The
Bible and Catholicism
The Pope and priests say "call me father." But Jesus said in the Bible "All ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth; for one is your father, which is in heaven." (Matt 23:8-9)
The Pope and priests say "Pray to Mary, pray to Saint Peter, Pray to Saint Jude." But Jesus said in the Bible "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven Hallowed be thy name” (Matt 6:9).
The Pope and priests say "bow and pray before these statues and images." But God said in the Bible "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing... Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God" (Exod 20:4-5)
The Pope and Priests say that "Mother Mary can intercede for you." But Jesus said in the Bible "I am the way the truth and the life: no man cometh to the father, but by me" (John 14:6) And the Bible says, "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all." (ITim2:5-6)
The Pope and Priests say that they can get your sins forgiven and can save you from sin's penalty. But the Bible says "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. ... For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved." (Rom 10:9,13)
You could be converted from the Sacramental system of Catholicism and eternally saved from your sin debt by calling on Jesus Christ today. "Except ye be converted ... Ye cannot enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matt 18:3)
The Catholic word “Penance” is found nowhere in Holy Scripture. It is an errant translation found in the Catholic's Latin Vulgate 52 times. Penance is a Catholic addition to the faith. All fifty-two times when the Holy Bible says, “Repent”, the Roman Catholic Church said it meant “Do Penance.”
Roman Catholics take out “repentance” and add “penance”, they take out “mystery” and make it “sacrament” they take out “presbyters” and make them “priests.” It isn't any wonder they took Bible translators and their Bibles, and burnt them at the stake! They had all the vulgar translation they needed in their corrupt Latin Vulgate.
Baptists make every effort to systematically capture every thing the Bible says in its teachings about how to attain eternal life. Catholics make tradition and errant Church Fathers dictate their doctrines of penance, sacraments, and priest-craft.
Salvation is clear in the Bible. John 3:16 says, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
God loved, and God gave, and if you believe what he did for you, you can be saved and have (present tense) everlasting life, and know it for certain.
John 3:17 and 18 says man is condemned and God's son came so you can be SAVED.
In verse 36 there are only two kinds of people in this world, those with eternal life, and those who don't have it. Which are you?
God wrote out what you need to believe about his Only Begotten Son in what we call The Roman's Road.
First, Romans 3:10, 23
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:... For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
The Holy Bible says ALL have sinned, ALL come short. Romans 5:8 says: But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
He died in our place. Verse 12 tells how the world got like this:
Wherefore, as by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
We are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners. Now look at verse 18: Therefore as by the offence of one (Adam) judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one (Jesus Christ) the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
Adam brought us into condemnation, and only one man, the sinless Only Begotten Son of God, can bring us out. Look here at Romans 6:23.
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Eternal death looms over us because of sin, but God, because he loves us, offers a gift. A gift has a giver and a receiver. The receiver does not pay for the gift, does not purchase the gift, and does not work for the gift; that's why its a gift. The giver has purchased the gift at a great price, all the receiver has to do is accept the gift, no strings attached.
But the gift may be turned down. One could say to the giver, “I'll not accept this gift from you.” The thing about salvation is, there is a formal method for accepting and receiving God's gift of eternal life.
Would you like to receive a free gift today? Not what I give to you but what God is offering in these Scriptures, ETERANL LIFE!
Religions tell us we must work, be good, do penance, attend church, build karma, or change our life to deserve salvation and eternal life, but look in Romans 10:9-13 what God says you must do to receive his gift:
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.(Roman 10:9-10)
You could pray right now and accept God's gift! That verse states that if you believe what he is offering, absolutely free, and you want to accept it from him, absolutely no strings attached, that is all it takes to receive eternal life. You don't deserve it, you can't deserve it. You are condemned already without it and someday “the wrath of God” will abide on you. There is no priest that can give absolution, there is no good deed you could do, there is no church that could give this to you, and WITHOUT God's free gift you get...
