Posted on 04/14/2005 12:00:37 PM PDT by johnk
POSTED: 7:44 am EDT April 14, 2005
PITTSBURGH -- An evangelical Christian talk show host who questioned the beliefs of the Catholic church and entertained a caller's question about whether the late Pope John Paul II would go to heaven has been fired.... (see link)
(Excerpt) Read more at local10.com ...
Free speech does not mean freedom from consequences, and a radio station owner can hire and fire any one he pleases.
There is no guarantee of free speech or religious freedom on the job, and that's the way it should be. Anyone who chooses to follow Christ should also be willing to pay the price.
Another example of a bigoted so called "Christian". Can't see because of the log in his own eye.
yeah, i'm with you.
this is a different country than i grew up in.
his was a good question.
people die and you never hear from them again.
That is a great statement that needs some balance.
When we come to BELIEVE Christ we are IN Christ. If we believe that obedience saves us then we are in a gospel of works in which there is no salvation.
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (KJV)
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. (KJV)
If obedience saves us then why did Christ have to die. Obedience is of the Law which was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. We could not obey the Law. We tried and we couldn’t. We came to believe we were lost without Christ.
To balance this....
FAITH WITHOUT WORKS
Works are a "result" of our salvation. Salvation is not "because" of works.
James 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
God says have faith and God says show faith. We show faith by doing good works.
Verse 18. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
How can one show the world their faith without works, (an outward manifestation or showing) of their faith. One cannot show their faith without works. James said he can show his faith by his works. We do not do good works because we think we have to do them to be saved. Works come automatically, because God created believers in Christ Jesus unto, or for good works.
SAVING FAITH PRODUCES GOOD WORKS. A FAITH WITHOUT GOOD WORKS IS A DEAD FAITH. (Not a saving faith) Good works are the fruit of salvation, but good works do not produce salvation. Good works of unsaved people are as filthy rags.
If we are NOT doing GOOD WORKS we better examine ourselves to see if we are in the SAVING FAITH. How can we claim that we are created in Jesus Christ WITHOUT good works? How do we know we were created in Jesus Christ at all? If we were NOT created in Jesus Christ, we are still lost in our sins and on our way to hell.
Taken from... http://cnview.com/text_sermons/repentance_or_good_works.htm
Everytime I saw the Pope riding in the bullet-proof "Popemobile" I always thought if HE is afraid of dying what chance do I have? Hell-bound I guess.
The bullet proof Popemobile is evidence that the late Pope took his responsibility to Christ's flock seriously, not that he was afraid of death.
1 Coreinthians 13:2 "...if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing."
The Problem: Sole Fide theology teaches that we are saved by grace alone, but that the only proper response to grace is faith - one needs do no work in order to be saved. Instead of merely rejecting the idea that human work can, by itself, lead to salvation, an idea which all Christians, including Catholic, reject, it teaches that one need not respond to grace through definitive action at all - a response of faith is sufficient. In this theology, action has no effect on salvation whatsoever. Walking in the ways of God does not save, since acts come after salvation has been attained through faith, and failing to walk in His ways does not condemn, since we are saved by the cloak of Christ's righteousness, which no wrongful action can remove from us. Some followers of sole fide acknowledge the fact that sinfulness can condemn us, but continue to refuse the idea that following God's ways can do anything to save us.
The Church affirms that we are saved by grace alone, but further affirms that grace can and must be responded to both in faith and in action. Faith and action are identical responses which merely have different outward forms. Thus, the sacraments are actual outpourings of grace in which we must participate with faith in order to attain salvation, not that our faith makes the sacraments operative, rather, our submission to the Divinely instituted sacraments in both faith and action constitute the formal cooperation with grace in which we freely surrender our will to that of Jesus Christ and thereby become One with His Body.
Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; 9 it is not from works, so no one may boast. 10 For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.
All denominations agree on one thing: grace alone saves. Grace is an unmerited gift from God. We must respond to that grace in order to be saved.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him, for anyone who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
This passage from Hebrews describes the minimum response necessary for salvation - we must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who seek Him. How can we come to know Him?
John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be.
