Three Words Catholics Do Not Understand

Proclaiming the Gospel ^ | March 18,2015 | Mike Gendron

[RnMomof7]

1/14/2015 8:04:57 AM

Three Words Catholics Do Not Understand

 

It Is Finished - Three Words Catholics Do Not Understand
The perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice of Christ that satisfied divine justice for all believers was accomplished 2000 years ago. Jesus cried out in victory - "It is finished." The work of salvation is done. The eternal debt for sin has been paid in full. No more offerings, no more sacrifices, no more priests! The Lord Jesus willingly died for man’s sins to pay the debt that we could never pay. “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness: by His wounds you have been healed" (1 Peter 2:24). Yet Catholics instead choose to trust in the sacrifice of the Mass, a blasphemous representation of a eucharistic Christ on an altar. They would rather trust the Sacrifice of the Mass as a sin offering to God rather than trusting in the one-time, all-sufficient, sacrifice of Christ. 

Jesus appeared “to take away sins once for all" by His sacrifice" (Hebrews 9:26). “Through His blood God made Him the means of expiation (of sin) for all who believe" (Romans 3:25). Vatican II denies these sacred Scriptures by teaching: “Sins must be expiated...on this earth through the sorrows, miseries and trials of this life and, a above all, through death. Otherwise the expiation must be made in the next life through fire and torments or purifying punishments” (Vatican Council II). What a terrible deception to impose on faithful Roman Catholics who look to their church for the truth! The very reason and purpose Christ became man and suffered such an excruciating death was to expiate sin, once and for all, by His perfect sacrifice. How can any church, which claims to follow Christ, withhold this truth from its people and create in its place doctrines that nullify the Savior's finished work?

Roman Catholic teachings also nullify another accomplishment of Christ, the purification of sins. The writer of the book of Hebrews declared that "when He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Heb. 1:3). The apostle John also proclaimed that those who trust Christ are purified from all sin, by His blood (1 John 1:7). Vatican Council II states that purgatory is where "those…who have not made satisfaction with adequate penance for their sins and omissions are cleansed after death with punishments designed to purge away their debt.” Jesus reconciled the world to God, changing its relationship with God from hostility to harmony. The sinner is reconciled to God when he trusts in Christ as his Savior. "It is in Christ and through His blood that we have been redeemed and our sins are forgiven" (Eph. 1:7). Being reconciled to God is difficult for Catholics to comprehend, for they have been taught the only way to made peace with God is through a life long journey of works--receiving the sacraments, going to Mass and doing penance. The only response to the accomplishments of Christ that will reconcile anyone to God is repentance and faith.

[CynicalBear]

First of all the Kadish is not a prayer for the dead. Here are the words.

"May His great Name grow exalted and sanctified (`Cong: Amen.)"
"in the world that He created as He willed."
"May He give reign to His kingship in your lifetimes and in your days,"
and in the lifetimes of the entire Family of Israel,
swiftly and soon. Now say:
(Amen. May His great Name be blessed forever and ever.)
Blessed, praised, glorified, exalted, extolled,
mighty, upraised, and lauded be the Name of the Holy One
Blessed is He.
beyond any blessing and song,
praise and consolation that are uttered in the world. Now say:
Amen

There is no praying for the dead by the Jews. If a Jew prays for the dead or asks them to pray for the living they are corruptions just as Catholicism is.

[Legatus]

There is no praying for the dead by the Jews. If a Jew prays for the dead or asks them to pray for the living they are corruptions just as Catholicism is.

I think I just saw "lalalalalalalala I can't hear you"

[redleghunter]

Jesus tells Nicodemus how man is to be born again... of water and Spirit.

Correct. Given the audience (Nicodemus) what TaNaKh (OT) scriptures did Jesus refer to when discussing the above with Nicodemus?

A point to consider is if the baptism mentioned later in John 3 is the same Christian baptism as in Acts 2ff. Or was it John's baptism of repentance? Valid to check out as Nicodemus would be clueless to the post resurrection and baptism following Pentecost.

Applying historical context Nicodemus would need some OT scriptures as a reference. If you have an idea of which passages Jesus was leading Nicodemus to let me know.

For Christians this is an easy exercise in Biblical studies. We know from Acts 10 Cornelius and family heard the Gospel, believed the Gospel, were filled with the Holy Spirit and then were baptized. So it's easy for us to see it but for Nicodemus, no he needed to be led by something from the TaNaKh (OT).

[CynicalBear]

No, you just saw a refutation of anyone who claims the mourners kadish is a prayer for the dead.

[Legatus]

No, because the rest of the wiki article goes on to discuss Jewish prayers for the dead.

From the wiki:
El Maleh Rachamim is the actual Jewish prayer for the dead, although less well known than the Mourner's Kaddish. While the Kaddish does not mention death but rather affirms the steadfast faith of the mourners in God's goodness, El Maleh Rachamim is a prayer for the rest of the departed. There are various translations for the original Hebrew which vary significantly. One version reads:

“God, filled with mercy, dwelling in the heavens' heights, bring proper rest beneath the wings of your Shechinah, amid the ranks of the holy and the pure, illuminating like the brilliance of the skies the souls of our beloved and our blameless who went to their eternal place of rest. May You who are the source of mercy shelter them beneath Your wings eternally, and bind their souls among the living, that they may rest in peace. And let us say: Amen.”

