I often wonder how we have managed to stray so far from New Testament practice and yet think we are being Biblical in our way of doing things. We are able to justify just about everything we do and back it up with a string of Scriptures that support our position.
One of my favorite Vance Havner quotes says, "The church is so subnormal that if it ever got back to the New Testament normal it would seem to people to be abnormal." So true! And yet this 'subnormal church' continues to sail along with few daring to ask the difficult question, why. Why do we do what we do?
Years ago I discovered a series of free downloadable audio teachings entitled The Tradition of the Elders by Beresford Job at House-Church.org. This series of teachings brought to light many of the perplexing questions that have haunted me over the years. The series is in six parts* (TR1-TR6) and takes a while to listen to, but it is a most enlightening trip through early church history showing how we got from 'there' to where we are today.
It was in this series that I was first seriously introduced to the writings of the early church fathers. I now possess a large quantity of these writings and have spent many a fascinating hour pouring over their words. For me these early church fathers are the key to understanding how we managed in such a short amount of time to shift from the practices and teachings of Christ and the apostles into what we have today.
Take for example, Ignatius the second bishop of Antioch. Here is a direct quote from his epistle to the church in Smyrna written only a few years after John the Apostle died...
See that ye all follow the bishop, even as Jesus Christ does the Father, and the presbytery as ye would the apostles; and reverence the deacons, as being the institution of God. Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist, which is [administered] either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. It is not lawful without the bishop either to baptize or to celebrate a love-feast; but whatsoever he shall approve of, that is also pleasing to God, so that everything that is done may be secure and valid. --The Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, Chap. VIII:22b-25.
The whole concept that the pastor/bishop/elder is God's chosen servant to lead the church, and only the pastor can do certain holy functions does not originate with the teachings of Christ, nor the Apostles, but with bishops (pastors) like Ignatius. It is Ignatius who says that only bishops can baptize and officiate the Lord's Supper, not Jesus or the Apostles. Yet the practice that prevails today is that of Ignatius. His words have been elevated to those of Holy Scripture!
It is Ignatius who opines that bishops/pastors/elders are in separate spiritual classes. His order is clearly...
-God the Father
-followed by Jesus the Son
-then the local bishop
-the presbytery
-the deacons
-the common lay person (you and me)
How does this reconcile with Jesus' own teaching to his disciples in Matthew 20?
But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. (26) "It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, (27) and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; (28) just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."To be fair, the Canon of Scripture as we have it today, was not in their possession at the time these and similar words were penned. I don't doubt the good intentions these early church fathers had in writing these kinds of things for the churches of their day. These were difficult days dealing with heresy, persecution, and things we cannot even imagine. There was no Bible to guide them like we have today. What is amazing to me, though, is that these aberrations were not corrected once they did have the complete Canon of Scripture in hand!
Few are aware that many of our church traditions, practices, and commonly accepted teachings we have today do not come from Scripture. Instead, they originate with things taught by the early church fathers, saints like Ignatius. These traditions have been passed down to us over the centuries. Any one questioning the traditions is suspect. But shouldn't it be the other way around? We should judge our traditions and practices by what we find in Scripture!
What do you think?
*If you don't have time to listen to the entire series you might consider starting by fast-forwarding to TR3 and TR4 to get at the heart of the series.
10 comments:
Guy,
"We should judge our traditions and practices by what we find in Scripture!"
Amen!
Thanks for helping connect some of the dots as to why we do what we do.
God bless!
Guy, another excellent post. Vance Havner is "a hoot". Keep up the good work!
On a separate note, have your discipleship materials been translated into English? I would be curious to see at least an outline of the discipleship topics you cover in your equipping & training. And if plagiarism isn't a "mortal sin" we may even do that, too!
Guy,
Yes! Exactly! When I started reading the writings of those early Christians, I noticed the same things. I've written a few posts about it, but I thought you might enjoy this one post called "Following Ignatius."
By the way, did you know that it was another 100 years (as far as extant writings are concerned) before someone else agreed with Ignatius about the bishop/presbyters/deacons hierarchy?
-Alan
Aussie John,
But few of us actually do this! If someone of repute says something, that carries more weight than what Jesus/apostles said about it.
Jonathan,
If you get a chance to download the "Tradition of the Elders" series, do so. It is a fascinating study.
Maurice,
No we haven't translated any of our materials into English. But you are welcome to use anything we have that might be of use. Feel free to copy, edit, rewrite, etc.
Alan,
Fascinating article you linked me to from your blog on Ignatius! In a sense I can understand where these guys were coming from in trying to keep heresy under control, but once the Canon of Scripture was broadly accepted, instead of these traditions and teachings being corrected, they have been passed down to this very day.
Guido,
Además algunos enseñan que un matrimonio de nuevos cristianos en unión libre se debe casarse antes de ser bautizado. ¿Qué dirías tú?
Esteban
Esteban,
Esa es una de las preguntas más frecuentes que tratamos. Como tú sabes siempre decir, ¿qué dice la Biblia? Lo que nosotros vemos es que si alguién viene a Cristo arrepentido, nuestro deber es bautizarlo. Los "frutos de arrepentimiento" deberían seguir el bautizmo. Pero muchos creen que primero son los frutos de arrepentimiento y despúes le damos el premio al bautizarlos por su cumplimiento. El úncio problema es que no hay base Bíblica para esta práctica. Es otra de nuestras tradiciones que hemos elevado al par con las Sagradas Escrituras.
Guido, Pues no quiero meterme con avispas pero algunas de nuestras tradiciones en cuanto al matrimonio y dichas ceremonias son quizás buenas pero no totalmente bíblicas. El Evangelio de San Lucas está repleto de enseñanzas radicales de nuestro Señor y Salvador Jesús. Nos toca ponerlas en práctica, vivirlas, y enseñarlas a otros en vez de enseñar nuestras tradiciones. Esteban
Esteban,
Estoy de acuerdo. No todas nuestras tradiciones son malas. Hay muchas que son buenas y son útiles. Pero eso no significa que son Bíblicos. Siempre deberíamos medir nuestras prácticas y tradiciones con las Escrituras. Cuando una tradición/práctica empieza a obstaculizar el avance del Reino--como en el caso del bautismo--entonces esa práctica necesita ser revisado. Si no lo hacemos entonces hemos hecho lo que la Iglesia Católica hace y elevar las tradiciones a la misma altura que la Palabra de Dios.
Gracias por tus observaciones. Sigo creyendo que ya deberías empezar tu propio blog!
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