Purgatory is defined as a state of being, the continuing process of purgation or purification of the soul after human death. It is a state of perfection--begun in baptism and faith-consummated after death, entered into only by those who are saved. In other words, our transformation in Christ (Rom 13:14, "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ")(But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.) This verse is telling us to practice christ-likeness. Wrong quotation to mean to go through purgatory first to be like christ. , our perfection in the holiness of the Father (1 Pet 1:16, "Be holy, because I (am) holy")(1Pet 1:13-16 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient Children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of Conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.) Same here, the Catholic Church likes to quote fragments of verses to support it's beliefs. If you read from verse 13 onwards, It is Peter telling us to be Christ-like again. To be a good testimony to others. Be holy in conversation... No where does it say we will go to purgatory to become holy like God. is not ended at our physical death. Purgatory is a sign of God's mercy on those who have honestly sought to know God and to do His will in this life and yet die in some degree of bondage to sin or the effects of sin. There are only 2 verses i can quote to show you that if you are really a child of God, You are free of sin. You are not under bondage of sin or the effect of sin, unless you are not born again, or you are just a physically professing Christian, not a real believer. the Verses are Romans 6:18,22 "Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.... How can one keep sinning knowingly and claim to be a child of God? All we need to pray for forgiveness. 1John 1 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness... How can we be righteous again? Refer to 1John 1.
The Church has only two official teachings concerning purgatory:
- it exists, (Who says so? The Roman Catholic Church or God) Who will you listen to? Man or God? and
- our prayers help the souls in purgatory. (This is only claimed in Macabees, where the bulk of contradictions in the Catholic Bible is found.)
God is revealed as perfect interior holiness.
- Is 6:3
- "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts!" they (the Seraphim) cried one to the other. How does this show that purgatory exist? It is just a dying ploy to try and claim something that does not exist.
We are called to that same holiness.
- Lv 19:2
- "Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy." Yes this is true. But still... How do we be holy? Going to purgatory?
- 1 Pet 1:15-16
- As he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct (Conversation), for it is written, "Be holy because I (am) holy."
Who can stand in the face of the holiness of God? the answer is No one. But if we are children of God, will you fear to see your father? Unless all is just an act.
- Ps 15:1
- Lord, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy mountain? why leave out verse 2? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart... and verse 3,4,5??? Why leave it out? I thought the writer was searhing for an answer? SO where is it?
- Ps 66:18
- Had I cherished evil in my heart, the Lord would not have heard. that is because David sinned. But what did he do? He prayed. Again the writer purposely left out verse 19 and 20... But verily God hth heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.
- Heb 12:14
- Strive for peace with everyone, and for that holiness without which no one will see the Lord. As usual, read the whole Hebrews 12, and you will see it is an Exhortation to Faith and be faithful, and be christlike...
- Eph 5:3
- Immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is fitting among holy ones. "But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints" Are we saints? Yes if we have really accepted christ as our personal lord and savior. SO what should we do? We should flee from sin.
- Ex 33:18-20
- Then Moses said, "Do let me see your glory!" He (Yahweh) answered, "I will make all my beauty pass before you, and in your presence I will pronounce my name, 'Lord'; I who show favors to whom I will, I who grant mercy to whom I will. But my face you cannot see, for no man sees me and still lives." Oh.. Now the Catholic Church quotes the whole verse, because it somehow seems like it can support Purgatory.. No one can see the face of the lord because he is too Holy... Any any man that sees his face will perish. Okay. Still, this verse does not say if you cannot see God unless you go through Purgatory.
- Rev 21:27
- ... but nothing unclean will enter it (the City of God), nor any (one) who does abominable things or tells lies. Only those will enter whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. Okay... the first part of the verse says nothing unclean, or abomination will enter the gates of heaven... EXCEPT those names written in the Book of life. So. Are you born again? are you going to Heaven? ARE YOU GOING TO PURGATORY FIRST??? Did God say that there are those who are unclean and tell lies and do abominable things but their names are written in the book of life. and they will go to a place to be cleansed of their sins before they can enter??? NO!!!
- Eph 5:25-27
- Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her (the Church) to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, that he might present to himself the church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. Is the Catholic church or any other Protestant church today without blemish? I do not think so. There are flaws in every church... AND obviously, God didn't mean the Church to be the physical church as the Catholics have claimed for centuries. God did not die for the Catholic Church only, but for the whole world... The Church is a whole assembly of believers who really confess with all their hearts that Jesus Christ is LORD, Not specifically the Catholic Church.
We are deprived of the vision of God because of our sinfulness. But there is a divine purging fire which can heal us.
- Heb 12:29
- For our God is a consuming fire. Where is Purgatory in this argument?
- Heb 12:6,10
- For whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges. ... but he does so for our benefit, in order that we may share his holiness. "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness." The lord punishes us in his own way. He allows bad things to befall us when we sin. It is indeed for our own good. But still, Purgatory is not in the Picture.
