Why Peter’s Silence Does Not Authorize Roman Tradition

A Pauline, Right Division Reply

1) The preserved apostolic record is Scripture

God did not leave doctrine for the Body of Christ to unwritten tradition or to later councils. He preserved it in Scripture. Paul writes, “the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord” which identifies his epistles as binding authority for the Body of Christ. See 1 Corinthians 14 verse 37. The same Spirit affirms that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. See 2 Timothy 3 verses 16 and 17. Peter himself directs believers to the more sure word of prophecy written in Scripture and he explicitly acknowledges the wisdom given to Paul, placing Paul’s writings in the category of Scripture that must be received with care. See 2 Peter 1 verse 19 and 2 Peter 3 verses 15 and 16. Therefore the standard for doctrine today is the written word of God, not post apostolic claims.

2) Peter’s commission explains his silence about later Roman teachings

Peter was the apostle of the circumcision. His letters are addressed to the scattered strangers of that program. See Galatians 2 verses 7 through 9 and 1 Peter 1 verse 1. He was not commissioned to lay the doctrinal foundation for the Body of Christ. Paul was given that ministry among the Gentiles and to all men without distinction. See Romans 11 verse 13 and Ephesians 3 verses 1 through 9. Peter’s silence about later Roman distinctives does not leave a gap for tradition to fill. It reveals that those teachings are not part of the apostolic doctrine God intended for the Body of Christ. When Peter does speak about ministry, he calls himself a fellow elder and instructs elders not to be lords over God’s heritage. See 1 Peter 5 verses 1 through 3. This instruction is the opposite of a supreme pontiff idea and it places servant oversight within a plurality, not a solitary throne.

3) What Peter actually teaches

Peter’s epistles point to a once for all payment accomplished by the blood of Christ. Believers are redeemed with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. By his own self he bare our sins in his own body on the tree. See 1 Peter 1 verses 18 and 19, 1 Peter 3 verse 18, and 1 Peter 2 verse 24. This language proclaims a finished and sufficient crosswork. It does not describe an altar sacrifice that is continued, repeated, or re presented to obtain grace. Peter’s own words testify to finality and sufficiency grounded in the shed blood of Christ.

4) Paul’s epistles define the gospel and the standing of the Body of Christ

Paul lays out the saving message with clarity. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. He was buried. He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. See 1 Corinthians 15 verses 1 through 4. On the basis of this finished work God justifies the ungodly by faith without works. Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God set forth Christ to be a propitiation through faith in his blood. See Romans 3 verses 24 through 26 and Romans 4 verses 4 and 5. In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. We are complete in him. There is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. See Ephesians 1 verse 7, Colossians 2 verse 10, and 1 Timothy 2 verse 5. These statements supply the Body’s rule of faith and practice and they leave no place for later rites or human offices to become channels of saving grace.

5) Why later councils and traditions cannot speak with Peter’s voice to the Body of Christ

When someone says that post apostolic councils and papal definitions carry Peter’s authority, the answer is simple and scriptural. The household of God is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone. See Ephesians 2 verse 20. That foundation was laid in the first century and it is recorded for us in Scripture. Additions that arise many centuries later are not part of that foundation. Paul warns that if any preach any other gospel than that which he preached, let him be accursed. See Galatians 1 verses 8 and 9. The test is not whether a claim traces to a line of bishops. The test is whether it is found in the apostolic writings God preserved. Peter’s silence about later Roman dogmas therefore does not authorize them. It exposes that they are not part of the apostolic deposit for the Body of Christ.

6) Common Roman claims answered briefly

Claim. Peter did not write everything he taught, so Rome preserves his unwritten tradition.

Reply. Scripture is sufficient to make the man of God perfect and throughly furnished. The Spirit directed Peter to point readers to Scripture and to Paul’s wisdom, not to an extra biblical magisterium. See 2 Timothy 3 verses 16 and 17, 2 Peter 1 verse 19, 2 Peter 3 verses 15 and 16.

Claim. Doctrines develop from seeds that were present in the apostles and are defined later.

Reply. Development cannot add new binding doctrines for the Body of Christ that Scripture does not teach. Paul’s curse in Galatians 1 forbids later additions that alter the gospel or place men under new conditions for grace.

Claim. The keys given to Peter authorize his successors to define doctrine.

Reply. Peter’s own writings model humility and shared eldership. He never claims solitary supremacy and he never establishes a continuing office that can create new dogmas. See 1 Peter 5 verses 1 through 3. For the Body of Christ, Christ is the one head and his body is complete in him. See Colossians 1 verse 18 and Colossians 2 verse 10.

7) How to read Peter and Paul without mixing programs

Right division keeps prophecy and mystery distinct while honoring both as Scripture. Read Peter to understand God’s dealings with the circumcision and to see the holiness, patience, and final suffering of Christ. Read Paul to receive the revelation of the mystery, the gospel of the grace of God, the believer’s position in heavenly places, and the completeness found in Christ apart from works, rites, or covenants given to Israel. Let clear Pauline passages govern doctrine for the Body of Christ and let non Pauline passages edify where they agree with and are interpreted by Pauline truth. This protects the clarity of the gospel and preserves assurance that rests in the finished work of Christ.

Conclusion

The issue is not what a later church claims Peter might have said. The issue is what God has written and preserved. Scripture records Peter as apostle of the circumcision, affirms a once for all crosswork, and points readers to Paul’s wisdom for doctrine that concerns us now. Scripture records Paul as the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles with the dispensation of the grace of God and identifies his writings as the commandments of the Lord. The sure foundation is therefore the written word of God. Additions that appear long after the apostles are not binding on the Body of Christ.