Dear Catholic Exchange:
In Acts 15:22-29, the Council of Jerusalem decides that there should be no more burdens placed on converts to Christianity than the few stated. I can accept that other laws (for instance, the Decalogue) must also be followed, but doesn't this mean that the Church, and even future Councils, should not add requirements for believers?
David Schabel
Dear David,
Peace in Christ!
Acts 15:28-29 says:
“It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities, namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meats of strangled animals, and from unlawful marriage. If you keep free of these, you will be doing what is right. Farewell.”
This was in a letter written in response to a specific problem or question. It is not to be intended as a complete list of all that will ever be required of a believer. In fact, even when it was written, more was expected than those four things. Believers were expected to pray, fast, tithe, gather in community, and follow all the teachings of Christ and the Apostles.
The ability of the Church to declare laws is based on the authority given to her by Christ. Jesus founded the Church by giving His authority to the Apostles and their successors. Just as Jesus claimed the authority of God because He was sent by God, so too could the Apostles and their successors claim the authority of God because they were sent by Jesus.
Several different passages in the New Testament reveal the authority of the Church. It is clear that Jesus had all the authority of God, including the ability to give authority to others. In many instances, Jesus gave authority of some nature to his Apostles. In Matthew 28:16-18, He gave them “all authority in heaven and on earth.” He also spoke of proper use of authority, implying that they did or would possess it. In addition, Jesus claimed authority based on the fact that the Father had sent Him; therefore, when He sent the Apostles, they took authority from that commission. Through the apostolic succession, the Church has been given all that authority which was given to the Apostles.
When naming the Twelve Apostles (Mt 10:1; Mk 3:15), Jesus gives the Apostles authority over spirits. In Mark 6:11, He sends out the Apostles to preach repentance; He also gives them authority to cure the sick and to cast out unclean spirits. Power over spirits and the ability to cure illness are both clearly seen in the Bible as the prerogative of God. They were also sent to preach repentance, which is a calling of people back to God. In the Old Testament, the judges and the prophets preached repentance, both acting as agents of God.
The giving of authority to the Apostles can also be seen in Jesus’ teaching regarding proper use of authority (Mt 10:42). If they were expected to have no authority, there would be no need to discuss how authority was to be used. Jesus told them not to use their authority like the Gentiles, lording over those under them, but in service to them and to God.
Authority, in many instances, comes not from the person himself, but from the one who sent him. In several places, Jesus says that one who speaks for another holds the authority of the one who sent him (Jn 12:49; 14:24). When the chief priests questioned Him, they asked by who’s authority He spoke (Mt 21:24; Mk 6:11). They knew that the one who sent the messenger is the source of the authority. At the Transfiguration, God said, “This is my beloved son, listen to him” (Mk 9:7). In the sending of the twelve and the seventy (Mt 10:1; Mk 6:7; Lk 9:1, 10:1), Jesus sent the Apostles and disciples to do work by His authority. In Luke 10:16, Christ explicitly says, “He who hears you, hears me.” The one sent carries with him the same authority of the one who sends.
Jesus gave His authority to the Apostles. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,…teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Mt 28:18-20). This event is paralleled in Mark 16 where Jesus not only tells them to preach the good news, but also says, “the one who does not believe will be condemned” (Mk 16:16). In John 20:21-22, Jesus explicitly says, “as the Father has sent me, so I send you.” He also said, “Whoever listens to you, listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me” (Lk 10:16). Just as Jesus claimed the authority of God because He was sent by God, so too could the Apostles and their successors claim the authority of God because they were sent by Jesus.
The Church has authority because Christ gave it to His Apostles, who formed the Church. Just as the Father had sent Him, so Christ sent His Apostles. Just as the Apostles spoke not by their own authority, but by the authority of God who sent them, so too the apostolic Church speaks not by her own authority but by that of God who sustains her. The Church’s authority flows from Christ who founded her. He made it clear that to listen to the Apostles, and their successors, is to listen to Him and, thereby, to do the will of God (cf. Lk 10:6; Mt 17:5). In the giving of authority to the Apostles and their successors, He gave the Church the authority to speak for God.
This authority of the Church is exercised in a number of ways. Some laws of the Church are disciplinary and thus changeable, whereas others are doctrine and thus unchangeable. There is an important difference between the teachings that we must believe, which are infallible and unchangeable (doctrine), and the rules that we must obey but which are changeable (disciplines).
The Church’s doctrines are of two kinds, teachings regarding morality and those regarding faith. The Church’s moral doctrines proscribe choices, e.g., contraception or adultery, that are intrinsically evil. Because these choices are intrinsically evil, they can never be justified and thus the Church’s doctrine can never be changed to sanction them. They are introduced as “Thou Shall Not’s” in the Decalogue (Ten Commandments) and are referred to as “negative precepts,” i.e., ones not admitting of exception (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2057). Other doctrines regard faith, e.g., the all-male priesthood. They also cannot be modified in a way that would contradict the Church’s long-standing teaching in their respective areas, although they do admit of change that would constitute a deeper insight into the Church’s teaching.
In contrast, disciplines do not involve intrinsically evil choices. They were imposed by Israel’s leaders in the Old Covenant days of salvation history, and now by God’s Church in New Covenant times, to aid people in drawing closer to God. As the word implies, “discipline” is associated with the word “disciple,” i.e., follower or adherent. Religious discipline is designed to help us become better followers of God. Because disciplines involve choices that are not inherently evil, e.g., getting circumcised or not getting circumcised, the sin of not keeping a discipline is really disobedience to God or His Church, which He has given power to act in His name.
For further information, please see our FAITH FACTS The Necessity of Law and Right Order, and No Bull: Papal Infallibility and Our Response.
Please feel free to call us at 1-800-MY FAITH or email us with any further questions on this or any other subject. If you have found this information to be helpful, please consider a donation to CUF to help sustain this service. You can call the toll-free line, visit us at www.cuf.org, or send your contribution to the address below. Thank you for your support as we endeavor to “support, defend, and advance the efforts of the teaching Church.”
United in the Faith,
Amy Barragree
Information Specialist
Catholics United for the Faith
827 North Fourth Street
Steubenville, OH 43952
800-MY-FAITH (800-693-2484)
Editor's Note: To submit a faith question to Catholic Exchange, email href=”mailto:faithquestions@catholicexchange.com”>faithquestions@catholicexchange.com. Please note that all email submitted to Catholic Exchange becomes the property of Catholic Exchange and may be published in this space. Published letters may be edited for length and clarity. Names and cities of letter writers may also be published. Email addresses of viewers will not normally be published.