- Is 6:5-7
- Then I (Isaiah) said, "Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!" Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember which he had taken with tongs from the altar. He touched my mouth with it. "See," he said, "now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged." Yes. A miracle happened here. The lord wanted to assure Isaiah that he was not doomed, as he still had to carry out the work of the Lord. It was just an assurance. God could have just told him. But we sometimes would rather see something done rather than said. Thats why God showed him a sign to comfort him. As before? will we all go to purgatory, and seraphims will touch our lips with coals before we ascend to heaven? No...
- 1 Cor 3:11-15
- For no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, the work of each will come to light, for the Day will disclose it. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire (itself) will test the quality of each one's work. If the work stands that someone built upon the foundation, that person will receive a wage. But if someone's work is burned up, that one will suffer loss; the person will be saved, but only as through fire. Okay... as usual, I've heard this from many Catholics who insist the existance of Purgatory. Do you read the whole chapter or only a few verses to assure yourself? Do you know in what Context God said that? To state it simply, the Lord is trying to say that, no matter how great your works are on earth, and how great you proclaim to believe in the lord, Persecution will show whether you are really in the Lord or were just "acting". The fire here does not refer to Purgatory. You can say you believe with all your heart, but when persecution comes your way, you turn your back on christ. That is the testing of your faith... If your have true faith, your works are built upon Jesus Christ. If your Faith is false, you have built your house upon Gold, silver, precious stones, wood hay and stubble... Which will be easily burnt by fire... And only persecution will show who the real believers are.
- 1 Pet 1:7
- The genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Now you see? The genuineness of your faith... It is stated so clearly here. No more comments.
Jesus implies that our sins can be forgiven in the next world. The next World? It is either Heaven or Hell.. You choose.
- Mt 12:32
- And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. What does it mean in the age to come... Purgatory?
Scripture from the Greek Septuagint, the Old Testament of Christ, the Evangelists and Paul, and of the councils of Hippo and Carthage, affirm purgatory. The Catholics would rather trust the words of man rather than God, and you yourselves can see, the word of Popes, Priests and tradition carried down from olden days hold more water than the word of God.
- 2 Mc 12:42-46 Macabees 1 and 2 Greatly contradict the bible... There is no other contradiction in the bible other than the extra 7 books that the catholic church added in in 1546. That is why the catholics do not trust wholeheartedly in the bible. They see contradiction. But who added in the Contradiction? They themselves.
- Turning to supplication, they prayed that the sinful deed might be fully blotted out. The noble Judas warned the soldiers to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those who had fallen. He then took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view; for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death. But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin. This is really in Macabees... Which stands so strongly for the existance of Purgatory.... Written by Who??? its unknown... Maybe by some Catholic leader?
Experience teaches us that there are people who die so suddenly, they have not had the opportunity to confess their sins, but are not guilty of serious "death dealing" sin and separation from God. God Judges everyone according to their sin... The unborn children, the people who never heard the gospel, all are judged according to God's own methods... Who are we to say where they go? God does not say in the bible what happens to these people... He didn't say they were going to heaven, or hell, or even purgatory. Assume all you want.
The constant (it is in no way constant) faith of the Church affirms the belief in purgatory.(True faith lies in the believing of God's Word)
From the earliest of times, the Fathers of the Church taught the existence of purgatory: Tertullian (Rome, 160 - 220?), Origen (Alexandria, 185 - 254?), Cyprian (Carthage, 200 - 258), Ambrose (Tier, 340 - 397), Augustine (Numidia, 354 - 430), Basil (Caesarea, 329 - 379), Gregory of Nazianzus (in Cappadocia, 329 - 389), John Chrysostom (Antioch, 349 - 407), Gregory the Great (Rome, 540 - 604), and many others. following the crowd? Since many others sin? Why not i sin? Is that a vaild excuse?
The teaching Magisterium of the Church also affirms the belief in purgatory. year after year, flaw after flaw, lies after lies, cover up one after another, There is never a day when the Catholic Church will admit they are wrong.
- Council of Lyons II (1274)
- We believe ... that the souls, by the purifying compensation are purged after death.
- Council of Florence
- Repeated the Council of Lyons II.
- Council of Trent (1545-1563)
- We constantly hold that purgatory exists, and that the souls of the faithful there detained are helped by the prayers of the faithful.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, Section 1031
- The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent. The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture (which were all wrong referance and interpretation), speaks of cleansing fire.
As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence we understand (No... You do not understand... You assume.. You hope... You dream. There is no truth in Purgatory) that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come. - Catechism of the Catholic Church, Section 1472 (year after year, the catholic church teaches this. It is no wonder, so many people accept it as the truth, not even bothering to really look into the word of God to see for themselves what contradiction and irony there is in the belief of Purgatory)
- To understand this doctrine and practice of the Church, it is necessary to understand that sin has a double consequence. Grave sin deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, the privation of which is called the "eternal punishment" of sin. On the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the "temporal punishment" of sin. These two punishments must not be conceived of as a kind of vengeance inflicted by God from without, but as following from the very nature of sin. A conversion which proceeds from a fervent charity can attain the complete purification of the sinner in such a way that no punishment would remain.
