You are entitled to believe in Luther’s, Calvin’s or any other church founded by man, but I believe in the Catholic Church founded by Jesus Christ as taught by the apostles and their successors. All are welcome to find the Truth in the Catholic Church.
I am glad that you believe in Jesus Christ, even if one does not believe in all of the teachings of Jesus. I am glad that many try to follow God and do His will and avoid evil. I have never said that anyone who was not a member of the Catholic Church could not be saved. That is a decision made by Jesus on all of us upon one’s death.
I believe in the Catholic Church founded by Jesus Christ and imbued with the Holy Spirit as stated in the Nicene Creed.
Christ’s Last Commission
Some important lessons follow from the consideration of the final commission of our blessed Lord:
All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Going therefore teach ye all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world. (Matt. 28:18)
Note first of all that Christ claims universal kingship. In the light of that see the force of therefore. It is because Christ is king that the apostles are going out to teach all nations. See then the significance of the fourfold all: “all power,” “all nations,” “all things,” and “all days.” There could hardly be a more cogent statement of the universality of the Church throughout all ages and throughout the world. Moreover it is a visible Church because only a visible Church can teach and be taught. There is, too, that final statement of our blessed Lord’s perpetual presence in his Church, something he had already emphasized several times in his discourse after the Last Supper. It follows that this Church must be one.
The rest of the article: https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/christs-visible-church
There is no mention in the New Testament nor any suggestion that Christ founded a plurality of churches. The parallels used to describe the Church reinforce the idea of strict unity. It is to be a household, a sheepfold, a flock. Our Lord declared specifically: “Other sheep I have that are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd” (John 10:16). In this quotation the Greek refers both to one fold and to one flock. He had also given a warning against divisions: “Every kingdom divided against itself shall be made desolate, and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand” (Matt. 12:25). . . .
You are at odds with Roman Catholic dogma if you believe this.
Doesn't your denomination claim there is no salvation outside of the Catholic [meaning Roman Catholic] and that everyone is to be subject to the Roman Pontiff...We declare, say, define, and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.
So much so wrong in so few words.
Nobody who is a follower of Christ believes IN a church. they believe in a person.
It's not a church that saves that we should believe in it. It's a person who saves that we should believe in HIM.
And again, you've demonstrated that it's just beyond the comprehension of Catholics that we do not follow man as they have been conditioned to do.
Jesus never said He was going to *found* a church. He said He was going to BUILD HIS church.
Truth is found in God's word, not Roman Catholicism.
John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
Read Revelation 2&3.
That lists seven separate churches with different issues in each one.
There were local assemblies in Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colossae, Thessalonaca, Corinth, Antioch, Laodocea, Jerusalem, to name a few.
There is no indication of one single entity headed up by Rome.
Well, see, that's the whole point! I don't believe in any church founded by man, I believe in Jesus Christ and it is this faith that places me within His universal body/assembly/church. You talk as if the "Church" is some kind of ethereal organization that has power and authority yet you don't seem to comprehend that the church is PEOPLE, believers in fellowship with other believers throughout the world from all times, places, nations and tongues. It is the faith of Jesus Christ which binds us to one another - that spiritual house - no matter what the sign might say on the door to our meeting place.
The commission to preach the gospel began with Jesus sending out His disciples and followers and they in turn sent out those they led to saving faith. Local assemblies were established and pastors, teachers, elders, deacons, etc. were set up to manage the household of God, the church of the living God, which is the buttress/support and foundation of the truth. This same commission exists today and our duties as servants of the Lord remain the same. Our guidebook is Holy Scripture, our rule of faith, given to us by God so that we are complete, fully equipped unto every good work for His glory. It IS one fold, one flock. Don't limit the work of the Holy Spirit to accomplish this.
Which is a fine thing but does not save anyone.
I have never said that anyone who was not a member of the Catholic Church could not be saved. That is a decision made by Jesus on all of us upon one’s death.
The salvation happens immediately upon the person putting their faith in Christ.
We are saved NOW and in the spiritual realm have been transferred from death to life where we are now seated with Christ in heaven.
There are lots of passages of Scripture which tell us that very thing.
John 1:10-13 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 3:14-18 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
2 Corinthians 6:2 For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
Romans 4:16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring-not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.
1 Corinthians 1:4-8 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus,that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
2 Corinthians 5:4-8 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
Ephesians 1:13-14 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritanceuntil we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Philippians 1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Colossians 1:13-14 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians 2:13-14 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
Colossians 3:3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
1 Peter 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Jude v24 "Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy"
1 John 5:13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.
Jude v24 "Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy"
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3156607/posts?page=313#313
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
For which the Greek, from the Byzantine, is:
2Corinthians 1:21-22 ο δε βεβαιων ημας συν υμιν εις χριστον και χρισας ημας θεος ο και σφραγισαμενος ημας και δους τον αρραβωνα του πνευματος εν ταις καρδιαις ημων
The first word in bold above is “bebaion,” the idea of confirmation, frequently used in commercial settings to confirm a bargain. Which of course makes sense of the remaining terms used here, which are also elements of a secured contract.
The second word in bold above is “sphragisamenos,” being sealed is to be marked by the signature, signet ring, or other unique proof of identity, that we belong to God, and this sealing is done by God, who is the one taking action in this verse. We do not and cannot seal ourselves. We do not, by our own powers, have access to God’s “signet ring.”
The third bolded word above is “arrabona,” and indicates what we might loosely refer to as earnest money, but in Hebrew culture conveys more the idea of a pledge of covenant, a security given as a guarantee that the deal will go through, though we only receive part payment at the beginning. See ערב for the related Hebrew stem indicating “pledge.”