Protestants love to boast that they know the Scriptures and that they won't believe anything unless it can be found in the Scriptures. But then they all presume to give us their own private interpretation that suits themselves, ignoring the traditions delivered by the Apostles, which have been passed down by the faithful throughout the centuries.
Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle. (2 Thessalonians 2:15)
Take a southern baptist, a pentecostal, a presbyterian, a preterist, a methodist, a "non-denom", an evangelical, a seventh day adventist, etc., and put them all in a room and ask them to explain the basic meaning of the Scriptures and they will often give you different interpretations to certain verses, which are fundamentally opposed to each other.
This simply proves that people can claim to strictly follow the Scriptures, and the Scriptures alone, yet look at how they cannot agree on how to properly interpret the meaning.
Just look at this thread for example!
I would be willing to bet that Santiago claims he follows the Scriptures precisely, believing them all.
I would be willing to bet that Sidney Reilly would claim likewise.
So how come there is no agreement between the two on whether or not Christ has returned for His second advent or not?
What is a person to do? Where do we find an objective arbiter?
The answer is simple. That is why Christ gave us the Church.
If we were all meant to privately sit at home and decide for ourselves what the truth is, not relying upon anyone else, how could we know if we were being deluded or not?
After all, Santiago will no doubt claim that he is in possession of the Holy Spirit, and that he is in the true Church, and that he is not being led astray.
And likewise, Sidney Reilly will claim the same exact thing.
But only one of them can be right and the other must be wrong, since they are giving two opposing interpretations.
This is why Christ gave the power to bind and loose to the Apostles, and they were able to transfer this office to others that followed them, by the laying on of hands.
And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. (2 Timothy 2.2)
You see? This verse is demonstrating the principle of Holy Tradition. Notice St. Paul doesn't tell St. Timothy to teach only the things WRITTEN, but what he has HEARD from St. Paul's mouth.
In like manner, the holy Apostle Paul tells the Thessalonians:
Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle. (2 Thessalonians 2:15)
Notice he tells them HOLD THE TRADITIONS. And not just ones that are written down, but those given by him and the other Apostles, by WORD OF MOUTH. Notice he says to HOLD them, not try to "figure them out" or "discover" them. They were already given. The admonishment is to HOLD on to what you have been given.
This is the stumbling-block for most Protestants. First of all they hear Papists make the claim that Christians must follow Tradition, which in itself is correct, but then they see all kinds of false traditions promulgated by these same heretics.
So what is their response?
Since the Papists implore us to follow Tradition, and then go and teach false traditions, let's just forsake Tradition all together!
A completely irrational and unjustifiable response.
What the Protestants ought to understand is that they should not reject the principle of Tradition outright, but simply reject the false and perverted traditions taught by the Papists.
Many false Protestant doctrines are simply an irrational response to false Papist doctrines. After all Martin Luther was a Papist before starting his own "Reformation" to draw away disciples after himself, in a desire for vainglory. Notice he has a "church" named after himself to this day. "Lutherans".
Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? (1 Corinthians 1:12-13)
Were any of you baptized in the name of Martin Luther? Are you a Lutheran or a Christian? Pick one or the other!
The Papists depart from the Royal Path to the right, so Protestants swing the pendulum too far and deviate to the left.
The Apostle Paul commanded that Christians stand fast and hold the traditions, even oral traditions. Notice he didn't say private ones, but ones heard among many witnesses. The historic traditions of the Church are not "secret" traditions, they can readily be discovered if one learns the history of the Church. One cannot simply learn the traditions of the Church by reading nonsense like "The Purpose Driven Church" or the "Purpose Driven Life" by deluded Protestants.
Studying Church history should not start with the Protestant Reformation only 500 years ago. What about the Church that Christ promised the gates of hades would never prevail against for 1500 years prior to that?
The Church did not start with deviant heretics such as Martin Luther and John Calvin.
The Church never needs "Reforming". The only reason the Church would need to go through a "Reformation" was if the gates of hades had prevailed against the Church. God forbid!
The One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Orthodox Church has preserved Sacred Tradition unsullied and intact throughout the age and will continue to do so until the Parousia of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing.
Amen. |
