Scriptural Arguments for the Primacy of the Church

The Light Shines in the Darkness...

Matthew 23:2-3

Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.” - Matthew 23:2-3

Argument:

“Roman apologists frequently use this passage to argue that the Lord Jesus sanctioned authoritative oral tradition as it was delivered by the official religious teachers of his day, the scribes and Pharisees.” -David King, Holy Scripture: The Ground and Pillar of Our Faith, Vol. I (Battle Ground, Washington: Christian Resources, 2001), p.117.

Response:

1. The principle of sola Scriptura does not deny the teaching authority of the Church. It only denies that the Church is infallible. In Matthew 23:2-3, the Lord Jesus gives a legitimate teaching authority to those who read the Law of Moses in the synagogue. However, this does not mean that they were infallible.

2. Jesus utterly destroys any notion that the Pharisaical ecclesial body or tradition was infallible in a number of places.

a.) They could not be the true infallible Jewish ecclesial power since they weren’t truly guides of God’s people:

“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated…You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!’” -Matthew 23:16, 24

b.) He told His followers to beware of their teachings:

“And Jesus said to them, “Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “He said that because we did not bring any bread.” But Jesus, aware of this, said, “You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets full you picked up? Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets full you picked up? How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” –Matthew 16:6-12

c.) Their traditions (which were believed to have been handed down from Moses to the Levitical priests) contradicted the Scriptures:

“The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.) The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?” And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’ Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. For Moses said, ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER’; and, ‘HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER, IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH’; but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God),’ you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother; thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”” –Mark 7:1-13

d.) Lastly, they were called the children of the devil and sons of hell (which would logically exclude them from being leaders of the children of God):

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.” –Matthew 23:15

“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” –John 8:44

3. Historically, the Pharisees were a group that was formed during the intertestamental period. Thus, their claim that they were the successors of Moses is anachronistic and false. Also, their claim that their traditions, the ‘Traditions of the Elders’, were handed down orally from Moses to the Levitical priests is likewise false since the advent of many of those traditions can be dated back to the intertestamental period.

1 Timothy 3:15

“…but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.” -1 Timothy 3:15

Argument:

Roman Catholics will seize upon the phrase that the church is the ‘pillar and support of the truth’ and claim that this means that the church is the final arbiter of truth.

Response:

1. The passage merely states that the church is the pillar and support of the truth. This could mean a number of things. It is pure eisegesis to assert that this passage teaches that all doctrine and interpretation of Scripture depends upon the Pope and Magesterium of Rome.

2. The principle of sola Scriptura does not deny the teaching authority of the church. It is the duty of every believer to be subject to the church leadership, and it is the duty of the church leadership to teach truth and enforce orthodoxy. However, it is possible for the church leadership to teach error (Revelation 2:12-17), and because of that, one should not just blindly follow whatever the church says. James White puts is best:

“There is, of course, a vast difference between recognizing and confessing the Church as the pillar and support of the truth, and confessing the Church to be the final arbiter of truth itself. A pillar holds something else up, and in this case, it is the truth of God. The Church, as the body of Christ, presents and upholds the truth, but she remains subservient to it…The Apostles established local churches. They chose elders and deacons, and entrusted to these the task of teaching and preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Those chosen of God to minister the Word to the congregation are worthy of double honor (1 Timothy 5:17). There is no warrant for the “Lone Ranger Christian Syndrome” so popular in Protestant circles these days.” - James R. White, The Roman Catholic Controversy (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Bethany House Publishers, 1996), p.58.

All Scripture quotes are from the NASB.

Also, some helpful audio on this topic can be found at:

http://www.straitgate.com/aom/dl/98.htm