This article has been inspired by the conflict that exists within Christianity mainly due to the interpretation of the bible (the genuine cases). First of all it is important for us to understand the place of the bible in Christianity before we can properly apply it to Christian spirituality. This article seeks to use the dealings of God with his people Israel, the dealings of Jesus and the apostles with the early Christians, the bible itself and common sense to try to establish the place of the bible in Christianity. I hope this article will help you strengthen your Christian roots.
Key areas to be discussed:
- The Bible versus the Word of God
- Where and how did we get the Bible?
- How has God instructed his people from the beginning as recorded in the Bible?
- Who is the final authority in the Church?
- The protestant reformation (“revolution”)
The Bible versus the Word of God
Are the “Bible” and the “Word of God” the same? No. The bible is the word of God but the word of God is not the Bible. John 1:1-4 says, “In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things came into being, not one thing came into being except through him. What has come into being in him was life, life that was the light of men.” This means that before the Bible came into existence, the word of God already existed. Matthew 24:35 says, “Sky and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” This is means that the word of God exists for all eternity.
So how can anyone try to squeeze the word of God into the Bible, into a time period between when the writing of the Old Testament started and when the writing of the New Testament ended? Christians don’t just live by the Bible but by every Word of God, whether it is WRITTEN in the Bible or not.
Let me emphasize that the Bible is the word of God; every word in the Bible is the living word of God filled with power for those who live by it. Yet the Bible is not all of the word of God.
Is all the Word of God in the Bible?
Twice John has stated that there are many things Jesus did [and certainly many things Jesus said, and by extension many things the apostles said and did. Every honest person should know that this is true] that are not recorded – John 20:30 and John 21:25. They did not write everything down not because what was not written down was not important but because they could not have written them all down. Moreover, they did not intend to write a reference book with an answer to every question that will ever rise in the history of mankind, as some Christians are using the Bible today, but they wrote so that it might help people to believe that Jesus is the messiah. - John 20:31. They wrote only what was necessary for this purpose and transmitted the rest of their teachings orally.
Paul confirms the above statements by John in 2 Thessalonians 2:15: “Stand firm, then, brothers, and keep the traditions that we taught you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.” Paul says they passed on some truths by letter and others by preaching, and he says they should consider both equally important.
Paul says that the Thessalonians should not only accept what was written but also what was not written because what was written was not the authority but the people who wrote. The people who wrote were the very people who taught orally.
So to say “point to me if what you’re saying is in the Bible” actually contradicts the Bible. It is actually what the “authority”, which is not the bible, says that is to be accepted. The bible is under that “authority” which also gets its authority from God.
How has God instructed his people?
God, as I know him in the scriptures (Old and New Testaments), has never given the authority of guidance of his people to any book. God has always governed his people by using other human beings. He appoints leaders and empowers them to lead his people. All of God’s people were expected to listen to and take instructions and directions from these chosen leaders. These leaders include prophets, kings, judges, etc. It is through these leaders that all that is written in the scriptures came to us. What was needed to believe, accept and follow these leaders was to accept that they were duly appointed by God into their various offices.
How God instructed people in the Old Testament (OT)
One may argue that the Israelites followed the scriptures (Old Testament). Yes indeed, they did, but how did they get the scriptures? God did not drop it from heaven. He appointed people and spoke through them. What they taught was later written down. It is important to note that most of these were actually written later, even after the people through whom God had spoken had died. At least the earliest instructions in the Old Testament were not written at the time they were given. Initially the word was being passed on verbally. In fact, the Old Testament is the tradition of the Israelites which had been passed on from generation to generation by word of mouth. It was only committed to writing when people learned to write.
Therefore, this is how God guided His people in the OT: He appointed leaders; spoke His word to them; the leaders in turn taught His word to His people; the people lived the word and later (in most cases) the word was written down. This is how God worked among the Israelites, not write a book and ask them to distribute it so that everybody would read. The examples below show that God’s law/Word existed in a verbal form long before even the OT was WRITTEN.
Adam – Genesis 2:15-17 – Then the LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and guard it. He told him, "You may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, except the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad. You must not eat the fruit of that tree; if you do, you will die the same day."
Note: At the time, this instruction was not written but Adam was to teach it to Eve and to their descendants. They would not reject it as the word of God just because it wasn’t written in a book.
2 Peter 2:5 - God did not spare the ancient world, but brought the flood on the world of godless people; the only ones he saved were Noah, who preached righteousness, and seven other people.
The story of Noah – Genesis 6:5-8:22
Note: At the time the OT didn’t exist. Noah preached but the people did not heed. Did they have the right to refuse Noah’s words because they were not written in a book? If they thought so, God showed them that they were wrong. Almost all the instructions (Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers) that the Israelites lived by were given during the time of Moses. Before then there were no explicit instructions on how people should conduct themselves. On what basis, then, did God judge the people of Noah’s time as living sinful lives? It means that those people were living by UNWRITTEN instructions.
Genesis 13:12-13 – Abram stayed in the land of Canaan, and Lot settled among the cities in the valley and camped near Sodom, whose people were wicked and sinned against the LORD. Again, we find God declaring some people as wicked and sinful, when there wasn’t any written law to judge them by. They were living by UNWRITTEN instructions.
