G
guanophore
Guest
You are adding some criteria that are not in Scripture. This is a method of disqualifying the authority appointed by Christ. Jesus made Peter the Rock, and gave him certain gifts that he did not give to the others. Yet, Peter was not always Christlike. He denied Christ at the crucifixion, and he later behaved hypocritally in Galatia.and those that are Christlike (leaders) should be obeyed…in as much as they have the mind of Christ (His word) thy should be obeyed, even imitated…and we are even to submit one to another, as Christ submitted to the Father
What you are saying is that the authority appointed by Christ should only be obeyed to the extent that you believe they are behaving according to your standards, and that if they are not, their authority should be jettisoned. If this were a valid principle of obedience, then all the Apostles would be disqualified!
Certainly this is what you have been taught to believe, so that you can easily reject what Christ structured for His Church. This is the attitude that creates the splinters that exist. Each man becomes his own standard of what is a good “role model” as a leader, then one can reject any person who does not model the leadership that one expects. One can then go down to the corner, rent a storefront, and start another church.Well, challenging papacy authority, when it goes beyond being “first amongst equals”, is from the beginning of such innovation (of there being such a bishop).
When Jesus gave Peter the responsibility of confirming his brethren, He did so prior to Peter falling from faith. Jesus knew that Peter would deny Him, but that did not stop Jesus from making Peter Cephas, and giving him the gift of feeding and caring for His flock.