By Tom Damour · November 4, 2026
A follow-up to Apostolic Teaching and How It Was Preserved.
Judaism was a sincere attempt by men to obey God. What has been passed down to us today is the result of that effort.
Jesus cautioned his followers not to believe he came to abolish the Law, but to establish it.
Later, he corrected the religious leaders for making the law of God of no effect because of their man-made traditions.
Jesus was a Jew, but resisted the Jewish proclivity to formulate doctrine from their traditions.
Jesus and Paul argued for a deeper understanding and explanation of Moses.
This, I maintain, is the core of my argument.
Sermon on the Mount
That is found, in part, in the Sermon on the Mount. “You have heard,” (oral law not Moses). Then we read, “but I say to you.”
2 Timothy 2:2
A church that claims to be “apostolic” uses the term to identify itself as the ultimate authority. I maintain that is self-serving.
The Bible should be the ground of this discussion.
Quoting 2 Timothy 2:2 to support that the church can proclaim someone to be an apostle, in other words a pope, is reading far too much into the text.
We see that Paul said nothing about popes, etc. What the text shows are instructions as to qualifications for who should be considered as a teacher.
Peter on Paul’s writings
Note that Peter said Paul’s writings were often hard to understand, “just as they do the scriptures.” Paul’s writings were elevated to Scripture.
Sufficiency of the Word
Since we are told the Word of God is good for reproof, etc., the believer should be complete, lacking nothing.
Acts 15
To support my argument I refer to Acts 15 as it relates to circumcision. Note, the leadership referred to the Old Testament concerning what Gentiles were to observe. They were instructed to abstain from various pagan practices.
So back to my thesis, apostolic authority is not found in church tradition, nor doctrine. Those traditions and doctrines may or may not be apostolic. That is determined by application of my conclusions found here.
