Posted on 08/08/2025 3:48:54 PM PDT by Roman_War_Criminal
Five hundred years have passed since the Reformation began, and yet the influence of the Roman Catholic Church remains strong. I’m not referring to the mammoth oligarchy that seeks to dictate the lives of an estimated one billion people, but rather its continuing influence upon churches outside its realm, including many that adhere to the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture.
While attending Talbot Seminary, I wrote my master’s thesis on Roman Catholic Justification in the Light of Scripture. In my study, I discovered that Catholicism’s key departure from Scripture was its firm insistence that God’s justification of sinners happens at the end of their life. This teaching contradicts what Paul wrote in Romans 5:1: “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
In other words, God justifies us at the moment of our regeneration (see also Titus 3:4-7). Why is it so important to affirm this clear biblical truth?
It’s because the error of placing our justification at the end of one’s life has crept into evangelical churches in various forms that continue to grow in popularity, as well as negate the glorious hope embedded in the Gospel. It does so by. . .
Undoing the Finality of Our Salvation
I’m not aware of when Catholic theologians first decided that God’s justification of the sinner happens at the end of one’s life, but by the time of Reformation, it had become deeply entrenched in the church’s dogma. This teaching provided the church with the means to control the lives of its members from birth to the grave.
As a result, Catholics can never be sure of their salvation since their final destination depends upon their obedience as well as adherence to the church’s sacraments up to the time of last rites. Under such a scenario, how could anyone be certain of the final outcome of their faith?
Scripture tells us a much different story. Not only does it reveal that God justifies us at the moment of our regeneration, but it also provides us with the security of our hope that Catholicism kills. When God justifies the sinner, He declares that person not guilty of all his or her sins, past present, and future.
The word for “justify” in the Greek comes from the law courts of Paul’s day; it depicted a judge declaring the accused “not guilty” of their crimes. For us, it’s the legal declaration of our righteousness that comes solely through faith by grace. God declares us innocent solely because Jesus bore the punishment for our sins on the cross; His blood covers all of our iniquity. Romans 8:1 states the finality of God’s proclamation of our righteousness, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Later in Romans 8, the apostle elaborates on the permanence of God’s verdict: “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” (Romans 8:32-34).
For all of us in Christ Jesus, our justification is a done deal. God, who is not bound by time, looked at our entire life and declared us not guilty of all our sins. Who can possibly overturn His verdict? No one can provide Him with evidence that He didn’t already know about.
The belief that one can lose their salvation, or walk away from their faith, reflects the Roman Catholic understanding of justification, which regards it as a process that’s not fully settled until death. The only way to deny the finality of our salvation is to either say that someone can reverse God’s verdict, which is impossible, or somehow repackage the Catholic teaching of when God credits our account with His righteousness. If it happens at the time of our rebirth, it’s an absolute done deal.
Subjecting the Believer to a Works Mentality
The Roman Catholic error regarding justification empowers the church to enforce obedience whether it be to its traditions, its sacraments, or Scripture. Do we see this same works mentality today outside of the Catholic faith? We do.
I have experienced various forms of legalism in my life. Such teachings deceive believers into thinking they must earn favor with God, which is something they already fully possess via their secure righteous standing before Him, i.e., their justification.
Legalism reverses the order of chapters in the book of Ephesians. Instead of encouraging adherence to Paul’s instructions based upon one’s secure righteous standing before God, the works mentality begins with the commands as the way to assure the believer of his or her favor in the Lord’s sight. Paul never intended for chapters 4-6 of Ephesians to be the means of obtaining God’s approval, but rather the result of our permanent “holy and blameless” standing before God (Ephesians 1:3-14).
Once our focus shifts away from Christ and what He has done for us to how we should live, we lose the joy that comes from our security and the peace from knowing we will surely meet Jesus in the air in the future. The works mentality, popular in many Evangelical churches, is a remnant of Catholicism that spotlights our behavior rather than our glorious hope in Jesus’ appearing.
