Replies

Christ saves individuals, you and me, who are unworthy of God's grace. All those individuals who have been acquitted of their sins by Christ on the cross make up the church of God on earth.

Christ redeems personally and specifically, not through some institution, but by God's grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.

I have gone to many for advice on the Scripture.

Maybe just try reading the Bible on your own. God didn't intend that all men had to read Hebrew or Greek to understand Christ has paid for the sins of His flock. It's just not that difficult.

And those who say it is difficult are needlessly obscuring the truth at their own peril.

"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" -- Phil. 1:6

"For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." -- 1 Corinthians 1:18

"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." -- John 16:33

Maybe just try reading the Bible on your own

Iscool told me to do something very similar.

What's funny is that I do read the Bible on my own, and I come up with very Catholic conclusions.

Those conclusions aren't acceptable to you, or to him. That leads me to believe that your mantra is "study the Bible on your own" if you think that can lure someone away from the Catholic church, but the real objective is "study the Bible the way I do, and come up with conclusions exactly like mine ... or else I'll denounce you as a heretic".

That means you really are just trying to lure your victims into exchanging one Pope (the one in Rome) for another (you and your buddy, John Calvin).

Christ redeems personally and specifically, not through some institution, but by God's grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.

For example, most of this is not in the Bible. Jesus specifically founded a _church_ (a "called-out assembly") -- he said so -- and he said nothing about redeeming anyone except as members of his flock. We're called to be sheep, not lone wolves.

The only use of the phrase "by faith alone" in Scripture, is in James, and is preceded by the word "not".

What is "faith alone in Christ alone"? You've removed God the Father and God the Holy Spirit from the picture, too?

"God didn't intend that all men had to read Hebrew or Greek"

Quite so. And that's one of the many reasons why we can't rely on written Scriptures alone. You yourself said it well with the quote you selected:

"For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." -- 1 Corinthians 1:18

Many are the saved who have never read a word of Scripture, never read a word of anything, let alone interpreted it. They learned about God through other people who are in Christ--- through preaching --- through the Church.

Do you think it was pointless, useless, unnecessary, for Christ to build this Church, and in it to appoint some --- but not all --- as teachers?