[redleghunter]

Don't forget that the Devil and his demons know who Christ is... they believe He is the Son of God.

Not to be a stickler but that is a weak argument, even though your overall point is in response to your own straw man.

The plan of salvation is for mankind. The demons can know the plan but would never be given the Divine Sovereignty of God to move them to repentance and salvation. Demons cannot be justified. Mankind can be. Demons have their fate sealed already. They 'believe' the facts of their eventual eternal punishment at the Hands of Christ and know they can do nothing about it but deceive as many souls as possible to join their torment. This is the difference between an acknowledging 'belief' and the much different God ordained saving faith/trust.

Jesus is the object of judgement for demons. They believe that and know that to be true.

Jesus is the object of salvation for those who trust in His Work and Resurrection. For those who reject, their fate will be the same as the demons.

[redleghunter]

That's the religion most Europeans might have been practicing if there hadn't been a strong, centralized church holding the fort for Christianity.

Dont' you think the Holy Spirit had something to do with warding off heresies? Sounds to me you are applying some deism here.

[Legatus]

https://youtu.be/EsEi1ASsRf8

There ya go, video.

[CynicalBear]

Like I said. There are corruptions of the Jewish faith just as there are corruptions of the Christian faith.

[Gamecock]

Didn’t you used to be a Roman Catholic?

[Legatus]

So you’re saying that any Jews who pray for the dead (even though they don’t according to you) are practicing a corrupted form of Judaism? Would you be so kind as to indicate which type of Jew DOESN’T pray for the dead, because as far as I know they all do it.

[editor-surveyor]

.
>> “Proof quotes can only take you so far. Don't forget that the Devil and his demons know who Christ is... they believe He is the Son of God. What they don't do is take that knowledge of belief into action in service of God. Belief is an action word, it is not a mere knowledge of identity. Belief without action is dead.” <<

Amen!

Saving belief is as John calls it out in his first epistle.

1John 2:

[3] And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
[4] He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
[5] But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
[6] He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

[avenir]

Salvation—not our walk—is free and easy, e.g...

“Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.” (Isaiah 55)

and again

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. (Rev. 22)

I know there are other aspects to living out our salvation in history. The martyrs are precious and, really, privileged! Martyrdom or earthly distress does nothing to mitigate the free gift of God in Christ Jesus. That’s available to “all who call on the name of the Lord”. No merit or earning involved.

[Svartalfiar]

So, in that case, how do you define morality? If all sins are automatically forgiven, are they really sins in the first place? How can there be any sense of right or wrong in a religion where there is no sin?

What happens to society when all of a sudden, everyone is free to do whatever they want? If you remove all morality, what happens to the legal side? What’s the justification for laws against robbery or murder or anything?

[editor-surveyor]

.
>> “Not to be a stickler but that is a weak argument...” <<

Whoa!

Not such a weak argument that the apostles wouldn't use it.

James 2:19-21

19.Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20.But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21.Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?

[redleghunter]

You are wrong. They have prayers for the dead.

Not Jews or Israelites who follow Torah. That is a tradition of men and not found in Torah. Find it in Torah. You won't. Jesus condemned the Pharisees for their man-made traditions.

[redleghunter]

I actually had James in mind with my comments.

Thus the part about answering a straw man instead of pointing out genuine faith...as James points out.

[af_vet_1981]

First of all the Kadish is not a prayer for the dead. Here are the words.

It is not about the words; it is the intent. Jews absolutely pray for the dead. What follows is a simple explanation to document the practice.

Why, then, is Kaddish recited by mourners?

After a great loss like the death of a parent, you might expect a person to lose faith in G-d, or to cry out against G-d's injustice. Instead, Judaism requires a mourner to stand up every day, publicly (i.e., in front of a minyan, a quorum of 10 adult men), and reaffirm faith in G-d despite this loss. To do so inures to the merit of the deceased in the eyes of G-d, because the deceased must have been a very good parent to raise a child who could express such faith in the face of personal loss.

Then why is Kaddish recited for only 11 months, when the mourning period is 12 months? According to Jewish tradition, the soul must spend some time purifying itself before it can enter the World to Come. The maximum time required for purification is 12 months, for the most evil person. To recite Kaddish for 12 months would imply that the parent was the type who needed 12 months of purification! To avoid this implication, the Sages decreed that a son should recite Kaddish for only eleven months.

[af_vet_1981]

Not Jews or Israelites who follow Torah. That is a tradition of men and not found in Torah. Find it in Torah. You won't. Jesus condemned the Pharisees for their man-made traditions.

Jews who follow Torah do indeed pray for the dead. There is no condemnation of the custom in the scriptures. Catholics look to Second Maccabees, chapter twelve as well as Second Timothy, chapter one for scriptural support of the tradition.

[tioga]

Google Jewish prayers for the dead...seems they pray for the dead to me, since they have set prayers. RME