Proof quotes can only take you so far. Don't forget that the Devil and his demons know who Christ is... they believe He is the Son of God. What they don't do is take that knowledge of belief into action in service of God. Belief is an action word, it is not a mere knowledge of identity. Belief without action is dead. We follow Christ in what He has commanded us to do as His followers... prayer, fasting, almsgiving and the Eucharist. These are the things that Christ commanded in Scripture. You will find they are also the things the Apostles delivered to the Churches (1 Cor 11).
You are right..and Rome runs on proof texts
Please re-read thoughtfully what Jesus of Nazareth said to Nicodemus in John 3. Just take Jesus at His Word and don’t add accrued religious teachings to It. Thanks, R2z
NO, it is not. Baptism is an outward sign of having been buried with Christ.
>>It is the beginning of life in Christ from which all else is possible.<<
False once again. It's faith in Christ that is the beginning.
>>It is also the Sacrament of Initiation in the Church.<<
Absolute nonsense. There is no scripture to substantiate that.
>>Don't forget that the Devil and his demons know who Christ is... they believe He is the Son of God.<<
Once again, total corruption of what scripture says trying to mislead. The demons know that there is one God. Believers believe on Jesus Christ.
The Catholic belief system is a total corruption of the word of God with added pagan beliefs and practices. Just like you attempt to use the demons know that comment. It's corrupting the words of scripture and not to be trusted.
Correct. Given the audience (Nicodemus) what TaNaKh (OT) scriptures did Jesus refer to when discussing the above with Nicodemus?
A point to consider is if the baptism mentioned later in John 3 is the same Christian baptism as in Acts 2ff. Or was it John's baptism of repentance? Valid to check out as Nicodemus would be clueless to the post resurrection and baptism following Pentecost.
Applying historical context Nicodemus would need some OT scriptures as a reference. If you have an idea of which passages Jesus was leading Nicodemus to let me know.
For Christians this is an easy exercise in Biblical studies. We know from Acts 10 Cornelius and family heard the Gospel, believed the Gospel, were filled with the Holy Spirit and then were baptized. So it's easy for us to see it but for Nicodemus, no he needed to be led by something from the TaNaKh (OT).
Not to be a stickler but that is a weak argument, even though your overall point is in response to your own straw man.
The plan of salvation is for mankind. The demons can know the plan but would never be given the Divine Sovereignty of God to move them to repentance and salvation. Demons cannot be justified. Mankind can be. Demons have their fate sealed already. They 'believe' the facts of their eventual eternal punishment at the Hands of Christ and know they can do nothing about it but deceive as many souls as possible to join their torment. This is the difference between an acknowledging 'belief' and the much different God ordained saving faith/trust.
Jesus is the object of judgement for demons. They believe that and know that to be true.
Jesus is the object of salvation for those who trust in His Work and Resurrection. For those who reject, their fate will be the same as the demons.
Amen!
Saving belief is as John calls it out in his first epistle.
1John 2:
[3] And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
[4] He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
[5] But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
[6] He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
More wishful thinking, as it is Caths who are among the least committed and the most liberal overall as compared with their evangelical counterparts.
The highest percentage of those who strongly agree they have a personal responsibility to share their faith was found among believers in Pentecostal/Foursquare churches (73%) http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/53
81% of Pentecostal/Foursquare believers strongly agree that the Bible is totally accurate in all that it teaches , followed by 77% of Assemblies of God believers, and ending with 26% of Catholics and 22% of Episcopalians. ^
The percentage of Catholics who believed the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches declined from 34% in 1991 to 26% in 2011 http://www.barna.org/faith-spirituality/514-barna-study-of-religious-change-since-1991-shows-significant-changes-by-faith-group.
Catholics [2012] report the lowest proportion of strongly affiliated followers among major American religious traditions, with a considerable divergence between evangelical Protestants on the one hand and Catholics and mainline Protestants on the other. There was an abrupt decline in strength of affiliation among Catholics starting in 1984 and ending in 1989. Thus may be due to the growing number of Latino Catholics responding to the survey. Previous research has shown Latino Catholics were less likely to report a strong religious affiliation compared with other Catholics. Also, the percentage of Americans who say they adhere to no religion climbed from about 6 percent in the 1970s and 1980s to 16 percent in 2010. http://www.science20.com/news_articles/religion_america_evangelicals_surge_catholics_wane-97244
The typical Catholic person was 38% less likely than the average American to read the Bible; 67% less likely to attend a Sunday school class; 20% less likely to share their faith in Christ with someone who had different beliefs, donated about 17% less money to churches, and were 36% less likely to have an "active faith," defined as reading the Bible, praying and attending a church service during the prior week. Catholics were also significantly less likely to believe that the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches. 44% of Catholics claimed to be "absolutely committed" to their faith, compared to 54% of the entire adult population. However, Catholics were 16% more likely to attend a church service and 8% more likely to have prayed to God during the prior week than the average American. Barna Reaearch, 2007, “Catholics Have Become Mainstream America” http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/12-faithspirituality/100
82% of Mainline Churches, 77% of Catholics and 53% of Evangelical Churches affirmed, "There is MORE than one true way to interpret the teachings of my religion." U.S. Religious landscape survey; Copyright © 2008 The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. http://religions.pewforum.org/comparisons#
Orthodox (29%), Mainline Churches (28%), and Catholics (27%) led Christian Churches in affirming that the Scriptures were written by men and were not the word of God, versus just and 7% of Evangelical Churches, who instead rightly affirm its full inspiration of God.^
Catholics broke with their Church's teachings more than most other groups, with just six out of 10 Catholics affirming that God is "a person with whom people can have a relationship", and three in 10 describing God as an "impersonal force." 2008 The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. http://religions.pewforum.org/comparisons#
Only 33% of Catholics strongly affirmed that Christ was sinless on earth. http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/53
Much more .