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Originally Posted by
sndbay
2 Thessalonians 2:14-15 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
Right, this clearly and unambiguously affirms the authority of Tradition and instructs us to uphold it. I believe I mentioned this one in an earlier post. It is this verse, and the many others like it, that give the lie to the claim that Scripture alone is the sole standard of truth and authority in matters of doctrine and discipline.
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2 Thessalonians 3:6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.
Yes, those who reject the authority of Tradition and fail to adhere to it are to be excommunicated.
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Because "The Word"made them ensample unto us: and their traditions.( 2 Thess 3:9)
Again, we are to have nothing to do with those who reject Tradition.
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2 Thessalonians 3:14 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.
Right, nobody disputes the authority of Scripture. Everybody is agreed that Paul's Epistles are authoritative in matters of doctrine and discipline. That's just one of the reasons I find it odd that so many wish to denegrate Tradition and refuse to acknowledge its importance. As the references you have provided show, Scripture itself affirms that Tradition is authoritative in matters of doctrine and discipline.
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1 Corinthians 11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
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Authority of scripture "The Word" = Christ told you
Act 16:5 And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.
Act 16:14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
Act 16:15And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us. (1 Thess 5:21)
Acts 16.14 affirms the importance of oral Tradition. I'm not sure I see the relevance of the other passages to the topic under discussion. I think everyone agrees that we are to be faithful to the Lord. For some reason, which has yet to be justified, many people take the view that one can be faithful to the Lord while rejecting what he has revealed to us by way of Tradition.
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1 Corinthians 12:4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12: 6-7 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
1 Corinthains 12:11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
1 Corinthian 12:18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
1 Corinthian 12:20 But now are they many members, yet but one body.
1 Corinthian 12:27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
ONLY SOME: in the church
1 Corinthian 12:28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
The Church is the body of Christ, and we are members of that body. There is an ecclesiastical hierarchy, with apostles first and then others. This is an interesting bit of Scripture, and one that it would be pleasant to discuss sometime, but I don't see its relevance to the present topic. If the fault is mine, as it may well be, perhaps you could say a bit more about how you take it to bear on the matters we are presently discussing.