We come to know Him through Jesus Christ, for, whether the evidence be the material world created through Him or the person of Jesus Christ Himself, it is only through the Person of Christ that all evidence of God comes to us:
Wisdom 13:1-9 1 For all men were by nature foolish who were in ignorance of God, and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing him who is, and from studying the works did not discern the artisan; 2 But either fire, or wind, or the swift air, or the circuit of the stars, or the mighty water, or the luminaries of heaven, the governors of the world, they considered gods. 3 Now if out of joy in their beauty they thought them gods, let them know how far more excellent is the Lord than these; for the original source of beauty fashioned them. 4 Or if they were struck by their might and energy, let them from these things realize how much more powerful is he who made them. 5 For from the greatness and the beauty of created things their original author, by analogy, is seen. 6 But yet, for these the blame is less; For they indeed have gone astray perhaps, though they seek God and wish to find him. 7 For they search busily among his works, but are distracted by what they see, because the things seen are fair. 8 But again, not even these are pardonable. 9 For if they so far succeeded in knowledge that they could speculate about the world, how did they not more quickly find its LORD?
Romans 1:19-20 For what can be known about God is evident to them, because God made it evident to them. 20 Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made. As a result, they have no excuse...
Acts 10:34-35 34 Then Peter proceeded to speak and said, “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. 35 Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him."
Acts 14:15-17 15 "Men, why are you doing this? We are of the same nature as you, human beings. We proclaim to you good news that you should turn from these idols to the living God, 'who made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them.' 16 In past generations he allowed all Gentiles to go their own ways; 17 yet, in bestowing his goodness, he did not leave himself without witness, for he gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, and filled you with nourishment and gladness for your hearts."
Acts 17:22-27 22 Then Paul stood up at the Areopagus and said: "You Athenians, I see that in every respect you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around looking carefully at your shrines, I even discovered an altar inscribed, 'To an Unknown God.' What therefore you unknowingly worship, I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and all that is in it, the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands, 25 nor is he served by human hands because he needs anything. Rather it is he who gives to everyone life and breath and everything. 26 He made from one the whole human race to dwell on the entire surface of the earth, and he fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions, 27 so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though indeed he is not far from any one of us.
Early Christians' comments on the Salvation of Non-Catholics
Scripture is truth. Truth cannot contradict truth. While there are many passages which emphasize the importance of faith, often without mentioning the importance of works at all, the passages below emphasize the importance of works, often without mentioning faith at all. Just as Ephesians 2:8-10 says it is faith that saves, not works, so James 2:24 says "See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone?" The idea that work alone leads to salvation is as wrong as the idea that faith alone leads to salvation. We must respond to grace, and grace may require different emphases in response depending on our individual circumstance. Each writer of Holy Scripture was trying to emphasize the importance of a different aspect of grace working in our lives to an audience which didn't understand that aspect. Neither faith nor work precedes the other, but both act together.
Matthew 6:1-4 1 "(But) take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. 2 When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, 4 so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
Matthew 7:12 Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.
Matthew 7:19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
Matthew 7:21-23 "Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?' 23 Then I will declare to them solemnly, `I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.'
Matthew 19:16-21 6 Now someone approached him and said, "Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?" 17 He answered him, "Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments." 18 He asked him, "Which ones?" And Jesus replied, " `You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; 19 honor your father and your mother'; and `you shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" 20 The young man said to him, "All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?" 21 Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to (the) poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
Matthew 25:31-46 31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, 32 and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 Then the king will say to those on his right, `Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.' 37 Then the righteous will answer him and say, `Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?' 40 And the king will say to them in reply, `Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.' 41 Then he will say to those on his left, `Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.' 44 Then they will answer and say, `Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?' 45 He will answer them, `Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.' 46 And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
Note that in the passage above, the saved did not even recognize Christ. They simply acted as they knew God wanted them to act, yet still they were saved.
Revelations 20:12 I saw the dead, the great and the lowly, standing before the throne, and scrolls were opened. Then another scroll was opened, the book of life. The dead were judged according to their deeds, by what was written in the scrolls.
Acts 10:34-35 Then Peter proceeded to speak and said, "In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. 35 Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.
Romans 2:5-10, 13 By your stubbornness and impenitent heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself for the day of wrath and revelation of the just judgment of God, 6 who will repay everyone according to his works: 7 eternal life to those who seek glory, honor, and immortality through perseverance in good works, 8 but wrath and fury to those who selfishly disobey the truth and obey wickedness. 9 Yes, affliction and distress will come upon every human being who does evil, Jew first and then Greek. 10 But there will be glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does good, Jew first and then Greek....For it is not those who hear the law who are just in the sight of God; rather, those who observe the law will be justified.
In Romans 2:6 the word for "work" is "ergon", that is, it is same as the word used in Ephesians 2:8.