God’s covenant with Abraham – Genesis 17:9-14: God said to Abraham, "You also must agree to keep the covenant with me, both you and your descendants in future generations. You and your descendants must all agree to circumcise every male among you. From now on you must circumcise every baby boy when he is eight days old, including slaves born in your homes and slaves bought from foreigners. This will show that there is a covenant between you and me. Each one must be circumcised, and this will be a physical sign to show that my covenant with you is everlasting. Any male who has not been circumcised will no longer be considered one of my people, because he has not kept the covenant with me." Another law that existed long before the OT came into existence. These laws were passed down through oral tradition. This particular covenant became a problem in the New Testament (we’ll get there).
Israelites obeyed God’s instructions concerning Passover given through Moses and Aaron - Exodus 12:43-50: The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "These are the Passover regulations: No foreigner shall eat the Passover meal, but any slave that you have bought may eat it if you circumcise him first. No temporary resident or hired worker may eat it. The whole meal must be eaten in the house in which it was prepared; it must not be taken outside. And do not break any of the animal's bones. The whole community of Israel must celebrate this festival, but no uncircumcised man may eat it. If a foreigner has settled among you and wants to celebrate Passover to honour the LORD, you must first circumcise all the males of his household. He is then to be treated like a native-born Israelite and may join in the festival. The same regulations apply to native-born Israelites and to foreigners who settle among you." All the Israelites obeyed and did what the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, though none of these instructions were written yet.
God always spoke his mind through people and not a book. Even if the people have a book for reference, the book still needs to be interpreted. This is again done by people chosen by God, e.g. Ezra reads the book of the law (Nehemiah 8:1-8). Note in verse 7 that the people had to be taught the law. Also note in verse 3 that all the people who were listening could understand and yet they had to be taught the law. It means that it is not the intention of God or the writers for everyone to simply take the word of God, read it and correctly interpret it. In fact, Peter gave this warning about the writings of Paul, “Think of our Lord's patience as your opportunity to be saved; our brother Paul, who is so dear to us, told you this when he wrote to you with the wisdom that he was given. He makes this point too in his letters as a whole wherever he touches on these things. In all his letters there are of course some passages which are hard to understand, and these are the ones that uneducated and unbalanced people distort, in the same way as they distort the rest of scripture -to their own destruction.” - 2 Peter 3:15-16.
An example here would do a great job. A lady recently left the Catholic Church, and when I sat with her, she said things that made me laugh. One example will suffice. She quoted Isaiah 3:16-26, which reads, “Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts. In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon, the chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, the bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings, the rings, and nose jewels, the changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins, the glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails. And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty. Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war. And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.” – KJV (she quoted from the KJV)
According to her, the above verses show that a Christian woman is not supposed to wear earrings, bracelets, anklets and the like. It’s actually a shame because I know that she wears headbands and uses glasses (mirrors). Dear reader, if you have even a moderate understanding of English grammar, you will see that her interpretation is outright ridiculous, especially when you read the whole chapter. Re-examine yourself; you could just be in her shoe. Let’s heed Peter's warning!
In short, whenever the people of Israel wanted to know what the mind/will of God was, how they should live to please God, they did not rely on a book but on the people God had appointed to guide them on such matters. Even when they had to rely on a book they relied on the leaders God had chosen to interpret the book for them. This is why the Israelites were able to accept seemingly contradictory teachings which were pronounced by their trusted leaders. Let’s take some references.
Compare Exodus 34:1-7 with Jeremiah 31:29-30 and Ezekiel 18:1-4
Exodus 34:1-7 – “Yahweh said to Moses, ‘Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones and come up to me on the mountain, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Be ready at dawn; at dawn come up Mount Sinai and wait for me there at the top of the mountain. No one may come up with you, no one may be seen anywhere on the mountain; the flocks and herds may not even graze in front of this mountain.’ So he cut two tablets of stone like the first and, with the two tablets of stone in his hands, Moses went up Mount Sinai in the early morning as Yahweh had ordered. And Yahweh descended in a cloud and stood with him there and pronounced the name Yahweh. Then Yahweh passed before him and called out, ‘Yahweh, Yahweh, God of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in faithful love and constancy, maintaining his faithful love to thousands, forgiving fault, crime and sin, yet letting nothing go unchecked, and punishing the parent's fault in the children and in the grandchildren to the third and fourth generation!’”
Jeremiah 31:29-30 – “In those days people will no longer say: ‘The fathers have eaten unripe grapes; the children's teeth are set on edge.’ But each will die for his own guilt. Everyone who eats unripe grapes will have his own teeth set on edge.”
Ezekiel 18:1-4 – “The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows, ‘Why do you keep repeating this proverb in the land of Israel: The parents have eaten unripe grapes; and the children’s teeth are set on edge?’ As I live -- declares the Lord Yahweh -- you will have no further cause to repeat this proverb in Israel. Look, all life belongs to me; the father’s life and the son’s life, both alike belong to me. The one who has sinned is the one to die.”
