[Bryanw92]

>>I’m relieved to hear that. I fear that some, in protesting Catholicism, unwittingly reject the truth along with the false doctrine.

Its not just the Romans in this case. I heard the narrow path/wide path sermon all the time when I was Methodist. They tell you that salvation comes from faith and not works one week, then tell you that what you do or don’t do will send you to hell the next week. When you ask, they start spinning in circles because their official theology is salvation by faith alone, but their politics are of social justice, and that requires works so they preach works salvation to the members and sola fides to the newcomers.

But since they believe that you can “lose salvation”, then it boils down to a twisted doctrine of “faith through your free will saves you, but a lack of works (outside of the church, of course) condemns you.”

[LearsFool]

Sounds like this Methodist church, being unsatisfied with Jesus' goals for the church He built, decided to invent their own. If that's correct, then this is a church no disciple of Christ ought to join himself to. It's sad to see, but comes as no surprise to those who have studied His teaching in the gospels.

To their credit, it sounds (from your description) like they were at least staying within His teaching on the few/the many, the narrow path/the wide path. So often Jesus foretold that few are able to follow Him. And perhaps this church is comprised primarily of those who are unable to do so, unable to set aside their own ideas - accumulated, perhaps, over a lifetime - and let God fill their minds with His ideas through an arduous study of His revelation in the Scriptures.

When one fellow asked Jesus whether there were few who would be saved, He replied:

"Make every effort (strive, struggle, labor, agonize, endeavour with strenuous zeal) to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to." - Luke 13:24