Posted on 07/01/2015 7:13:05 AM PDT by RnMomof7
Recently there has been a surge in prominent Evangelicals calling for unity with Roman Catholicism. In one sense there seems to be strong foundational similarities that would justify these calls to unity. Catholics are baptized in the name of the Trinity. God’s revealed word in the Bible -- setting aside their addition of the Apocryphal books, for argument’s sake -- is foundational to their worldview. Catholics love Christ and believe that he died on the cross and rose again to provide grace for sinners.
Obviously there are theological differences associated with the specific teachings of each one of these perceived similarities, and I do not want to minimize the importance of these differences. But for argument‘s sake, at least on the surface, there is some common ground.
There is also a strong agreement in ethical standards. Both Roman Catholics and Evangelicals ground morality on God’s holy nature as revealed in the law of God. This means that on the hot button moral issues of the day; the murder of the unborn, human sexuality, the sanctity of marriage there is solidarity between Roman Catholic and Evangelical ethics because they are coming from the same source. Again, this seems to justify a call to some sense of unity.
Are these good enough reasons to publically stump for visible unity with Roman Catholics? That question is beyond the scope of this post. But there is a more fundamental question that must be answered first. That question serves as the dividing line between followers of Christ and the world, which separates biblical Christianity from every other worldview; does Rome possess and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
The author of the book of Hebrews in chapter 10 contrasts the gospel with that which is but a shadow of the gospel. He argues:
"And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified." -- Heb 10:11–14
The argument being presented here makes it clear that Christ’s singular sacrifice, his death on the cross, perfects those for whom it is made for. This is the gospel. It is contrasted with the shadow of the gospel in which sacrifices were repeatedly made year after year because though they symbolized the atoning and perfecting sacrifice of Christ, they never themselves perfected those for whom they were made. The gospel of Jesus Christ perfects and any other religious strategies cannot.
This principle is directly applicable to the question of Roman Catholicism and the gospel of God. Roman Catholic worship centers on the mass. The mass is a series of liturgical practices that culminates in the Eucharist which according to paragraph 1068 of the Catholic of the Catholic Church (hereafter CCC) is a divine sacrifice. Paragraph 1367 of CCC calls the Eucharist a “truly propitiatory” sacrifice. This sacrifice is performed repeatedly in the life of a Catholic.
The reason the Eucharist is performed repeatedly is because even though it is claimed to be a propitiatory sacrifice that can make reparation for sins (CCC, 1414), it is a sacrifice that never perfects anyone. According to the Catholic message grace is something that you get from God by performing certain acts. First, God gives you the grace for faith in Jesus (CCC, 2000). Second, when you are baptized God graciously erases the sin of Adam from your record (CCC 1257). From that point on you get more grace by doing things like participating in the sacraments, including the Eucharist. The problem is that when you commit sins, you lose some of the grace you have gained and now need more lest your grace be found wanting at final judgment. This forces the Catholic into a position where they need to return day after day, week after week, and year after year to a priest who serves to repeatedly re-present the same sacrifice which never perfects those for whom it is made, since it only offers grace to cover some sin.
This is not the gospel.
Roman Catholics need the gospel for the same reason we all need it. We are all sinners with such a messed up and low view of how holy holiness really is that we think somehow through our own efforts we can attain it. If we just had enough time and willpower we could somehow have our good deeds outweigh our bad, and this will please God just enough for me to be acceptable to him. This is a satanic lie. A satanic lie that to some degree or another we have all bought into at some point in our life.
But the truth is glorious. God is good and God is holy. He is more good and more holy than we can possibly imagine. God is so good and so holy that anything less than absolute perfection is unacceptable in his presence. It is because of God’s awesome goodness and awesome holiness that in his wisdom he has offered us grace, through faith in Christ. A good and holy sacrifice that absolutely without question completely perfects everyone for whom it is made.
Jesus is NOT a victim.
He didn’t come to put Himself into the hands of men so that they could offer back to the Father as a sacrifice for our sins as the Jewish priests did when offering the sacrificial lamb.
He laid down His life of His own account to pay the penalty for our sin. Nobody took it or takes it from Him and uses Him as a sacrifice to pay for their sins.
Which cannot ever happen.
There is no such thing as purgatory. There's not a shred of Scriptural support for it. Jesus NEVER taught anything remotely close to that.
Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin. The blood of Jesus cleanses us from ALL our sin. ALL of it. There's nothing left to be purged from.
Purgatory cannot cleanse from sin because it's not the correct means for cleansing sin.
When a person is born again/born from above/saved, he is a new creature in Christ, regenerated, given a new nature, made alive in Christ the spirit. That part of him does not sin.
The sin comes from the flesh that we still live in.
When our body of flesh dies physically, all that's left of us is the new nature, the redeemed, regenerated spirit, which has no sin attached to it. Therefore, there is no sin left to atone for, to cleanse from, to account for.
