Acts 2:42 (ESV)
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
Years ago George Will had published a new book of Baseball statistics. During his conversation with Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show, he had spouted from memory what seemed like hundreds of statistics. Finally, Johnny said, “I could never remember all those numbers” to which Will replied, “That’s why I wrote them down for you.”
Before the apostles died, they left us a robust body of teachings. The New Testament is an instruction book, not just a spiritual guide. Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus give us the basis for running a church, for instance. But, people think they know better sometimes and start making things up as they go along.
By the beginning of the second century, the church at Corinth was having trouble. The younger folks in the church had overthrown the older leadership and began to run the church “their way.” Clement, a disciple of the Apostle John and Bishop of Rome, wrote a letter to them saying the bishops (pastors) had been appointed by the Apostles. So, we should understand the authority of the bishop of Corinth was based on the fact the apostle who appointed him thought he was qualified.
At the time, there was a major force within the church, the Gnostics, fighting the teachings of the Apostles. The Gnostics taught Jesus wasn’t really physical, that He was a sort of phantom. They took a verse out of context from the writing of an apostle to support this:
1 Corinthians 15:50 (ESV)
50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
“So,” they taught, “If physical men cannot inherit the kingdom of God, Jesus couldn’t be physical.”
Another group at the time, the Judaizers (Ebionites) taught that Jesus was only a man, not God. Funny thing was they used the same verse to say since Jesus is a man and not a spirit, He can’t be God and inherit the kingdom.
What the church did at this point was shameful. They went to Clement’s letter and decided the bishops in the church had the authority to rule these two heresies as wrong. The heretics, though, used Paul’s words too and claimed theirs was apostolic teaching as well. They made the same claim the church did. Hmmm. What to do.
Rather than going to what was recognized as Scripture at the time, the church decided to go back to Clement’s letter. They interpreted it as saying not only was the authority of the apostles passed down through the bishops, but the bishops’ authority was passed on through the bishops those bishops appointed as well. That stopped the heretics in their tracks. They could no longer claim apostolic authority since their teachings were contradicted by the bishops of the time. The church smiled, crossed its arms, and said, “So, there!”
What also happened here was the church began to accept church tradition, the teachings of men, over what the Bible had to say.
The three things the church drew from Clement’s letter, Clement never meant: Firstly, since Clement was Bishop of Rome, the church at Rome now had the authority to settle disputes and therefore was of a higher rank than all other churches. Secondly, authority equal to Scripture was now entrusted to the bishops of the church (apostolic authority). And, thirdly, this apostolic authority was handed down from bishop to bishop as they were ordained (apostolic succession). The church now had a second source of authority alongside of the Bible, its bishops. Later, a third source of authority would be added, “Ex cathedra” (“From the Chair”), where the Bishop of Rome, the Pope now, could sit in St. Peter’s Chair and pronounce something to be infallibly true even if it wasn’t in the Bible. The most recent example of this was on November 1, 1950 when Pope Pius XII pronounced the assumption of Mary into heaven as dogma.
Don’t think I’m blaming the Catholics for this problem. This was all settled upon long before Luther and Calvin stepped into the arena. My point is that we drift far away from God’s Word when we begin to accept what we are told by men. True, God has put godly men in pulpits and other teaching positions who accurately and honorably represent Him and teach His Word clearly. The good ones tell us to check what they teach.
When we start to believe what men tell us without first looking into what God has said, we are setting ourselves up for trouble. Like George Will, God has written all this down so we can see what the full truth is. When Paul and Silas came to Berea from headquarters and taught about our Lord, the Bereans received it but checked it out:
Acts 17:11 (ESV)
11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
Our response to the teachings of men should always be the same. Receive but check it out. “Trust but verify.”
Believers Armed and Dangerous 