It is not a command.
"If he will not listen to the church, treat him as a pagan or tax collector." --Jesus
It does not give blanket authority over everyone every where to one organization that claims retroactively that it is the OTC which Jesus established.
The Church has been in continuous existence since Jesus founded it. The list of popes can be traced back to Peter and his successor. It's a matter of historical fact. How is that "retroactive"?
The very Roman church that adds *sacred tradition* to Scripture?
Paul, who was a bishop (he ordained Timothy as the Bishop of Ephesus), endorses Sacred Tradition... in Scripture.
"So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter." --St. Paul
Reject Sacred Tradition, reject Scripture.
Why haven't you shown proof that the traditions Paul was talking about are the same traditions the Catholic says they are today?
Of course it is.
The problem for Catholics is that it's not the corrupt institution called Catholicism.
Hogwash......
That is much what the Church of Rome has done since time of Pope Damasus, corrupting that which was tradition, subtly shifting (much but not all of it) to better suit it's own whims and convenience.
Singular papacy -- not found in earliest traditions.
The more one investigates, the worse it appears.
Try preaching the Gospel for a change, instead of preaching The Roman Catholic Church instead.
Then someone may hear you, and that be later found to be truly of Him, built upon nothing but Him (upon which no other foundation can a man build, as it is written) and that survive the coming fire.
Meanwhile, such things as the Virgin of Guadalupe image (which you referred to as the tilma of Juan Diego) is one of the precise sort of frauds which is evidence of anything BUT actual miracles, betraying in it's very essences the layers of deceit (accompanied with theological error, along with a bit of it's own troublesome, not-so-holy history) which is sadly enough endemic to Roman Catholicism, just about anywhere one cares to look.
2Th_2:15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
It's not just any letter, it's an epistle...Scripture...
So your religion is falsely claiming that this allows your popes (or whoever) to create future tradition and pass it on to you guys as actual truth...Equal to scripture...
If that was true, and of course it is not, following along in the same scripture, it allows people in your religion to write new epistles and claim them as legitimate scripture...
The way your religion teaches that verse is:
2Th_2:15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, or will be taught in the future, whether by word, or our epistle...
sorry, but that get's your name taken out of the book of life...
2Co 4:2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
Appears somebody in your neck of the woods is handling the word of God deceitfully...Craftiness, dishonesty...
How do you know?
How do you know they’re from the apostles, Paul in particular?
How do you know they’ve been passed down faithfully?
What is your source for verifying all of the above?
Please provide the sources for verification purposes.