Adhering to the False Teaching of Replacement Theology
The refusal of a great many churches today to recognize the prophetic significance of Israel also mirrors Catholicism’s teaching on Bible prophecy.
Replacement Theology, or amillennialism, is the longstanding belief of the Roman Catholic Church. Augustine, a fifth century theologian, popularized the teaching that the church is the new Israel, which replaced the church in God’s prophetic program. He denied the future restoration of Israel and applied the Lord’s many promises to do so to the church, albeit spiritually.
Because Israel’s miraculous reappearance as a nation on May 14, 1948, contradicted its long held beliefs, the Vatican refused to recognize Israel as a nation until the end of 1993, a full forty-five years later. Why the delay apart from their realization that Israel’s astounding rebirth refuted their longstanding amillennial beliefs?
What does today’s popularity of Replacement Theology in Bible-believing churches have to do with a biblical understanding of justification? I provide a full answer to this question in my previous article: Can God Change His Mind about Israel? Or About Us?
Based upon Romans 11:28-32, I explain how God’s unfailing mercy lies at the heart of His continuing faithfulness to us as well as to Jacob’s descendants. He will not renege on any of His promises to His people, whether it be to the nation of Israel or to us as New Testament saints. Chapters 9-11 in the book of Romans were not a rabbit trail in Paul’s line of thought, but rather a critical part of it as he showed how the promised future restoration of Israel demonstrates the Lord’s unfailing mercy not only to the Jewish nation, but also to all justified saints, which He proclaimed in Romans 8:31-38.
Identifying the Church as God’s Kingdom
From its inception, the Roman Catholic Church believed it was God’s physical kingdom on earth and hence a political entity, which directly results from its adherence to Replacement Theology, which teaches that the church is just such a realm. Its role as a governing power during the Dark Ages has long since faded, but not this exalted view of itself.
The Vatican is officially the “Vatican City State.” This came about via the 1929 Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy through which it became an officially recognized independent governing state. The US sends an ambassador to the Vatican, just like it does for other governing entities.
Unfortunately, the Reformation didn’t change the perception of the church as God’s corporal kingdom on earth. Many churches, deeply steeped in amillennialism or its offshoots, continue to teach that Jesus is now reigning over the nations in fulfillment of such passages such as Psalms 2 and 46 as well as Revelation 20:1-10.
During the past few decades, Dominion Theology has grown exponentially in popularity. It asserts that the church will bring about millennial conditions on the earth and rule over it before Jesus’ returns. Is this not a variation the long ago kingdom aspirations of the Vatican?
The Bible teaches that as New Testament saints; we are heirs to a kingdom rather than current possessors of it (Ephesians 1:12-14; James 2:5). Paul couldn’t have been more clear when he said: “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable” (1 Corinthians 15:50). When Jesus appears, He will transform our lowly bodies into ones like His, immortal and incorruptible (Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Corinthians 15:51-55). He will make us fit to inherit His kingdom that’s coming to the earth.
The Bible never identifies the church as a kingdom, but rather describes it as the “body of Christ” with Jesus as its Head. The picture of body life in Romans 12:3-8 is most certainly not that of a kingdom, but rather of functioning entity were all its members enjoy an equal standing. Furthermore, the role of the leaders of a kingdom differs radically from the humble servant leadership Jesus prescribed for His Church (Mark 10:42-45; see also 1 Peter 5:1-5).
Why does this matter? It signifies that we are not now enjoying the glories of God’s promised kingdom on the earth as those who adhere to Replacement Theology claim. The good news is that in the future, we will participate in God’s spectacular kingdom on earth with immortal bodies in a realm devoid of wars, government corruption, overt wickedness, and injustice.
Making One’s Obedience and Feelings the Validation of Salvation
I heard a pastor say this in his Sunday sermon, “You are okay if you love the Lord.” No, no, no, no!! The Bible says that all those in Christ are “okay” because the Lord loves us!
Looking to one’s feelings, or even obedience, as the validation of one’s salvation yields the same fruit as the rigors of Catholicism: it traps believers in the same web of insecurity that obstructs their walk with the Lord and turns their focus away from their joyous blessed hope in Jesus’ appearing.