Limbo
This limbo thing is for your own reading enjoyment... It is not even officially accepted by the Catholic Church, but still under construction, just like purgatory was in year 593.
The word limbo comes from the Latin word limbus which means a border, a hem, or fringe around the edge of a garment.
The term is associated in common parlance to mean some in-between state of being. It is often associated, in a religious context, with some state of being in neither heaven nor hell, therefore on the fringe of either. It has been used to refer to the abode for the dead who were neither capable of committing deadly sin (1 Jn 5:16) which excluded the soul from hell nor were baptized in water and the Holy Spirit (Jn 3:5)which excluded the soul from heaven.
There never has been nor is there any official Roman Catholic doctrinal position or teaching on the existence of or state of limbo. It is just another invention of the Catholic Church. Quite a nice name though. Limbo..
It must be stated that the term limbo receives a lot of attention in pastoral practice when pastors had to explain the mind of God to distraught parents whose newborn infant has died without being baptized.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, Section 1261
- As regards children who have died without Baptism, the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God who desires that all men should be saved, and Jesus' tenderness toward children which caused him to say: "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them," allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without Baptism. (allow us to hope... yes... we hope. But who says that baptism ensures salvation besides the Catholic Church? The bible does not say it, SO? Who will you believe?) All the more urgent is the Church's call not to prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift of holy Baptism.
With this, I end this Post. I sincerly hope all those that read this will really think whether you want to believe in the Word of God, or the Words of Man....
God bless all those that are in His Church.
Friday, July 15, 2005
9:53 AM
The Catholic Answers
This was taken from the Catholic answers... I noticed that there are ways in which the bible verses were quoted wrongly...
Apostolic Tradition
Is Scripture the sole rule of faith for Christians? Not according to the Bible. While we must guard against merely human tradition, the Bible contains numerous references to the necessity of clinging to apostolic tradition.
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. 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. 2:15). 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. 3:6).
To make sure that the apostolic tradition would be passed down after the deaths of the apostles, Paul told Timothy, "[W]hat you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Tim. 2:2). In this passage he refers to the first four generations of apostolic succession-is own generation, Timothy's generation, the generation Timothy will teach, and the generation they in turn will teach.
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.
My Response
1."I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I have delivered them to you" (1 Cor. 11:2)
The bible states in 1Cor 11.2 "Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delievered them to you."
The word Ordinances means "the law" given by Paul... It is in no way related to how the Catholic answers author writes, as Traditions... Keep the Law, not maintain the traditions... Why must the Catholic Answers change the bible verse just to try and make people believe in them? Wheres the answer? It is just a lie, that covers up one after another. There is no truth, but who checks with the scripture to ensure that misquoting is not occuring?
2."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. 2:15).
Now, to counter check... the Bible says in 2 Thess. 2:15 "Therefore, brethren, standfast and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle."
Here, the Catholic answers author quotes quite accurately... Was there an error in his bible when quoting the previous verse? Or has his bible been edited to suit his believes to follow tradition?. And what traditions did the author mean? Did he mean the Catholic Traditions? He sure did.
But what did the bible say? It says "hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle." by word... Did it say Mouth??? No! It was an addition. So the people can say that whatever has been passed down by the mouths of olden day catholics is correct...
Did it say by letter? Letter of whom? Letter of the Popes and Catholic Priests of early time? The bible clearly states that it is the letters written by the first Christians which are in the new testaments of the bible....
Thank God, His bible still has answers to all our questions. What is the use of Catholic Answers that uses verses edited by the author? What kind of answer is that? That is men's answer to the questions asked. But what is God's answer? Look in the Bible. Will you choose to listen to Man or God?
This is just one of the Catholic answers that shows that it has it's flaws. How can the whole lot of it then be trusted.
I will be posting more of the catholic answers here, to show how directly it steals away words from the bible and add in words of its own to compliment the traditions of the catholic church.
May the reader find the true answers to the questions in his life, through the bible, and not by mouth of man.
