Posted on 07/01/2015 7:13:05 AM PDT by RnMomof7
Recently there has been a surge in prominent Evangelicals calling for unity with Roman Catholicism. In one sense there seems to be strong foundational similarities that would justify these calls to unity. Catholics are baptized in the name of the Trinity. God’s revealed word in the Bible -- setting aside their addition of the Apocryphal books, for argument’s sake -- is foundational to their worldview. Catholics love Christ and believe that he died on the cross and rose again to provide grace for sinners.
Obviously there are theological differences associated with the specific teachings of each one of these perceived similarities, and I do not want to minimize the importance of these differences. But for argument‘s sake, at least on the surface, there is some common ground.
There is also a strong agreement in ethical standards. Both Roman Catholics and Evangelicals ground morality on God’s holy nature as revealed in the law of God. This means that on the hot button moral issues of the day; the murder of the unborn, human sexuality, the sanctity of marriage there is solidarity between Roman Catholic and Evangelical ethics because they are coming from the same source. Again, this seems to justify a call to some sense of unity.
Are these good enough reasons to publically stump for visible unity with Roman Catholics? That question is beyond the scope of this post. But there is a more fundamental question that must be answered first. That question serves as the dividing line between followers of Christ and the world, which separates biblical Christianity from every other worldview; does Rome possess and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
The author of the book of Hebrews in chapter 10 contrasts the gospel with that which is but a shadow of the gospel. He argues:
"And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified." -- Heb 10:11–14
The argument being presented here makes it clear that Christ’s singular sacrifice, his death on the cross, perfects those for whom it is made for. This is the gospel. It is contrasted with the shadow of the gospel in which sacrifices were repeatedly made year after year because though they symbolized the atoning and perfecting sacrifice of Christ, they never themselves perfected those for whom they were made. The gospel of Jesus Christ perfects and any other religious strategies cannot.
This principle is directly applicable to the question of Roman Catholicism and the gospel of God. Roman Catholic worship centers on the mass. The mass is a series of liturgical practices that culminates in the Eucharist which according to paragraph 1068 of the Catholic of the Catholic Church (hereafter CCC) is a divine sacrifice. Paragraph 1367 of CCC calls the Eucharist a “truly propitiatory” sacrifice. This sacrifice is performed repeatedly in the life of a Catholic.
The reason the Eucharist is performed repeatedly is because even though it is claimed to be a propitiatory sacrifice that can make reparation for sins (CCC, 1414), it is a sacrifice that never perfects anyone. According to the Catholic message grace is something that you get from God by performing certain acts. First, God gives you the grace for faith in Jesus (CCC, 2000). Second, when you are baptized God graciously erases the sin of Adam from your record (CCC 1257). From that point on you get more grace by doing things like participating in the sacraments, including the Eucharist. The problem is that when you commit sins, you lose some of the grace you have gained and now need more lest your grace be found wanting at final judgment. This forces the Catholic into a position where they need to return day after day, week after week, and year after year to a priest who serves to repeatedly re-present the same sacrifice which never perfects those for whom it is made, since it only offers grace to cover some sin.
This is not the gospel.
Roman Catholics need the gospel for the same reason we all need it. We are all sinners with such a messed up and low view of how holy holiness really is that we think somehow through our own efforts we can attain it. If we just had enough time and willpower we could somehow have our good deeds outweigh our bad, and this will please God just enough for me to be acceptable to him. This is a satanic lie. A satanic lie that to some degree or another we have all bought into at some point in our life.
But the truth is glorious. God is good and God is holy. He is more good and more holy than we can possibly imagine. God is so good and so holy that anything less than absolute perfection is unacceptable in his presence. It is because of God’s awesome goodness and awesome holiness that in his wisdom he has offered us grace, through faith in Christ. A good and holy sacrifice that absolutely without question completely perfects everyone for whom it is made.
Yes.
Welcome to the human race.
Tell that to your fellow Catholics.....
Sorry for the multiple posts.
I’m on my iPad with poor internet.
O...
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As such, it is no surprise to me that Catholicism has discarded the earlier versions of their scriptures.
As such, it is no surprise to me that Catholicism has discarded the earlier versions of their scriptures.
Where did you get the idea that the earlier versions were discarded?
As such, it is no surprise to me that Catholicism has discarded the earlier versions of their scriptures.
Any translation of the Sacred Scriptures that has received proper ecclesiastical approval - namely, by the Apostolic See or a local ordinary prior to 1983, or by the Apostolic See or an episcopal conference following 1983 - may be used by the Catholic faithful for private prayer and study.