Specifically, compare Exodus 34:7 with Jeremiah 31:29-30 and Ezekiel 18:2-4
How God instructed people in the New Testament (NT)
We find a similar pattern in the NT to how God guided his people in the OT. Jesus came preaching and extensively quoting the OT, but on many points and occasions, He taught outside of the OT, sometimes even opposing its practices.
Compare Exodus 21:23-25 with Matthew 5:38-42
Exodus 21:23-25 – “If further harm is done, however, you will award life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stroke for stroke.”
Matthew 5:38-42 – “You have heard how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth. But I say this to you: offer no resistance to the wicked. On the contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well; if someone wishes to go to law with you to get your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone requires you to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give to anyone who asks you, and if anyone wants to borrow, do not turn away.”
Specifically, compare Exodus 21:23-25 with Matthew 5:38-39
Also read:
You accept all these new instructions because you believe in a person, not a book. You believe that Jesus is speaking on behalf of God, and so even if His teachings don’t agree with what was previously written in the Word of God, you gladly accept them. The Jews who could not accept Jesus as a true messenger of God could not accept his teachings.
You might say Jesus was God, which by the way you believe because of the witness of people not a book, because the book cannot witness for itself. What about the apostles who did the same thing. Let’s take some examples.
The apostles give new teachings
- Compare Genesis 17:10-13 and Acts 15:1-2, 19-20
Genesis 17:10-13 – “This is my covenant which you must keep between myself and you, and your descendants after you: every one of your males must be circumcised. You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that will be the sign of the covenant between myself and you. As soon as he is eight days old, every one of your males, generation after generation, must be circumcised, including slaves born within the household or bought from a foreigner not of your descent. Whether born within the household or bought, they must be circumcised. My covenant must be marked in your flesh as a covenant in perpetuity.”
Acts 15:1-2, 19-20 – “Then some men came down from Judaea and taught the brothers, ‘Unless you have yourselves circumcised in the tradition of Moses you cannot be saved.’ This led to disagreement, and after Paul and Barnabas had had a long argument with these men it was decided that Paul and Barnabas and others of the church should go up to Jerusalem and discuss the question with the apostles and elders.
‘My verdict is, then, that instead of making things more difficult for gentiles who turn to God, we should send them a letter telling them merely to abstain from anything polluted by idols, from illicit marriages, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.’”
Specifically, compare Genesis 17:13 with Acts 15:1, 19-20
- Compare John 12:1-6; John 8:3-11; Luke 19:1-9; Luke 22:54-62; etc with 1 Corinthians 5: 9-13. Compare all times that Jesus showed compassion to the sinner, associated and even ate with them, with the instruction St. Paul gave to the Corinthians. Would you declare St. Paul wrong? He clearly contradicted Jesus.
1 Corinthians 5: 9-13 – “In my letter, I wrote to you that you should have nothing to do with people living immoral lives. I was not including everybody in this present world who is sexually immoral, or everybody who is greedy, or dishonest or worships false gods -- that would mean you would have to cut yourselves off completely from the world. In fact what I meant was that you were not to have anything to do with anyone going by the name of brother who is sexually immoral, or is greedy, or worships false gods, or is a slanderer or a drunkard or dishonest; never even have a meal with anybody of that kind. It is no concern of mine to judge outsiders. It is for you to judge those who are inside, is it not? But outsiders are for God to judge. You must banish this evil-doer from among you.”
Specifically, take note of 1 Corinthians 5:11.
Jesus knew that Judas Iscariot was a thief; he kept their money bag and stole from it (John 12:1-6), and yet Jesus allowed him to follow them for all the time that He was on earth. Yet here is Paul telling the Corinthians not to associate with any believer who is a thief! Can you tell me that Paul was wrong?
What this teaches us is that God inspired and instructed His messengers to instruct His people according to what will help the people at that moment, and not according to what is recorded in a book. So the Holy Spirit leads dynamically and not according to any set of rules in a book. He does this through duly appointed leaders who have been put by God Himself in charge of such matters, not anybody at all.
All the above should be enough proof that God has always instructed, directed and led his people using other human beings, not a book.
Who is the authority?
But let’s go further. The apostles proved abundantly that they considered themselves to be the authorities and not a book. Even though they extensively quoted the OT, they many at times like Jesus, taught outside of the OT, and sometimes even against. Let’s take for instance the first council (in Jerusalem). Act 15:1-35. Let’s analyse the events in this passage.
There was an argument about whether gentile believers needed to be circumcised before they could be saved. Let’s see how the apostles handled this issue. Let’s keep in mind that the commandment of circumcision (Genesis 17:9-14) is right in the OT (the scriptures at the time) which the apostles (especially Paul) quoted extensively from. It is based on this covenant and the fact that Jesus was a Jew that those people insisted that the gentiles must also be circumcised. However, we find that the apostles did not refer to the OT to make their decision. What did they refer to? Themselves (relying on the Holy Spirit, of course). Now I want you to accuse the apostles of giving unbiblical teaching. Paul devoted the whole of his letter to the Galatians on the matter of circumcision.
There are two other things in the passage I want you to note.
