Spotting the Genuine Article
Posted by: andymcnutt in Uncategorized, tags: apostolic authority, blind leading the blind, departure from the truth, deposit of faith, early church fathers, false teachings, rampant schism, rejection of authority, spotting a fake"And if there's one thing I know, it's how to spot the genuine article. Because that's what you got to watch out for. Not the cops. You can always get around the cops. But the one thing you can never ever get around is the genuine article. And you, kid, are the genuine article."
Did you ever see the movie, "Leap of Faith", with Steve Martin playing the role of a faith healer? That's where I got that quote. Good movie. Maybe you will watch it sometime. For now, look at that quote. What is the problem that finally unseats this charlatan and ultimately makes him leave "the business"? The genuine article. A real healing by God. You cannot argue with truth. Well, you can try, but you cannot win. That is how you spot the false. Not by studying all of the counterfeits, but by studying the real deal. When you know what the truth looks like, everything else shows itself as flawed and incomplete.
So where do you go to study the truth?
Good question.
There's an even "gooder" answer, because God knew we would need more than our own intellect and emotion to guide us, which we sometimes mistakenly think is the Holy Spirit. No, God gave us something more concrete - a promise actually - that will abide and protect His truth for all time. What did He give us? If you said the Holy Spirit, you are on the right track. But notice the WAY in which He has given us the Holy Spirit and the deposit of faith.
John 14:16-17 (mouse over the reference to read the Scripture)
John 14:24-26 (use that mouse again)
We, having been buried with Christ in baptism and raised from our death to sin in order to live as new persons, have the indwelling of the Holy Trinity. The Apostles have this too, but they got something else. They received from the Holy Spirit total recall of all Jesus had taught them, which St. John said all the books in the world could not contain. All of this teaching has been faithfully protected by these Apostles, who are the first Bishops. Their successors, the Bishops have been charged throughout the centuries to continue to pass along these things. For example, read through 1 & 2 Timothy to see the instruction given to this young Bishop to hold fast to the teachings that were handed down to him. This succession, this structure which is part of the Church Jesus founded in Matthew 16, has the protection from the Holy Spirit Himself. He is the guarantor of truth for the Church Jesus said would never succumb to death. As we are faithful to this Deposit of Faith, whether we be laypersons, Priests, or individual Bishops, we can be sure that we are in the Truth. When we choose to be novel, to reject the authoritative teaching God established, and seek to carve our own road, we undoubtedly will teach error. So what is the answer? Remain faithful to that which God has revealed.
Sound easy? It's not. Want a good place to start? Try 1 John. See what St. John says the Christian life looks like. It's no walk in the garden, but it is worth any struggle and any self sacrifice to be in true communion with God.
