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.
Matthew 7:13 "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 "For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Catholics bragging about their great numbers does them little good.
>>Christ's Church exists in history, which means "stuff that actually happened."<<
And the Catholic Church did it's best to eliminate it. The persecution by the Catholic Church of those who wanted to rely on scripture alone is well documented and has been presented here often. The fantasy world that Catholics live in is simply denial.
Science geeks will get it.
This statement is true of the vast majority of the non-Catholics in this crowd.
True, False, and you cannot logically claim the former were "not really saved" should they fall away and fail to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling.
The Apostle Paul used the words for to work out and salvation.
You have freepmail.
work out your own salvation
Get it >?? It is ALREADY THEIR SALVATION ..HE DID NOT SAY WORK OUT TO EARN YOUR SALVATION OR WORK FINISH YOUR SALVATION
HE WAS WRITING TO THE SAVED
What does "incorporated into Christ mean??
Ummm where doe it say He "raised her up"? He ordained her presence into the world.. He ordained that she should bear His Son...that says nothing about her..it says everything about the sovereignty of God and his faithfulness ....
Mark 3:34 …33Answering them, He said, "Who are My mother and My brothers?" 34Looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He said, "Behold My mother and My brothers! 35"For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother."
Mary was predestined to be the Mother of Our Savior, and everything she had, including her holiness, was a gift from Him "Who did great things for her."
There's no such thing as "personal merits" in some sense isolated from God. He certainly gives greater and gives less, as He wills. Jesus said of John the Baptist, "Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." Greater and lesser are both gifts.
Our Lord's remark about the "biological reductionism" of His Mother to womb and breasts, in no way reduces the honor she has as one who "heard the word of God and kept it." She heard it so well it entered her, and she got pregnant with God.
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me." - Gal 2:20"
"He has given us great and precious promises; through them you may participate in the divine nature."
"In Christ we form one body, and each member belongs to all the others."
Vine and Branches.
I wasn’t referring to numbers.
No it raises the saved to His mothers level of love and honor
It raises the saved to the level of His family.
Yes. Why do we have to obey Him?
To what end?
I want YOUR perspective.
We do not become "incorporated " into Christ.. He indwells those that are His.. ...
"Christ in you the Hope of Glory"(Col 1:27)
Not sure where the idea of" incorporation " would be found ????
Have you cut off your hand or gouged out your eye lately?
He's not? Better check with Paul on that one.
Actually, you'd have been better off saying "saved" rather than "loved".
Because no one can stop God from loving us and working toward our salvation. The most God hating atheist or satanist is still the recipient of God's mercy, grace, and love, whether he's aware of it or not and whether he wants it or not.
But He will force no one to receive a place in heaven because for the sinner in the presence of a holy God, who is a consuming fire, it would seem like hell.
Oh, you're sure of that, are you?
Each of the quotes I gave you, deals with incorporation.
Maybe you're not familiar with the term itself, in which case it's the familiar problem of people having different theological vocabularies.
But you do know that Jesus was incorporated (incarnated) into the human race. In-corpore, in the body - He assumed a human nature, which means, he took it up and will always have this human nature (together with His divine nature.) This leads to the other half of this marvelous sharing by which we participate in His divine nature (as Peter says in one of his epistles.)
This is theosis, which is the purpose of human life.
Vine and branches.
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