If it’s true that God’s justification of the sinner happens at the moment of our redemption (Titus 3:4-7) and is by its nature wholly irreversible (Romans 8:1 and 26-39), and Scripture teaches that both are true, the Bible must be the sole rock upon which we must base our assurance of eternal life, not our feelings, our love for the Lord, nor our obedience to some standard.
Our assurance of eternal life comes from what Scripture says about us as New Testament saints, i.e., our justification though faith alone by grace.
A biblical understanding of what happens when God justifies us counters the hope-killing remains of Roman Catholicism in today’s churches that rob believers of the joy that comes from knowing the certainty of their salvation. Scripture frees us from the works mentality that results from thinking we can lose our salvation, walk away from our faith, or must work to keep ourselves within God’s favor and love for us.
Sadly, these vestiges of Roman Catholicism persist in many churches outside its realm. Not only do they breed insecurity and a works-based validation of our hope of eternal life, but in many cases these places of worship also dismiss the biblical hope that we will reign with Jesus in His glorious kingdom, one that will include a restored Israel. Our hope in Jesus’ appearing and what happens afterward is not just dry theology, but something that breathes life into our souls each and every day.
If you have not yet placed your faith in Jesus or are unsure of your salvation, please see my article, Jesus is the Only Path to Eternal Life. In it, I explain the saving message of the cross and how you can know that you belong to the Savior.
Dispensationalism does “chop up” Scripture by creating arbitrary divisions (e.g., innocence, conscience, government, promise, law, grace, kingdom), assigning different “tests” and “failures” to each era. This contradicts the Bible’s portrayal of one progressive covenantal plan from Adam to Christ (Romans 5:12-21), culminating in the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8:8-13). The article’s claim of unity in God’s glory is superficial; Catholicism sees God’s glory in the unbroken covenant fulfilled in the Church (Ephesians 3:10-11), not segmented programs. Human “failure” is addressed through Christ’s redemptive work, not repeated dispensational judgments.
Regarding your post #5, while it is veering completely off from the article, let me respond.
As a Catholic, I appreciate the opportunity to respond, and I’ll do so primarily through the lens of Sacred Scripture, which we both hold as God’s inspired Word. My aim is to clarify how Catholic teaching on Mary is deeply rooted in the Bible and always points us to Christ, her Son, without detracting from His unique role as our Savior.
These doctrines you cite honor Jesus and the Gospel rather than distort it.
First, you mention that Catholic devotion has elevated Mary to roles and attributes belonging to Christ alone, blurring veneration into deification and risking idolatry.
Catholic veneration of Mary (called hyperdulia) is distinct from the worship (latria) reserved for God alone. The Bible calls us to honor holy people: Romans 13:7 urges, “Pay to all what is owed to them... honor to whom honor is due,” and Hebrews 13:7 tells us to “remember your leaders... imitate their faith.” Mary is the foremost disciple, and Luke 1:48 records her own prophecy: “For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me.” We fulfill this by honoring her, but never as divine.
If this were idolatry, why does Scripture depict angels and people revering her? In Luke 1:28, the angel Gabriel greets her as “full of grace” (kecharitomene in Greek, implying a perfect, completed state of grace), and in Luke 1:42, Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, exclaims, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” This is biblical honor, not deification, and it echoes how Scripture honors figures like Abraham (Romans 4:16-17) without making them rivals to God.
Secondly, regarding Mary’s sinlessness (the Immaculate Conception), this isn’t an elevation to Christ’s level but a recognition of God’s preventive grace for the Mother of His Son. Genesis 3:15 prophesies enmity between the woman and the serpent: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” This “woman” is fulfilled in Mary, as Jesus is the offspring who crushes sin (see John 19:26-27, where Jesus calls her “woman” from the cross). Her being “full of grace” in Luke 1:28 suggests she was preserved from original sin to be a fitting vessel for the Incarnate Word, much like the Ark of the Covenant was made pure to hold God’s presence (Exodus 25:10-22).
