ping
Might as well. Our Pope is the worst I've seen in my lifetime. Global warming? Climate change? What's up with the Pontiff?
This easy-to-comprehend article is a basic and fundamental statement of the differences between the Gospel of Jesus Christ as given in the Holy Bible and those various teachings of Roman Catholicism as evidenced in the many diverse Roman Catholic posts on Free Republic’s Religion Forum.
This is a good post to refer to Roman Catholics who wish to understand why non-Catholic Christians follow the Lord and the RCs follow the RCC first and foremost.
Again? Trying to tell us (Catholics) what we believe and why we believe it?
Note the origin:
Midwestern Seminary ·
Our foundation is the ‘finished’ work of Jesus Christ...that we are justified by grace through faith because of Christ.....therefore the only righteousness that has the merit necessary to meet the requirements of the holiness of God is that righteousness that was achieved and performed by Jesus Christ and by Jesus Christ alone....we cannot earn any righteousness (perfection) on our own worthy of salvation....’only’ His righteousness alone is sufficient to save us.
If you present the salvation message read as,... “We are justified by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone,” ...the Roman Catholic will back away from it and he won't accept it.
We recognize that God is a God of distinctions.... justification by faith and faith ‘alone’ in Christ Alone’ is a central distinction between catholics and non-catholics.... Justification for catholics is a lifetime ‘works process’.....for Christian non-catholics justification is 'a finished work' Jesus Christ accomplished on the sinners behalf.
Furthermore...though catholics talk about Jesus, God, faith and grace it is not sufficient to unite with them...False doctrine always cries the loudest about unity...if you listen closely it's a cover for false doctrine encroaching.
So the problem is to say we need to fight together on these social issues gives ‘the appearance of compromising’ the basic doctrine of the gospel...of the Bible which is the gospel...which is the heart of all Christianity.....particularly since we all are fighting these anyway apart from unity of the faiths.
BTW there already is unity 'of true believers"...you can go anywhere in the world and can find a brother or sister in Christ regardless of what denomination he's in if he's really trusting Christ.
I believe the unity that is being presented today is a false unity and all need to be warned regarding it.
This shows either a complete misunderstanding or a misrepresentation of Catholic belief. Catholics do not believe that we get to Heaven by earning enough brownie points to make up for our sins. Rather the difference between Catholics and Protestants is that Protestants believe that we are saved merely from the penalty of sin while Catholics believe we are saved from sin itself, i.e. the disorder of the soul that turns us away from the love of God to the selfish love of self.
Protestantism falls into the same legalistic trap as the Pharisees. They view sin as merely an external violation of a legal precept given by God. For the Pharisee reparation is made by the Temple sacrifices. For the Protestant reparation is made by the penal substitution of the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. Thus while man is still left with a corrupt soul God accepts the sacrifice of Jesus as the payment for the debt of sin. It is this legalistic view of salvation that causes Protestants to think that Catholics believe that there is something lacking in the merit of Jesus sacrifice when they do not hold to salvation by faith alone.
Catholicism rejects this purely legalistic view of salvation and holds that we are saved from sin itself. For Catholics the merits of the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross opens up to us the grace of God that will actually change the disorder of the soul which is sin. That this is what God wants from us is clear from the declaration of Jesus on the greatest of the commandments:
When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them [a scholar of the law] tested him by asking, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:34-40)Paul likewise shows the necessity of love, and not just faith, for our salvation:
If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.… So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3,13)The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches Justification thus:
1987 The grace of the Holy Spirit has the power to justify us, that is, to cleanse us from our sins and to communicate to us "the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ" and through Baptism: (Rom 3:22; cf 6:3-4)Justification therefore is not merely the imputation of God's justice but the act of God by which we receive his grace that makes us just, reflecting the love of God. This is completely unmerited and a gracious gift of God but one with which we must cooperate.But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. For we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves as dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Rom 6:8-11)1988 Through the power of the Holy Spirit we take part in Christ's Passion by dying to sin, and in his Resurrection by being born to a new life; we are members of his Body which is the Church, branches grafted onto the vine which is himself: (Cf 1 Cor 12; Jn 15:1-4)[God] gave himself to us through his Spirit. By the participation of the Spirit, we become communicants in the divine nature. . . . For this reason, those in whom the Spirit dwells are divinized. (St. Athanasius, Ep. Serap. 1,24:PG26,585 and 588.)1989 The first work of the grace of the Holy Spirit is conversion, effecting justification in accordance with Jesus' proclamation at the beginning of the Gospel: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Mt 4:17) Moved by grace, man turns toward God and away from sin, thus accepting forgiveness and righteousness from on high. "Justification is not only the remission of sins, but also the sanctification and renewal of the interior man. (Council of Trent (1547):DS1528)1990 Justification detaches man from sin which contradicts the love of God, and purifies his heart of sin. Justification follows upon God's merciful initiative of offering forgiveness. It reconciles man with God. It frees from the enslavement to sin, and it heals.