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Rev 20:14-15)
.... OR you could accept God's gift of Eternal Life, and be saved from that eternal punishment for sin:
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.(Rom 10:13)
If you would like to receive that free gift you could call upon him with this prayer:
LORD God, I want to receive your gift of eternal life. I don't want to pay my own sin debt. You said in your Holy Bible your Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, already paid my debt. I want to accept him as my Saviour and be forgiven of my sin. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Call on Him today, call on us tomorrow
By Dr. Ed Rice, Pastor, GSBaptist Chuch
see www.GSBaptistChurch.com
Roman
Catholicism Other Sites
Thy
Word is Truth
The
following table is from A
Priest's Story by
Richard Bennett www.bereanbeacon.org
John 17:17
Biblical
Truth The Light of
God’s Word |
Topic |
New
Catechism Catechism of the
Catholic Church
(1994) |
The Bible only is the Standard for Truth“….the scripture cannot be broken.” John 10:35 “Sanctify
them
through Thy truth: Thy word is truth.” John. 17:17 “That
ye might
learn in us not to think…above that which is
written, that no
one of you be puffed up for one against another.’’ I
Corinthians 4:6 “Add thou not unto
his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a
liar.” Proverbs
30:6 “All scripture is
given by inspiration of
God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction,
for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be
perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”
II Timothy 3:16-17 “Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered…” Mark 7:13 |
The Basis of Truth |
Truth is based on Scripture, Tradition, and the Pope “Sacred Tradition
and Sacred Scripture,
then, are bound closely together and communicate one with the
other.” Catechism
of the Catholic Church “And [Holy] Tradition
transmits
in its entirety the Word of God which has been entrusted to the
apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit.” “As a result the [Roman
Catholic]
Church...does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from
the holy Scriptures alone. Both
Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with
equal
sentiments of devotion and reverence.”
“The Supreme
Pontiff, in virtue of his
office, possesses infallible teaching authority
when, as
supreme pastor and teacher of all the faithful...he proclaims with a
definitive act that a doctrine of faith or morals is to be held as
such.” |
Salvation is by Grace Alone through Faith“Being
justified freely by His
grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:24 “For
by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves:
It is the gift of God: Not
of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8, 9 “For if by
one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness
shall
reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.”
Rom 5:17 “Not
by works
of righteousness which we have done, but according
to his mercy
he saved us…”
Titus 3:5-6 “I
do not
frustrate the grace of God: for if
righteousness come by
the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” Galatians
2:21 |
Salvation by Grace Alone |
For
Salvation, Grace
becomes merely a help, and is given through the sacraments of the Church “Grace is the help God gives
us to respond to our vocation of becoming his adopted sons. It introduces us into the
intimacy of the
Trinitarian life.” Para2021
“The Church
affirms that for believers the sacraments
of the New
Covenant are necessary
for salvation. 'Sacramental
grace' is the grace of the Holy
Spirit, given by Christ and proper to each
sacrament.” “One who desires
to obtain reconciliation
with God and with the Church, must confess to a
priest all the
unconfessed grave sins he remembers after having carefully
examined
his conscience.”
|
Faith is the Gift of God and comes by the Word of God“ Believe
on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy
house.”
Acts 16:31 “For unto you it
is given in the
behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but
also to
suffer for his sake.” Philippians
1:29 “So then faith cometh by
hearing, and hearing
by the word of God.”
Romans 10:17 |
Faith is God-given and
sustained |
Faith comes
through
the “It
is the Church that believes first, and so bears, nourishes
and
sustains my faith.”
“Salvation comes from God
alone; but because
we receive the life of faith through the
Church, she is
our mother:...”
‘Believing’
is an ecclesial
act. The Church’s faith precedes, engenders,
supports and nourishes
our faith. The Church is the mother of all believers. ‘No one can have
God as Father who does not have the
Church as Mother.’”
|
Christ’s
Sacrifice was
His alone and once offered “...Jesus
said, ‘It is finished:...’” John.
19:30 “But
this
man, after
he had
offered one sacrifice for sins for ever,
sat
down on the right hand of God” Hebrews 10:12 “...when
He had by Himself purged our sins,
sat down on the right hand of
the Majesty on high;” Hebrews.
1:3 |
Christ’s Sufficient Finished Sacrifice |
Christ’s
Sacrifice continues,
and is
also of the Church “In this divine sacrifice
which is celebrated
in the Mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody
manner on the altar of the cross is contained
and is
offered in an unbloody manner.”
