Posted on 10/05/2013 10:09:16 PM PDT by jodyel
Rescuing Precious Souls from the Bondage of Religion
We can be wrong about a lot of things in this life and still survive, but if we are wrong about the only way to obtain forgiveness from God, we will pay for that fatal mistake throughout all eternity. Our Creator provides only one way to redeem man from sin and He has revealed it in a divinely inspired message to mankind. However, it didn't take long for God's complete and perfect Gospel message to be corrupted by religious leaders. These men, who say they speak for God, have distorted and perverted this good news of God's mercy and grace. Their unstated goal has been to control people by keeping them in legalistic bondage to their authority. The Lord Jesus revealed the only way of escape from this bondage. He said: "If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31-32).
Establish the Supreme Authority for Truth
Reaching those who are being held captive by religious indoctrination must always begin by establishing the Bible as the supreme authority for knowing God's Gospel. Christ and His Word must rule over man's religious traditions because God has exalted His Word above all things (Psalm 138:2). The word of God is infallible and has no equal (Isa. 55:10). The Bible is the most authoritative, influential and powerful book ever written. It is the standard for discerning truth from error(1 John 4:6). It is sufficient to function as the sole, infallible rule of faith (2 Tim. 3:14-16). The Bible does not refer us to any other rule of faith because everything we must know,understand and believe to be reconciled to God is found in Scripture (1 Cor. 15:1-4).
Whenever we are confronted by two or more opinions, we must always ask, "But what does the Scripture say?" (Gal. 4:30).
What About The Traditions of Men?
Roman Catholics reject the supreme authority of Scripture by elevating their tradition to the same level of authority. They defend their position by quoting St. Paul who wrote: "Stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us" (2 Thes. 2:15). But we must make a distinction between traditions which had already been taught by the apostles in the first century and the traditions established by men over the last 1900 years (2 Cor. 11:2 ; 2 Thes. 3:6).
Clearly there are certain apostolic traditions recorded in Scripture that Christians must embrace, but not all traditions are biblical. Paul encouraged us to make this distinction. He wrote: "See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ" (Col. 2:8). Paul is warning us that we can become ensnared by the traditions of men when they do not conform to Christ and His word. Tradition must always be subservient to Scripture because God's word is divinely inspired while tradition is not.
What About "Infallible" Men?
Roman Catholics also reject the supreme authority of Scripture by elevating its "infallible" bishops to be equal in authority. In practice, the bishops actually sit above Scripture by declaring no one else can give an authentic interpretation of the Word of God (Catechism of the Catholic Church, para. 85). Yet the Apostle Paul commended the Bereans (who were not bishops) for interpreting the Scriptures to verify the truthfulness of his teaching. "Now the Bereans ... received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true" (Acts 17:11). It is quite clear that the apostle, who penned over half the New Testament, encouraged his listeners to submit to the supreme authority of the Hebrew Scriptures. The veracity of every man's message must be tested with the same Scriptural authority.
Getting the Gospel Right
Once the supreme authority of Scripture has been communicated to Catholics who are enslaved to another authority, the Gospel of God can be heralded. It is wise to present God's Gospel in contrast to Rome's plan of salvation so Catholics can discern the difference. The distinction between the two gospels can best be described as the difference between divine accomplishment and human achievement. The true Gospel describes what God has done through Jesus Christ to save sinners, while the gospel of Rome describes what man must do for God. Paul defines the Gospel according to Scripture alone (1 Cor. 15:1-4). The glorious Gospel of grace is what one perfect man did 2000 years ago to reconcile sinful man to God. It has nothing to do with what any imperfect man has done since, or is doing now. This eliminates all the requirements Roman Catholics have added to the finished work of Jesus Christ. It also eliminates Catholic priests making daily sin offerings on their altars.
Catholics Are Totally Dependent Upon An Illegitimate Priesthood
One of the most controlling elements of the Roman Catholic religion is its indoctrination concerning the priesthood. Each Catholic is taught that their salvation is utterly dependent upon the ministry of their priests. According to the unbiblical teachings of Rome, it is the Catholic priest who baptizes infants for their justification and spiritual birth, the priest who hears confession and demands penance as the satisfaction for sin, the priest who dispenses Jesus in the Eucharist, the priest who imparts the Holy Spirit in the sacrament of Confirmation, the priest who gives Last Rites, and the priest who offers the sacrifice of the Mass for souls suffering in purgatory. What a fatal deception!