First, Paul, even though he considered himself an apostle, an apostle who worked more than the rest, in his own words (1 Corinthians 15:10), recognized the authority of the ones appointed by Jesus himself and that was why he took the matter back to Jerusalem to be determined by them. And so after the whole discussion, the apostles emphasized their authority by not only writing a letter but also appointing people to go along with Paul, Barnabas and the letter.
Problems in Christianity have risen because people who cannot even claim authority anywhere near that of Paul have decided that they cannot listen to and obey the genuine authority put in place by God, but have chosen to be their own authority.
Second, Acts 15:24 reads. “We hear that some people coming from here, but acting without any authority from ourselves, have disturbed you with their demands and have unsettled your minds” The implication of this verse is that the apostles expected that anyone who went out to preach should be instructed and sent out by them, thus exercising their authority. Those who were not instructed and sent out by the apostles or their disciples but went out on their own accord were the ones causing the confusion. It is true in our time too.
This is the result when people decide to bypass legitimate authority and elect themselves as their own authority and begin to enter territory they have not been authorized to enter.
It is abundantly clear that God’s final authority on earth here has always been the human leaders that he has put in place on earth here, and not a book. The book is normally then a record of what God has revealed and instructed through this authority and which the people had lived. The Bible then is the record of the faith experience of some people. They experienced, lived and then wrote. The experience and living come before the writing, and the experience varied according to the will of God and not according to a set of rules in a book. Even when a book was to be referred to, this authority interpreted and implemented it.
The Bible, therefore, is a record of the teachings of God’s chosen leaders over several generations. How can anyone argue that the Bible has authority over the chosen leaders of God’s people?
This is what the church had believed and practiced until the revolt of Martin Luther and co in 1517 (of course baring minor rebellions, which was no stranger even to the apostles). If Martin Luther and his friends had understood how God worked among his people, they would never have caused such scandal in Christianity. I believe Luther and co had genuine complaints but they went about it the wrong way. Read further for more on this.
How did we get the New Testament?
Now, let’s learn more about who is the final authority by examining how the NT was written and compiled and then trying to understand its purpose. The apostles did not write a textbook for reference. If that were the case they would probably have come together in a council and written or authorized someone to write, which they would then declare as the final authority for all generations of Christians. This they did not do. Also note that all the books of the NT were not written at the same time. The books (or letters) were also written to different communities, and not all communities had all of them. Some useful questions would be
- When those communities which were the target of the letters did not yet have those letters, what was their source of reference for instruction?
- What was the source of instruction for those communities which did not have access to letters which were not written to them?
- What about the fact that the Bible could not be made widely available until the invention of the printing press in the 16th century?
- What about the fact that even after the Bible had been made widely available, most people were still illiterate and therefore could not read the Bible themselves? Even today, there are still many people who are illiterate and cannot read the Bible.
- Why do we have pastors and teachers in our churches today who teach the word of God?
It is very clear that the primary means of instruction by the apostles was not the letters they were writing. They were rather going about passing on what they had received from the Lord Jesus Christ himself and the Holy Spirit, by word of mouth. Wherever they went, they taught and appointed elders who in turn were tasked with the responsibility of passing on and guiding others in passing on what they had received from the apostles (Read Acts 14:23 and Titus 1:5).
This is what the Catholic Church has practiced ever since.
In fact, Paul has made it clear that he wrote his letters because
he desired to visit or instruct the community but was unable to visit them at that moment. Or he simply wrote to remind the community about some of the things that he had taught them earlier, since he had been away from them for a long time. Read Romans 1:11-13; Romans 15:22-33; 1 Corinthians 4:14-20; 1 Corinthians 11:34; 2 Corinthians 2:1-3; Philippians 2:24; 1 Thessalonians 2:17-18; 1 Timothy 3:14-15. What this means is that if Paul had the opportunity to be with the people at that moment, he would not write. Where then would we get these records for reference?
Meanwhile all these letters were scattered among various communities and we did not have the NT the way we have it today. In fact, the canon of the NT was only declared in 397 AD. Until then, what was the complete source of instruction for the Christians of all those years?
It is abundantly clear that the apostles did not write the books of the NT with the intention of producing a reference book which is the final authority. They only wrote to specific communities when the need arose.
Instead, they taught, instructed and appointed elders based on the authority given them by Jesus. By writing, they did not take away this authority from their successors. It is ignorance of this fact that has caused many Christians to rebel against the legitimate authority in the Church.
How was the New Testament compiled?
It seems many people don’t have any idea how the New Testament was compiled. One basic fact is that there are many books that were found that could have made their way into the final canon of the NT but did not.
Who determined which books qualified to be part of the NT? Was it the Bible? No, it was the leaders of the Church.
So for one to say that he believes in the Bible but does not trust the leaders of the Church (the very people who told them what should and should not belong in the Bible, especially the NT) is pure craziness! They would believe different if they knew how we got the Bible!