“The Eucharist is also the
sacrifice of the
[Roman Catholic] Church. The
Church
which is the Body of Christ participates
in the
offering of her Head. With
him, she herself is offered whole
and entire.” |
Biblical Truth The Light
of God’s
Word |
Topic |
New Catechism Catechism
of the Catholic Church (1994) |
God is the
Only All
Holy One, and the Only Source of Holiness “Holy,
Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of
his
glory.” Isaiah.
6:3 “Who shall not fear Thee,
O Lord, and glorify
Thy name? For
Thou
only art Holy: for all nations shall come and worship before
Thee...” Revelation.
15: 4 “There
is none holy as the Lord: for
there is none beside Thee:
neither is there any rock like our God.” 1 Samuel. 2:2 “I am the LORD: that is my
name: and my glory
will I not give to another,
neither my praise to graven images.” Isaiah 42:8 |
God, the Only All Holy One
|
Mary is also
the
All-Holy One, and the Source of Holiness “By asking Mary to pray
for us, we acknowledge
ourselves to be poor sinners and we address ourselves to the
‘Mother of Mercy,’ the All Holy One.” “From the [Roman Catholic]
Church he learns
the example of holiness and recognizes its model and source
in the
all-holy Virgin Mary....” Para
2030 “The Fathers of the Eastern tradition call the Mother of God ‘the All-Holy’ (Panagia), and celebrate her as ‘free from any stain of sin, as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature’” Para 493 |
In Salvation the Lord Jesus Christ Alone Mediates“For there is one God, and
one
mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” I Timothy. 2:5 “Neither
is there salvation in any
other: for there is
none other name [Jesus
Christ] under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12 |
One Mediator |
In Salvation “Mary” Also Mediates“Taken up to heaven she did not
lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession
continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation.... Therefore
the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the [Roman Catholic] Church under the
titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix.” |
God Hates Idolatry“Thou shalt
not make unto thee
any graven image, or any likeness of anything...Thou shalt
not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.” Exodus. 20:4-5 “And he declared unto you
his covenant, which
he commanded you to perform, even Ten Commandments; and he wrote them
upon two tables of stone. Take
ye
therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude
on the day that the Lord
spake...Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make
you a graven
image, the similitude of any figure....” Deuteronomy
4:13, 15-16 “Little children, keep
yourselves from idols.
Amen”
1 John. 5:21 |
Idolatry |
The Roman Catholic Church Rationalizes Idolatry“The Christian veneration
of images is not
contrary to the first commandment which proscribes idols. Indeed, the honor rendered
to an image passes
to its prototype, and whoever venerates an
image venerates
the person portrayed in it.”
“Basing
itself on the mystery of the incarnate Word, the seventh ecumenical
council at |
This Pagan
Practice is
Forbidden in the Bible I am the LORD thy God…Thou
shalt have no
other gods before me. Exodus 20:2-3 “There shall
not be found among
you any one…that useth divination, or an observer
of times, or a consulter with familiar spirits,
or a wizard, or a necromancer. [one
who calls up the dead].” Deut. 18:10-11 “And the soul that turneth after
such as have familiar spirits [divination; contacting the
dead],
and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I
will even
set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from
among his
people. Sanctify
yourselves therefore, and
be ye holy: for I
am the Lord your God.” Leviticus.
20:6-7 Compiled by Richard Bennett,
Converted
Catholic Priest, now Evangelist. Email:
rbennett(at)stic.net |
Communion with the Dead
|
This Practice is Recommended by
“Communion
with the dead.
In full
consciousness of this communion of the whole Mystical Body of Jesus
Christ, the Church in its pilgrim members, from the earliest days of
the Christian religion, has honored with great respect the memory of
the dead...Our prayer for them is capable not
only of
helping “them, but also of making their intercession for us
effective.”
“The witnesses who have
preceded us into the
kingdom, especially those whom the Church recognizes as saints, share
in the living tradition of prayer...Their intercession is their most
exalted service...We can and should ask them
to intercede
for us and for the whole world.”
More
Biblical contrasts: www.bereanbeacon.org |