There is no longer a need for priests offering sacrifices for sin because by one offering Jesus Christ has perfected for all time those who are sanctified (Heb. 10:14). At the very moment our Lord Jesus gave up His Spirit on Calvary's cross, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom (Mat. 27:51). The veil that separated sinful man from the Holy of Holies was ripped open, and now, anyone washed by the blood of Christ can come boldly into the presence of God. When Jesus, our High Priest, offered Himself once for all sin for all time, he made the sacrificial priesthood obsolete. Every believer in Jesus Christ has been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (Heb.10:10).
The illegitimacy and obsolescence of the Roman Catholic priesthood is also expressly noted by the sovereign and exclusive work of the triune God in saving sinners. It is God the Father who chooses, calls and draws the lost to His Son (John 6:44; Jas. 2:5). The Holy Spirit convicts them of their sin and the coming judgment (John 16:8-11). Jesus Christ is proclaimed through His Word as the only way of salvation (John 14:6). God gives life to those dead in sin and grants the sinner repentance and faith (Rom. 4:17; Eph. 2:8-9; 2 Tim. 2:25). Jesus exchanges His righteousness for the sins of the believer (2 Cor. 5:21). The Holy Spirit seals, indwells and empowers the justified believer (Eph. 1:13-14, Rom. 8). The Father adopts, secures and glorifies His children (John 1:12; Rom. 8:30). Clearly, God alone is deserving of all glory! (Rom. 11:36). He alone is worthy to be praised!
Peter expressed the bondage that enslaves religious leaders who exchange the truth of God for the fatal errors of men. He wrote: "Speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error, promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved (2 Pet. 2:18-20).
How Can We Rescue These Precious Souls?
Paul provides the answer! "The Lord's bond servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged,with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will" (2 Tim. 2:24-26). We must take note of the correct way to approach those who are being deceived by the clever, scheming, and subtle lies of the devil. We must lovingly confront them with gentleness, patience and humility and avoid being quarrelsome or argumentative. As we correct them, we must use the Scriptures and avoid giving our own opinions, experiences or philosophy. Saving faith comes from hearing the Word (Rom. 10:17).
Liberty from the bondage of sin and deception is found only in Christ. The Father sent Him to preach the Gospel to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and to set free those who are downtrodden (Luke 4:18). Jesus also came to give sight to the blind because a veil of spiritual blindness covers every man's heart. However there is one condition that must be met: Paul declares: "whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away" (2 Cor. 3:16). This means turning from fallible men and their traditions and turning to Christ and His infallible word!
I am not advocating any religion and indeed would love to see all come to saving faith in Christ.
Consider yourself taught, corrected, and rebuked!
2 Timothy 3: 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
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2 Peter 1: ... 19 We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Amen
The term used here, IIRC, refers to devotion which FOLLOWS from faith. It also appears as “godliness” in the verse sometimes rendered “The mystery of godliness is great.”
What Gendron is warning about, and unfortunately his style can get over-polemic and serve more as a red herring than to illuminate, is systems of devotion where there is no saving faith to root it in. In that case it’s just our own busy work in which we hope to impress God.
Incidental to the point I was making. Arthur McGowan declared:
Jesus was so stupid, He didn't make provision to protect billions and billions of people from getting His message ALL WRONG and therefore going to HELL!
No provision was made for those being led to hell by the scribes and Pharisees, who were certainly 'getting his message all wrong'... What makes one think it is any different today?
And btw, I think that passage is prophetic - the Pharisees did not 'compass land and sea'... It applies as an exaggeration in the statement, but I think every word has value... So one has to look for those who DID 'compass land and sea'...
The gospel later got a much heartier reception among the gentiles, who didn’t have a long religious tradition to be proud of and be a stumbling block.
But already in Paul's time, the message was being threatened. It fared no better among the Gentiles, especially after the bastardization created by the Roman church.
