When discussing the concepts of church tradition and scriptural authority there should be a sense of harmony with one another without contradiction. Church tradition should reflect the bible without conflict and scriptural authority should be the foundational cornerstone of the church body which regulates the traditional aspects of church government as it applies to the rules of conduct as outlined in its laws, commands, and ordinances.
Also God’s word is given a high view as based on the biblical text and it is considered inspired by God who is the supreme authority and therefore it can not be revoked or compromised regarding it’s standards for belief and practice.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
In addition to that the scripture was not to be altered by either adding or subtracting from its contents. Deuteronomy 4:2 2 Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.
Restructuring God’s word can be easily done by applying man made religious rules to the content of the bible in a synchronistic fashion. This concept of a tradition based religion was already being formulated during the time of Jesus and would later be fully developed into the religion of Rabbinic Judaism. It was this diluting and distortion by a counterfeit religious system which Jesus challenged and abhorred.
This same danger still exists to this day as there are various cults and religious institutions which hold to variant views as related to biblical doctrine and teaching.
In Isaiah 29:13 the prophet speaks of people giving lip service to God but was not serving Him with their hearts and instead they were substituting a form of worship through their rules and the traditions of men. This is reiterated by Jesus and applied to the religious leaders of his day in Mark 7:6-7.
The religious leaders had gone so far that they had nullified and changed the scriptural authority for the sake of their tradition Mark 7:8-13.
My concern regarding this blog is that the majority of Roman Catholic priests look primarily to their organization as a means of authority in defining its boundaries for belief and practice instead of the bible. This can be dangerous especially if there is a divergence between these two sources.
I believe that there have already been some provable fallacies which have already been witnessed through the institution of Catholicism with such majors as the horrors of the Inquisition and the Crusades which promoted violence in opposition to the clear teachings of Christ or minors such as the opposition to the Copernican revolution of which Catholic doctrine was clearly mistaken. It is quite obvious that Catholicism and its leaders are not always infallible and as a result individuals are responsible for discernment when it comes to spiritual matters as related to biblical truth.
In 2 Timothy 2:15 Paul encourages Timothy to do his best to present himself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
Even the council of Vatican 2 encouraged people to read their bibles but the problem can still be that Catholicism retains the right to interpret its proper meaning which can bring you back to square one. In spite of this the Holy Spirit can guide you into all essential truth even without the help of a teacher 1 John 2:27.
Now concerning the belief of proper doctrine the bible warns us against false teachers.
So how are these false teachers to be identified or recognized? Would it be through the standard of institutionalized tradition or the word of God as recorded in the biblical text?
2 Peter 1:20- 2:2 relates that the prophecy of scripture has its origin in the Holy Spirit which is contrasted to the destructive heresies that were propagated by the false teachers in 2 Peter 2:1 who were bringing the truth into disrepute in verse 2.
These false teachers were labeled as such because they misrepresented scriptural authority which was to be the litmus test for biblical orthodoxy versus a made up tradition.
Also the only way that a counterfeit could be accurately detected was that it has to be referenced against a standard or a point of reference which is the function of the biblical text.
Therefore the bible carries the final ruling on spiritual matters and anything that is contradictory or contrary to these biblical claims was deemed false and to be avoided.
So finally christian worship is based on the scripture rather than the sole authority of the church.
Again the bible is not a transitory or a supplemental book nor is it lacking content as if there is a need to change or add to its revelation because its inscription transcends time for all generations.
Jesus refers to the revelation as given under the Old Testament economy in Matthew 5:17-18 17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
Also Jesus as the personified Word and the hallmark of New Testament truth states in Matthew 24:35 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
So in conclusion how can we diminish the importance and the authority of the scripture which even the author and finisher of the christian faith wouldn’t even do.
Lastly in Luke 6:46-49 it says 46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”
THE FACTS ON THE ROMAN CATHOLICISM
Copyright © 1993/2009 by The John Ankerberg Theological Research Institute
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