God Bless
Friday, July 08, 2005
8:59 AM
The Roman Catholic Church
- Prayers for the dead, began about AD 300
- Veneration of Angels and dead saints, and use of images, 375
- The Mass, as a daily celebration, 394
- Beginning of the exaltation of Mary, the term "Mother of God" first applied to her by the council of Ephesus, 431
- Priests began to dress differently from laymen, 500
- Extreme Unction, 526
- The doctrine of Purgatory, established by Gregory I, 593
- Prayers directed to Mary, dead saints and angels, about, 600
- Kissing the pope's foot, began with Pope Constantine, 709
- Worship of the cross, images and relics, authorised in, 786
- Worship of St. Joseph, 890
- Canonization of dead saints, first by Pope John XV, 995
- The Mass, developed gradually as a sacrifice, attendance made obligatory in the 11th Century, 1000
- Celibacy of the priesthood, decreed by Pope Gregory VII (Hildebrand), 1079
- The Rosary, mechanical praying with beads, invented by Peter the Hermit, 1090
- The inquisition, instituted by the Council of Verona, 1184
- Sale of Indulgences, 1190
- Transubstantiation, proclaimed by Pope Innocent III, 1215
- Auricular Confession of sins to a priest instead of to God, instituted by Pope Innocent III, in Lateran Council, 1215
- Adoration of the wafer(host), decreed by Pope Honorius III, 1220
- Bible forbidden to laymen, placed on the Index of Forbidden Books by the Council of Valenica, 1229
- Cup forbidden to the people at communion by Council of Constance, 1414
- Purgatory proclaimed as a dogma by the Council of Florence, 1438
- The doctrine of Seven Sacraments affirmed, 1439
- Tradion declared of equal authority with the Bible by the Council of Trent, 1545
- Apocrypohal books added to the Bible by the Council of Trent, 1546
- Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, proclaimed by Pope Pius IX, 1854
- Syllabus of Errors, proclaimed by Pope Pius IX, and ratified by the Vatican Council; condemned freedom of religion, conscience, speech, press, and scientific discoveries which are disapproved by the Roman Church; asserted the Pope's temporal authority over all civil rulers, 1864
- Infallibility of the Pope in all matters of faith and morals, proclaimed by the Vatican Council, 1870
- Assumption of the Virgin Mary (bodily ascension into heaven shortly after her death), proclaimed by Pope Pius XII, 1950
Many more unlisted are, monks, nuns, monasteries, convents, forty days lent, holy week, palm sunday, ash wednesday, all saints day, incense, holy oils, holy palms, christopher medals, charms, novenas, and many others...
3:37 AM
The Salvific Role of the Roman Catholic Church
Since faith in Christ alone is uinsufficient for the Catholic's justification, necessary works need to be done to augment that faith. This beief is what gives the Roman church such a vital role in the salvation of her subjects. Being deemed as the sole dispenser of the works that must accompany faith, it virtually puts a stranglehold on the life of the faithful. The Second Vatican Council's Decree on Ecumenism explains it this way:
"For it is only through Christ's Catholic Church, which is "the all-embracing means of salvation," that they can benefit fully from the means fo salvation. We believe that Our Lord entrusted all the blessings of the New Covenant to the spostolic college alone, of which Peter is the head, in order to establish the one Body of Christ on earth to which all should be fully incorporated who belong in any way to the people of God"
This statement appears as an addendum to paragraph 816 of the 1994 Definitive Edition of the Cathechism of the Catholic Church thereby reaffirming the teaching without any doubt that going through the Roman Catholic Church is necessary for salvation. Again in paragraph 846 of the same catechism states, "Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse to enter it, or to remain in it." Now I understand why a Catholic friend of mine told be that if I refuse to acknowledge that the Church is a way to salvation, I will lose my salvation. This is another reason why I posted this.
Works that accompany faith is primarily channeled to individuals through the Catholic sacraments. The sacrament of baptism, the mass, and penance among others are said to be the means of grace that is exclusively available only in the Roman Church. Through this teaching, Catholics are caught in the enslaving grop of the church for fear of loss of salvation. The Catholic Encyclopedia in its section entitled The Church records thus:
"The Church alone dispenses the sacraments. It alone makes know the light of revealed truth. Outside the Church these gifts cannot be obtained. From all this there is but one conclusion: Union with the Church is not merely one out of various means by which salvation may be obtained: it is the only means." (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03744a.htm)
In other words, if anyone's church membership does not read Roman Catholic Church, he is unsaved. But the truth is that this church is neither Christian nor Catholic. In fact the name, "Roman Catholic" is a contradiction of terms. How can the word "catholic" which means "universal" or "all-encompassing" be confined to a certain locality which is Rome?
The Bible never teaches anywhere that church membership plays a part in the believer's salvation. On the contrary, Paul the Apostle tells us that salvation is only grace through faith in Christ alone (Eph. 2:8). A person without Christ is considered an alien to the commonwealth of the people of God. They are strangers to the covenants of promise and so they have no hope for they are without God in the world (Eph.2:12). In Contrast, those who are in Christ Jesus are made nigh unto God having been reconciled by the cross (Eph 2:13,16). Thus Paul concludes, "Now therefore ye are no more stranges and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God" (Eph, 2:19). Plainly stated, believers are saved first before they become members of the church.
