Can you imagine a society without authority? It would be anarchy. Society needs laws and people to enforce those laws (policemen). Policemen do not make the laws, only enforce them. In the home parents establish the laws which are to govern that household to make sure that the home runs smoothly and with minimal fighting.
In religion we also need authority, to the Christian, that authority is God and should ONLY be God (Eph 4:6). No human can assume that role of lawgiver, just as no human can forgive on behalf of God. Only God can do these things.
Gal 1:8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!
Here, very clearly, we can see that no human, yes even no angel, can change the Word of God.
How do we know what laws to obey, what is the right way, what is the truth?
Col 2:13,14 tells us that ‘the old law’ was taken away when it was ‘nailed to the cross’. We are to follow the New Testament only. The Old Testament teaches us many things, but not how to live the Christian life.
How do we know what to do?
We establish authority for what we do from scripture in the following ways.
1. Direct command or statement. A thing may be authorized by direct command or an express statement that has the force of a command. We are to keep the Lord’s commandments (John 14:15; I John 5:3). For example, Jesus commanded His disciples to observe the Lord’s supper, and Paul repeated that command for the church (Matthew 26:26-29; I Corinthians 11:23-26).
2. Approved apostolic example. A thing may also be authorize by approved apostolic example. In fact, the inspired apostle Paul told us to follow his example and that of others who so walk as a pattern, and then commanded us, “The things which you have learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 3:17; 4:9). While Jesus commanded us to observe the Lord’s supper, He did not specifically tell us when, but we do so on the first day of the week because we have an approved apostolic example to show that it is acceptable with God (Acts 20:7).
3. Necessary inference. Or a thing may be authorized by a necessary inference or conclusion drawn from scriptural facts. We have a command to observe the Lord’s supper and an approved apostolic example concerning the day, but we necessarily infer that since the disciples came together on the first day of the week to break bread and every week has a first day then the Lord wants us to come together on the first day of every week to observe the Lord’s supper, just as the Jews necessarily inferred that the command to “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8) meant the Sabbath of every week because every week has a Sabbath or seventh day.
4. Finally we are to be silent on something if the scripture is silent as we do NOT have the authority to do whatever we desire.