The Great Commission vs. Catholic Authority

Written by Charles Barrick, this appeared in the December 6, 1984 edition of the Gospel Advocate.

The Lord claimed unique authority, saying, "All authority has been given unto Me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:18-20). The Catholic Church, accepting the Pope and the ecumenical councils as additional sources of authority, has denied that the New Testament is the final, the absolute and the all-sufficient revelation of God's will for mankind.

Regarding councils, it is most significant to note that the first one, Nicea in 325, was called by Constantine, the ambitious and unbaptized emperor who sought to bring unity to his empire by uniting religious sects. The conciliar tendency denies that the Bible is ever relevant by trying to update the church and its doctrine. As for the Pope, two things are particularly noteworthy. First, the papacy rests on the unfounded assumptions that Peter was the first Pope, the papacy was to be passed on and the one in Rome is the rightful successor.

Second, the alleged successor to Peter, whose infallibility was not declared dogma until the first Vatican council in 1870, depends largely upon a misunderstanding of Matthew 16:19. Unfortunately, most translations render this verse as if the Greek verbs for "binding" and "loosing" were simple future tense verbs. Rather than simple future, they are in the future perfect tense. Rendered literally, the verse says, "I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heavens; and whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in the heavens, and whatever you loose upon the earth shall be loosed in the heavens." Binding doctrinal matters in heaven was neither dependent upon nor subsequent to the apostles. Rather, God bound and loosed in heaven and then the apostles revealed what God had already done or decided.

Consider the consequences of this disregard for the all-sufficient authority of the New Testament. Human establishments have replaced God's design, the right and responsibility of each individual to think and decide for himself has been seriously undermined, and many have been tragically misled.

The complete authority of the Lord demands that all men render complete obedience to His word, accepting His mandates as final and absolute. The word written by and passed on through the apostles is the light which guides us into eternity (2 Peter 1:19-21). It is the word which lasts forever (1 Peter 1:23-25).