Posted on 07/07/2008 10:39:05 PM PDT by Gamecock
A caller to our weekly radio program asked a question that has come up before: Are Roman Catholics saved? Let me respond to this as best I can. But I need to offer a qualifier because I think this is going to be somewhat dissatisfying for some because I am not going to say a simple "aye" or "nay." My answer is: It kind of depends. The reason I'm saying that is because of certain ambiguities.
My point is this, I think that in the area of the doctrine of salvation, Roman Catholic theology, as I understand it, is unbiblical because salvation depends on faith and works, not just faith alone. This was the specific problem Paul addressed in the book of Galatians and was the subject of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15: Is simple faith in Jesus adequate, or must gentile followers of Christ now keep the Law as a standard of acceptance before God?
I know not all Catholics would agree that this is a fair way of putting it, but I think that most Catholics would actually say the faith/works equation is accurate. Your faith and your works are what save you. I was raised Catholic and that’s what I was taught. (For my take on the biblical relationship between faith and works, see “Faith & Works: Paul vs. James.”)
Now, I need to add this too. Many Protestants feel the same way. Many Protestants are confused on this issue, so this is not a Catholic vs. Protestant concern so much. It's just that Catholicism across the board has more of an official position that amounts this, where Protestants have a more diversity of views, some that don't even seem to be consistent with Protestantism.
But the fact that one believes Jesus is the Messiah and that He is the savior, not our own efforts, is critical. If you reject this notion, like the Jews do, then as far as I can tell from the biblical revelation, there is no hope for you. That seems to be clear. But when somebody says they believe in Jesus and He is their Savior, but somehow works are mingled in with the picture, then I can't really say to you how much faith that person is putting in Jesus and how much faith that person is putting in their own efforts to satisfy God. If a person has all their faith in their own efforts, then they are going to be judged by their own efforts. It's as simple as that. If they have their faith in Jesus, they will be judged by the merits of Jesus. Anyone judged by their own merits is going to be found wanting. Anyone who is judged by the merits of Jesus is not going to be found wanting because Jesus is not wanting.
What if you are kind of a mixture? I think most Catholics are, frankly. Many Protestants are, as well.
I reflect often on a comment that was made by a friend of mine named Dennis. He was a Roman Catholic brother in Christ that I knew when I was a brand new Christian. He asked me this: "Greg, how much faith does it take to be saved?" I said, "A mustard seed." And he said, "There you go."
And so, it seems to me, there are many Christians—Protestant and Catholic—who believe in Jesus as their savior and have a mustard seed of faith, but are confused about the role of works. I think that Jesus is still Savior in those cases.
Amen. Succinct and right on target, as usual.
What other explanation is there when God's word clearly gives us the instruction booklet for our lives, a sure Guide to light our understanding, and a life insurance policy where the premium has already been paid-in-full.
It all comes down to either trusting God or not trusting Him.
It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life." -- John 6:44-47 "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
The Lord had lots to say about such kind of judgments.
And so we count it all for good.
"For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." -- Galatians 3:26
As long as you premise a request (that one or this one) on a belief that my love for you is "fake" or "creepy" you put me in the position of necessarily reassuring you that I do, in fact, love you - that it is God's will that I love you and to love you in such a way that others notice it.
The words of God which bear to this issue are posting at 1329.
To God be the glory!
Amen
Matt 6:3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.
lol, lol, lol, and again, lol
Truly God has raised up several men that others, observing them, might say were firebrands for God.
Seems to me that many – and especially those on the receiving end of their words and deeds - would think that about Moses and David. And yet we know, despite their outward behavior, they were humble men.
And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all [thy] children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. – 1 Samuel 16:11
And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God: But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight. – I Chronicles 22:7-8
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. – 2 Corinthians 12:7
To God be the glory!
Unbelievable
I don’t think Yeshua cares one twit about Theology either; His own message was very simple - come, follow me; and even now He is present to anyone who accepts his calling.
I believe that “the Church” is not identified by anything on this earth, anything in human organizations; it is the body of believers that Yeshua Himself knows as His, and they exist in and outside of every kind of organization of man but are not His because they are or are not believers in those organizations or their theologies.
Amen
"Who lives in love, lives in God, and God in him."
May God ever bless you, dear xzins! It's clear that you are of loving Spirit also.
I'm not missing the word repent. Repentance is part of a Christian's sanctification. And it is God's saving grace that brings with it the very ability to repent. Without it, we are still slaves to sin.
"In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth" -- 2 Timothy 2:25
So Forest Keeper's question to you is at the heart of our differences, and the fact that you can't answer it should give you pause.
If Christ has paid for a sin, how is that sin not forgiven?
Is Christ only offering us partial payment?
It was only after I thought about this question that I began to realize what Christ had actually accomplished on the cross and what my part is in this life. I can't save myself. Christ alone pays for a man's sins, and He pays for them completely.
The gift of God's grace to understand that truth brings with it gratitude, obedience, repentance, joy, and a new life lived by and for through Jesus Christ. His righteousness saves the fallen sinner. Not their own.
"Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." -- John 6:29
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." -- Galatians 2:16-17,21"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified...
So stop and answer FK's question -- If Christ has paid for a sin, how is that sin not forgiven? Is Christ only offering us partial payment?
Not a fact at all.
I did not say that.
I said your use of the term "dear" with me was (and remains) fake, creepy and might I now add, unwelcome.
(Just a "heads-up" to folks who might be interested in reading it!)
To God be the Glory!
Telling the truth should not make Christians enemies of each other. It should encourage us to seek more of God's truth.
But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain. Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are: ye have not injured me at all... Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?" -- Galatians 4:3-12,16"Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
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Certainly not I.
AMEN!
If he used the words "dear Petronski" in writing to you, would you find that fake and creepy?
If your brother or sister used the words "dear Petronski" in writing or speaking to you, would you find that fake and creepy?
In short, is your objection to the word "dear" universal or does it apply only to a few like me, i.e. do you reject or return my Christian love for you?
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