Articles From Our Bulletins
Do All In The Name Of The Lord
“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Col. 3:17).
“In the name of” means by the authority of, thus all that we do is to be done by the authority of the Lord Jesus. The need for authority is emphasized in both Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament such classic examples as Cain, who offered a sacrifice that was not authorized (Gen. 4; Heb. 11:4); Nadab and Abihu acted without authority when they offered strange fire (Lev. 10:1-2); and Uzza, without divine authority in wanting to burn incense to the Lord (2 Chron. 26:16-21). Remember, all these things “were written for our learning” (Rom. 15:4). From these examples we should learn the need for authority from God for the things we do. The New Testament teaches this lesson in many ways: do not add to or take from God’s word (Rev. 22:18-19); not to think of men above that which is written (1 Cor. 4:6); if any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God (1 Pet. 4:11); abide in the doctrine of Christ (2 John 9-10); and “do all things in the name of the Lord.”
All that we teach and practice must be authorized by the Lord. When a practice is begun it is the responsibility of those who start it to show that such is authorized in the New Testament. The burden of proof is upon them, i.e. prove that it is done “in the name of the Lord,” not upon those who may oppose it to show what is wrong with it. Example: when the practice of “pouring” or “sprinkling” for baptism was begun, those who started it were obligated to show that it was baptism (of course this would not be possible since baptize means to dip, plunge, immerse, submerge or overwhelm), those who oppose such were not obliged to prove that it was not baptism.
When the instrument of music was introduced into the worship, those who brought it in were responsible to prove that it was being done “in the name of the Lord” by citing the book, chapter and verse for the command, example or necessary inference that authorizes it. That’s the one thing that has not been done by those who want the instrument of music in worship. Instead of proving that their practice is “in the name of the Lord,” they ask, “What is wrong with it?” or cite an example from the Old Testament where the instrument was used. The fact remains that the burden of proof rests upon those who are now crying for a change. Don’t you know that if there were a passage that authorized instruments of music in worship such would have been cited long ago? The failure to prove that it is being done “in the name of the Lord” is evidence that those who favor it realize there is no such scripture.
How great it would be if all of us who claim to “speak where the Bible speaks” would again stand united upon this plea and reject any and all things for which there is no authority from the Lord Jesus.
– For A Better Understanding, November–December 2014.
