Traditions and Scripture

I've heard a lot of different opinions and views on Scripture, theology, and church. Some are valid and others not so much. I do think it is great to look inward and challenge the things you believe, not because they are necessarily wrong, but because it helps you re-examine your theology to see if it matches the Scriptures. This helps strengthen your theology and it helps you see if there are any views that you have that aren't as in line with Scripture as you thought. 

One of the views I've heard that I think is pretty problematic is the idea that God still gives special revelation outside of Scripture. Now, to be fair, nobody that actually does this will agree with that phrase but the concept is still true. These are quotes I have written down from sermons within the United Pentecostal Church, "It may not be in the Bible but it was handed down by our elders who heard from God in a prayer room."

And this, "Be careful when you start messing with your traditions because you will open a door for your children that will never be stopped.” 

To back up this idea they quote Scriptures like 2 Thessalonians 2:15 “Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.” 

These are quoted and used to support the idea that since Paul handed them traditions not in Scripture, that it’s biblical to do that also. But we have to ask ourselves if it is actually Biblical to do this or not. First off, we must recognize the unique authority the original Apostles had. They wrote Scripture, we don't. 

Ephesians chapter 2 touches on the uniqueness of the Apostles in talking about how Christ broke down the barrier between Jew and Gentile. Verses 18-20, "For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone," The apostles were part of the foundation of the church!

in an article on BlueLetterBible.org, it says this about the office of an apostle:

"To be an Apostle there were a number of requirements that are impossible for people to meet today, these include the following.

An Apostle was an Eyewitness of Jesus' Resurrection

Not only were the original twelve apostles to be eyewitnesses of the resurrection, all who had the gift of apostle had to have seen the risen Christ. Paul, who was not one of the Twelve, wrote, "Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord?" (1 Corinthians 9:1).

Paul also wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:5-7 "He was seen by Peter and then by the twelve apostles. After that, he was seen by more than five hundred of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died by now. Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles."
Paul distinguishes between the twelve and the rest of the apostles, but notice, all of them were eyewitnesses of the resurrection.

The Gift of Apostle was Accompanied by Miraculous Signs

2 Corinthians 12:12 "When I was with you, I was patient and worked all the powerful miracles and signs and wonders of a true apostle."

They had Unique Authority to Receive Special Revelation

John 16:13 "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come."
Notice the promise of Jesus that the Holy Spirit would guide these men into "all truth" concerning what Jesus said and did. Only those who were with Jesus from the beginning could claim this particular promise. Indeed, nobody else would have been in a position to know they knew or to have seen what they saw. the Holy Spirit was going to bring these things back to their remembrance.

Paul was the Last of the Apostles

1 Corinthians 15:8-9 "Last of all, as to one abnormally born, He also appeared to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God."

There is only one other recorded appearance of the risen Christ after the appearance to Paul, to the Apostle John on the Isle of Patmos."

www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/stewart_don/faq/the-various-gifts-of-the-holy-spirit/08-are-there-still-apostles-today.cfm

Now, people could argue against that view and could have compelling arguments. But I want to see if the doctrine of the church was established by the apostles and therefore unable to be changed or amended, or if God is still speaking to people today with an authoritative doctrine not found in Scripture.

Jude 3 "Dear friends, although I have been eager to write to you about our common salvation, I now feel compelled instead to write to encourage you to contend earnestly for that faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints."

 The footnotes in the NET Bible say this concerning this passage, "The adverb 'once for all' seems to indicate that the doctrinal convictions of the early church had been substantially codified. That is to say, Jude could appeal to written documents of the Christian faith in his arguments with the false teachers. Most likely, these documents were the letters of Paul and perhaps one or more of the gospels. First and Second Peter may also have been among the documents Jude has in mind."

Again the NET footnotes say, "Apparently news of some crisis has reached Jude, prompting him to write a different letter than what he had originally planned. A plausible scenario (assuming authentic Petrine snippets in it) is that after Peter's death, Jude intended to write to the same Gentile readers that Peter had written to (essentially, Paul's churches). Jude starts by affirming that the gospel the Gentiles had received from Paul was the same as the one the Jewish Christians had received from other apostles (our common salvation). But in the midst of writing this letter, Jude felt that the present crisis deserved another, shorter piece. The crisis, as the letter reveals, is that the false teachers whom Peter prophesied have now infiltrated the church. The letter of Jude is thus an ad hoc letter, intended to confirm the truth of Peter's letter and encourage the saints to ground their faith in the written documents of the nascent church, rather than listen to the twisted gospel of the false teachers. in large measure, the letter of Jude illustrates the necessity of clinging to the authority of Scripture as opposed to those who claim to be prophets."

In order to ensure that we are correctly understanding the phrase 'once for all,' we should look to see how that phrase is used elsewhere in the New Testament.

Hebrews 9:12 "And he entered once for all into the most holy place not by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood, and so he himself secured eternal redemption."

Hebrews 9:25-26 "And he did not enter to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the sanctuary year after year with blood that is not his own, for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the consummation of the ages to put away sin by his sacrifice."

Hebrews 10:10 "By his will we have been made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands day after day serving and offering the same sacrifices again and again, sacrifices that can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, he sat down at the right hand of God, where he is now waiting until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet. For by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are made holy."

With this understanding of 'once for all,' it seems clear that the doctrine of the church was already established and settled by the time of Jude's letter. If that is the case it is impossible for someone to hold to the idea that their elders could receive a word from God that isn't taught in Scripture and then pass it to you as Scripture the way Paul passed on traditions.

Just to give an example, in the United Pentecostal Church some have preached against beards on men, long sleeves only for men and women, that women cannot wear pants, and that women cannot cut their hair. We also see prohibitions against makeup, jewelry, and other cosmetics. These are taught against using this same principle. Some of these are argued (incorrectly) from Scripture while others were passed down by elders who heard from God. 

They then teach that these traditions should be protected and cherished because holy men of God got these revelations in a prayer room. But by what we have seen so far in Scripture, it is not only wrong but extremely unbiblical to hold to this view. 

The doctrine of the church was established by Scripture, through the teachings of the apostles. They were the building blocks of the church, they laid out doctrine. We do not have that same authority.