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I just LOVE the stuff that AUGUSTINE wrote!!!

What “Church” do you think Augustine had in mind whenever he wrote “the Church”?

-— There’s the rock for you, there’s the foundation, there’s where the Church has been built, which the gates of the underworld cannot conquer.

-— The Church, therefore, which is founded in Christ received from Him the keys of the kingdom of heaven in the person of Peter, that is to say, the power of binding and loosing sins. For what the Church is essentially in Christ, such representatively is Peter in the rock (petra); and in this representation Christ is to be understood as the Rock, Peter as the Church.

-— I will build my Church though; I will build you, because in this answer of yours you represent the Church.

-— But in order that the Church might be builded upon the Rock, who was made the Rock? Hear Paul saying: ‘But the Rock was Christ.’ On Him therefore builded we have been.

-— and so Peter, called after this rock, represented the person of the Church which is built upon this rock, and has received ‘the keys of the kingdom of heaven.’

Could it be - wait for it - the Catholic Church?

-— and so Peter, called after this rock, represented the person of the Church which is built upon this rock, and has received ‘the keys of the kingdom of heaven.’

You do love to miss the point!

NIV Matthew 4:18-19
18. As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.
19. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."

NIV Matthew 8:14
When Jesus came into Peter's house, he saw Peter's mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever.

NIV Matthew 10:1-2
1. He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
2. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John;

NIV Matthew 14:28-31
28. "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."
29. "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
30. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"
31. Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"

NIV Matthew 15:13-16
13. He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots.
14. Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."
15. Peter said, "Explain the parable to us."
16. "Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them.

As you can see, Simon was already known as 'Peter'

BEFORE the following verses came along.....

NIV Matthew 16:13-18
13. When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
14. They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15. "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
16. Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17. Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.
18. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

19. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

Magic Thinking is strong with you; the ekklesia is made up of all believers in Jesus Christ. There are probably some catholics in the number.

You want to trust in your religious institution and your faithfulness to the rituals of same, that's on you. The ekklesia is built and continues to be built upon the profession that Jesus is Savior and Lord.

You want to pridefully believe you can eat God-life into you instead of Trusting His Promise that believing, you receive eternal life, that's on you.

You want to petition dead people, including the mother of Jesus, to work your way to God's ear, that's on you, since GOD has told us we are now blessed to have direct access to Him because of God The Son sacrificing Himself for us and our Salvation.

You want to ignore what the Word teaches about salvation, that believing, we are already delivered from the wrath to come, that's on you. Even the beginnings of God's wrath poured out upon this earth will be hellish for the targets that first three and one-half years.

But there are many here on FR who don't want that for you. They are well taught by God's Spirit through God's Word, and see the peril in 'striving to obtain salvation'. we will keep on contending for the Faith, for the Truth, regardless of your closed minds and smarmy insults. we are under orders from Higher Authority, to keep on keeping on, so that God has 'e bytes' to use on your behalf. But whoa unto those who harden their hearts the more by rejecting God's Whole Word. That's on you ...