In fact the church, in the real sense of the word, is not a place but a people. The original Greek word for "church" literally means "an assembly or gathering of people." It is actually a compound of 2 words which when taken separately will mean "the called out ones." These "called out ones" are they that are set apart and chosen by God and called unto salvation in Christ Jesus. The church therefore is composed of the chosen, elected, sanctified, and saved people of God. Believers are not saved because they are members of the church. Rather, they are members of the church because they are saved. Church membership is not the cause of salvation but the result of salvation. The Roman Catholic Church has seen this biblical truth as the other way around.
Some Catholics believe they can be saved by going to church. But the bible say one can only be saved by going to a Person. The New Testament Book of Acts narrates an incident wherein a Phillippian jailor asked Paul and Silas, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house" (Acts 16:30-31) Quite clearly, the church has no role in the salvation of sinners. When one of the Thiefs hanging on the cross told Jesus to remember him when Jesus goes into paradise, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, Today, thou shall be with me in Paradise. The thief had never the chance to go to church, or to do any of the sacraments. Jesus did not tell the thief that he will have to go to purgatory first and be cleansed. It is so clear in God's word that we have to believe to be saved. And it is that simple.
In this light therefore, can so much as a billion Roman Catholics around the world be gravely wrong? The Bible has this answer in Matthew 7:13-14. "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." A billion souls are certainly not few in number. Still we do not condemn Catholics , but we feel that the error in their beliefs may harden their hearts, and eventually make them turn from the truth.
How many ways are there to Heaven?
Aside from faith, Roman Catholics need to observe the sacraments since they are deemed necessary for one to enter into heaven. In fact the Council of Trent condemns in the strongest terms the teaching that salvation is only by faith in Christ alone with this statement:
If any one saith, that the sacraments of the New Law are not necessary unto salvation, but superfluous; and that, without then, or without the desire thereof, men obtain of God, through faith alone, the grace of justification; through all (the sacraments) are not indeed necessary for every individual; let him be anathema (Canon IV)
In addition to this teaching of sacramental salvation through the mass, baptism, and penance, the Roman Catholic road to salvation also includes availing of indulgences (which have ceased in a great number of countries today) the mediation of Mary, and submission to the authority of priests and popes. It is a complex route that can lead anywhere but heaven and cannot be proven from the word of God. The Bible says there is only one way to heaven and it is not through the church but through Jesus. He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the light: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6). Thank God , He still is and will always be the only way.
God Bless all those that Believe in Him!
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
2:42 AM
The Roman Catholic Church asserts that it represents true Christianity here on earth. This religion of more that one billion people has said that there is no salvation outside of the Roman Catholic Church. Past and present popes have defended this doctrine of ecclesiastical salvation as evidenced by this quotes:
"[The most Holy Roman Church] firmly believes, professes, and proclaims that those not living within the Catholic Church, not only pagan, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics cannot become participants in eternal life, but will depart into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angel..." (Pope Eugene IV and the Council of Florence A.D. 1438-1445)
"There is no salvation outside the Church. From her alone there flows surely and fully the life-giving force destined in Christ and in His Spirit, to renew the whole of humanity, and therefore directing every human being to become a part of the Mystical Body of Christ." (Pope John Paul II, Radio Message for Franciscan Vigil in St. Peter's and Assisi, October 3, 1981, L'Osservatore Romano, October 12, 1981)
While it is true that certain biblical truths are still taught in Catholicism, yet what it says here is not what is found in the bible. Thus it was for this cause that the Protestant Reformation arose in the 16th Century.
Rome has often pictured this important historical event as a movement that grew out of a new and heretical idea which originated from Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ullrich Zwingli and the rest of the reformers. She takes pride in calling herself as the only one holy, catholic, and apostolic church of Christianity. According to her teaching all the other churches, Protestant or otherwise, do not carry the fullness of true faith and as such they cannot be saved. She teaches that for a person to be saved, he must be baptised into the Catholic Church, do the sacraments, and perform the necessary good works. Aside from these, the Reformers felt that many other practices of Catholicism seriously contradict Scriptural teaching, although now they have answers for the practices, supported by Popes and other Catholic priests. Thus, what many people ask is, Is the Roman Catholic Church the true church of Jesus Christ as she claims herself to be?
The Protestant Reformation stood for the biblical truth that there can be no salvation except by grace through faith in Christ alone as revealed through the Holy Scriptures and that the whole work of man's salvation is for the glory of God alone. S.H Tow writes:
"The four cardinal pillars of the Reformation sum up the most holy faith: Scripture alone, by faith alone, by grace alone, and by Christ alone. It categorically excludes sacramental salvation, the mediatorial merit of priests and "saints", it excludes any salvifical role of the church, or the merit of any acts or services for God; it allows no place whatsoever for any sort of "faith" or religion in gaining one's salvation. Finally, it allows no part for images and idols in worship and it excludes the doctrine of purgatory."
