose dissenting views were silenced by their institutions because they were “a threat to their authority.” He said trust could either be gained through suppressing dissenting views or by demonstrating value through reproducible experiments. These same patterns play out in religion and government. The full interview is available at https:// www.thefp.com/p/jay-bhattacharya-nih-fauci ↩
- 10. Mimicry of the practices of the righteous does not reproduce the righteousness of the righteous. “And also, after that they had heard him, they came up before him, saying: Behold, we are the sons of God; have we not taken unto ourselves the daughters of men? And are we not eating and drinking, and marrying and giving in marriage? And our wives bear unto us children, and the same are mighty men, which are like unto men of old, men of great renown. And they hearkened not unto the words of Noah.” (Moses 8:21) ↩
- 11. Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me? (John 7:19) ↩
- 12. All Christian churches do this with Christ. Some without more recent founders do this with their founders as well. For example, consider that the LDS claim authority through Joseph Smith, but neither know his teachings nor obey them. ↩
- 13. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. (Matthew 23:29-32) ↩
- 14. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. (John 8:39) ↩
- 15. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. (John 8:40) ↩