Recommended by Pontius Pilate
Posted on 04/01/2016 12:41:08 PM PDT by Berlin_Freeper
I am letting you be among the first to know. It is true. I am leaving the Catholic Church. I want you to know that this has not been a decision made in haste or without serious and intense research and consideration. But I can no longer remain in a church that I no longer believe in.
Let me explain.
I will be writing more about this soon, but for now let me just say there are five main reasons why I am leaving the Catholic Church:
1. I believe the sole rule of faith for Christians has to be Scripture. The Holy Bible is the only unchanging and definitive word of God that a Christian can build his or her life upon. Everything else, including the Catholic claims to authority, in the end, amount to ever-changing and ultimately sinking sand.
2. I believe works or any sense of salvific cooperation with God’s grace as constitutive to a Christian’s eternal life is unbiblical. “… not of works” (cf. Eph. 2:8-9) means not of works.
3. The idea of Mary and the saints being involved in the salvation of a Christian is tantamount to a denial of the sufficiency of Christ’s redeeming work on Calvary’s cross.
4. #3 can also be said of Purgatory, the “sacrifice” of the Mass, the Catholic view of salvation/justification, and more. These and more of the elements of Catholic teaching result in a denial of the sufficiency of the sacrifice of Christ. More to follow in a more detailed post.
5. What Catholics call the “veneration” of Mary and the saints is actually idolatry.
These are just for starters here. Many of you know that for the last 28 years I have defended the above teachings and more from the Catholic Church. I can no longer do so in clear conscience.
And by the way, just so you know…
April fools!
But without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
NOTHING else in the entire universe is capable of that but the blood of Jesus.
And if the blood of Jesus can't/won't/doesn't do it, then nothing else can.
If righteousness came through the Law, Christ died for nothing. Likewise, if righteousness can come through any other method, Christ died for nothing.
Jesus is ENOUGH. He's all we need. Ever. Always.
We humans love to try and love to think that we can add something to what God has done.
It's scary to give up control and put our lives in someone else's hands and trust them completely. But for salvation, it's the only choice. Since all our righteousness as as filthy rags in God's sight,t here's not a thing we can do that would be acceptable to Him.
The problem with simply trusting God is that often it doesn't FEEL like we're forgiven (cause the enemy just loves to come in and beat us over the head with our past and present sins) so it's easy to doubt.
That's where the trust comes in>
God said if we confess Christ and receive Him, we have the right or authority to become the children of God. Hanging onto that when it doesn't feel like it is trusting God to do what He says even when it doesn't feel like it.
That's what we call *faith*. Taking God as His word.
All we have to do to be saved, is respond to grace ONCE, and then God seals us with the promised Holy Spirit.
And God LAVISHES His grace on us through Christ.
Ephesians 1:3-10 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
Romans 5:1-2 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
John 1:14-17 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
The difference is btwn defining grace as favor by which a sprinkled infant is rendered good enough to be with God, but thus in most every case such must experience postmortem "purifying torments" in order to once again become good enough to enter Heaven. Along with teaching which, absent carefully defining "merit," conveys one actually gains eternal life by becoming good enough:
"If anyone says that the good works of the one justified are in such manner the gifts of God that they are not also the good merits of him justified; or that the one justified by the good works that he performs by the grace of God and the merit of Jesus Christ, whose living member he is, does not truly merit an increase of grace, eternal life, and in case he dies in grace, the attainment of eternal life itself and also an increase of glory, let him be anathema." (Trent, Canons Concerning Justification, Canon 32.
Shortened, this teaches, "If anyone says that the one justified by the good works that he performs by the grace of God does not truly merit eternal life, and in case he dies in grace, the attainment of eternal life itself, let him be anathema."
