Matthew 14: 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
This is Jesus speaking to the apostles, but also speaking to us. 1 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
This is speaking for all believers... but especially those who are Bishops and Deacons. This means the Church Fathers, Councils, and Magisterium are equally led of the Spirit and should be heeded. For many, their religion is a home grown self-derived spirituality that has abandoned all historic and authoritative moorings. They walk around in this self-generated illusion thinking their "feelings" constitute truth. I contend that the Spirit will ESPECIALLY lead and guide Bishops and Deacons. This is absolutely necessary if the gates of Hell are not to prevail against the Church.
With this type of thinking we would need to delete the majority of the Bible if we did not have spiritual lessons and instruction for God's Word that is applicable yesterday, today and tomorrow. God's Word is addressed to whomever will not harden their hearts and follow the scripture. What I don't see added in this scripture is this is addressed to the Catholic church. Of course, everyone is invited to follow the Word of God. Also God's Church in scripture is not the Catholic Church- God's Chruch are those who follow His Word. Christ is the head of the Church and those whom are in Christ make up the body.
Try to keep in mind that the term "Catholic" is simply the ancient word for "Universal". It speaks of the Universal Christian Church dating back to Christ and the Apostles themselves. Jesus founded only ONE Church. And He appointed Peter head of that Church. And in II Clement, and the writings of the Fathers, we read how Peter handed that office down to his successors. Let's look at the authority Jesus invested in Peter. Jesus said...
Matthew 16:17-19
New Catholic Bible
17 Then Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my heavenly Father. 18 And I say to you: You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld will not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
What does it mean to have authority to "bind and loose"? Remember, this was a Jewish phrase. The Jewish Encyclopedia explains it well...
Binding and loosing (Hebrew, asar ve-hittir) . . . Rabbinical term for ‘forbidding and permitting. The power of binding and loosing was always claimed by the Pharisees. Under Queen Alexandra, the Pharisees, says Josephus (Wars of the Jews 1:5:2), “became the administrators of all public affairs so as to be empowered to banish and readmit whom they pleased, as well as to loose and to bind.” The various schools had the power “to bind and to loose”; that is, to forbid and to permit (Talmud: Chagigah 3b); and they could also bind any day by declaring it a fast day (Talmud: Ta’anit 12a). . . . This power and authority, vested in the rabbinical body of each age of the Sanhedrin, received its ratification and final sanction from the celestial court of justice (Sifra, Emor, 9; Talmud: Makkot 23b).
With this we realize that the Office of Peter was specifically invested with the authority to "forbid and permit" various interpretations, practices, feast days, devotions, etc. This is no joke. Jesus is appointing Peter the earthly head of the Church to lead it in His absence, which makes the reality of the Church from Peter down being led of the Spirit of even greater importance than merely the flights of fancy to support some private personal interpretation.
he church Jesus founded is on based Christ, not on a man. Christ is our Rock, not a man.
1 Corinthians 10:4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.
Yes, Christ is our Rock. And our Rock appointed Peter... as the Rock on which HE would build His Church...
Matthew 16:17-19
New Catholic Bible
17 Then Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my heavenly Father. 18 And I say to you: You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld will not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
To deny this and reject Peter's authority is to deny Christ (Matthew 10:40). In addition, Paul admonished us to obey Church authority...
Hebrews 13:17
New Catholic Bible
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch over your souls and will have to render an account in that regard. Make this a joy for them to do rather than a grief, for that would be of no advantage to you.
Those who disregard Church authority are to be admonished to submit and embrace the Faith.
Again the church are those who follow the Word of God, not the Catholic Church. You can believe in traditions over the commandments, but for me I will follow the instructions of Jesus Christ who said out of His own mouth you are worshipping in vain by obeying traditions over the commandments of God. Matthew 15:3-9. Mark 7:6-7.
That's not historically accurate. In fact, Scripture is a part of Sacred Tradition. Keep in mind, the Catholic Church compiled, translated, and established the Canon of Scripture at the end of the Fourth Century. That's right... the Church Christ founded had no canon for nearly 400 years. There was no printing press. Copies of copies of various Epistles (many of spurious origin) were circulated among the churches... but there was no "fixed" canon. We had to establish a Canon to serve as final word on Christology. We established the Canon to serve as the final word on matters involving Christ, NOT all matters of faith. For example, the Scriptures mention ordaining Bishops and Deacons. But the actual process of doing so, the prayers, the liturgy, etc. are recorded in the writings of the Fathers. The Bible admonishes that Christians pray. However, the Divine Office of prayer dating back to the first century of the Church and modeled after the synagogue liturgies of ancient Judaism was the method by which they prayed. When one realizes the Bible didn't just fall out of the sky, it is a product of the Church, one is on their way to properly understanding it. The Bible is a product of the Church, not the Church a product of the Bible. And the Bible's purpose (namely the NT) was to establish a Canon upon which to fix the Christology of the Church. If you want to know about Jesus... read the NT. If you want to know Church tradition and custom, read the Fathers. If you want to know how the Church resolved controversies and condemned heresies, study the Councils. If you want to know what Church authorities have taught down through the ages, and what official has final authority in the body today, study the Magisterium.
Lets get this thread back on topic, this thread is not about the history of the church, its about the laws and what ended if any when Christ died for the forgiveness of our sins and sanctification. So I am asking you kindly to please stay on topic. Thanks and God bless!
Here's the problem... everyone has a different opinion. It's chaos and confusion on the matter. Just a constant argument. Therefore, it is necessary to establish who has the authority to issue the final say regarding what laws ended and what laws continued. We can't treat this like a buffet bar picking and choosing as we go. There's over 2,000 years of Christian history and theological authority that has spoken on the matter. There's no need for confusion. There's no need for a dozen private interpretations on this thread. The Church has been definitive on the topic. The question is... who will lovingly obey the Body of Christ?
