"And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at His doctrine; For He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." (Matthew 7:28-29)
In the teaching of Jesus there was no conjecture, no speculation, no doubt. He did not give the people various theories, from which they might choose, indicating the one which He thought most plausible. Neither did He quote the opinions of others, to add weight to His own views.
He did not prepare the minds of His hearers for future doubt, by telling them that this was the way the matter looked to Him, or that He believed so and so, and He spoke only that which He knew, and thus He could speak with authority. He spoke facts, not fancies; truths, not theories; and the power of simple truth spoken with the earnestness of actual, experimental knowledge produced conviction.
Jesus said to His disciples before He left the earth, "As my Father has sent me, even so send I you." (John 20:21)
The commission of every true follower of God is that of Christ himself. "He whom God has sent, speaks the words of God." (John 3:34)
Therefore He whom the Lord sends must speak with the same authority as Christ himself. "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself." (2 Corinthians 5:19)
And now, as though God did beseech men by us, we are to pray them in Christ's stead, "Be you reconciled to God." (2 Corinthians 5:20)
Verse 19, literally rendered, as is indicated in the margin, reads that God "has put in us the word of reconciliation." So the Lord says to those that "follow after righteousness, ... I have put my words in your mouth." (Isaiah 51:1,16)
If our acceptance of Christ is such as to make that true of us individually, we cannot but speak with authority.
It is very common for people to refer to learned and pious men as authority for their belief. When questioned about any point of doctrine, they will tell what "our church holds," or what Dr. So-and-so has said. Now the opinion which they quote may be correct, and the man to whom they refer may be sound in the faith, so that they may not be teaching error; but they who refer to them do not know for themselves whether it is true or not.
The fact that they began by telling what somebody holds or has said on the subject, is the strongest proof that they do not know for themselves.
To illustrate: suppose I am traveling through the country, and I ask a boy the way to a certain town. He begins with, "My father says," or "Dr. B. maintains," or, "It is commonly held by the best judges," or something of that kind, and then proceeds to tell what they say about the way. Now it may happen that his directions are correct, but the very first words of his answer convince me that he himself knows nothing about the way. He has heard it told until he can repeat it, but he does not know it for himself.
The probability is that few travelers would wait for him to repeat his story, but would pass on to inquire of someone who would speak with authority. But if he should promptly reply, "Take the first turning on the right, and the second on the left, and keep straight on," I should conclude that he knew what he was talking about. "But suppose he should be mistaken; would it not be better for him not to speak so positively?" No; it would be better to say, "I don't know."
It would be a serious matter if, in order not to appear ignorant, I should direct a man west when the place which he seeks is east. Everyone will agree that the one who directs the traveler on his way must speak with authority. He who cannot speak thus, must confess his inability, and say nothing. Guesses are good for nothing, and to repeat to me the conflicting opinions of different men only puzzles me the more.
Positiveness is as much more necessary in religious matters as eternal life is more important than trivial matters of this life. But may we speak with positiveness on spiritual matters? Certainly, even as Christ and the apostles did. We may know God by personal acquaintance. The Apostle Paul said, "I know whom I have believed." (2 Timothy 1:12)
Knowing Him, we know Him to be faithful and true, and so we may know for a certainty all that His word declares. Only a positive testimony can produce conviction and conversion.
Get acquainted with Christ; learn of Him; and all hesitancy and doubt will disappear.--Present Truth, November 21, 1895--Timeline: IV-15 (Sermon on the Mount)--Matthew 7:28-29.