Posted on 03/09/2011 1:30:07 PM PST by NYer
So ... I am honestly trying to understand here. When you have sinned, do you try to stop sinning? Or do you just carry right on?
So, how is the first day of lent going for you?
That would be M’am.
I would weep should I ever come to believe I was a dunghill covered with snow.
My apologies. Bad assumption.
"I would weep should I ever come to believe I was a dunghill covered with snow."
Me too.
Do you really think Paul means to have you throw away the clear words of Jesus himself in John 20:22? Who is the "disciple," and who is the "master"? Was Paul crucified for you?
Welcome Home Brothers And Sisters!
Yes, we have this strange idea that Christians ought to follow the teachings of Jesus.
Quite amusing, thanks for asking. I love listening to all the Roman Catholics that work here brag about what they are giving up for Lent.
It’s like they are in a contest to see who is the most pious.
I was unaware that calvinists don’t hold with lent. Sorry.
"What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live (wallow) in it?" A great mentor of mine wrote those words.
Then I suggest you step out of the boat and start walking on the waves...it's right there in black and white, Matt. 14:29.
Welcome home everyone! Bring the great hymns from your Book of Common Prayer, please.
Actually, I simply believe the Scriptures. Acts 4:28, Rom. 8:29, I Cor 2:7, Eph. 1:5, Eph. 1:11. You might want to read the Book. It tells a terrific story that Rome has missed.
“Whereas previously ex-Anglicans were stealthily admitted to the Catholic church through a side entrance, this time the front door has been thrown open and the welcome mat laid out,” he said.
I was one of them! I disagree entirely! I had an amazing time at my confirmation. So many of my friends came. Back door? Hardly!
Great commission?
Welcome to each and every one of them! Wait until they live the riches of the Church; there’s nothing like it!
Your Catholic colleagues evidently believe they have free will. It sounds like they believe they can deny themselves, take up their cross and follow God, cooperating with God’s grace to become more like what He intends them to be.
No-one should ever brag about penance. They should never mention it. But they are absolutely right to exercise their God-given wills.
We must pick up our Cross and follow Christ. We must deny our own selfish urges in God’s name and for God’s purposes. “He that shall lose his life, shall save it.” This Lenten custom of giving up creature comforts is a salutary step towards that.
We must however not tell anyone what we give up. That could easily become something like a Pharisaical practice. Your work colleagues should be more careful.
These "converts" to Roman Catholicism have moved from the first to the second. That is unfortunate!
It says nothing about a priest being able to remit or retain sins. It says nothing about retaining sins at all. It says nothing about "The Church" acting in any way between man and God.
On the contrary. In 2 Cor. 5:18, the ministry of reconciliation was given to the ambassadors of the Church. This ministry of reconciliation refers to the sacrament of reconciliation, also called the sacrament of confession or penance. And the sacrament comes from the Book of John
In John 20:21, before He grants the Apostles the authority to forgive sins, Jesus says to them, "as the Father sent me, so I send you." As Christ was sent by the Father to forgive sins, so Christ sends the apostles and their successors forgive sins.
In the next verse, John 20:22, the Lord "breathes" on the apostles, and then gives them the power to forgive and retain sins. The only other moment in Scripture where God breathes on man is in Gen. 2:7, when the Lord "breathes" divine life into man. When this happens, a significant transformation takes place.
Then, in John 20:23, Jesus says, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained." In order for the apostles to exercise this gift of forgiving sins, the penitents must orally confess their sins to them because the apostles are not mind readers. The text makes this very clear.
Your bible also contains the Book of John, doesn't it?
Seriously, first day of Lent and you're paraphrasing Satan? Trying to get others to tempt God?
Ooh! Why don't you tell him to cast himself from a high precipice? After all, God will send angels lest he dash his foot against a stone?
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