Some Catholic theologians maintain that the Reformation was just a religions insurrection of disgruntled priest and monks. Together with their doctrines, these reformers were condemned by Rome's dreaded anathemas. These anathemas were never recanted ever since.
In the last decade, there has been a concerted effort to merge Roman Catholicism with traditional Protestantism. As a result, worship or prayer services conducted jointly by Protestant ministers and Catholic clergy have become all too common recently in many parts of the world. Christian bookstores have been flooded with literature that appeals to both Protestants and Catholics alike as if there are no more doctrinal and practical differences existing between theim. Has the Roman Catholic Church changed in its teachings on vital doctrines of the Christian faith? Do both sides now preach the same gospel message? If not, then this seems to suggest that the 16th century Reformation was, after all, a big mistake and that all Protestants should begin to march "Romeward bound."
Catholics claim that the true faith and its fullness carried through the centuries from the apostolic age cannot be found outside of their church. They further claim that because they have the majority of about one billion people in membership worldwide, so many could not all have been wrong at the same time. This fact, they say, only affirms that Catholicism represents true Christianity here on earth. Is the Roman Catholic Church all that it claims to be? Can these claims be substantiated from the Bible? We'll try to uncover the truth behind this matter.
The Reformed Protestant faith is founded upon biblical truth even as Rome has branded the movement as heretical. It was not a rebelling protest to an established papal heirarchy but a return to New Testament Christianity and the simplicity of the apostolic church. Neither was it a new ideology that sprung up during its time as some Catholics may suppose, but simply a restoration of the faith that was once delievered unto the New Testament saints.
This is a short extract from "Biblical Perspective of the Roman Church" I typed it out and took away some harsh words... However if there still are any, I apologise for it.
Anyway, we can see that although this extract keeps saying protestant, protestant, protestant, However, we can see that not all protestant churches are alike nowadays. Some new denominations have popped out, claiming new doctrine, saying we should worship God with loud music and everything. Still, my church, New-Life Bible-Presbyterian Church and many other Bible-Presbyterian Churches nowadays still hold on strong to biblical teaching, and have not swayed in whatsoever ways. There are no contraditions in the bible, however the catholics do think so. In my own opinion, it is because of the unbelieve of the bible, that is why there has been so much different interpretations of verses and new practices being formed.
Since this religious system also believes that the Bible is the word of God, its doctrines must be challenged on the basis of Scripture to see if it does measure up to what they profess to believe. The Bible commands us to "prove all things" (1Thess. 5:21); to "be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you of the hope that is in you" (1Pet. 3:15); and to "earnestly contend for the faith which was once delievered unto the saints" (Jude 3). Its is in this spirit that Catholic doctrines will be subjected to the biblical test. Pope Pius XII himself stated as he quotes St. Jerone in his Divino Afflante Spiritu, "To ignore the Scripture is to ignore Christ."
The above paragraph was written by a former catholic himself. I myself feel that if someone was to reject the bible as the true word of God, but as a book written by sinners and should not be trusted, the person is shutting his heart from God, and there is no more need to continue reading anymore of these posts because he will never believe anything we say, for he has closed his eyes to ignore the scripture, indirectly ignoring Christ's call.
This is by no means a personal attack on anyone. Do consider rather than insult for the intents of this post is not to judge the faith of individual Roman Catholics, but to show how some of their beliefs violates Scripture in every turn.
God Bless.
5:35 PM
The Nature of the Church
The Church of God,"that wonderful and sacred mystery,"(Aquinas) is a subject that stands at the very heart of the Bible. For the church is the object of the redemption which the Bible proclaims. It was to save the church that the Son of God became man, and died; (Eph. 5:25) God purchased His church at the cost of Christ's blood.(Acts 20:28) It is through the church that God makes known his redeeming wisdom to the hosts of heaven. (Eph. 3:10) It is within the church that the individual Christian finds the ministries of grace, the means of growth, and his primary sphere for service. (Eph. 4:11-16) We cannot properly understand the purpose of God, nor the method of grace, nor the kingdom of Christ, nor the work of the Holy Spirit, nor the meaning of world history without studying the doctrine of the church.
But what is the church? The fact that we all first meet the church as an organized society must not mislead us into thinking that it is essentially, or even primarily, that. There is a sense in which the outward form of the church disguises its true nature rather than reveals it. Essentially, the church is not a human organization as such, but a divinely created fellowship of sinners who trust a common Saviour, and are one with each other because they are all one with Him in a union realized by the Holy Spirit. Thus the church's real life, like that of its individual members, is for the present "hid in Christ with God," (Col. 3:4) and will not be manifested to the world until He appears. Meanwhile, what we need, if we are to understand the church's nature, is insight into the person and work of Christ and of the spirit and into the meaning of the life of faith.