This doesn’t make her divine; it’s God’s work, as Ephesians 2:8-10 reminds us that grace is a gift, and we are “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand.” Mary’s sinlessness highlights Christ’s victory over sin from the start, not a competition with Him.
On her Assumption into heaven, like Enoch or Elijah it is God’s reward for her faithfulness, as Psalm 132:8 prophesies the Ark (a type of Mary) ascending to God’s rest: “Arise, O Lord, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might.”
Scripture shows intercession as part of God’s plan, without diminishing Christ, who is the “one mediator between God and men” (1 Timothy 2:5). Yet, we are called to mediate for one another: 1 Timothy 2:1 urges “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people,” and James 5:16 says, “pray for one another... The prayer of a righteous person has great power.” Mary’s mediation is unique because of her role as Theotokos (Mother of God, affirmed in Luke 1:43). At Cana (John 2:1-11), she intercedes—”They have no wine”—and points to Christ: “Do whatever he tells you.” Graces flow through her because all grace comes through Christ, whom she bore. As for co-redemptrix, this means she cooperated uniquely in redemption, not as equal to Christ. Luke 2:35 foretells a sword piercing her soul, uniting her suffering to His cross (see Colossians 1:24, where Paul “fills up... what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body”). Her fiat—”Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38)—enabled the Incarnation, but always subordinate to Christ, as Hebrews 7:25 affirms His eternal intercession. This doesn’t distort the Gospel; it enriches it, showing how God involves His creation in His saving work, as in 1 Corinthians 3:9: “we are God’s fellow workers.”
Fulfillment....
I agree.
I appreciate your thoughtful reply.
We agree Mary was uniquely blessed (Luke 1:48), but the question is whether doctrines like the Immaculate Conception, sinlessness, Assumption, Mediatrix, or Co-Redemptrix are actually taught in Scripture or are later additions.
“Full of grace” (Luke 1:28, kecharitōmenē) speaks of God’s favor, not sinlessness. The Ark imagery is poetic but not used in Scripture to prove Mary’s sinlessness or Assumption. Enoch and Elijah are described as taken; Mary is not.
1 Timothy 2:5 states plainly that Christ alone is mediator, and veneration that assigns to Mary attributes belonging to Christ alone risks “another gospel” (Gal 1:8–9).
bump
Catholicism’s key departure from Scripture was its firm insistence that God’s justification of sinners happens at the end of their life.
Wow. I did not know that.
Great...another Catholic bashing thread....
No, he actually didn't. Your OWN explanation supports the erroneous Catholic doctrine of justification not being determined until death and deferred to the end. You talk a good game about grace and unmerited, undeserved favor from God but only take it so far as that He "gives us (grace) to respond to his call". Sure, you state, "It includes "the remission of sins, sanctification, and the renewal of the inner man," merited by Christ's Passion—not deferred to the end.", but then hedge it by making it dependent on our "cooperation" with God meaning we must merit the grace He has given and we can lose it. I'm amazed you don't recognize the abject contradiction! It is blatantly obvious that Catholicism's justification unto salvation CANNOT be assured until you actually die and then find out if you've done enough to merit the "beatific vision". Catholics have understood this for centuries and it was why many put off being baptized in the hope they would have a chance to do so on their death bed and go straight to heaven without worrying about hell or suffer at a stopover at the nonexistent Purgatory. It's why those who trust in what John wrote, "We can know we have eternal life", are told we can't know and are condemned for committing the sin of "presumption".
I was a Catholic - I know that's what is taught. It was why when I read Jesus' words, "I give to them eternal life and they shall never perish or be plucked from my hands", I realized the truth of the gospel was NOT found in the Catholic church. You only further that fact with every post you make defending your church. There are many doctrines where we are in full agreement and that should not be ignored. But on the most critical one - justification by faith alone - is where we must separate. Anything you add to the gift in order to receive or keep it negates it being a free gift of grace. To claim one can "lose" it by their actions makes it depend on themselves and not on Christ.
