Luther on Authority

Galatians 1:1-2
Paul an apostle—sent neither by human commission nor from human authorities, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— and all the members of God’s family who are with me, grace and peace to you...

Luther writes, "religious leaders often face a foolish but strong temptation, to claim the authority to teach simply because they believe that they have a talent from the Lord and aso feel compelled to teach because of the command of the Gospel. It seems that they are confused by a foolish conscience. They think that if they don't teach, they're burying the gold of the Lord and will be condemned for it. The devil does his best to make them neglect the responsibilities to which they are actually called. Dear friends, with a single word Christ frees you from such a misguided devotion. Look at the Parable in Matthew. The steward called three servants and entrusted money to them (Matthew 25:14). It says he called them. So who has called you? We forgot to actually ask this question before a single word comes out of our mouths...who called you? In the meantime and as you ponder, don't be concerned about anything. Because the truth is, even if you were wiser than Solomon or David, unless you're called to spread the word, you should avoid speaking anything. If God needs you to teach, he will call you!" Now, it seems to me that we live in a day and age where too many people are self-appointed to teach and think that they know what God is thinking and what God wants. You can find such people on television two or three nights a week - with great pompous sincerity they will tell you: "God has laid this word upon my heart to share with you! Believe this opinion, support this position; vote for this candidate, it is God's will!" But the sad truth is many of these people are just full of crap. They're full of themselves at the very least, because sin has informed them that they somehow have a word for us that God himself neglected to tell us in church or through your pastors. So just throw your own common sense and your own good conscience, it's time to listen to some stranger tell you what you should believe or do! I'll tell you what it is past time for, time for us to take responsibility for our own lives in this arena, and not just listen to any voice that speaks and says that they're coming from god, and make sure that each voice is tested by Scripture, confessions, and the good conscience God has given each of us! It's time that we take the Word of God seriously again, and understand that its foundation is in the truth, not just what we think we want to hear or we want somebody to say to us, but the objective truth!