The Covenant people of God
The church is not simply a New Testament phenomenon. An ecclesiology which started with the New Testament would be out of the way at the first step. The New Testament church is the historical continuation of Old Testament Israel. The New Testament word for "church," (in greek, a public gathering) is regularly used in the Greek Old Testament for the "congregation" of Israel. Paul pictured the church in history, from the beginning to his own day, as a single olive tree, from which some natural (Israelite) branches had been broken off through unbelief, to be replaced by some wild (Gentile) branches. (Rom. 11:16-24) Elsewhere, he tells Gentile believers that in Christ they have become Abraham's seed, "the Israel of God". (Gal. 3:29; Rom. 4:11-18; Gal. 6:16)
The basis of the church's life in both Testaments is the covenant which God made with Abraham. The fundamental idea of biblical ecclesiology is of the church as the covenant people of God.
What is a covenant? It is a defined relationship of promise and commitment which binds the parties concerned to perform whatever duties toward each other their relationship may involve. The two main biblical analogies for God's covenant with sinners are the royal covenant between overlord and vassal and the marriage covenant between husband and wife, the former speaking of God's sovereignty and lordship, the latter of His love and saviourhood. By His covenant, God demands acceptance of His rule and promises enjoyment of his blessing. Both thoughts are contained in the covenant "slogan," "I will be your God, and ye shall be my people";(Exo. 29:45: Lev. 26:12; Jer. 31:33; 2Cor. 6:16; Rev. 21:3; etc.) both are implied whenever a believer says "my [our] God"
God expounded his covenant to Abraham in Genesis 17, a chapter of crucial importance for the doctrine of the church. Four points should be noticed here. First, the covenant relationship was announced as a corporate one, extending to Abraham's seed "throughout their generations" (Gen. 17:7) Thus, the covenant created a permanent community. Second, the relationship was one of pledged beneficence on God's part: He undertook to give Abraham's seed the land of Canaan. (Gen. 17:8, a type of heaven; Heb. 11:8-16) This, as He had already told Abraham, would involve redeeming them from captivity in Egypt. (Gen.15:13-21; Exod. 2:24) Third, the end of the relationship was fellowship between God and His people: that they should "walk before" Him, knowing Him as they were known by Him. (Gen. 17:1) Fourth, the covenant was confirmed by the institution of a "token," (Gen. 17:11) the initiatory rite of circumcision.
Later, through Moses, God gave His people a law for their lives and authorized forms of worship (feasts, exhibiting His fellowship with them, and sacrifices, pointing to the bloodshedding for sin which alone could provide a basis for this fellowship). Also, He spoke to them repeatedly, though His prophets, of their glorious hope which was to be realized when the Messiah came.
Thus, emerged the basic biblical notion of the church as the covenant people of God, the redeemed family, marked out as His by the covenant sign which they had received, worshiping and serving Him according to His revealed will, living in fellowship with Him and with each other, walking by faith in His promises, and looking for the coming glory of the Messianic kingdom.
New Testament Fulfillment
When Christ came, this Old Testament conception was not destroyed, but fulfilled. Christ, the Mediator of the covenant, was Himself the link between the Mosaic and Christian dispensations of it. ( I.e the "old" and the "new" covenants of Heb. 8-10, chapters which build upon Jer. 31:31) The New Testament depicts Him as the true Israel, the servant of God in Whom the nation's God-guided history is recapitulated and brought to completion, (Matt. 2:15) and also as the seed of Abraham in Whom all nations of the earth find blessing. (Gal. 3:8,14-29) Through His atoning death, which did away with the typical sacrificial services forever, believing Jews and Gentiles become in Him the people of God on earth. Baptism, the New Testament initiatory sign corresponding to circumcision, represents primarily union with Christ in His death and resurrection, which is the sole way of entry into the church. (Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27; Col. 2:11)
Thus, the New Testament church has Abraham as its father, (Rom. 4:11,16) Jerusalem as it's mother (Gal. 4:26) and place of worship, (Heb. 12:22) and the Old Testament as its Bible. (Rom. 15:4) Echoing Exodus 19:5 and Hosea 2:23, Peter describes the Christian church in a thorough-going Old Testament fashion as "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people;... Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God. (1Pet. 2:9)
A New Creation in Christ
The New Testament idea of the church is reached by superimposing upon the notion of the covenant people of God the further thought that the church is the company of those who share the redemptive renewal of a sin-spoiled creation, which began when Christ rose from the dead. (1Cor. 15:20; Col. 1:18) As the individual believer as a new creation in Christ, (2Cor. 5:17) raised with Him out of death into life, (Eph. 2:1) possessed of and led by the life-giving Holy Spirit, (Rom. 8:9-14) so also is the church as a whole. Its life springs from its union with Christ, crucified and risen. Paul, in Ephesians, pictures the church successively as Christ's building, now growing unto "an holy temple in the Lord"; (Eph. 2:21) His body, now growing towards a state of full edification; (Eph. 5:25; Rev. 19:7) and his bride, now being sanctified and cleansed in readiness for "the marriage supper of the Lamb." (Found, as well as in Ephesians, in Rom. 12, 1Cor. 12 and Col)
Some modern writes in the "catholic" tradition treat Paul's body metaphor (1Cor. 12:13) as having a special "ontological" significance, and indicating that the church is "really" (in a sense in which it is not "really" anything else) an extension of the manhood and incarnate life of Christ. But according to Paul, the church's union with Christ is symbolically exhibited in baptism; and what baptism symbolizes is not incorporation into Christ's manhood simply, but sharing with Him in His death to sin, with all its saving fruits, and in the power and life of his resurrection. When Paul says that the Spirit baptizes men into one body, he means that the Spirit makes us members of the body by bringing us into that union with Christ which baptism signifies. (1Cor. 12:4-28; Rom. 12:6-8; 1Cor. 16:15; 2 Cor. 9:1) Scripture would lead us to call the church an extension of the resurrection rather than of the incarnation. In any case, Paul uses the body metaphor only to illustrate the authority of the Head, and His ministry to His members, and the various ministries that they must fulfill to each other; and we have no warrant for extrapolating it in other theological directions.
