The Dividing Line

I  have discussed in an earlier posting "Why There Can be No Union With Roman Catholics" why I feel evangelicals and Catholics are not combatable.
I would like to further discuss that topic.
It is not that today if you were to look around you would find belief wise in the life of the individual evangelical and the Catholic that much of what they would call different. In fact,, the ones that the protestant churches are losing to the Catholics seem to feel  the need for more liturgy. This they seem to be able to find in the Catholic belief system.
But the evangelical has the practice of Bible study and discussion groups.
Well, the Catholics since Vatican 2 have been allowed to read the Bible for themselves. They better not try to interpret it on their own. They can read and discuss and use the authorized Catholic material  provided. And when they have a question they , if they are good Catholics, need to go to their priest who will look up what the traditions of the church have determined want the passage is saying.
The evangelical is allowed to discuss and prove all things using the Bible as the authority of what the meaning is. they don't have to have tradition of the church determine what the passage means or says. Sometimes they are wrong, They are allowed to be. Yet that is why they have commentaries and a pastor.
And they also seek charismatic manifestation in worship.. that is both the evangelical and the Catholic  The charismatic movement may be one reason for the confusion.
Let's cut to the core problem.
 It is the statement 'saved by grace alone through faith alone.'
That is saying God does the work. Grace is a gift. Faith is a gift.
Not of works so no one may boast.
Catholics add works. Grace plus works. And the works are the individuals.
To add more heat to the fire.. it all goes back to a council. A council called Trent. It was here that the pronouncement was made by the Bishop of Rome, The Pope at that time, and the council who states that if anyone believed you were saved by faith alone  without works and taught such was put under an anathema and consigned to hell. And on top of that the council was deemed infallible and irrevocable.
So the Roman Church still holds that to be true. No sola scriptura. No sola gratia. No sola fide.
Sorry, guys. They don't mix and stick together as a whole. I am referring to the evangelical and the Catholic.

Seeking For Meaning

   On Sunday I heard that the other person I was thinking to add to this blog as an author has decided to start off with another organization. He is no longer available to blog with me. So it is just a one person blog.
  I wasn't always a Christian. Before I was I belonged to the Roman Catholic Church. A Roman Catholic has all the facts but the final step, that of asking Jesus alone to save them from the penalty of sin and give them assurance of going to heaven when they die.. that part is missing.
   If belonging to the right group (There is none) and believing my security was in man and good works which I have done to get me to heaven, than I would have been okay. There would have been no reason for the resurrection.
   Yes. It was the resurrection that sealed the truth. Not the death alone. A dead person has never been able to save another.
    I was born a Roman Catholic. It wasn't something that I chose. I was educated in a Catholic environment through grade school.. And still my paternal grandmother said "if only you had stayed you would have understood." when it came to, what?
   Salvation is not in a church group.
    When I was twenty one and away at school , this was when I got hold of a Bible and read it for myself. I wanted to know what it said, not what a priest said it said.   About this time the Vietnam war was still going on. My brother was killed in that war. He was so young.
   I realized that young people died not just the elderly. And If I were to die, where would I spend eternity? And how could I be sure?
   I sought answers. I was seeking for meaning.
   Now, being a Roman Catholic is not all bad. The facts were all there. The application was not. Not the way that will draw you to seek answers outside the church.  Nor would my saying a Roman Catholic have made the truth apparent to me as my paternal grandmother was no doubt trying to say.
    A personal encounter with Jesus Christ and the resurrected Savior who took the penalty for my sins.. which was eternal separation from God, was needed.
   

Salvation God's Way-Part Two

So we are still concerned with salvation. To do so I must insist we take only what can be found in the Bible as the authority. In Romans 4:3 we are told something about this man Abraham. Abraham was the man God called out of Ur of the Caldees to go to a land He would show him. And Abraham was given the promise that he would become a great nation. At the moment this was said to him he was childless and old.

   And in Romans we are told "Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness."

   Abraham's good works made him righteous, but these did not save him. Paul, the writer of Romans, says we can all be saved the same way. Yet the Roman Catholic Church adds to what the Bible says.

    The Catholic Church adds to the doctrine of Sanctifying Grace a road block. Adam and Eve lost it in the garden. A Catholic holds that a person gains this sanctifying grace only through their form of baptism. Then, they say, a program of good works must be followed to gain enough merit to go to heaven. Sorry, guys, but that is not what my Bible says.

    My Bible says that it is not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to God's mercy, we are saved.

    Yes, faith is basic to salvation. Good works are not. Faith for the Roman Catholic seems to be in the truth revealed in the Bible, and the traditions of the Church, and the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. This is important as the postings on the cults continues. Not that I am calling the Roman Catholic Church a cult. I will leave that up to you

    The Roman Catholic sees salvation based on faith plus works. They have a seven rung ladder set up.The Seven Sacraments of the church are the steps..

   The Bible puts no qualifications on God's grace nor can it be lost by the believer. God gives eternal life when the believer has faith in Jesus Christ as his savior. And we can be assured of salvation through Christ's work (Not ours) and God's promises.

   Please feel free to comment. Am I helping you? Am I causing you to think? Talk to me and I will talk to you.

   

Salvation God's Way, Part One

When I was in the Roman Catholic Church I knew I was safe. Was I not baptized in the right system? Did Jesus not found the Church and this was the only one teaching what He taught? Did he not give the keys of the kingdom to Peter as recorded in Matthew 16? "Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church."
      It was taught there in the Bible. Jesus said it. The Church councils agreed on it. Tradition said it was so.
     Wait a minute. What is wrong with the statement I made above? Is that really what the Bible teaches? If you are a Roman Catholic you are not allowed to think otherwise. You are not to question the Mother Church, the Pope, and Tradition. You just accept.
      What if that rock Jesus was referring to was the faith that Peter was showing?. In context the incident was the confession of Jesus as the Son of God. "Who do men say that I am?" asked Jesus. "Some say a Prophet. Some Elijah. Some JohnThe Baptist come back from the dead." But who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ (Messah.) the Son of God." "Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in Heaven. And I say, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church. And the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it." That is the passage. But it does not say what they say it says? No.
      Please leave comments. We are entering into an area that needs clarification. I would be happy to be your guide.