I met one non-Catholic who had no idea how we got the Bible and yet was not interested in how we got it. She was simply content that she had the Bible and the Holy Spirit. Can someone point to me a verse in the Bible which says anyone can take the Bible and by the guidance of the Holy Spirit interpret it for any purpose? If you can’t, then that’s “unbiblical”. You know my response to her? “It’s like having a headache, going to buy paracetamol from the pharmacy and telling the pharmacist that you are not interested in the dosage; that you know how much you are suffering and how many tablets you need to relieve you of your pain!”
This person even said she does not care what her pastors preach. If they preach anything she feels is not in line with the Bible, she will simply ignore them and go by what is in the bible (which is nothing more than her own understanding of the bible, which may be right or wrong). I guess this is typical thinking of “Bible-believing” Christians.
What is the use of the apostolic and teaching offices of the Church if everyone should go by what they “feel”? Was that what Jesus or the apostles taught or practiced? Far from it.
Let us also examine the following passages of scripture: Acts 15:1-26; Galatians 1:6-9; Romans 6:17; 1 Corinthians 11:23; 1 Corinthians 12:28-30; Ephesians 4:14; 1 Thessalonians 4:8; 1 Timothy 1:3; 1 Timothy 4:6; 1 Timothy 4:13; 1 Timothy 6:3; 2 Timothy 2:16-18; Titus 1:9-11; etc. The above passages teach us at least four lessons:
1) that the early Christians recognized true teaching and false teaching;
2) they did not allow people to go out and teach anything at all they believed;
3) the apostles handed down their teachings and expected everyone to go by them;
4) they had the teaching office, so it was not expected that everyone should be their own teacher.
With such evidence, how could the apostles have been practicing “Sola Scriptura” or “the Bible is the final authority”?
Are “Sola Scriptura” and “The Bible is the final authority” biblical?
What the proponents of “Sola Scriptura” and “The Bible is the final authority” are saying is that anything that one cannot open the Bible and point to a verse which contains those words cannot be accepted as Christian. I would like one of those people to point me to a verse in the Bible that says, “Anything that one cannot open the Bible and point to a verse which contains those words cannot be accepted as Christian,” or something even remotely similar. If you cannot point to a verse in the Bible containing the above statement, then it is not the word of God. Anyone who believes in and practices it is practicing unbiblical beliefs. Rather, we have evidence to the contrary in the scriptures – John 20:30, John 21:25 and 2 Thessalonians 2:15
Accepting “Sola scriptura” and “the Bible is the final authority” will be tantamount to saying that those things Jesus said and did that are not written were never said or done; that those things the apostles said and did that are not written were never said or done. So, saying that anything one says that he cannot point to a verse in the Bible is unchristian is totally unbiblical and unchristian. In fact, the Bible and common sense point to the contrary. If we cannot find “Sola Scriptura” and “The Bible is the final authority” in the Bible, it means that your belief in them is based NOT on the Bible but on your own authority, making you the final authority and thus defeating both “Sola Scriptura” and “the Bible is the final authority”.
Again, can someone point out a verse in the Bible which says that God would not give any new revelations or that he would cease to guide His Church after all the apostles had died? So those who believe in “Sola scriptura” cannot accept any new revelations from God. It would therefore mean that any pastor who comes out to say that he had received any message from God would be an outright liar. But I believe my dear reader believers in revelations. Or is it only the revelations in the Catholic Church that are lies?
There are a lot of revelations that people outside the Catholic Church cannot accept simply because they were given after biblical times. How could they have found their way into the Bible when they were given after biblical times? Besides, there are a lot of Catholic beliefs and practices that are deeply enshrined in the Bible but people are blind to them. Instead of learning the facts from knowledgeable Catholics, they argue and condemn the Catholic Church blindly.
What if the leaders are wrong?
At this point the question you may be asking is, “Even if the leaders are wrong and are misleading the people of God, should we still follow them?” I believe that even if the leaders are wrong, they will never be wrong to the extent that their wrong will be salvation-threatening to the people of God. Yes, they are human beings and will make mistakes, but in their capacity as shepherds, God will not allow them to make salvation-threatening errors.
Don’t forget that God made promises concerning them (unless you do not believe the promises of God). Mathew 16:18, “So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my community. And the gates of the underworld can never overpower it.” Don’t you think that the powers of hell would have conquered the congregation (Church) of God if her leaders made salvation-threatening errors?
Also, Matthew 28:18-20 – “Jesus came up and spoke to them. He said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations; baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And look, I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.’’’ Since when did Jesus cease to be with His Church, and if He has ceased, whom did he give that message to? Also note that He told the apostles to go and teach and not to go and write a book for believers to read and reference. Jesus knew that such a move would create unnecessary confusion, so He did not instruct His disciples to do that. Jesus' disciples, knowing what He wanted, did not write a book for reference. However, some Christians are trying to use the writings of the apostles as a complete reference.
“However, when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking of his own accord, but will say only what he has been told; and he will reveal to you the things to come.” – John 16: 13. Has the Spirit of Truth suddenly become the spirit of lies? Also note that the verse says, “Things that are to come”. How long is this “to come”? – Food for thought. Are we to rely on a "Spirit of Truth" or a book of truth to guide the Church?
