Magisterium of the Catholic Church
Friends, when you were saved by the grace of God and born again, how did you feel? Did you want to jump and shout in excitement? You might have had a skip in your step and just felt good all the way around. Armed with the knowledge and belief in Christ as your Savior, did you have a burning desire to go tell everyone about the Lord? If you’re anything like me, then that’s exactly what you wanted to do.
After the Lord Jesus Christ saved your soul did you decide that what the Bible teaches about salvation isn’t quite good enough? And that since you now knew the Lord that you should be able to add to the requirements of salvation, and tell people that you speak with the same authority as Christ Himself? God forbid. However, there are those that make the claim that what they teach is with the authority of Christ and “infallible.”
The word “magisterium” finds its origins in the late 1500’s as being the Roman Catholic Church’s claim to authority to teach religious truth.
2034 The Roman Pontiff and the bishops are “authentic teachers, that is, teachers endowed with the authority of Christ, who preach the faith to the people entrusted to them, the faith to be believed and put into practice.” 76 The ordinary and universal Magisterium of the Pope and the bishops in communion with him teach the faithful the truth to believe, the charity to practice, the beatitude to hope for.
2035 The supreme degree of participation in the authority of Christ is ensured by the charism of infallibility. This infallibility extends as far as does the deposit of divine Revelation; it also extends to all those elements of doctrine, including morals, without which the saving truths of the faith cannot be preserved, explained, or observed. 77
2036 The authority of the Magisterium extends also to the specific precepts of the natural law, because their observance, demanded by the Creator, is necessary for salvation. In recalling the prescriptions of the natural law, the Magisterium of the Church exercises an essential part of its prophetic office of proclaiming to men what they truly are and reminding them of what they should be before God. 78
We know nothing more of Christ than was recorded for us in the Holy Scriptures. So, who among us can make the claim that they have the authority of Christ? Christ’s authority is without question, and thankfully his doctrine was left for us in the Gospels; that we should learn it and follow it. Jesus never said anything to his apostles about them adding to His teachings to improve or perfect them. Instead, they were charged with spreading what He had taught them, not whatever they may have felt like adding. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
So, if there was no need to add to what Jesus taught (as we have recorded for us for eternity in the form of the Bible), then why would anyone need to have the “authority of Christ”? No one can usurp the Savior’s authority. As believers in Jesus Christ we would not dare to claim to have his authority, but instead be exemplary of the doctrines that He established and taught. “Neither being lord over God’s heritage , but being ensamples to the flock.” (1 Peter 5:3).
Therefore, we have to accept God’s Word for what it is and be steadfast in adhering to it; not establishing ourselves as overlords of our fellow man and change the truths of God for the sake of our own “wisdom”, adding to what God requires for the salvation of souls. That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:5)
Please, friends, when you want to learn from an “authentic teacher” go directly to the source. If you are looking for the only thing on earth that is infallible you know where to look. You know that the Lord is God. You know that Jesus is Christ. And you know that the Holy Spirit abides with us. No group of men, no matter how tall the hat or how long the robes, or how much gold they wear to look important to the world, can change what God has given us. So, please, don’t let them change you, either. “Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness.” (2 Peter 3:17)
And these are the Signs of the Times…..
Catholic Catechism can be found at; and is attributed to kofc.org.
—-Anthony Dentler (a 27 year veteran of the Roman Catholic Church…..now a Born Again Believer Saved by the Grace of God )