When Paul wrote in Galatians 5:4, "you... have fallen away from grace", he was talking about those who would try to be justified by the keeping of the law - their works of righteousness - and NOT by their sins. Why did you leave that part out and only post a snippet? That "hope" you mention IS assurance of what we have in Christ through faith in Him:
God wants His own to live in the blessed assurance that we have eternal life right now and the Holy Spirit within us is the downpayment of that great and precious promise. Jesus said:
I believe Jesus. Do you?
Scripture is quite clear that grace cannot be earned or deserved.
And yet the comment about *meriting* it is EXACTLY that. It's either working for it and thereby becoming eligible to receive it, or doing the right things to deserve it.
And NOTHING we do is ever untainted by sin, so even the best efforts we may make, do not reach the level of the sinless holiness of God.
Romans 11:6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
It's clear that God WANTS to be trusted and believed by us. It honors Him when we are so convinced of His integrity and truthfulness, that we take Him at His word.
Heck,, even WE are honored when someone trusts us with something very valuable. It speaks volumes about what they think about our character.
I would disagree with this wording. I think it should read:
When God justifies the sinner, He declares that person forgiven of all his or her sins, past present, and future.
Yes, we definitely are forgiven of all our trespasses but it goes deeper. I've heard it said that when we are "justified" by the grace of God through faith in Christ, it means "just-as-if-I'd-never-sinned". Philippians 3:9 says:
When God looks at us, He sees we are covered by the righteousness of Jesus Christ - we are IN Him having HIS righteousness and not our own. We really have nothing to offer that could ever satisfy the sin debt we owe.
But if we can discuss it civilly, it may be a help to people with mixed Cath/Prot marriages, parents or in-laws—to illuminate these points and provide links to other points of view, as have been done in this thread, so that readers can decide for their own lives what seems to be the most valid meaning of the scriptures.
If you're sure of your faith, bring links to your references; don't howl about others setting forth theirs.
I hear you; but as a matter of semantics, "innocent", at least in English, implies never having committed the sins for which he suffered and died, when an earlier post of yours affirms that sins are inevitable—this is a fallen world. So the gospels tell us to repent of our sins, even though we are covered by God's grace from baptism onward, and certainly from the moment of our awakening to understanding the great gift of grace, freely given.
One repents as a matter almost of courtesy to our Omniscient God that yes, we see what we did there and are grateful for his sacrifice for us, that we are not eternally condemned.
The "just-as-if-I'd-never-sinned" concept, I think, may be in reference to how God regards us, or even the place he has prepared for us in his "many mansions," but not necessarily our view of ourselves. In that sense, how much greater it is to be a deeply grateful sinner saved by grace than someone who never sinned and doesn't know the difference. Divine Justice takes into account every moment of our existence, and all the forces both positive and negative that forged our souls, experiences and choices, some of which will have been hurtful to us, and others sinful to others. Our great, omniscient Triune God understands it all.
Hallelujaaaah, amen!
Looking forward to that day.
Looking forward to that day.
I have forwarded this to many others. So why? Because this is my comment on it:
This is one of the best straightforward description of the essential faults of the state religious organ of the Roman Empire that was founded to purvey its power of death, the power by which it controlled whole populations through manipulating feudalism to enhance itself.
The escape from feudalism, denying the erroneous concept supposing Divine rights of an earthly monarch, was brought into serious consideration through the Reformation, slowly gaining attraction, traction, and commitment of its hearers, and finally burst into full flower in the Declaration of Independence in 1776, fully ratified by the acceptance of the Constitution of, for, and by the people in 1788.
The first and primary foundation of this congregation demanding the government of its constituents by the principles stated by Jesus Christ applied to it were summarized:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, . . ."It was the selfless personal sacrifice of those rights of the intellectual, spiritually privileged Forefathes to that principle on behalf of the general population to deliver that personalized liberty which under God's Will succeeded in the effective formation of the Constitution agreed upon by each and everu of the subscribing colonial States, of which the purpose of its unification was pronounced in its Preamble:
'We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."Not merely a union of States, but a Union Of THE PEOPLE of the overall hegemony.