Romans 3:28-30 For we consider that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law. 29 Does God belong to Jews alone? Does he not belong to Gentiles, too? Yes, also to Gentiles, 30 for God is one and will justify the circumcised on the basis of faith and the uncircumcised through faith.
It is important to know that when Paul used the phrase "works of the law", he was referring to the Mosaic law, the animal sacrifices and circumcision required by the old covenant. Simply acting righteously was not enough. What was inside had to match what was outside - the work Christ required had to be performed with a pure heart, pure intentions, and pure love. The Chosen People were saved by sprinkling blood on their doors. The Body of Christ is saved by having and cooperating with the pure Blood of Christ in their hearts.
Colossians 1:24-26 24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church, 25 of which I am a minister in accordance with God's stewardship given to me to bring to completion for you the word of God, 26 the mystery hidden from ages and from generations past.
Galations 5:4-6 You are separated from Christ, you who are trying to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we await the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
Galatians 5:4-6 truly summarizes the position of the Catholic Church.
Galatians 6:2 Bear one another's burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:6-10 One who is being instructed in the word should share all good things with his instructor. 7 Make no mistake: God is not mocked, for a person will reap only what he sows, 8 because the one who sows for his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows for the spirit will reap eternal life from the spirit. 9 Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up. 10 So then, while we have the opportunity, let us do good to all, but especially to those who belong to the family of the faith.
Phillipians 2:12-13 12 So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work.
James 1:22-27 Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror. 24 He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets what he looked like. 25 But the one who peers into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres, and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, such a one shall be blessed in what he does. 26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, his religion is vain. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
James 2:4-26 But you dishonored the poor person. Are not the rich oppressing you? And do they themselves not haul you off to court? 7 Is it not they who blaspheme the noble name that was invoked over you? 8 However, if you fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law, but falls short in one particular, has become guilty in respect to all of it. 11 For he who said, "You shall not commit adultery," also said, "You shall not kill." Even if you do not commit adultery but kill, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as people who will be judged by the law of freedom. 13 For the judgment is merciless to one who has not shown mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. 14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, 16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well," but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? 17 So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 Indeed someone might say, "You have faith and I have works." Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works. 19 You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble. 20 Do you want proof, you ignoramus, that faith without works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by the works. 23 Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called "the friend of God." 24 See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route? 26 For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
The only time the word "alone" appears with the word "faith" in the Greek text is in James 2:24 we are "not saved by faith alone." Luther's response (_Rebuilding a Lost Faith_, John Stoddard, p136-137) "You tell me what a great fuss the Papists are making because the word 'alone' is not in the text of Paul. If your Papist makes such an unnecessary row about the word 'alone', say right out to him: 'Dr. Martin Luther will have it so,' and say:'Papists and asses are one and the same thing.' I will have it so, and I order it to be so, and my will is reason enough. I know very well that the word 'alone' is not in the Latin or the Greek text, and it was not necessary for the Papists to teach me that. It is true those letters are not in it, which letters the jackasses look at, as a cow stares at a new gate... It shall remain in my New Testament, and if all the Popish donkeys were to get mad and beside themselves, they will not get it out."
1 John 3:18 Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.
James 4:17 So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin.
1 John 4:17-21 In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, "I love God," but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
1 John 5:2-4 In this way we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, 4 for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.
2 Timothy 2:11-12 This saying is trustworthy: If we have died with him we shall also live with him; 12 if we persevere we shall also reign with him. But if we deny him he will deny us.
1 Corinthians 6:20 For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body.
1 John 4:11-12 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.
Lighten up!
Just Irish-Catholic guilt ridden humor!
WORD-FM can hire/fire whom they wish.
Yup. And my very thought the first time I saw the popemobile.
Of course, I know that Evangelicals are unsure for their own reasons, I think it's ironic that the same question could be considered on the Catholic station, but considered out of bounds on an Evangelical one.
And just who is this jerk to decide who gets into Heaven or not?
Yours is the voice of reason.
Of course.
Sure it is. This is a private radio station firing a talk-show host for saying things that might alienate listeners.
As a practicing Catholic, I pray for the repose of the Pope's soul, and I do not presume to know if he is in heaven.
This is a ridiculous decision, and even though the evangelical Christian might be presuming the Pope is in hell, it is but another infringement on free speech and religious liberty, at least according to our country's laws.
Not really, You have no right of free speech on private property and you have no right to espouse your religious beliefs on company time if your employer doesn't like what you're saying.
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