Is Tradition a Bad Word?

Tradition derived from the apostles, of the very great, the very ancient, and universally known Church founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul; as also [by pointing out] the faith preached to men, which comes down to our time through the successions of the bishops. For it is a matter of necessity that every Church should agree with this Church, on account of its pre-eminent authority, that is, the faithful everywhere since the apostolical tradition has been preserved continuously by those [faithful men] who exist everywhere. (Iren., Adv. Haer. 3.3.2)

When it comes to Ignatius of Antioch, he highlights the role of tradition by explaining the importance of church leaders’ positions within the Church (Roberts, Donaldson, & Coxe, 1885). Ignatius, in all seven letters to the Churches, commands believers to obey the bishop, presbyters, and deacons (Ignatius, 1946). One of his most beautiful quotes regarding this topic is found in his letter to the Smyrnaeans (8.1). It reads,

You must all follow the lead of the bishop, as Jesus Christ followed that of the Father; follow the presbytery as you would the Apostles; reverence the deacons as you would God’s commandment. Let no one do anything touching the Church, apart from the bishop.

It is quite clear that Ignatius is teaching that the Church should submit and follow the role and office of the bishop. Ignatius, like Irenaeus, is trying to help people understand that apostolic succession is critical to the understanding of Christianity and to combat heresies formed by other pretenders of the faith. Suppose this type of tradition/apostolic succession is followed. In that case, the Church should have order and less division and be able to maintain the traditions that were handed down from the apostles. 

Today, if you speak of the word tradition, it is almost looked upon as a bad word in the evangelical circle. Tradition seems to have a different meaning than it did a few thousand years ago, and people today relate it to the Catholic Church’s false doctrines. They also view this word meaning that people hold tradition in equal status or even sometimes elevate its importance over Scripture. In my opinion, this is not what the word tradition should mean in the modern era of Christianity. Instead, people need to take the time to learn and understand the true definition of this term and identify the value and importance that it has and played in the role of historical Christianity.

References

Irenaeus of Lyons. (1885). Irenaeus against Heresies. In A. Roberts, J. Donaldson, & A. C. Coxe (Eds.), The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus (Vol. 1). Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company.

Roberts, A., Donaldson, J., & Coxe, A. C. (Eds.). (1885). The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus (Vol. 1). Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company.

McGrath, A. E. (2013). Historical theology an introduction to the history of Christian thought. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

St. Clement of Rome and St. Ignatius of Antioch. (1946). The Epistles of St. Clement of Rome and St. Ignatius of Antioch. (J. Quasten & J. C. Plumpe, Eds., J. A. Kleist, Trans.) (1st ed.). New York; Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press.

Lessons to Learn from Clement of Rome and St. Ignatius of Antioch

Both of these apostolic fathers have much to teach us today, even thousands of years later. When I read Clement’s letter to the Corinthians, I was so encouraged by the example he has left us all in discipling people. Here are several things that stood out to me from his letter, which was read from The Epistles of St. Clement of Rome and St. Ignatius of Antioch (1946):

Clement of Rome

1. Clement praises them for all their faith and toil for the Kingdom of God but is not shy to let them know about what he has an issue with; their schism (Clem. 1:1).

2. Clement seems to be a master student of the Old Testament (O.T.). He quotes many O.T. Scriptures at length and gives clear examples of how believers ought to behave in light of the O.T. examples. One of my favorite ones is when he shows the power of worldly jealousy, which brings death compared to Godly jealousy, which brings life (Clem. 4:1-13). This is a massive encouragement for me and my ministry to make sure I am confident in the O.T. Scriptures and that I can bring application from these examples in everyday life.

3. Clement shows authentic leadership in the way he writes his letter. He mentions how these commands and instructions are not just for the believers in Corinth, but they are also a reminder to himself since he goes through these very struggles as well (Clem. 7:1). This is humble instruction that I need to make sure is laced in my letters or council when I instruct other believers. I am never in another category of sainthood; I too am always susceptible to the same sins I am encouraging my brothers to flee from.

4. Clement petitions the Church of Corinth to repent (Clem. 7:2-8:4). Often, in my leadership, I find it difficult to instruct my brother to repent of their sins face to face. This example proves to be of great encouragement to my ministry.

5. Clement shows beautifully how vital hospitality is in a believer’s life (Clem. 10:7; 11:1; 12:1). Clement shows how hospitality played a role in Abraham’s life in him having a son; hospitality played a role in Rahab’s life of why she and her family were saved, and how hospitality was one of the reasons why Lot was delivered from Sodom’s destruction. This is one area in my own life where I need to grow. Sometimes I find myself thinking that my home is my own kingdom, and this idea is completely foreign in Scripture.

6. Clement shows us the power of humility (Clem. 16:1-17). Humility is perhaps one of the best traits a Christian can emanate since this is what our Lord did perfectly as an example to us (Phil. 2). Clement focuses on this point and displays beautifully how people of the O.T. are spoken of very highly, but yet they always write something of humility (Gen. 18:27; James 2:23; Job 1:1; 14:4; Num. 12:7; Ex. 3:11; Ps. 50:3-19; 88:21) It is a great reminder to me to work on the area of humility in my own life.

7. Lastly, Clement proclaims the deity of Jesus Christ (Clem. 36). He says Jesus is where salvation is found, he says through Jesus we see mirrored God’s faultless and transcendent countenance, through Jesus our hearts were opened, and that Jesus created everything (Clem. 59:3). What a beautiful proclamation coming from an Apostolic Father continuing to proclaim the deity of Jesus Christ. 