1991 Justification is at the same time the acceptance of God's righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ. Righteousness (or "justice") here means the rectitude of divine love. With justification, faith, hope, and charity are poured into our hearts, and obedience to the divine will is granted us.
1992 Justification has been merited for us by the Passion of Christ who offered himself on the cross as a living victim, holy and pleasing to God, and whose blood has become the instrument of atonement for the sins of all men. Justification is conferred in Baptism, the sacrament of faith. It conforms us to the righteousness of God, who makes us inwardly just by the power of his mercy. Its purpose is the glory of God and of Christ, and the gift of eternal life: (Cf. Council of Trent (1547): DS 1529)
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, they are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as an expiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies him who has faith in Jesus. (Rom 3:21-26)1993 Justification establishes cooperation between God's grace and man's freedom. On man's part it is expressed by the assent of faith to the Word of God, which invites him to conversion, and in the cooperation of charity with the prompting of the Holy Spirit who precedes and preserves his assent:When God touches man's heart through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, man himself is not inactive while receiving that inspiration, since he could reject it; and yet, without God's grace, he cannot by his own free will move himself toward justice in God's sight. (Council of Trent (1547): DS 1525)1994 Justification is the most excellent work of God's love made manifest in Christ Jesus and granted by the Holy Spirit. It is the opinion of St. Augustine that "the justification of the wicked is a greater work than the creation of heaven and earth," because "heaven and earth will pass away but the salvation and justification of the elect . . . will not pass away." (St. Augustine, In Jo. ev. 72,3:PL 35, 1823.) He holds also that the justification of sinners surpasses the creation of the angels in justice, in that it bears witness to a greater mercy.1995 The Holy Spirit is the master of the interior life. By giving birth to the "inner man," (Cf. Rom 7:33; Eph 3:16) justification entails the sanctification of his whole being:
Just as you once yielded your members to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now yield your members to righteousness for sanctification. . . . But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the return you get is sanctification and its end, eternal life. (Rom 6:19,22)
That the forgiveness of our sins is dependent on more than just our faith is clear in what Jesus says after giving us the Lord's Prayer:
If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions. (Matthew 6:14-15)Even after faith we must have the love of neighbor to forgive them their transgressions against us in order to have God forgive us.
Simple basic gospel compared to Pauls-
If people believe Jesus died on good Friday that is according to Rome’s Catechism and calendar, not what Paul knew as Scripture (Passover Lamb)
If people believe Jesus rose on easter Sunday that too is according to Rome’s catechism and Rome’s calendar not what Paul knew as Scripture (First Fruits)
Roman Christianity has a real problem to solve when people can see how Passover floats around the Roman calendar counter to what Scripture calls it- the 14th day of His 1st month..and when one studies the calendar in scripture, the 14th day of every one of His months is the 6th and final work day of His week (which is why the 15th day are Sabbaths in scripture)
What if, just if, Rome has created another Jesus thanks to their catechism and their calendar, which Daniel says Rome would be a part of changing times and laws ( 4th beast,- Daniel ,7:25)
And people keep missing what has been right in front of their eyes- Rome has created another Jesus, a Roman one. With another gospel.
Just by comparing Paul’s references to the Scriptures, or sola scriptura, Rome could be the satanic vessel the 1st reformers called the seat of ‘antichrist’.
Not opposed like we understand anti to mean today- but instead of, in place of- like a concordance would also have as a definition for ‘anti’..
Rome’s Jesus the antichrist
That should be a scary thought to protestant daughters.
It won’t because Rome sets the premise and the daughters argue from there.
That is why satan deceives the whole world. Thanks to Rome.
Come out .
Um . . . no it's not. The Catholic Church has adopted and promotes almost exclusively and dogmatically nineteenth century radical German Protestant "criticism" of the Biblical text. It does this specifically out of the belief that doing so will discredit the Protestant doctrines of sola scriptura and "bibliolatry."
All Catholic bibles carry the most radical higher critical commentary. Those few Catholics who dissent are compared to He Who Must Not Be Named and reminded that "fundamentalism is a Protestant phenomenon" and that "this is not our fight."
And for what it's worth, I am not a Protestant and reject both sola scriptura and bibliolatry.
The Gospel for Roman Catholics For The Church
| June 14, 2015 | A.D. Robles
http://reformedforum.org/ctc391/
Reformed Forum, Talking with Catholics about the Gospel
"More than seventy-eight million Catholics live in the United States, representing one of the country’s largest demographics. How then can evangelical and Reformed Christians be better equipped to speak about the gospel with those Catholics? We recognize a gap between our understanding and current Catholic practice. In Talking with Catholics about the Gospel: A Guide for Evangelicals, Chris Castaldo leads us toward a better understanding of how to interact with Catholics about the gospel. Castaldo is also the author of Holy Ground: Walking with Jesus as a Former Catholic. Join us for an excellent and much-needed conversation on an important subject."