Ministry in the Church
The New Testament conceives of all ministry in the church as Christ's ministry to and through the Chruch. As the church is a priestly people, all its members having direct access to God through Christ's mediation, so it is a ministering people, all its members holding in trust from Christ gifts of ministry (i.e, service) for the edifying of the one body. (Eph. 4:11; Rom. 1:1,5,9;15:16) Within the context of this universal ministry, Christ calls some specifically to minister the Gospel, (1Cor. 3:10;15:10) giving them strength and skill for their task (1Cor. 3:6) and blessing their labors. (2Cor. 4:5) As spokesmen and representatives of Christ, teaching and applying His Word, church officers exercise His authority; yet they need to remember that, as individuals, they belong to the church as its servants, not the church to them as their empire, The church is Christ's kingdom, not theirs. (Matt. 18:20) This is a basic point which Luther accused the Papacy of forgetting.
Universal and Local
Paul speaks not merely of the whole body but also of local groups in an area, and even of a Christian household, as "the church" No local group is ever called "a church." For Paul does not regard the church universal as an aggregate of local churches (let alone denominations); his thought is rather that whenever a group of believers, even Christ's statutory two or three, (Rom. 12; 1 Cor. 12) meet in His name, they are the church in the place where they meet. Each particular gathering, however small, is the local manifestation of the church universal, embodying and displaying the spiritual realities of the church's supernatural life, So Paul can apply the body metaphor, with only slight alteration, both to the local church (one body in christ) (Eph. 4) and to the universal church (one body under Christ). (Matt. 13:24,47; 2Cor. 13:5; 1Cor. 15:34)
Visible and Invisible
The Reformers drew a necessary distinction between the church visible and invisible; that is , between the one Church of Christ on earth as God sees it and as man sees it; in other words, as it is and as it seems to be. Man sees the church as an organized society, with a fixed structure and roll of members. But (the Reformers argued) this society can never be simply identified with the one holy catholic Church of which the Bible speaks. The identity between the two is at best partial, indirect, and constantly varying in degree. The point is important. The church as God sees it, the company of believers in communion with Christ and in Him with each other, is necessarily invisible to men, since Christ and the Holy Spirit and faith, the realities which make the church, are themselves invisible. The Church becomes visible as its members meet together in Christ's name to worship and hear God's Word. But the church visible is a mixed body. Some who belong, though orthodox, are not true believers - not, that is, true members of the church as God knows it - and need to be converted. (Eph. 4:3) The Reformers distinction thus safeguards the vital truth that visible church membership saves no man apart from faith in Christ.
Another matter on which this distinction throws light is the question of church unity. If a visible organization, as such, were or could be the one church of God, then any organization seperation would be a breach of unity, and the only way to reunite a divided Christendom would be to work for a single international super-church. Also on this hypothesis, it would be open to argue that some institutional feature is of the essence of the church is therefore a sine qua non of reunion. (Rome, for instance, actually defines the church as the society of the faithful under the Pope's headship; some Anglicans make episcopacy in the apostolic succession similarly essential.) But in fact, the chuch invisible, the true church, is one already. Its unity is given to it in Christ.(Eph. 4:3) The proper ecumenical task is not to create church unity by denominational coalescence, but to recognize the unity that already exists and to give it worthy expression on the local level.
In the purposes of God, the church, we have seen, is glorious: yet on earth it remains a little flock in a largely hostile environment. Often, its state and prospects seem to us precarious. But we need not fear. Christ Himself, the King who reigns on Zion's hill, is its Saviour, its Head, its Builder, its Keeper. He has given his promise:"the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."(Matt. 16:18) And He is not accustomed to break His word.
Thank God for his inspiring word. May we learn from it and never leave our opinions to mislead us.
God bless!
Sunday, July 03, 2005
