Posted on 06/16/2019 4:55:18 AM PDT by CharlesOConnell
In Captains Courageous, with Spencer Tracey, Freddy Batholomew is a blowhard millionaire's son who is socially, poorly adjusted. He uses his father's incredible wealth, to bully his classmates and even his teacher, but he's roundly disliked, and ostracized. While on an ocean liner, he unsuccessfully tries to impress some other boys by eating 5 ice cream sodas. When he has to throw up, to escape the mocking boys, he runs into a lifeboat area to evade their ridicule while purging his overindulgence, and manages to fall overboard into the ocean.
Instances of people falling overboard into the open ocean are rather commonly reported in the news. Usually they are lost, but if by chance their accidents are observed and a life-preserver is thrown to them, is that the end of the story, do we just say, "oh, well, you have a floatation device, you're okay now"?
No, we have to pull them in. The life-preserver, the lifesaver, is only part of the formula for saving their lives. There is also a rope, which must be attached to the life-preserver, and must be used to finally accomplish their salvation.
Jesus Christ is the one mediator between God and man. But on the man side of the equation, unlike the radical individuality most typified by J.J. Rousseau, we who life the life of Christians do so in communities. But even then, we do not abide as atomistic individualists. We live our Jesus-oriented life in relation to our fellows. "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." – Hebrews 10:25.
Jesus' first disciple was his mother, who gave us the total account of his early life and who "treasured these things up in her heart". "A sword will pierce your own soul too, so that the secret thoughts of many hearts might be revealed". On the cross, he gave his mother to John to take in his home, but when you take your master's mother, she takes care of you.
Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, voices, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail. And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery.
And another portent appeared in heaven; behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems upon his heads. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, that he might devour her child when she brought it forth; she brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which to be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days. …
And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had borne the male child. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with the flood. But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river which the dragon had poured from his mouth. Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus. - Rev 11:19 -- 12:17
She forms the body of Christ. She schools her son's disciples. Those who won't attend her school, remain ignorant.
We are in a time when any merely human institution would be washed away. Our churches are going under the shadow of a new Heresy of Ba'al of Peor, as when the Hebrew people were successfully attacked and overwhelmed through human sexuality. Our churches are now pro-gay and as soon as the civil authority authorizes child sex, they will be indistinguishable from the denizens of the town of Sodom: "Bring them out that we may know them".
Jesus' mother forms the few of the elect who will resist being fooled by the great apostasy. Those who will not avail themselves of the lifeline of Mary, will be lost.
I don't doubt that happens often.
You DO believe that BELIEVING IN JESUS is the ONLY thing required to get into Heaven?
Your scripture citations didn't say ONLY. Are you making that up?
Wow!
Look at the time.
Nighty night.
I can't help what you imagine.
True dat. Since I was a catholic in the past, however, I know they engage in cult speak. I did, when I was a catholic. Different words mean different things to cult members, than they do to us. It’s like it depends on what the meaning of the word “is” is. That’s why I had to unlearn all my cult speak words. 😁🤣
+1
YOU made the claim (I just saw someone use this phrase) that there existed a "lengthy list". And, that you knew of no one that had the time to post it for us.
Now you're making things up.
So; are we (lurkers included) to assume that there will be NO list forthcoming from the Catholic apologists?
You can assume whatever tickles your fancy.
You tell me.
Good for you.
Much like the challenge aimed at Mormons to produce ANY artifacts found that resulted from The Greatest Battle Mankind Has Ever Seen; maybe just a FEW samples of the oh so many things claimed about 'tradition' would satisfy my curiosity
Maybe. Probably not.
What I’m finding interesting is how Catholics throw SUCH a fit about sola fide, and then when I point out that means salvation by works, they throw SUCH a fit about that too.
I have to wonder if they even know what they believe.
Amen!
People forget that there are many different types of grass/wheat/sheep. What matters is that the Shepherd/Sower/Planter knows His own.
I believe you are correct sir. If I am not mistaken, the worship of Mary and baby Jesus, started with Semiramis, the wife of Nimrod, and her son Tammuz. The first unholy “trinity.” The queen of heaven was also mentioned in the book of Jeremiah. The names of Semiramis and Tammuz changed, where languages and cultures changed, but I think the original “Mary and Jesus,” was Semiramis and Tammuz. I am thinking, this was the kind of thinking that Paul and the others had to go up against, when sent by Jesus, to preach the gospel. 👎
I surely didn’t, when I was a catholic.
The book of Ether? Isn’t that the stuff they give you, to knock you out, if you need surgery? To save time and needles, maybe they could just hit you over the head, with the Mormon book, and knock you out quick. 😆😁
So FINALLY, you’re saying that Catholics believe in salvation by works, right?
Every other Catholic on this thread gets all angry when I mention that Rome teaches salvation by works.
So are you here to confirm that you’re saved by your own works according to Catholicism? Because it’d be really nice if someone would make that clear.
This is called witnessing in Christianity.
But a point of clarification....it is Jesus who is doing the saving. He may or may not use us...but it is only Him that saves us.
It is sharing the Gospel.
Praying for the lost and sharing the Gospel is what we can do in hopes they might become followers of Christ.
And you will note, Paul's appeal in these examples is regarding people here on earth.
We pray TO God in Heaven.
We ask people ON earth to pray with and for us and for others.
placemark
Then why do Catholics address their priests as *Father _________*?
Why does Catholicism assign the very title to their priests that Jesus told His disciples NOT to use?
Ignore?
They DEMAND that their followers disobey Jesus in this area.
They force it on them by assigning the very title to their priests that Jesus told them NOT to use.
And that passage deals with those who live in the millennium during His thousand year reign. That is not a passage directed at church age believers who are saved by grace through faith in Christ NOT of works so that no one can boast.
If our works contributed to our salvation, we would have something to boast about before God, before men, and something to use to leverage God into forcing Him to accept us. THAT is why it's by faith.
Just like Abraham, before he did any works, the Holy Spirit tells us in Scripture that he (Abraham) believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.
Galatians 2:15-21 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
Galatians 3:1-29 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?
Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.
Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.
Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.
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