Ignatius of Antioch

When it comes to Ignatius of Antioch, there are three things that I have learned from this great man of faith. The first would be to respect those that God has put in a place of authority within the Church (Roberts, Donaldson, & Coxe, 1885). In all seven of his letters to Churches, Ignatius commands believers to obey the bishop, presbyters, and deacons. This is one area in my own faith where I need to do a better job supporting, loving, respecting, and obeying the leaders God has entrusted to place in these positions of office.

Secondly, Ignatius has encouraged me to celebrate the Eucharist in perhaps an enhanced way (Roberts, Donaldson, & Coxe, 1885). In his letter to the Ephesians, Ignatius mentions how believers need to make an effort to meet more frequently to celebrate God’s Eucharist and to offer praise (13.1). He says if we do this, Satan’s forces are overthrown and his influence is neutralized by the unanimity of the Churches’ faith. In the same letter, he mentions how the bread is the “medicine of immortality, the antidote against death, and everlasting life in Jesus Christ” (20.2). In Ignatius’s letter to the Philadelphians, he says, “Take care, then, to partake of one Eucharist; for, one is the Flesh of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and one the cup to unite us with His Blood, and one altar, just as there is one bishop assisted by the presbytery and the deacons, my fellow servants” (4.1). Finally, in his letter to the Smyrnaeans, he writes how others do not believe that the Eucharist is the flesh of Jesus Christ. He then goes on to say to avoid associating with such people and instead study the prophets and the Gospel! Ignatius has a very high view of love feast, and I need to make sure that I never make this event only a passive routine that I participate in since it is one of the most significant events of the Christian faith.

Lastly, Ignatius was not afraid to die, not even if it was to be eaten by wild beasts (Roberts, Donaldson, & Coxe, 1885). In Ignatius’s letter to the Romans, he is pleading with them not to interfere and to let him die well so that he can be labeled as a “genuine disciple of Jesus Christ” (4.2). Listen to his plea, “I beg you, do not show me unseasonable kindness. Suffer me to be the food of wild beasts, which are the means of my making my way to God. God’s wheat I am, and by the teeth of wild beasts, I am to be ground that I may prove Christ’s pure bread” (4.1). What kind of man says these things? It is a man completely sold out for Jesus Christ, one who has no fear of death of what the world could bring because he knows exactly where he is going and whom he will see when he dies. Lord grow my faith to become like this great example of the faith.

References

St. Clement of Rome and St. Ignatius of Antioch. (1946). The Epistles of St. Clement of Rome and St. Ignatius of Antioch. (J. Quasten & J. C. Plumpe, Eds., J. A. Kleist, Trans.) (1st ed.). New York; Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press.

Roberts, A., Donaldson, J., & Coxe, A. C. (Eds.). (1885). The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus (Vol. 1). Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company.

The Muratorian Fragment

The Muratorian fragment is a remarkable find to the Christian faith. Most Christians look to Athanasius (367 CE) or the councils in North Africa and Carthage (390 CE) to see a completed list of the New Testament (Ferguson, 2013). The Muratorian fragment, dated around 180 CE, gives believers an ancient record of 22 of the 27 New Testament books; this is a fantastic discovery (Caius, 1886)! This discovery means that, within just 150 years of Jesus’ death and resurrection, the core writings of the New Testament were already being circulated, accepted, and deemed authoritative within the universal catholic Church. In just these New Testament books, doctrines of Jesus’ deity, His human nature, His death for sinners, His resurrection, and forgiveness for sins found in Him alone can easily be justified (1 Cor. 15:3; Acts 1:3; 2:24-36; 13:38-39; Gal. 2:15-16; John 1:1-3; 6:47; Phil. 2:6-8; Romans 10:9). Furthermore, this fragment also shows us what the Church did not deem authoritative, and it warns believers to stay away from specific letters and teachers (e.g., Marcion, Arsinous, Valentinus, and Miltiades).

In addition to the Muratorian fragment, Apostolic Fathers quote the New Testament as well. For example, Clement of Rome (95 C.E.), uses material from almost all of the New Testament with the exception of Philemon, James, 2 Peter, and 2 and 3 John. Ignatius from Rome (110 CE), quotes Matthew, Luke, Acts, Ephesians, Romans, 1 Corinthians, Colossians, and 1 Thessalonians. Then there is Polycarp who is Ignatius’s successor, who quotes at least 17 N.T. books!

Christians should feel confident that God through the influence of the Holy Spirit, allowed the early Church to discover all the books that He wanted to be in the completed Canon of Scripture. It is no accident that some letters were included and some were left out, it all happened through the sovereign hand of God. From this fragment, we can see that God was already working in the hearts and minds of His children and that soon, the Canon would be finalized and completed so that the whole world would have no doubt who Jesus truly claimed to be, the Son of God/Man.

References

Caius, P. of R. (1886). Fragments of Caius. In A. Roberts, J. Donaldson, & A. C. Coxe (Eds.), S. D. F. Salmond (Trans.), Fathers of the third century: Hippolytus, Cyprian, Novatian, Appendix (Vol. 5). Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company.

Ferguson, E. (2013). Church history: From Christ to the pre-Reformation (2nd ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. 

Roberts, A., Donaldson, J., & Coxe, A. C. (Eds.). (1885). The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus (Vol. 1). Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company.

St. Clement of Rome and St. Ignatius of Antioch. (1946). The Epistles of St. Clement of Rome and St. Ignatius of Antioch. (J. Quasten & J. C. Plumpe, Eds., J. A. Kleist, Trans.) (1st ed.). New York; Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press.