At any rate it is the Shepherd who can (and will, if believed upon) get you through the narrow gate. And no matter what other things you also mistakenly believe, if you’ve come to the Shepherd and the Shepherd has you, you’ll get through the gate — maybe it will be a painful journey as he yanks you out of the waters, but you’ll get through it.
I would hope you are right, but this is a very serious and somber point - Many will say "Lord, Lord"... And these will have healed and cast out demons in His Name... not your average Joe-Christian... yet, "I never knew thee..." It seems to me that the criteria is a bit more stringent than many would expect.
That has nothing to do with a sign over a worship building. (Sometimes I have to chide Protestants that they aren’t being Protestant enough, that they dip into Catholic beliefs that the doctrine saves you... nope it’s the Person of Christ. Protestant doesn’t mean being a better flavor of Catholic.)
You're preaching to the choir on that one : )
I believe there’s another reference in which Paul’s scriptures are acknowledged. Anyhow, good catch. And this is how any small-o orthodox Christian church would treat the bible writings, whether erroneously or correctly.
Do you hold that there are 27 inspired books in the New Testament, no more and no less?
If so, you are relying on a final determination made by the Catholic Church a couple of centuries after the last word of the New Testament was put down on paper.
“Lord, Lord” can also be seen as “Sir, Sir” (the terms are equivalent in the Koine Greek) and what follows must be looked at as well. Christ is talking about non believers who never believed and He therefore never knew. Anyhow, if you accept Christ as the master of your eternal life, you are saved and now “no one can snatch you out of [His] hand.” Simple faith in that promise has rebuffed a lot of demons who tried to tell me, working off of human systems of religious philosophy like Arminianism, that I had lost my salvation... no I hadn’t, and the assurance of Christ, and His continuing supernatural guidance, came right back after the trial.
(NO, I have not found refuge in “Calvinism” either, another human “ism.”)
Consider yourself taught, corrected, and rebuked!
2 Timothy 3: 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 ALL Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Do you know the difference between "only" and "all"?
When you find a verse that says that ONLY Scripture contains revelation, I will consider myself corrected and rebuked.
What Gendron is warning about, and unfortunately his style can get over-polemic and serve more as a red herring than to illuminate, is systems of devotion where there is no saving faith to root it in.
I do actually agree about a word being used in different ways; I don't like introducing ambiguity in the way that this relatively recent negative usage of "religion" can do.
Compare the complaint that contemporary English tends to use one word, "love," that covers a number of different things in historical Greek.
(I also have other issues with this usage of "religion," but although they're even more central to my objection, they're even more tangential to this discussion.)
No problemo. Thanks for posting another anti-catholic thread. We were beginning to run low.
When you find a verse that says that tradition contains revelation, I may listen to you...
John 1: 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. ...
... 5: 24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.
...14: 23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. ...
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Collosians 2: 6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.
9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.
Thanks for posting another Scriptural Truths thread. We were beginning to run low. ...
I see what you did there. You took my sentence and changed it around!
Very clever.
yes. the Holy Spirit has given me that ability. The difference is tremendous though. These posts are not anti-catholic, i.e.: individuals. It is about the error being taught that salvation comes through some organization with it's self-generated spurious claims based on "tradition". For further reference see my post # 32!
Cleverness has been bestowed on you by the Holy Spirit?
okay.
I’m trying to remember a thread posted by a Catholic attacking Protestant teaching, warning Protestants that they are going to Hell, etc.
There are hundreds of books still in print, by Protestants, making similar claims about the Catholic Church. There is no similar industry in the Catholic Church.
Why do so many Protestants feel compelled to produce this volume of complaints and condemnations about the Catholic Church, while Catholics seem to be able, by and large, to live in peace in a world that contains Protestants?
Why is it that the most learned Protestant theologians don’t publish volume after volume of vitriol against Catholics, but lesser-educated authors do?
There is a great asymmetry about all this that really needs explanation.
Yep!
Romans 8: 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. ...
Hebrews $: 12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Cutting and pasting large blocks of text doesn’t change the fact that you have evaded my question: Where in Scripture is it taught that ONLY Scripture is the source of revelation?
Well if you say that the Holy Spirit has made you clever, then who am I to try to dissuade you?
Good night.
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