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To: boatbums
When you say "We do not declare that we are the Church", are you speaking as an individual"

That is correct. I do not presume the arrogance of that level of declaration.

What you label as "pride" only appears so to those who do not have confidence in the promises of God.

I have confidence in God. It is the riff raff of the Reformation and their empty promises that I have no confidence in.

In fact, I think it is MORE prideful to think I must still do more to earn my salvation.

Tsk, tsk, you MUST read your own posts a little more thoroughly.

When we come to saving faith in Jesus Christ we leave ALL pride at the foot of the cross because we can do nothing of ourselves to merit the unspeakable gift of God's grace. God gives us the choice, believe and be saved or reject the gift and be damned. Those who do not believe are condemned already, Jesus said. Those who believe are NOT condemned, he also proclaimed.

Matthew 22:37 "You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole soul, and with all your mind, (and) you shall love your neighbor as yourself."

If you do not do as Jesus commands, you are denied salvation.

Matthew 7: 21 Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have not we prophesied in thy name, and cast out devils in thy name, and done many miracles in thy name? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity. Ah, there we have it. Evil doers will be rejected by God at their Judgement. Those who do as Jesus commands will be accepted by God at their Judgement.

I welcome a change in a heart that may formerly have been as stony as a Biblical execution. Thank you for sharing this with us.

2,948 posted on 12/06/2011 8:53:53 AM PST by MarkBsnr (I would not believe in the Gospel, if the authority of the Catholic Church did not move me to do so.)
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To: MarkBsnr
That is correct. I do not presume the arrogance of that level of declaration.

Yet, you claim membership in the Roman Catholic Church, which, by definition, means you are part of the Church, the one that claims it is the One, True Church established by Jesus Christ at Pentecost. We've seen such stated numerous times here. The question had to do with saying, "We do not declare that we are the Church". So either you are the Church, or you are not the Church, which is it? Nobody ever said one single person is "a" church, but that each saved person makes up the church.

I have confidence in God. It is the riff raff of the Reformation and their empty promises that I have no confidence in.

Yet, your very own comments repeatedly state you have no confidence that God WILL keep his promises. It wasn't the "Reformation" that made any of those promises. They come straight from the very Word of God, Holy Scripture, God-breathed, Divinely-inspired Holy Scripture. God assures us of his great and precious promises and only those who feel they must beg and plead for his mercy every day of their lives - after they have already received Christ as Savior and believed on him - are the ones who disprove whatever confidence they say they have.

Matthew 22:37 "You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole soul, and with all your mind, (and) you shall love your neighbor as yourself."

If you do not do as Jesus commands, you are denied salvation.

That is your added interpretation, because that is NOT what Jesus said, is it? The people asked him what the greatest commandments were and he answered them. If you think Jesus demanded complete obedience to all the commandments to be saved, then NONE will be saved. We ALL have sinned, and offending even one part of the law, makes us guilty of the entire law. Without the grace of God we would all be without hope. We cannot save ourselves no matter how many laws we may keep.

Matthew 7: 21 Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have not we prophesied in thy name, and cast out devils in thy name, and done many miracles in thy name? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity."
Ah, there we have it. Evil doers will be rejected by God at their Judgement. Those who do as Jesus commands will be accepted by God at their Judgement.

I welcome a change in a heart that may formerly have been as stony as a Biblical execution. Thank you for sharing this with us.

Again, with the adding to the words of God. Here's a hint, WE ARE ALL EVILDOERS, WE HAVE ALL SINNED AND FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD. Whoever does not believe on Jesus Christ will not be saved. Whoever obeys Jesus by receiving him and believing in him, will not be condemned. We are no longer under judgment and condemnation because we have been declared righteous in Christ. We are, I am "found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith." (Philippians 3:9)

So, before you start a rumor that I am in RCIA classes, let me assure you, I have not had a "change of heart". That already happened over forty years ago, and has only grown stronger every day. And that's a GOOD thing.

3,040 posted on 12/06/2011 10:42:47 PM PST by boatbums ( Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us. Titus 3:5)
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