Versus faith being counted for righteousness, (Rm. 4:5) "purifying their heart by faith," (Acts 15:9; cf. 10:43) thus being declared holy and justified though practically speaking they were not, (1Co. 6:11) albeit with a faith that follows the Lord, (Jn. 10:27,28; Heb. 6:9) being made accepted in the Beloved on Christ's account, and made to sit with Him in the heavens, and going directly to be with Him at death or His return. With the only postmortem suffering for believers being that of the Lord's disapproval and the loss of rewards and at the judgment seat of believers His return, but with salvation being despite this loss, not because of it. (1 Co. 3:18; cf; , (1Cor. 4:5; 2Tim. 4:1,8; Rev.11:18; Mt. 25:31-46; 1Pt. 1:7; 5:4) And with the resurrection of the body of the Lord being the next transformative even the believer looks forward to.(Phil 3:20,21)
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. (Romans 4:5)
To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. (Acts 10:43-44)
Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? (Acts 10:47)
And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. (Acts 15:7-9)
And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11)
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; (Titus 3:5)
To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; (Ephesians 1:6-7)
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: (Ephesians 2:6)
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:17)
But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. (Philippians 1:22-24)
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8)
Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted [euarestos=approved] of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. (2 Corinthians 5:9-11)
Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. (1 Corinthians 3:8)
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; (1 Corinthians 3:11-12)
If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. (1 Corinthians 3:14-15)
And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. (Romans 8:23)
For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. (Philippians 3:20-21)
Your lack of a definition for what is an what is not Protestant renders your polemic meaningless. As far as evangelical, Catholics need to stop contradicting themselves. On one hand they characterize us as a bunch of disunified souls and on the other hand they musr deal with us as the most unified major religious group there is, and their single greatest Western religious threat.
In contrast, Rome reasons that since Divine revelation consists of and means what she says, thus her word is the supreme law, if she does say so herself. Notice the presumption and false premise in the following:
"Catholic doctrine, as authoritatively proposed by the Church, should be held as the supreme law; for, seeing that [according to infallible us] the same God is the author both of the Sacred Books and of the doctrine committed to the Church, it is clearly impossible that any teaching can by legitimate means be extracted from the former, which shall in any respect be at variance with the latter.." [as the premise is false, so is the conclusion] (Providentissimus Deus;http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/leo_xiii/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_18111893_providentissimus-deus_en.html)
We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty..." "We have addressed to Catholic people, either collectively or individually; and above all, let them lay down for themselves as a Supreme Law, to yield obedience in all things to the teaching and Authority of the Church, in no narrow or mistrustful spirit, but with their whole soul and promptitude of will." - http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13praec.htm
He who believes the dogmas of the Church only because he has reasoned them out of History, is scarcely a Catholic......in all cases the immediate motive in the mind of a Catholic for his reception of them is, not that they are proved to him by Reason or by History, but because Revelation has declared them by means of that high ecclesiastical Magisterium which is their legitimate exponent.” — John Henry Newman, “A Letter Addressed to the Duke of Norfolk on Occasion of Mr. Gladstone's Recent Expostulation.” 8.
The mere fact that the Church teaches the doctrine of the Assumption as definitely true is a guarantee that it is true.” — Karl Keating, Catholicism and Fundamentalism (San Francisco: Ignatius, 1988), p. 275.
You are correct, Athanasius was a fourth century Christian. The Athansian Creed, however, has been in use since the sixth century (see https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athanasian_Creed).
AMEN!
I've had to go deal with real life and this is all I have time or patience to deal with right now. You do know that Catholics don't sprinkle don't you? We pour or immerse. Sprinkling is illicit because the water must flow over the head of the baptised and sprinkling doesn't guarantee that.
We're talking past each other. For a Catholic, Justification occurs at Baptism when a person is initiated into the Church/Bride of Christ/Body of Christ. I'm talking about rejecting actual graces not sanctifying grace.
This is why Catholicism cannot be true. It has other mediators than Christ.
Recommended by Pontius Pilate
The God you serve is the God you know and the God you love. I do not believe in OSAS, never have, never will because the God I know, serve and love gives me the freedom to reject him as long as I live. I'm not locked into anything until eternity, that's the point of life; to decide who or what I love. God is faithful, I am not.
And I said for you to post your traditons and apparations that prove what is written is inadequate.
Every one of them led the One, True Church.
And each one was VOTED into the office of pope by quite obviously wicked electors.
How far down does the wickedness go?
Well; from the getgo there were these 7 CATHOLIC churches in Asia...
Where is the PROOF that the RCC was founded then?
The same place that contains the PROOF that SOLA Scriptura is invalid?
Therefore; the bible that Rome assembled is insufficient to get a person saved.
Count the number of wicked kings of God's One, True People. How far down... how far UP does the wickedness go?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.