See http://usccb.org/bible/approved-translations/index.cfm
Original KJV 1611 translation errors.
Genesis
verse 1:2 - And the earth BECAME without form and void . . .
10:9 - He was a mighty hunter AGAINST the Lord.
Leviticus
verses 16:8, 10, 26 - The word from which 'Scapegoat' is translated is better rendered 'Azazel.' 2Kings
verse 2:23 - And while he was going up on the highway, a GANG OF YOUTHS Ezekiel
verse 20:25 - Wherefore I also gave them over to their OWN statutes that were not good, and their own ordinances
Referring to Spirit as Ghost
Matt. 27:50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.”
Matt. 28:19 KJV“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”
Breeches instead of drawers
Exodus 28:42-43
And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach:
And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him.
JEHOVAH” INSTEAD OF “YHWH”
Exod. 6:3 KJV“And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.”
Psalm 83:18 KJV“That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.”
Isaiah 12:2 KJV“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.”
Isaiah 26:4 KJV“Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:”
See also: “Jehovah-jireh” (Gen. 22:14), “Jehovah-nissi” (Exod. 17:15), “Jehovah-shalom” (Judges 6:24)
JUPITER” & “MERCURIUS” IN PLACE OF “ZEUS” AND “HERMES”
Acts 14:12 KJV “And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker.”
MOUNT “SION” INSTEAD OF MOUNT “ZION” IN PROPHECIES OF THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST
Ps. 65:1-2 KJV “Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion: and unto thee shall the vow be performed. O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.
Rom. 11:26 KJV “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:”
Rev. 14:1 KJV “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.
NEW “TESTAMENT” INSTEAD OF NEW “COVENANT”
Heb. 7:22 KJV “By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.”
Heb. 9:15 KJV“And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.”
Luke 22:20 KJV “Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.”
See also: Matt. 26:28, Mark 14:24, Luke 22:20, 1 Cor. 11:25, 2 Cor. 3:6, 2 Cor. 3:14, Heb. 9:20
I don't mind telling you that as a former anti-Catholic protestant I am over joyed to see my decision justified by so many of my former fellow protestants.
Romans 8:5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
Genesis 1:2 And the earth hayah without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Hebrew - hayah - Definition - to fall out, come to pass, become, be [http://biblehub.com/hebrew/1961.htm]
Genesis 10:9 He was a mighty hunter al the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter al the LORD.
Hebrew - al - definition - above, according to, after, as against, among, and, as, at,
Leviticus 16:8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the azazel.
Hebrew - azazel - definition - From ez and 'azal; goat of departure; the scapegoat -- scapegoat. [http://biblehub.com/hebrew/5799.htm]
You're not doing so well so far.
And then how the Catholic Church compares.
Matthew 28:19 Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. [Douay-Rheims Bible]
From Catholic Online
"The doctrine of the Catholic Church concerning the Holy Ghost forms an integral part of her teaching on the mystery of the Holy Trinity"
"The Holy Ghost is the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity."
I think we can take that post of yours and discount it as so much drivel.
Gal 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Gal 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary the one to the other; that ye may not do the things that ye would.
Gal 5:18 But if ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Gal 5:20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties,
Gal 5:21 envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practise such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Gal 5:23 meekness, self-control; against such there is no law.
Gal 5:24 And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof.
No we can’t Mea Scriptura says mine is as valid as anything else.
BTW You need to go to the NAS that is the Catholic Church’s accepted translation. But don’t let the facts get in your way.
22 Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole assembly, to choose men out of their company, and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas: Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, chief men among the brothers. They wrote these things by their hand:> "The apostles, the elders, and the brothers, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: greetings. Because we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, 'You must be circumcised and keep the law,' to whom we gave no commandment; it seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose out men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who themselves will also tell you the same things by word of mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay no greater burden on you than these necessary things: that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality, from which if you keep yourselves, it will be well with you. Farewell."
>>NEW “TESTAMENT” INSTEAD OF NEW “COVENANT”<<
Hebrews 7:22 By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament (diathéké
. And from the Catholic Douay-Rheims Bible
Hebrews 7:22 By so much is Jesus made a surety of a better testament.
Greek - diathéké - Definition - testament, will, covenant
Hebrews 9:15 KJV“And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament (diathéké), they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.”
And from the Catholic Douay-Rheims Bible
Hebrews 9:15 And therefore he is the mediator of the new testament (diathéké: that by means of his death, for the redemption of those trangressions, which were under the former testament, they that are called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
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