Believing in the Bible is believing in people
You can’t believe in the Bible unless you believe in people. Believing in the Bible is believing in the witness of other people about the bible, which is what you are at the same time rejecting by insisting on “the Bible alone” and “the Bible is the final authority”.
Anyone who says that the Bible is the final authority is actually saying that he himself is the final authority. Why?
The Bible has to be interpreted, and the notions of “sola scriptura” and “the Bible is the final authority” mean that anyone can interpret the Bible on their own. Yet people come out with different (and often contradictory) interpretations of the Bible, each person claiming to be right, everyone claiming to have interpreted it under the guidance of the (same) Holy Spirit! If relying on the Bible alone creates such confusion, God must have a more definitive way of letting His people know His truth. Isn't it true that God gave that way to us but many people just lost it? Continue to read and you will probably get the answer. Don't forget what you have read above. All the information in this article have to be connected to get the whole message.
How do you know that the Bible, and not for example the Qur’an, is the true word of God? It is because someone, maybe your father, your mother or your pastor, told you so. Without your belief in that person, you cannot believe in the Bible. How do you know that the words that are in the Bible are the true words of God? It is because (the people of) the Catholic Church told you that they are, because the NT was put together by the Catholic Church from among many writings purporting to be authentic Christian teachings. So how can you accept the Bible without accepting (the people of) the Catholic Church?
“Martin Luther had genuine reasons for breaking away”
People will also point out the reasons why Luther and co broke away. Whether they were right or wrong, there is no genuine reason for a Christian to break the unity that Christ established.
Unity is something that was so dear to Jesus that He devoted a big chunk of His prayer in John 17 to it. Read the whole of John chapter 17. Notice the number of times Jesus used the word “one” (or probably united or some other word in your Bible version) referring to unity. Note verse 21(John 17:21): “May they all be one, just as, Father, you are in me and I am in you, so that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me.”
A big part of our success in letting people know that Jesus came from God and is the son of God and is God depends on our unity. The devil, knowing this has tried his best to disrupt this unity, and has succeeded in using some people to accomplish it to some extent.
We have been admonished throughout the scriptures, especially by Paul, to remain united and never allow anything to touch that unity. Read these passages: 1 Timothy 6:2-5; 1 Timothy 1:3-4; Jude 18-19; 1 Corinthians 1:10-17; Ephesians 4:1-6; Philippians 1:27; Philippians 2:2; Acts 4:32; Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 3:2-9; 1 Corinthians 12:3-27; 2 Corinthians 13:11; etc.
We can learn more from John 17 than unity. In verse 11 (John 17:11) Jesus said “…Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name ….” Then in verse 12 (John 17:12), He said “…I have watched over them and not one is lost except one who was destined to be lost ….”
The one who was destined for destruction was the only one who separated himself from the group (de-united)!
Also note in verse 20 that Jesus made this prayer not only for the apostles of that time, but also for all generations of Christians. We expect that the efficacy of that prayer will extend to the church for all ages.
Characteristics of a matured Christian
Three main characteristics every Christian should possess are first obedience, second faith and third prayer. The level of these graces in a Christian will show how matured a Christian really is. The action of Luther and co makes me doubt whether they were matured in these areas.
If Jesus taught nothing at all, He taught obedience. First, it was by His obedience to the Father’s will that He came to earth, suffered and died on the cross. Without this obedience, you and I would have no hope of salvation. Our hope of salvation began with Jesus’ obedience. – Philippians 2:5-11. Second, Jesus demonstrated this obedience after He was found in the temple. “He went down with them then and came to Nazareth and lived under their authority. ...” - Luke 2:51.
To make it amply clear, Jesus taught what He lived. “Then Jesus told the crowds and his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So do whatever they tell you and follow it, but stop doing what they do, because they don’t do what they say.” - Mathew 23:1-3. There wasn’t a pretty relationship between Jesus and the Pharisees. These were the same Pharisees that Jesus often condemned. In fact, He had just finished “debates” with them where they tried to catch Him with the law. Many times the Pharisees even tried to arrest and kill Jesus. Yet Jesus did not ask the people to disobey them. He rather categorically asked the people to obey them. These are some of the unpalatable things Jesus said about the Pharisees:
- Jesus calls them whitewashed tombs – Matthew 23:25-28
- Jesus told his disciples to guard against the teaching of the Pharisees – Matthew 16:6-12.
- Jesus said, “For I tell you, if your righteousness does not surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of Heaven.” Matthew 5:20.
- Jesus said the Pharisees prevent people from entering heaven but do not enter themselves – Matthew 23:13.
- The Pharisees make converts more deserving of hell – Matthew 23:15.
- The Pharisees neglect to practice justice, mercy and honesty – Matthew 23:23-24.
It was after Jesus had instructed the people to obey the Pharisees that He said all the hash things about the Pharisees in Matthew 23. These are the “kinds” of people Jesus instructed the Jews to obey. Many Christians today have the wrong notion that they must only obey leaders who are holy. What a deception!