Entering Into Truth

  In my last post in this series I stated I was a Roman Catholic until 1969. You may be saying, as did my paternal grandmother who was a died in the heart Roman Catholic, "If you had only stayed in, you would have understood it.".
  And for those Roman Catholics who are reading this post, I believe I should detail more.
   You may also be wondering why I am talking about the Roman Catholic belief system when this series is going to be on Cults.
   So let me first define a cult. A cult, the way I am going to use it, is any group that says it is Christian but isn't. By Christian I will be using the plumbline of Orthodox Christianity. Out there are groups that don't adhere to  the Historic  Christian Faith. The Historical Christian faith leaves no room for there being many roads to God. Jesus Himself said he was the only way to God. He was The Way, The Truth, and The Life. All religions do not lead to God.
    Now "Orthodox Christianity" means the beliefs held by a majority of Christians since the Church began in the first century. They can be found in the Bible alone, not in church councils or traditions.
    Historically there have been many movements that provided challenges to the Orthodox doctrines set down in the Scriptures. Such movements as the Gnostics in the second century to the "God  is Dead' movement to the present day Eastern philosophies.
     The plumpline I will use is found in two verses of Scripture. First Corinthians 15:3,4. "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; He was buried and He rose again on the Third day, according to the Scriptures."
     I have been taught to define terms. Plumbline is one of them. Amos 7:8 has God saying, "Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people..." For those of you who are not aware a plumbline is still used today. Masons use it to make sure they lay up a brick wall straight and true. So I will be using as my plumbline the Bible, God's Word, to define what is "orthodox" and what is not. God measures men and their devotion to Him by His Standards-by His Word- not by man's.
    First Corinthians 15:3, 4 details for us three key points which I will use .

1. The person and work of Christ ( who He is and what He did for man)
2. The nature of man (A sinner in rebellion against God and in need of a Savior)
3. The truth and reliability of the Bible (inspiration of Scripture)

    Roman Catholics do agree with Orthodox Christianity on the diety of Christ. Other religions make Him only a man who set a good example in His life and  martyrdom.
    The sin question is basically the same for both Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians. Man is a sinner. Sin is a flaw in man  It came about in the fall of the first man. of his own choice Adam sinned (disobeyed God) and thus all mankind was  plunged into sin. (this is known as original sin) Genesis 3 tells us about that incident.
   The Orthodox Christian says that the only  solution for the sin problem is faith in Jesus Christ and His atoming death on the cross. Roman Catholics add the works done after Baptism. That is not found in the Bible.
   Both Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians hold to the Bible as Scripture. Other systems have other sacred writings. More about that as the postings go on.
   So why pick on the Roman Catholic as being different from Orthodox Christians? That will take a few more postings to iron out. Please stay tuned.
  Please feel free to comment and dialogue. I will answer and will explain where needed. 

Searching For Meaning

  Hi. Welcome to this posting. After that series of postings on  study methods you may ask, so, I have all this information and what do I do with it? Simple. Knowledge without a way to give it out is useless. And while you are busy applying the methods you will need a place of nurturing. A good church can help you.
   So what is there to look for in a church?
   One that is Bible teaching and Bible believing.
  Yes, Dane, but there are so many out there that claim to teach the Bible.
   That is true. Therefore I would like to spend some posting helping you see that not all who report to teach the Bible are teaching the Bible.
    When I became a Christian in 1968 I had only the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church to fall back on. But I also had the Bible.It was the version that the church gave you and usually sat on the shelf gathering dust. You would let the priest tell you what it said.
     Now, I have always been a reader. Put something in my hand and I will read it. The Roman Catholic Church at this time did not want you to read the Bible or if you did you were not to interpret it.. that is, determine what it said. That was the Priests'  job who got their understanding from the Pope. More about that later.
     I was alway at college.I picked up a King James translation and start reading. Now, I have before this moment had religion classes. I was a product of Roman Cathollic education. We would use the Bible as a text book.more likely the book of Matthew. It has that great passage where, they say, God gave the keys to Peter who was the first pope.
    I did not know that was not found in the Bible. I accepted that as true because my teacher said so.
    Well, anyway. I was away at Taft, California attending college.
    Have any of you read 'The Hound Of Heaven"?.
    God found me there and I became a Christian then. Asked Jesus into my llife.
    I needed to have a church to worship in. I was no longer a slave to the teachings of the Roman Catholic church  This book, the Bible, was starting to make sense. I needed to be under the teaching ministry of a pastor/teacher.
   I returned home and started to look for a church fellowship. I stumbled for a while. I heard about a group that taught nothing but the truth and the truth they claimed, came from the Bible alone. But they added more to it. They were the World Wide Church Of God. They were teaching straight British Israelism. they were also teaching there was no Hell. They were teaching they were the true church. That you had to be baptized by one of their followers to be saved.
   I will get into that more later.
   Luckily I found a good Bible Believing fellowship shortly after I wrote the trainers of the World Wide Church and informed them of how unbiblical  they were and that they were teaching the doctrine of demons.. More about that in another posting.
    The church I found was strongly Bible Teaching and firmly Bible believing.
     So I plan to take my time looking at other belief systems and trying to help you be a workman who does not need to be ashamed.
     And I haven't finished with the Roman Catholic Church.