In the Old Testament times the common people were expected to know Gods Word, not through rabbinical interpretation but for themselves, and were able to know it. That fact, as well as its availability to all, is very clear from Christs rebuke of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus: O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken... (Luke 24:25). He would not have used such harsh language in holding these two ordinary people responsible for their ignorance of prophecies had not all of the Old Testament Scriptures been readily available, familiar, and understanding to the ordinary Jew. He then expounded unto them in all the Scriptures (which must therefore have been known) the things concerning himself (Luke 24:25-27). All of the Scriptures were even available to the faraway Bereans north of Greece, who, as we know, search the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:11). The same evidence is found in the fact that Timothy knew the Old Testament from early childhood (2 Tim 3:15) and that it was taught to him not by the rabbis in the synagogue but at home by his mother and grandmother, who themselves were women of faith (2 Tim 1:5). It is certainly clear that no one in the Old Testament times looked to any hierarchy for an official interpretation of Scripture. Nor did the early church. Nor should we today The plain words of the Bible, without Romes domineering interpretation, give the lie to the hierarchical structure of the Roman Catholic Church and the authoritarianism of its clergy. Priscilla and Aquila were an ordinary husband and wife who labored daily at tentmakers (Acts 18:3). Yet a church(met) in their house (1 Cor 16:19) and they were capable teachers of Gods Word, even instructing a man so eloquent as Apollos (Acts 18;26). Paul referred to them as my helpers in Christ Jesus (Rom 16:3). They had never been to seminary and were not part of a clerical hierarchy (which didnt exist), but knew God and His Word by the Holy Spirit indwelling them. So should all blood bought believers.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 06:18:35 +0000
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