Church Authority
Hebrews 13:17: Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls, as men who will have to give account. Let them do this joyfully, and not sadly, for that would be of no advantage to you.
Matthew 18:17: "If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector."
Luke 10:16: "He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me."
Matthew 16:19: "I will give you (Peter) the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Galatians 1:8-9: But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed.
The claims of authority for the leadership of the Catholic Church find verification in the Scriptures. It is given by Christ and affirmed by the apostles. Since the Church acts in the name of our Lord. We even back up the Decalogue with the precepts of the Catholic Church. Chapter 15 of Acts gives a wonderful instance of leadership among "the apostles and the elders" over the community against those who "troubled [them] with words". This troubling continues today in the voices of secularism and anti-Catholic fundamentalism.
posted by Father Joe Jenkins | 5:21 PM
1 Comments:
Hebrews 13:17: Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls, as men who will have to give account. Let them do this joyfully, and not sadly, for that would be of no advantage to you.
This says nothing about the "Roman Catholic Church" having authority over all Christians.
Matthew 18:17: "If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector."
No way does this refer to the Roman Catholic Church, not to mention that you have ignored many passages of Scripture which defines what the "church" is. (see previous conversation about the church.)
Luke 10:16: "He who hears you hears me, and he jects you rejects me, and he jects me rejects him who sent me."
Again, this has nothing to do with Roman Catholic Church having authority over all born again Christians. .
Matthew 16:19: "I will give you (Peter) the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Galatians 1:8-9: "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed."
Again, all the Scriptures you have quoted has nothing to do with Roman Catholic Church having authority over all born again Christians. You are simply picking out verses to support your Roman doctrine, which in turn, just leaves other passages of Scriptures completely ignored.
In fact, let me give you a little demonstration of what you are doing.
Say a person wants to kill someone. Will he be able to find a verse of Scripture to justify it? Sure, read Ecclesiastes 3:3.
How about if he wants to wipe out a whole family. Can he find a verse of Scripture to justify his actions? Sure, read 1 Sam. 15:3
But let's not stop there. How about a man wanting to commit adultery, or fornicate with his sister or daughter? Scripture? Sure, read Malachi 3:15; Amos 4:4.
So you need to rob a bank or a store? Got Scripture to justify? Sure, read Job 12:6.
Want to prove the church you attend is the "one, true, Holy and Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ? Got Scripture? Sure, read Matthew 16:18 and mix it a little with John 6:55-56 and John 20:23.
Do you want to prove city water baptism regenerates a lost sinner? Simply add the word "baptism" to John 3:5 where it does NOT appear, and then add "water" to Romans 6:3 and Galatians 3:27, where it does NOT appear. Another example is adding "water" to 1 Corinthians 12:13 and Ephesians 4:5 when it is not found in either verse.
This is the "wrest" of Scriptures that Peter talks about in 2 Peter 3:16.
That is how anyone can make the Bible "teach" anything they want it to teach, without regard for what it SAYS. You simply ADD words to the verse that are not in it, and then you SUBTRACT words from the verse that are in it. Then you remove the verse from its context in which it appears. This sought of handling began way back in Genesis with Eve and the Serpent (see Gen. 3:2-2).
Now, the Bible says, "no prophecy of the scriptures is of any private interpretation." (2 Peter 1:20). That means NO one; that includes you, me, your next door neighbor, and even the pope. No one can interpret Scripture. According to Genesis 40:8, 41:16; Daniel 2:27-30; John 16:13; Luke 24:45, the interpreter is the Holy Spirit (read 1 Cor. 2:9-12 very carefully). Simply put, The Author of the Book is the interpreter.
Reposted for SANDY HOOPER
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