Paul understood this command very well and so even though he believed that in Christ the Jewish law was no longer necessary for salvation, in Acts 21:17-26 he showed his obedience by participating in the ceremony of purification, when some people were peddling rumours that he was preaching against such practices. Mathew 5:38- 42 – This teaching is about revenge but you also see in it a clear teaching about obedience. Verse 39 (Mathew 5:39): “But I say this to you: offer no resistance to the wicked. On the contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well.” Verse 40 (Mathew 5:40): “If someone wishes to go to law with you to get your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.” Verse 41 (Mathew 5:41): “And if anyone requires you to go one mile, go two miles with him.”
In these verses, Jesus has even asked us to obey people we have a legitimate right to resist, oppose, fight or disobey.
Paul too made it abundantly clear in Romans 13:1-7, “Everyone is to obey the governing authorities, because there is no authority except from God and so whatever authorities exist have been appointed by God.” – Verse 1 (Romans 13:1).
Enough on obedience. Let’s move to faith and prayer.
Show me someone who has faith and yet does not believe that his prayers can move mountains and let me show you someone who has faith and believes that his prayers can move mountains. No matter why Martin Luther and co had to break away, they could have maintained the unity and exercised the required obedience and yet achieved what they wanted. There is even another question mark on their decision to break away. They discovered that there were things going wrong in the Church, so they decided to fight but could not have their way. They then decided to take some people and leave the church, to form their own perfect church, leaving behind the masses who they believed were destined for hell. This is selfishness of the highest degree that Jesus would condemn.
I would not be surprised if Luther and his friends were the types who were very good at talking but not good at praying and fasting. I believe that if they combined intensive prayer and fasting with their talking, and exercised enough patience, they would be able to turn around whatever was wrong in the church (if indeed there was something wrong). If they prayed and fasted but God did not change anything, then it means that there was nothing God was supposed to change.
The fruits of obedience, prayer and fasting
Let me give you a live example to make this point very clear. This is something that happened in 1990 in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR), a movement in the Catholic Church. This took place in a prayer group in the Wa Diocese, Ghana. I was not a member of the group then but this incident was related to me by one of the members of the team who is still with the group today and can be contacted for verification.
An outreach ministry (now called Faith Outreach Ministry) was formed based on a revelation to one of the members. This ministry went out to various parts of the diocese to preach the word of God and pray for people (healing and deliverance). God was really using this ministry to heal, deliver and touch people in many ways. Yet after operating for just about a year the leadership of the Church in the diocese stopped them from moving out to evangelize. They were also asked to stop organizing healing and deliverance prayers for the general public. They could only attend their normal prayer meetings and pray together and only pray for individual members of their groups. They couldn’t do more than this.
What would be the reaction of most Christians in this situation? “To hell with the church leaders. It is not only in the Catholic Church that one can serve God. Let’s break away and form our own church and serve God. After all we are not being allowed to serve God in the Catholic Church,” forgetting of unity and obedience. Instead of following this line of thinking, the team took an admirable path worthy of emulation by all.
Now, before you start condemning the leadership of the Church, let me make a few things clear. The leadership was carrying out their responsibility of ensuring that everyone was in line (yes, they have that responsibility and authority). Peter and co did that all the time. They are responsible for ensuring that people do not introduce wrong doctrine or practices into the Church and so whenever they feel unsure about or do not agree with the practices of a group, they have that mandate to intervene. So in most cases, the intention of the leadership is not to stop the group altogether, but to pause them and to observe and ascertain the genuineness of the group, as you will see later. This is where we need to exercise obedience that we are obliged to exercise, and exercise our faith, that if it is indeed God who has instructed and empowered us to do what we are doing He will make a way where there seems to be no way, rather than destroying the unity which is a very key ingredient for evangelization.
It is also worth noting that at this point, some members of the CCR were breaking away from the Church to form their own churches. Some of these with the gift of healing and deliverance would form prayer camps and start “extorting” money from people for healing and deliverance. This was a very unacceptable situation. From the way the ministry was going, it would be very easy for them to break away and form a church.
So the church leaders had good reasons for stopping the ministry, even though if I were in their shoe, I would not do the same. What I would probably do would be to assign a priest to the ministry and let him monitor and report their activities. They would then get to find out that the ministry didn’t have the intention that the leaders were afraid that it had.
Alright, enough on that. Even though the ministry was, by the action of the diocesan leadership of the Church, given good reasons to break away, they did not do that. They rather sat back and prayed their way through.
Starting from the time they were stopped, the ministry used to organize 3 days fasting and prayers every week. During these days of fasting and prayers, they did not sleep in their houses; they would go deep into the bush where they prayed through most of the night and only went back to their homes at dawn to bath and go to work. There were even times when, to add to the suffering of fasting, they would kneel on stones to pray. They did this for one (1) year and then God worked a miracle to restore the ministry.
This happened during one Pentecost vigil. This is a programme that is organized every year, even to date. It is organized on the night before the commemoration of Pentecost where we remind God of what he did for the disciples on the day of Pentecost and ask Him to do the same for us. On that particular day, because they were asked not to organize prayers for people, they just chose to worship Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament (Eucharist). There were two (2) priests present. As the worship progressed, people who were oppressed by evil spirits started manifesting, wailing and falling here and there, without anyone touching them. These priests had to engage in deliverance. In fact, one thing most people outside the CCR (at least within the Catholic Church) believed when people fell during prayers was that they were pushed down by the deliverance ministers. However, that night, these priests, one of whom was chaplain of the CCR for the diocese witnessed something that convinced them that something extraordinary, and of God, was happening in the CCR.
