We can examine scripture to see what how Paul answered heresy charges leveled at him by his church.
Act 24:13 Neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me.
Act 24:14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:
Paul, a 1st century Christian, the minister to the gentiles, the TEACHER of the gentiles, BELIEVED all things written in the law and the prophets.
Paul understood that Judaism at the time, like most of Christianity today, teaches non-biblical tradition and ideas as doctrine and truth. Paul's defense is to say that HE believes what is written in the only scripture he had, the books of the old testament, the law and the prophets.
The answer against heresy, no matter who defines it or what year it is, is to believe what is written in scripture.
St. Paul does not add to that "and nothing else."
******I’m going to bet that my ideas of heresy differ greatly from yours.*** My personal definition of heresy is as meaningless as the personal theologies of, say, Origen towards the end of his life. It is what the Church declares as heresy that is all important.
We can examine scripture to see what how Paul answered heresy charges leveled at him by his church.
Act 24:13 Neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me.
Act 24:14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:
Paul, a 1st century Christian, the minister to the gentiles, the TEACHER of the gentiles, BELIEVED all things written in the law and the prophets. ***
Paul jettisoned a lot of things, including the idea that the Gentiles had to follow the law. Hebrews 8:
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5 When he speaks of a “new” covenant, he declares the first one obsolete. And what has become obsolete and has grown old is close to disappearing.
Obsolete. Disappearing. Jettisoned, according to Jesus and His Church.
Let us go back to Acts 15:
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6 After they had fallen silent, James responded, “My brothers, listen to me.
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Symeon 7 has described how God first concerned himself with acquiring from among the Gentiles a people for his name.
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The words of the prophets agree with this, as is written:
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‘After this I shall return and rebuild the fallen hut of David; from its ruins I shall rebuild it and raise it up again,
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so that the rest of humanity may seek out the Lord, even all the Gentiles on whom my name is invoked. Thus says the Lord who accomplishes these things,
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known from of old.’
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It is my judgment, therefore, that we ought to stop troubling the Gentiles who turn to God,
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but tell them by letter to avoid pollution from idols, unlawful marriage, the meat of strangled animals, and blood.
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For Moses, for generations now, has had those who proclaim him in every town, as he has been read in the synagogues every sabbath.”
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Then the apostles and presbyters, in agreement with the whole church, decided to choose representatives and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. The ones chosen were Judas, who was called Barsabbas, and Silas, leaders among the brothers.
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This is the letter delivered by them: “The apostles and the presbyters, your brothers, to the brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia of Gentile origin: greetings.
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Since we have heard that some of our number (who went out) without any mandate from us have upset you with their teachings and disturbed your peace of mind,
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we have with one accord decided to choose representatives and to send them to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
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who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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So we are sending Judas and Silas who will also convey this same message by word of mouth:
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‘It is the decision of the holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities,
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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.’”
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And so they were sent on their journey. Upon their arrival in Antioch they called the assembly together and delivered the letter.
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When the people read it, they were delighted with the exhortation.
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Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, exhorted and strengthened the brothers with many words.
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After they had spent some time there, they were sent off with greetings of peace from the brothers to those who had commissioned them.
The Church of Jesus Christ uses its authority to make theological and religious practice pronouncements.
***We can examine scripture to see what how Paul answered heresy charges leveled at him by his church.
Act 24:13 Neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me.
Act 24:14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets: ***
This is a false claim. The heresy charges were by the Jews against Paul; this obviously has no importance here, because Paul at this time was not Jewish. He was Christian. Let us see what you have left out. Acts 24:
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Five days later the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and an advocate, a certain Tertullus, and they presented formal charges against Paul to the governor.
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When he was called, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, “Since we have attained much peace through you, and reforms have been accomplished in this nation through your provident care,
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we acknowledge this in every way and everywhere, most excellent Felix, with all gratitude.
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But in order not to detain you further, I ask you to give us a brief hearing with your customary graciousness.
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We found this man to be a pest; he creates dissension among Jews all over the world and is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazoreans. 1
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He even tried to desecrate our temple, but we arrested him.
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If you examine him you will be able to learn from him for yourself about everything of which we are accusing him.”
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The Jews also joined in the attack and asserted that these things were so.
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3 Then the governor motioned to him to speak and Paul replied, “I know that you have been a judge over this nation for many years and so I am pleased to make my defense before you.
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As you can verify, not more than twelve days have passed since I went up to Jerusalem to worship.
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Neither in the temple, nor in the synagogues, nor anywhere in the city did they find me arguing with anyone or instigating a riot among the people.
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Nor can they prove to you the accusations they are now making against me.
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But this I do admit to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our ancestors and I believe everything that is in accordance with the law and written in the prophets.
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I have the same hope in God as they themselves have that there will be a resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous.
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Because of this, I always strive to keep my conscience clear before God and man.
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After many years, I came to bring alms for my nation and offerings.
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While I was so engaged, they found me, after my purification, in the temple without a crowd or disturbance.
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But some Jews from the province of Asia, who should be here before you to make whatever accusation they might have against me—
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or let these men themselves state what crime they discovered when I stood before the Sanhedrin,
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unless it was my one outcry as I stood among them, that ‘I am on trial before you today for the resurrection of the dead.’”
There. Paul admits his heresy right here. It is not heresy against Christ, but against Judaism.
***The answer against heresy, no matter who defines it or what year it is, is to believe what is written in scripture.***
What is Scripture? Who wrote it and who approved it? The answer can be found in Matt 16:
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He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
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11 Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
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Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood 12 has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
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And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, 13 and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
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I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. 14 Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
The keys. The authority of the king given to his chief steward when the king was away for an extended period of time. The authority given to Peter by Christ. Not the assumed authority of Luther’s every milkmaid to determine her own theology.