A person is saved when they first trust Christ for salvation. There is no 'true church', forget 'apostolic succession'. The Bible says whoever believes in Jesus is saved and that we ALL have been baptised by one Spirit into the body of Christ. We ARE the church. Jesus commanded us to preach the gospel into all the world, and given us ALL spiritual gifts, including pastoring and evangelising. Salvation and being part of the body of Christ has nothing to do with sacraments, rituals, works, certain churches, traditions, or anything else but having believed on Christ. All who have believed on Christ, no matter who told them, are saved and are the body of Christ, the church.
Mark 16:15 Jesus commanded the disciples to;
"Go into all the world and preach the Good News to all creation." We are all to do that.
Mathew 27:57 When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph,
who also himself was Jesus' disciple:
All believers are Jesus Christs disciples:
2 Timothy 4:2 The Apostle Paul instructs Timothy;
"Be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction." That is for all of us.
All believers are instructed by the lord to be prepared, correct,rebuke, and encourage:
2 Timothy 4:5 "But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry."
All believers are instructed by the lord to carry his message to the world discharging his duties of his ministries:
1 Peter 2:9 We are a chosen Priesthood to declare the praises of God!
But you are a chosen people, a royal Priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
All believers are a chosen people, a priesthood that are to take the gospel to the world.
Is apostolic succession Biblical? (www.gotquestions.org)
Question: "Is apostolic succession Biblical?"
Answer: The doctrine of apostolic succession is the belief that the 12 apostles passed on their authority to successors, who then passed the apostolic authority on to their successors, continuing throughout the centuries, even unto today. The Roman Catholic Church sees Peter as the leader of the apostles, with the greatest authority, and therefore his successors carry on the greatest authority. The Roman Catholic Church combines this belief with the concept that Peter later became the first bishop of Rome, and that the Roman bishops that followed Peter were accepted by the early church as the central authority among all of the churches. Apostolic succession, combined with Peters supremacy among the apostles, results in the Roman bishop being the supreme authority of the Catholic Church the Pope.
However, nowhere in Scripture did Jesus, the apostles, or any other New Testament writer set forth the idea of apostolic succession. Further, neither is Peter presented as supreme over the other apostles. The Apostle Paul, in fact, rebukes Peter when Peter was leading others astray (Galatians 2:11-14). Yes, the Apostle Peter had a prominent role. Yes, perhaps the Apostle Peter was the leader of the apostles (although the Book of Acts records the Apostle Paul and Jesus brother James as also having prominent leadership roles). Whatever the case, Peter was not the commander or supreme authority over the other apostles. Even if apostolic succession could be demonstrated from Scripture, which it cannot, apostolic succession would not result in Peters successors being absolutely supreme over the other apostles successors.
Catholics point to Matthias being chosen to replace Judas as the 12th apostle in Acts chapter 1 as an example of apostolic succession. While Matthias did indeed suceed Judas as an apostle, this is in no sense an argument for continuing apostolic succession. Matthias being chosen to replace Judas is only an argument for the church replacing ungodly and unfaithful leaders (such as Judas), with godly and faithful leaders (such as Matthias). Nowhere in the New Testament are any of the twelve apostles recorded as passing on their apostolic authority to successors. Nowhere do any of the apostles predict that they will pass on their apostolic authority. No, Jesus ordained the apostles to build the foundation of the church (Ephesians 2:20). What is the foundation of the church that the apostles built? The New Testament the record of the deeds and teachings of the apostles. The church does not need apostolic successors. The church needs the teachings of the apostles accurately recorded and preserved. And that is exactly what God has provided in His Word (Ephesians 1:13; Colossians 1:5; 2 Timothy 2:15; 4:2).
In short, apostolic succession is not biblical. The concept of apostolic succession is never found in Scripture. What is found in Scripture is that the true church will teach what the Scriptures teach and will compare all doctrines and practices to Scripture in order to determine what is true and right. The Roman Catholic Church claims that a lack of ongoing apostolic authority results in doctrinal confusion and chaos. It is an unfortunate truth (that the apostles acknowledged) that false teachers would arise (2 Peter 2:1). Admittedly, the lack of supreme authority amongst non-Catholic churches results in many different interpretations. However, these differences in interpretation are not the result of Scripture being unclear. Rather, they are the result of even non-Catholic Christians carrying on the Catholic tradition of interpreting Scripture in accordance with their own traditions. If Scripture is studied in its entirety and in its proper context, the truth can be easily determined. Doctrinal differences and denominational conflicts are a result of some Christians refusing to agree with what Scripture says not a result of there being no supreme authority to interpret Scripture.
Alignment with Scriptural teaching, not apostolic succession, is the determining factor of the trueness of a church. What is mentioned in Scripture is the idea that the Word of God was to be the guide that the church was to follow (Acts 20:32). It is Scripture that was to be the infallible measuring stick for teaching and practice (2 Timothy 3:16-17). It is the Scriptures that teachings are to be compared with (Acts 17:10-12). Apostolic authority was passed on through the writings of the apostles, not through apostolic succession.
