Biblical Authority (9)

Direct Statement

Mike Johnson

The Bible teaches direct command is one form of Bible authority. (Others are approved example and necessary inference). However, other kinds of statements do not occur in the command form but still serve as our guide. They have the same force of authority as a direct command. Consider the various types of statements that serve as our authority today.

Declarative Statements

A declarative statement is one “which states that something is or is not the case, that a particular object has a certain property or that it does not have that property, or that a certain state of affairs exists or does not exist.”

For example, a restaurant owner trying to sell a large number of rib-eye steaks might say to his servers, “Whoever can get at least 100 people to order the rib-eye steak during the next week will receive a bonus of $50.00.” The owner does not give a command, but he makes it clear that a specific achievement (selling one hundred steaks) is essential to gaining a particular blessing (the fifty dollars).

A college administrator might say to the incoming freshmen, “To receive the Bachelor of Arts degree from this college, you must complete at least one hundred and thirty semester hours of classwork with a grade point average of 2.5.” In the strictest sense, the administrator has not given a command. Yet, he makes two achievements essential to getting a B.A. degree from the college. Thus, his statement would have the force of a command — at least for the student interested in graduating.

Consider a few Biblical examples of declarative statements:

  • Mark 16:16 says, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” This passage makes a declarative statement and does not contain a direct command. (A direct command is in verse 15.) Although verse 16 is not a command, it has the same force as a command; it implies an obligation for those who wish salvation—belief and baptism.
  • Matthew 7:21 says, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Again, this verse is not a direct command but has the same force as a direct command. It tells us what people must do to “enter into the kingdom of heaven,” revealing an obligation for everyone.
  • 1 John 1:7 points out, “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” Although not in the form of a direct command, this verse demands that we walk in the light just as much as if it had commanded, “Walk in the light.”
  • Matthew 5:1-12 – The beatitudes are also simple declarations, but the obligation is clear for us to be poor in spirit and meek, hunger and thirst after righteousness, etc. If we want to receive the blessings associated with each, we must be as Jesus said.

The Interrogative

Another type of direct statement is the interrogative. An interrogative statement asks a question. We ask some questions to gain information and some to give information. For example, on the road to Damascus, Saul said, “Who art thou Lord?” Saul asked this question to gain information. Consider now some examples of interrogatives designed to give information.

  • 1 Kings 18:21– Here Elijah said to the people, “. . . How long will you falter between two opinions?” Elijah was not asking this question to gain information; he was asking it to give information. By this question, he demanded that the straddlers take a position.
  • Acts 22:16 – Ananias asked Saul, after his experience on the road to Damascus, “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” Ananias was not asking for information, but he demanded that Saul not wait any longer to obey the gospel.
  • 1 Corinthians 1:13 – Paul asked, “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” By asking this series of rhetorical questions, Paul is giving the information that Christ is not divided; Paul had not been crucified for them, and they had not been baptized in the name of Paul. This section of Scripture teaches that followers of Christ should strive for unity, and no one has the right to call himself after anyone who has not been crucified for him or into whose name he has not been baptized (v. 12)
  • Acts 10:47 – In connection with the conversion of Cornelius, Peter asked, “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” Peter was not asking for information, but he was telling them that Cornelius and his family (Gentiles) were proper subjects for baptism, just as penitent believers among the Jews. Peter did not issue this command, “You Gentiles must be baptized in water just as the Jews mus” Instead, he asked the above question, which would have the same effect as if he had commanded it.

There are some actions authorized by more than one kind of statement. The Bible, for example, teaches baptism to be essential by direct command or an imperative (Acts 2:38), a declarative statement (Mk. 16:16), and by an interrogative or question (Rom. 6:3). Love for the brethren is shown to be essential by a command (Heb. 13:1), a declarative statement (1 Jn. 3:14), and by an interrogative or question (I Jn. 3:17).

The Hortatory Statement

Another type of statement is the hortatory statement. This type of statement expresses a strong wish or desire and puts forth binding obligations on people living today. Consider Romans 5:20-6:2. A false position in Paul’s day seems to be that grace is good; where sin abounds, grace abounds; thus, one may continue in sin. Verse one of chapter 6 says, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” He answered this with the hortatory statement, “Certainly not!” He says, “Oh, that such would never come to pass!” Through a hortatory statement, Paul sets forth a prohibition condemning the position of continuing in sin that grace may abound. Other examples of this type of statement are in Romans 6:15 and Romans 7:13.

The Conditional Statement

The final type of declarative statement for consideration is the conditional statement, which some call an “if/then” statement. There is the condition and the consequence. The conditional statement expresses the object, or state of affairs, gained if the requirements of the terms are met.

In 1 Corinthians 15:12-20, there are a number of these “conditional” statements. The main point is “if there is no resurrection of the dead (the condition), then Christ was not raised from the dead” (the consequence). Paul also states in these verses many consequences, which would be the case if Christ were not raised from the dead.

The next example is Romans 7:2-3: “For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man.” If a wife is married to another man while her husband is alive (then), she would be an adulteress. (The exception of Matt. 5:32, 19:9 is not under consideration here.) However, if her husband dies and she marries another man, then she will not be an adulteress. Other examples of conditional statements are in Romans 8:12-13 and Romans 8:17.

Direct statements from God’s Word govern us today. The direct statement is one of the forms of Bible authority. Do you give heed to the statements of God’s Word? Do you use them for your authority?