If you will, please search this out--the Romanistic basis for government is contrary to its intent and organization for the ongoing Roman Empire's State Religion, commonly and wrongly referred to as "Catholics," when the emphasis should be on the defining adjective "Roman," still maintaining loyalty to the polity of a earthly monarch-led Churchianity, not to the Christ-led People Of The Way (see 2 Cor. 11:3-4). Remember. the Romanists have not relinquished this form of polity without horrific wars and massacres instituted by them, throughout European history; and even now only suppressed, not extinguished.
It is clear that the entourage of the papacy has inveigled and insinuated itself into the power-of-death-controlled kingships throughout the globe, with the intent of making its humans individually and corporately subservient to its dictates.
It took the efforts of Huguenots, Reformationists, Baptists, Deists, even religiom-ignorant moralists to surmount the few Romanists or heathenist citizens in the eighteenth century to establish such a truly Bible-ordained Christ-minded God-protected Law-obeying Nation dedicated to the overwhelming power of the life, liberty, and joyous nature of personal freedom, a free Christian nation amongst the ancient other Satan-promoted fiefdoms--kingdoms, caliphates, soviets, etc.--as long as the will of majority of Biblically-led heavewnly-minded constituents was predominant, but absent since a false Satanic philosophy endorsed by Churcianists, agnostics, atheists, heathenists and ignorants have gained influenyial codependencies over the ordinarily passive citizenry.
And, of course, that is what has happened. You will see in our state and federal bureauocracies that the Romanists, abetted by other demented barbarians have finally insinuated themselves into every branch and role of local, state, and federal offices, from receptiomists to Chief Magistrates, with truly-confessing Christites being persecuted even unto jailing and/or death.
And this is with the tolerance of other mainstream non-RCC denominations under whose approvval the slant has continued. The well-known main fault there is from the "liberal" seminaries and pulpits, as implied from your article above.
But what we still do have left is the fully dedicated Spirit-led independent fundamental autonomous assemblies through Bible-preaching practitioners of the doctrine and fellowship of The Christ-chosen Apostles (Acts 2:41-47), breaking bread, praying together, and supporting each other in this waiting era until His Return in the clouds privaely for His Spirit-born saints at the moment when the regeneration of humans in the Spirit ceases, when they are taken up at the end of the Age of Grace, of which those subscribing to Romanism cannot partake.
The Scripture also promises that after the seven-year Tribulation--the Great Jodgment of God on Sin--has ceased, the Prince of Peace will return publicly with His Blood-Redeemed Saints to judge the remaining nations for their corporate deportments; them institute His Millennial Kingdom On Earth of Righteousness and Peace, as told above by our brother Jonathan Bretnerm for our encouragement, as well as hor the yearningly hoped turning of the presently faithless Romanists to the Jesus Messiah of the Bible, abandoning their insanely superstitious religion for the magnificent bestowal of etermal existence and abiding fellowship with Man's Creator and All-Powerful Master.
The reason was foretold by the Spirit-breathed words of Hebrews 2:14-17 (AV; bolding for emphasis, superscripted definitions added):
Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, heJesus Messiah also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.This is the purpose Jesus went to the Cross, that the promise of a free and righteous reigning global government might be hinted through the free nation on a new continent given to its ambassadors, the non-Catholic non-Amglican non-Puritan separatist independent, autonomous Bible-preaching Christ-professing assembly of Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England, not subject to massacring by Spanish Romanists as had the Huguenots colony at Fort Caroline.For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliationpropitiation, pay the sin-debt for the sins of the people.
Note that the power of death originates from Satan, the god of this world still empowers, which he leases out to his agents to attempt to block the exercising of agapeselfless love ministered by Christ's ambassadors who herald the free gracious gift of ever-living abundant existence to free from and replace the condemnation of eternal death, to a depraved, lost inborne population of a sin-soaked world and its humans.
Thus so. Amen. Selah.
Meaning< like as a href="https://peacebyjesus.net/marysc.html#ascriptions"> as this?
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