(All quotes from Scripture are taken from
the King James Version of the Bible)
The True Church of Christ has Traditions. 2 Thessalonians 2:15--"Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle." All Christians are told to withdraw themselves from those who do not keep the Traditions. 2 Thessalonians 3:6--"Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us." As it says in 2 Thessalonians 2:15, these Traditions were taught not only by Scripture (epistle), but also by the private instruction of the Apostles (by word).
Did the Apostles ever use Tradition?
Absolutely. In 2 Timothy 3:8 St. Paul says, "Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith". Who were Jannes and Jambres? You won't find the answer in the Bible. Holy Tradition says that they were the chief magicians of Pharoah's court that countered Moses' miracles as recorded in Exodus chapter 7. In Hebrews 11:32 and 37 we read, "And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:"....."They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented." When St. Paul mentions the prophets, he says "they were stoned". Which ones? You won't find the answer in the Bible. Holy Tradition says that both Jeremiah and Ezekiel were stoned to death for preaching the word of God. And again, he says that "they were sawn asunder." Which prophet was sawn asunder? The Bible doesn't say, but Holy Tradition says that the prophet Isaiah was sawn in half for admonishing the wicked King Manasseh.
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