Posted on 08/15/2013 7:03:11 PM PDT by annalex
Once a woman in the crowd surrounding Christ and His disciples cries out to Him:
Blessed is the womb that bore thee, and the paps that gave thee suck. (Luke 11:27)
What is it? We have, clearly, an act of venerating Mary. Note that the Blessed Virgin is venerated properly: not on her own but as the mother of Christ. Yet the reason for venerating is indeed concerning: it is her physiological and physiologically unique relationship with Jesus that is emphasized. That is not yet paganism with its crude theories of gods giving birth to other gods, but it is lacking proper focus and Jesus corrects it:
Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God, and keep it. (Luke 11:28)
The Virgin with the Child on her knees and a prophet pointing at the star. Catacomb of Priscilla, late 2nd c. Source |
Having gotten past this linguistic hurdle, we can understand clearly what this passage, Luke 11:27-28, does: it establishes veneration of saints based not on their blood relation to Christ but on their obedience to God. It is in that sense that we venerate Our Lady: given that Christ is the Word of God personified, she heard and kept both Him in person as her Child and His teaching, figuratively. In Mary the essence of sainthood is seen in the flesh as well as in the mind. We could say that by the late second century at the latest, when we find evidence of the veneration of both the prophets and the Mother of God in the catacombs, the two reasons to venerate a saint: his martyrdom as in the case of Polycarp, or his obedience to the Word, as in Mary, -- unite into a single practice.
Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Rom 4:3
And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. Gen 15:6
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Heb 11:8-10
Abraham was made rightious long before there was a law or a Jewish nation. He was basically a Gentile. Abraham was righteous before God by his faith and belief just as we are today. Catholics attempt to convince people that somehow we need to go back under the law of works. The Catholics do follow Peter in one respect and that is in his errors one of which was trying to put them back under the law of works.
Galatians 2:14 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?
The Jews thought that the Christians should become Jews first and be controlled by laws and Peter fell into that trap. Catholics today would try to do the same thing by insisting we need to live under a set of laws and rules. Pauls words to Peter apply to them as well.
True believers are not under the law but are under grace and covered by the blood of Jesus. They can try to condemn us but scripture teaches different.
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. Rom 8:1-2
. confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame. Rom 10:9-11
Hebrews 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Now would you please find for me any poster that said works does not follow true faith? Please show the post number so we can double check.
You can be forgiven, too.
All you have to do is ask God.
Forget the priest stuff. He can’t do anything for you.
Once God does it, it’s a done deal and He does not count your sin against you ever again.
Then you Catholics do NOT have to DO something.
Good; this is what I've been saying.
HUH?
Did you NOT just say it DIDN'T?
Interesting phrase: what does it mean?
That last verses says NOTHING about baptism; therefore the RCC can’t use it.
Get thee behind me... oh; never mind.
Jesus; can you just QUIT harping on that BELIEVE thing?
John 6:29
This is SO Tiresome...
Oh... wait...
You imagine, crossing the desert is not works?
The truth is that works ARE the faith, not some byproduct of faith.
Let us then, as is becoming, as at all times, yet especially in the days of the feast, be not hearers only, but doers of the commandments of our Saviour; that having imitated the behaviour of the saints, we may enter together into the joy of our Lord which is in heaven, which is not transitory, but truly abides; of which evil doers having deprived themselves, there remains to them as the fruit of their ways, sorrow and affliction, and groaning with torments. Let a man see what these become like, that they bear not the likeness of the conversation of the saints, nor of that right understanding, by which man at the beginning was rational, and in the image of God. (St. Athanasius, Letters, 2)if you be risen with Christ, seek the things that are above; where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God: Mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon the earth. For you are dead; and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ shall appear, who is your life, then you also shall appear with him in glory.
Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, lust, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is the service of idols. For which things the wrath of God cometh upon the children of unbelief, In which you also walked some time, when you lived in them. But now put you also all away: anger, indignation, malice, blasphemy, filthy speech out of your mouth. Lie not one to another: stripping yourselves of the old man with his deeds, And putting on the new, him who is renewed unto knowledge, according to the image of him that created him. ( (Colossians 3:1-10)
Baptism enters you into the Catholic Church and if you stay Catholic in your faith your salvation is assured because the Holy Ghost shall lead to to it. Exceptions exist for people ignorant in some ways, but if you insist on standing outside of One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church and cling to your cults, your soul will be ruined.
Come on Elsie. It does and it doesn’t. Depending.....
You have to catch them and then you have to keep them.
Get with the program.
And just who gets to determine what works qualify as works of *love and mercy*?
Who knew!
Oh??
SOMEone has it BACKWARDS!
1 John 3:21-24
Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.
And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.
The one who keeps Gods commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
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