To top it all, this priest (may his soul rest in peace) was so empowered that night that the next day (which was Sunday), his homily (preaching) was extraordinary. While he was preaching, demons were wailing in the church. Following these events, the next day (Monday) the ministry received a letter from the bishop giving them permission to resume their work. Wow! What a mighty God we serve! The angels bow before him, heaven and earth adore him. How many people would be able to do what this ministry did? Truth be told, some people had already left the church for similar reasons. Some of them now regret for leaving the church. Some have even returned. Glory to God in the highest.
Thanks to people who loved God and did everything possible to preserve the unity of brotherhood; people who were obedient to the chosen leaders of God; people of faith and prayer, the CCR is well and firmly established in the Church and has touched many lives. Through the CCR, the ministry of healing and deliverance is once again very active in the Catholic Church and so many people are now benefiting from it. This would never have been possible if everyone else towed the line of Martin Luther and his friends.
Effects of the Protestant “revolution”
I believe that Martin Luther and co had good intentions for breaking away from the Catholic Church, but however good their intentions were I don’t believe they were according to the will of God. The question to ask is, “Were they able to form the perfect church?” Didn’t people also break away from the church they formed for similar reasons? In fact, soon after they broke away, they fought physical wars among themselves. Do your research.
What they succeeded in doing was to create a very big rift in Christianity and set the precedence for splintering and further splintering of churches to the point that Christians are no longer sure whom to follow. Remember that this was not the case before the “revolt” of Martin Luther and his friends in 1517. The result of this splintering is that it has kept some people away from Christianity. It has also given the opportunity to imposters to use the name of Jesus to accrue wealth.
Offices in the Church
Another thing that is fuelling the splintering of churches in our day is the ignorance of the offices God has assigned to people. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:27-30, “Now Christ's body is yourselves, each of you with a part to play in the whole. And those whom God has appointed in the Church are, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers; after them, miraculous powers, then gifts of healing, helpful acts, guidance, various kinds of tongues. Are all of them apostles? Or all prophets? Or all teachers? Or all miracle-workers? Do all have the gifts of healing? Do all of them speak in tongues and all interpret them?”
Paul has made it clear enough. Some people with the gifts of prophecy, preaching, teaching, miracles and healing consider themselves as apostles. Apostle is a different office altogether.
The office of apostle is reserved for the legitimate leaders of the church; those who have succeeded the twelve (12) apostles. These are responsible for guiding the church. Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “All scripture is inspired by God and useful for refuting error, for guiding people's lives and teaching them to be upright.” The correction and reproof aspects, are reserved for the apostles, and not all Christians, when it comes to matters that concern the whole Church.
Paul clearly spelled out the order of authority in the Church: Apostles → Prophets → Teachers → Miracle workers → Healers → Helpers → Administrators → Speakers of tongues.
It is very important that we understand and recognize this “chain of command” because there is a reason why God established it. We read in 1 Timothy 4:14, “You have in you a spiritual gift which was given to you when the prophets spoke and the body of elders laid their hands on you; do not neglect it.” Note in this passage that the prophets did not speak and also lay their hands. It was rather the elders (the people appointed by the apostles to act on their behalf) who laid their hands. We again read in Acts 8:3-17 that after Philip had baptized the Samaritans, Peter and John were sent to confirm them (that is, to pray for them to receive the Holy Spirit). The above passages of scripture tell us that the early Christians respected the chain of authority.
When God creates an office and puts people in it, He also anoints them for the functions of the office. Anyone who is not anointed for a particular office but decides to usurp the functions of that office will surely mess up like many have done!
When God wanted 70 elders, he had to select them and give some of the spirit that Moses had to them, thus empowering them for the service that they were called to perform – Numbers 11:16-17. They would never have been able to perform their duties according to God’s will without that proper empowerment.
Also, the first apostles of Jesus were empowered on different occasions for different purposes. For example, they had been empowered to go out and preach, cast out demons and heal the sick (Matthew10:5-8 and Luke 10:1-12). Yet after Jesus' death they did not have the courage to face the Jewish leaders (John 20:19). They had to be empowered for that purpose on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2). Also, when they were being persecuted and they needed boldness, they prayed for the anointing for that purpose (Acts 4:23-31).
The above teach us that God anoints people for different purposes. Therefore one cannot use the anointing of a prophet, a teacher, a miracle worker or a healer to function in the office of an Apostle.
Anointing/empowerment comes along with an appointment. If you are not appointed, you are not anointed!
Dear friend, if you have understood the message in this article, next time there is an issue, you will not be asking, “Show me where in the bible it says so,” instead you will ask, “Who has the authority to speak on the matter?” Similarly, when you have argument about the interpretation of a scripture passage, you will ask, “Who has been given the authority to interpret scripture for refuting error?” You will then run to that person for help.
**Unless otherwise stated, all scripture texts are taken from the New Jerusalem Bible.**