Four Unknowns and a Pope

The religious world and the news media have been absorbed and captivated with the news of Robert Prevost, a Chicago native, having been named the new Pope of the Catholic Church.  He has taken on the title of Pope Leo XIV and is now the first American born Pope of the Catholic Church.

My friend and preaching colleague, Kent Heaton, publishes a blog, The Heaton File.  Kent recently posted on his facebook page a link to his blog which offers some interesting insights into the Catholic doctrine and tradition of  “Papal Succession” as it relates to Biblical teaching.

Four Unknowns And A Pope

Do your utmost to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, as well as Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brethren. (2 Timothy 4:21)

Pope Leo XIV becomes the 267^th (or 268^th) Pope according to the Roman Catholic Church. According to Catholic doctrine, the apostle Peter was the first Pope. Nothing in the Bible suggests Peter was the head of the church, considering his fellow apostle Paul wrote that Jesus Christ was the head of the church. Peter was married and had children according to the Bible. The Catholic church ignores the absence of any proof of the papacy in the Holy Spirit inspired word of God. Taking the title of “Papa” or “Father” is contrary to the teaching of Jesus, who forbade such titles (again ignored). One of the most egregious errors of the Catholic church is the teaching that the second Pope of the church was a man named Linus. Supposedly, Peter gave the ordination of the papacy to a successor named Linus.

The Bible is the clearest book written. Many occasions illustrate the surgical precision of the language of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God and thus has the power to know how to frame the language of scripture that all men can read and understand the word of God. He does not leave vague wordings of eternal significance that men must interpret on their own and conclude within the teaching of human wisdom. It should be significant that the Bible never mentions Peter as Pope or hints at a papacy. The only mention of a Linus in scripture is in Paul’s second letter to Timothy. Near the end of his letter, he seeks Timothy’s help to have him come to him before winter. Paul is in a Roman prison and will be executed soon. He knows his life is short.

In the closing remarks to Timothy, Paul extends greetings from brethren that are with him, including Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brethren. How the Roman Catholic church gets a Pope out of this verse is a confounding mystery. The defense given by the Catholics is that the proof comes from sources outside the Holy Scripture. If the Pope were to be the head of the church and take on the role of absolute authority as “God on earth,” why did the Holy Spirit leave out the reference of Peter and Linus as heads of the Roman Catholic Church? Nothing is known of Linus. He is mentioned once in scripture without any clarification. The Holy Spirit (who is God) knew who Linus was, and yet, absent from the Holy Scripture is any reference to Linus being anyone but a companion of Paul (not Peter).

The Roman Catholic Church makes declarations that are to be accepted as true because the Roman Catholic Church makes a declaration that it determines as truth. This flies in the face of God’s authority in scripture. The litmus test is as simple as “show me in the Bible where any reference to the papacy is found.” More than a billion people accept the word of the Roman Catholic Church over the words of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit warned of the apostasy that would come, and the Roman Catholic Church is the fulfillment of the words of the Holy Spirit. Someone has said the Roman Catholic Church is the “mother of apostasy and the Protestant churches are her illegitimate children.”

There is one truth, which is established in the word of the Holy Spirit. No man can take the role of Pope and be found pleasing in the eyes of God. Changing the words of the Holy Spirit is an abomination to the character and nature of a Holy God. Paul warned the saints of Galatia that to heed the words of an angel, that is a different gospel, is an anathema. Every man has the divine responsibility to follow the words of the Bible and nothing else. Eternity depends upon that authority.