Salvation is not merely a reworking of the old person, it's death and new life. We DIE in Christ and are raised in the newness of life.
One of the fundamental reasons we know the jesus of catholicism is a different jesus. When the priest holds up the wafer and satets,’Behold, The Body of Christ’ catholics ought to remember what Jesus told His disciples about I that day if someone says ‘behold, here is Christ or there is Christ’ ...
Even John the Baptist said, “Behold the Lamb of God.”
Beautifully and truly stated.
BUT dear One, Jesus was walking toward him at the river! The priest holds up the magic wafer and states ‘behold’. Sorry, Jesus The Christ is not there in that wafer.
23 “Then if any man tells you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or, ‘There,’ don’t believe it.
Thank you for sharing your testimony and insights, dear brother in Christ!
Jesus said at the Last Supper “Do this in memory of me.”
That is why the Mass is always a re-presentation of the Last Supper.
Also — your anti-Catholic bias is showing — The consecrated piece of bread is called a host.
There is no magic in transubstantiation. God can do all things.
The priest does not have authority or power to bring Christ down from Heaven to the catholic altar. The catholic priest has not been given the authority to continue the victimization of Christ, because Jesus was never a victim. He laid down His Life willingly. He is not continually sacrificed by the catholic priest because ONLY HE CAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR YOU. The priest does not have power to do that sacrifice so the Mass is a specious rite of empowerment for the catholic church, not for the sadly deluded adherents to tha religion.
HELLO!!!! That's because Jesus WAS the REAL Christ.
****bangs head on desk****
The Blood of Jesus is so precious upon the Mercy Seat that it covers the law of sin and death for ANY who believe He is the Christ, their Savior and Lord. It is not the magic transubstantiation of a catholic pagan religious rite of eating the god of the religion.
In my opinion you are wrong about the magic.
Where is your faith?
Do you believe that Christ feed 5000?
Do you believe that Christ cured a paralytic, a blind man, a cripple?
I will pray for you. Good night.
I believe with all my heart that Jesus was with God in The Beginning, and through Him all things were made that were made. That same Son of God made Himself for a season a little lower than the angels, by taking flesh and dwelling among us.
I believe with all my heart mind and spirit that He is my Redeemer, that He has birthed me from above, to be a member of His Bride and is coming back very soon in the Air to get said Bride to be with Him in Heaven.
I know I am Justified by His Grace because I place my faith in Him alone. And by the Promise of God Who cannot lie, I have His Life in me right now as the earnest of my inheritance in His Body, the Body of Christ.
You ask do I believe Jesus performed miracles? Oh yes. He created all things. He is a person in the Trinity of God, WHO IS ONE, The Great I AM. I believe He gave Himself for me, that I might have His Life in me.
I believe His Body of believers, His Church, is at war with the world, the flesh, and the devil. I believe an astonishing number of souls will be doomed eternally because they would not let God be God in them, and instead tried to obtain Salvation after all that they could do to earn the Grace of God in Christ.
Faithful is He that calleth you, for He will also do it. Many are called, but few are chosen. Of the many called, why are so few chosen? ... Because so few will let God be God in them.
So few will be born from above by His Grace which glorifies His Son by His shed blood imparting His Life in us who are hopelessly lost, at enmity with God.
Thanks be to God, I am a child of God's family, with His life in me being raised up in the Way that I should go. It is ONLY possible by Faith and Faith alone, so that no man may boast of any part in such a miracle of God's work.
>In a world with ISIS martyring Christians daily and posting it on youtube; gay marriage turning Christianity into “hate speech”; SCOTUScare mandating abortion into “healthcare” ... and just about every other known freedom coming under vicious attack ......
... your continued hate campaign/crusade/vendetta against the Catholic Church seems very small and petty ...<
I’ve said the same thing. Its a waste of your time and mine. See, Catholics are more hated on the Religious Forum than Isis. And this same little group of “playground bullies” post several anti-Catholic articles a day.
But Isis murdering Christians and losing religious freedoms? So what? There are evil Catholics on this forum and it is their duty to ridicule us into becoming Protestants.
By the way, I would argue this religious forum and the way it’s operated is a major reason why people won’t donate.
Rather, the only way the either/or Christ/Catholic Church premise is false is if RC teaching is indeed the supreme source which defines who He is and His will, which is the very thing that needs to be proven.
However, you will not even affirm that what the Catholic Church says is the supreme law, and the premise of her ensured veracity is the basis for RC assurance of Truth, which would only affirm the OP charge that RCs follow the RCC first and foremost, which you asserted was a lie.
Uh no. But, it is my opinion.
There is a station in town that plays the oldies 24/7
Are you claiming to know what is in my heart regarding my relationship with Christ?
The FIRST question generated the Second?
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