Posted by Gary on May 17, 2012
John 5:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”
1 John 5:13 “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
John 10:28 “and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”
I spent some time today reading the sixth section of The Council of Trent, the Roman Catholic Church’s response to the Protestant Reformation. The sixth section outlines Rome’s position on “Justification” or what the layman might call, “forgiveness”. I was formerly a Catholic and have many family and friends who are. I love them and believe that some of them have a genuine faith in the Lord Jesus. But if they are saved it must be said that it is in spite of what Rome has taught them, not because of it.
The Bible teaches us that at the moment a person receives Christ as their Savior with genuine repentance and faith, their sins are forgiven and they have eternal life never to perish. Jesus has said it above in John 5:24, please notice the tense… “has eternal life” and “has passed out of death into life”. Not, “might have eternal life” or “can hope he has eternal life”. Notice also, not, “will have eternal life” or, “will pass out of death into life”. But, “has”, now!
On what does Jesus make these wonderful assurances contingent? Believing. “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me”…But Rome says something different:
Section 6: Canon 12.
If anyone says that justifying faith is nothing else than confidence in divine mercy, which remits sins for Christ’s sake, or that it is this confidence alone that justifies us, let him be anathema.
Section 6: Canon 14.
If anyone says that man is absolved from his sins and justified because he firmly believes that he is absolved and justified, or that no one is truly justified except him who believes himself justified, and that by this faith alone absolution and justification are effected, let him be anathema.
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Posted by Gary on September 20, 2010
Why do I ask such a question? Of course Jesus died on the cross and rose again on the third day. The question beneath my question has to do with the other world religions and the belief of the great majority that there are many ways to heaven and we are all worshipping the same God.
Why did Jesus die on the cross? Because there was no other way for the sin of man to be atoned for. Is God an ogre? Does He delight in seeing people suffer? Why would God cause His Son to suffer on the cross if there were some other way(s) to get to heaven?
Do you remember what Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane?
Matthew 26:39 “And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”
If all the world’s religions ways of salvation are valid would God not have taken the cup of death out of Jesus’ hands? Would not the answer from heaven to this prayer have been? “Yes, My Son, it is possible for the cup to be taken from your hands for trips to Mecca and praying five times daily will make it possible for men to go to heaven.” Or, “My Son, you need not drink this cup because doing good deeds like taking people to the store and giving the church money will remove the guilt of sin”.
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Posted by Gary on November 14, 2008
A South Carolina Catholic priest has had the audacity to tell his parishioners that their claim to faith should govern their choices in life. In a day when you and I are told that we can define what being a Christian is or that we can practice Christianity cafeteria style (“I’ll take that, but not that”) the Reverend Jay Scott Newman has spoken clearly:
"Voting for a pro-abortion politician when a plausible pro-life alternative exits constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil, and those Catholics who do so place themselves outside of the full communion of Christ’s Church and under the judgment of divine law. Persons in this condition should not receive Holy Communion until and unless they are reconciled to God in the Sacrament of Penance, lest they eat and drink their own condemnation."
Under the judgment of divine law? Reverend Newman don’t you know that we don’t believe such a thing even exists? At least not for people who go to church. We really believe that judgment only awaits only a few people and of course not us or anyone we love. Judgment belongs to people who do horrible things like murder people, you know like Hitler and his six million or Stalin and his thirty million. You don’t mean to assert that our annual murder of forty two million babies will bring divine judgment do you?
Condemnation? Reverend Newman you and your kind are the real extremists, you mean to tell us that we are sinful and evil people who deserve to be punished. Even worse you would have us believe that God actually condemns people and sends them to hell. Maybe your God Reverend Newman but not our God, our God is love. Yes, we know His Word contains many warnings of His justice and holiness but we know that God finally realized that He was being unloving and harsh and changed Himself:
Malachi 3:6 "For I, the LORD, do not change…”
Jesus doesn’t have anything to do with judgment:
Revelation 19:11-15 “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.”
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