“They only said ‘Jesus help me…’ The blood of our Christian brothers is testimony that cries out. Be they Catholic, Orthodox, Copts, Lutherans, it doesn’t matter: They’re Christian!”
I wish it were possible to dismiss the legalistic posturing of the Baptist bloggers without giving it a second thought, but the discomfiting truth is that they have a point.
Joh 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Act 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Luk 23:40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
Luk 23:41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
Luk 23:42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
Luk 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Luk 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
Luk 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
Luk 18:12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
Luk 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
Luk 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
If Francis got anything right pertaining to salvation, I'd chalk it up to a lucky guess...
Not all who cry out to Jesus will be saved as Luke 18 shows us...We can only hope they were more like the Publican than the Pharisee...
When people come face to face with death, at least with some of them, everything is stripped away...Mary? Gone...Sacraments? Gone...Good works? Gone...Church? Gone....Nothing there but you and Jesus...Everything gets real and personal...My guess is some of these Coptics got saved right then and there...
Facing death has a way of stripping away the non-essentials.
Even if you live past it (recover), it leaves a permanent change.
Even as a believer, at one time I was afraid to die.
That’s long gone from more than one experience with health issues.