[bdeaner]

The Pharisees thought their standing in the temple would save them, too.

Matthew 23: 1-3: 1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2"The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. 3So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.

This passage demonstrates that Jesus told His disciples to respect those who have legitimate authority. He does not admonish the Pharisees for their positions of authority; on the contrary, he criticizes them for their hypocrisy -- for their failure to practice what they preached.

We have the same problem in the Catholic Church. The Church has been given the authority by Christ to operate as the instrumental means for salvation of all people. But we all fail to live up to what the Church institutes in Christ's name; we inveitably fall. And that is why Christ instituted the sacrament of confession, for the forgiveness of sins. This sacrament is a gratuitous gift of grace that we do not deserve nor merit, and yet He has blessed us with it nonetheless, praise be to God.

2 Corinthians 5:18
18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:

[Dr. Eckleburg]

legitimate authority.

The bishop of Rome and his magisterium have no "legitimate authority." They are on a par with false teachers.