From them has come down to us in writing, the sound and orthodox faith received from tradition” (fragment in Eusebius, Church History 4:21). “At that time there flourished in the Church Hegesippus, whom we know from what has gone before, and Dionysius, bishop of Corinth, and another bishop, Pinytus of Crete, and besides these, Philip, and Apollinarius, and Melito, and Musanus, and Modestus, and, finally, Irenaeus. other passages of his in which he relates some miraculous deeds, stating that he acquired the knowledge of them from tradition” (fragment in Eusebius, Church History 3:39 ). Accordingly, he mentions them frequently by name, and in his writings gives their traditions. “Papias, who is now mentioned by us, affirms that he received the sayings of the apostles from those who accompanied them, and he, moreover, asserts that he heard in person Aristion and the presbyter John. The early Church Fathers, who were links in that chain of succession, recognized the necessity of the traditions that had been handed down from the apostles and guarded them scrupulously, as the following quotations show. In this passage he refers to the first four generations of apostolic succession-his own generation, Timothy’s generation, the generation Timothy will teach, and the generation they in turn will teach. To make sure that the apostolic tradition would be passed down after the deaths of the apostles, Paul told Timothy, “hat you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. He even goes so far as to order, “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is living in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us” (2 Thess.
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11:2), and he commands the Thessalonians, “So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter” (2 Thess. Thus Paul tells the Corinthians, “I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I have delivered them to you” (1 Cor. While we must guard against merely human tradition, the Bible contains numerous references to the necessity of clinging to apostolic tradition.
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Is Scripture the sole rule of faith for Christians? Not according to the Bible.