An hour's audio, worth the listen.
“...it is a sacrifice that never perfects anyone...”
Of course it doesn’t perfect anyone!
It is not MEANT to perfect anyone and that is not the purpose of the mass!!! Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross does the perfecting. Why would anyone teach otherwise?
The mass is a MEMORIAL sacrifice. “Do this in MEMORY” of me. This is per the instruction of scripture. 1 Corinthians 23-26 We remember “in the Spirit” in order to worship Jesus in gratitude for his work on the cross for us.
The mass simultaneously takes us in mystical time to the eucharist in heaven and the one that already occurred here on the cross. Hebrews 10:12 It is a mystical time travel that allows us to be on calvary with Jesus.
The Hebrew word anamnasis that is used in the original has the meaning in Hebrew of actually bringing the past together into/with the present.
We become present at the actual cross “in the Spirit (the Holy Spirit).
A.D. Robles is clueless about what Catholicism actually teaches; why would we listen to his interpretation/ attempt to exlain away Catholicism?
Robles completely misses the point that the mass is not a means of perfection, it is a means of WORSHIP as instructed in the bible. The mass IS perfection in the sense that the Lord’s death on the cross was perfect (Hebrews 10:12) and we are there again, but the mass accomplishes the process of taking us there again who weren’t present at the time; it allows us to be there.
Hi, RnMom. Were you once Catholic...do I remember that from someplace...or is that a faulty memory on my part?
I’m a Protestant...a Calvinist..
I don’t know what an “Evangelical” is suppose to be and this is not the first time I have said so..
My Huguenot ancestors were murdered or died in wars or fled their countries and lost lands and property to live free and worship God..and so they came to America..
And I know a little of how they were treated in their own homelands because they believed and worshipped differently than others..
Born in an Irish Catholic province and Catholic town in New Zealand, I was never quite good enough because I was a Protestant and the town leaders and the school authorities were mostly Catholic and we had to do more to be acceptable..
One of my older sisters excelled in sports and put our school on the map..the next sailed through high school with the highest grades...and so I entered high school with the path paved somewhat for me by the endeavors of my bright and talented siblings..
All I had to do was get good grades and play fairly decent sports..I was not required to be more than excellent just to get a begrudged “That’s OK”
However there were girls ...other Protestant girls...who suffered under the bigotry of the Catholics..I offered wondered why their parents didn’t stand up for them..
I used to watch in misery as an unfortunate Protestant girl was berated by the Catholic headmistress of our public high school..we had a headmaster (principle) and a headmistress..
the girls were the sole domain of the woman..an unmarried aunt in a strong Catholic family..while her nieces and nephews attended the convent school for the elementary grades, the only high school in our area was the public one that everyone went to...(or they went away to boarding school)her family she treated like little princes and princesses..and the other Catholics were treated with respect also..
While I had had glimpses of differential treatment while I was growing up, at age 13 and in high school I saw that I could be actually hated for where I went to Church..
The Catholic Church was on one hill, our Anglican Church was across the street on another...on ANZAC Day, (a day like Memorial Day) we went to our Protestant Church and the Catholics all went across the street to their church
...at a certain time everyone came out and joined to commemorate the dead from our area..
My parents were both from the English/Anglican province of Canterbury and had different ideas than many of the Protestant parents who had been born and brought up in our town...they often spoke about taking us all to live in Canterbury and they eventually moved back home after Dad retired..
When I repeated to my mother the incidents of mental terrorism that the Catholic headmistress inflicted on my helpless friends, my parents discussed the situation and somehow managed to protect their own children...my father had position in our town and was greatly respected which aided me and prevented me from the full volume of the wraith of the headmistress...
while she wasn’t outwardly a Hitler, she was still cruel in subtle ways and her mouth could wound..however nothing but pleasantries were afforded the Catholic students..
Long before I was in high school I would hear my sisters speak of the differences in treatment that the Protestants received in school..they too were miserable until they improved their situation by being the best in their field..still every time a friend suffered, I suffered too..
Were the religious wars of the 16th and 17th centuries being fought again on the playing fields of New Zealand ??? Not quite but the hatred for all things Protestant appeared to be there..personally I felt trapped and my heart quaked every time the headmistress got angry even though her venom was seldom towards me..
and so I grew up knowing someone could hate me for where I went to church...
I don’t comment in the Catholic/Protestant threads a lot but I wanted to clear the air on my own personally experiences ...
Tennessee Nana
Protestant