(Matt Slick) “The Gospel for Roman Catholics
by Matt Slick
This paper is written in two parts. The first explains and documents the Roman
Catholic Church's position on justification.
The second part presents the true gospel in contrast to the Catholic
Church's position. If you want to go
straight to the gospel presentation for Catholics, simply scroll down the page.
Because of the great emphasis on Sacred Tradition within
the Catholic Church and because so many Roman Catholics appeal to the authority
of the Roman Catholic Church, the Word of God is often placed after the
Catholic Church itself in relation to authority. Because of this, many Catholics appeal to
their works, in combination with the sacrifice of Christ as a means of being
justified before God. The Council of
Trent expresses this plainly:
"If any
one saith, that man is truly absolved from his sins and justified, because he
assuredly believed himself absolved and justified; or, that no one is truly
justified but he who believes himself justified; and that, by this faith alone,
absolution and justification are effected; let him be anathema." (Canon
14).”
(Cristoiglesia) I see that you divide the Gospel as the
Gospel according to Matt Slick and the Gospel according to Christ’s own Church.
It is your knowledge attained over a few decades compared with knowledge
attained over 2000 years by the Church. I see that you are continuing the work
of the Humanist John Calvin who labored to create a syncretic blend of Humanism
and Christianity. Calvin desired a god that served man rather than the orthodox
God that man was created to serve. Such
is the legacy of Scholasticism which placed man at the center of all creation
instead of God.
Now to your accusation against Christ’s Church….. It is
clear in Scriptures that Jesus created and founded the Catholic Church. In His
Word we learn through construction vernacular, that Jesus is the High Priest
and cornerstone of the Church. We further learn that Jesus ordained the office
of prime minister and appointed St. Peter as the first to hold that Holy office
fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah in Chapter 22 of the biblical book he
authored. He prophesied the establishment of an enduring office of prime
minister as one of the signs of the true Messiah. Jesus in the process of
fulfilling all prophecy indeed appointed St. Peter.
Mat 16:17-20(KJV)
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art
thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my
Father which is in heaven.
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and
upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of
heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and
whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no
man that he was Jesus the Christ.
It is significant to note that had not Jesus done this
then it would have put into question His veracity as the Messiah. As an
enduring office this holy office will remain until the Parousia when Christ will
come again to judge the quick and the dead.
The twelve disciples are the foundation stones of the
Church.
Ephesians 2:20 (KJV)
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
Revelation 21:14 (KJV)
14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and
in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
Upon this enduring foundation of rock is built upon
through apostolic succession is the Church.
This is testified to by St. Ignatius who wrote in his
letter to the Smyrnaeans in describing the Church that, the Church are those
who gather around the bishops. He said, “Where the bishop is there is the
Church”. (St Ignatius was the disciple of St. John and St. Peter and served as
the 3rd bishop of the bishopric of St. Peter at Antioch. Being the
disciple of two of the disciples of our Lord was a unique privilege of only two
people St. Ignatius and St. Polycarp. It is believed that he received holy
orders from St. Peter himself. He was martyred by being eaten by the beasts in
the Coliseum in Rome)
Matthew 7:24-29 (KJV)
24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and
doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a
rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the
winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon
a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and
doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon
the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the
winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of
it.
28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these
sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as
the scribes.
This is Jesus speaking in parable of the firm and
enduring foundation of His Church. This is the Church that the gates of hell
will never prevail against. Indeed, this very same Church represented by
apostolic succession endures to this day as testimony to the veracity of the builder
Jesus Christ. So as one can easily see from the divine teaching that Jesus
Himself is the cornerstone of the Church and authority over all. His Church by
its divine mandate of authority from Christ is “the pillar and foundation of
the truth”. And, thirdly the Bible of which the New Testament was written by
the Church and about the Church, by divine inspiration, is the inspired Word of
God to those of the New Covenant and God’s Kingdom established on earth.
Combined with the Torah at the end of the 4th and early 5th
centuries at the African Synods led by St. Augustine, the Christian Canon is
established by the authority of Christ given to the Church. It is by the same
authority of the Church to establish Canon that the Church has the authority to
interpret the Canon and no other interpreter. Certainly the Bible tells us that
the Scriptures are not for private instruction but are instead to be understood
in the community of the Church. So it is
clearly by Christ’s teaching that the truth is from three sources:
1.
Jesus
2.
His Church
3.
Bible
Both the Church and the Bible are the result of the
charism provided by Jesus and the indwelling of the Church by the Holy Spirit.
Your claim that the Catholic Christian depends on “works”
for justification is simply a prevarication of and about the faith of Catholic
Christians. Pardon me for stating the obvious but yours is a non sequitor
argument against Catholics either illustrating ignorance or an attempt to
obfuscate the true teaching and faith of Catholics. I pray it is the former.
(Matt Slick)Justification is the legal declaration by God
upon the sinner where God declares the sinner righteous in His sight. This justification is based completely and
solely on the work of Christ on the cross.
We cannot earn justification or merit justification in any way. If we could, then Christ died
needlessly. "I do not nullify the
grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died
needlessly," (Gal. 2:21). Because
righteousness cannot come through the Law (through our efforts of merit), the
Bible declares that we are justified before God by faith:
"Therefore
we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the
law," (Rom. 3:28).
"For what
saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for
righteousness," (Rom. 4:3).
"But to
the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his
faith is reckoned as righteousness," (Rom. 4:5).
"Therefore
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ," (Rom. 5:1).
"For by
grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of
God," (Eph. 2:8).
However, in Roman Catholicism, justification by faith is
denied.
"If any
one shall say that justifying faith is nothing else than confidence in the
divine mercy pardoning sins for Christ's sake, or that it is that confidence
alone by which we are justified ... let him be accursed," (Canon 12,
Council of Trent).
Which are we to believe? The Roman Catholic Church or
God's word?
(Cristoiglesia)What the Church denies and condemns is the
heretical teaching that one is justified by dead faith or a faith where there
is no evidence through the fruits of the spirit in evidence. We are to believe the Church as it is the enduring
Church which is the “pillar and foundation of the Truth” and not the doctrines
of men like those taught by Mat Slick and John Calvin. These latter two sources
are without any authority to teach. Only the Church has the authority from
Christ to teach.
Some say that justification is a legal act of God in
which He declares the sinner to be worthy of heaven even though he continues to
be a sinful creature. In this view of justification there is no internal
renewal or real sanctification whether instant or through a lifelong process
but simply an external application of the justice of Christ.
To Catholic Christians and many other Christians,
justification is understood differently. We understand from Scriptures that
justification is not the covering of sin but the eradication and the beginning
of true sanctification and simultaneous renewal. The soul is transformed into
goodness instead of being a sinful soul with sins covered by Christ’s blood. We
see Scriptures saying that forgiveness results in a complete removal of sins.
The only time the Bible mentions the covering of sin is in the context of one
man’s sin being forgiven by another. One should note that we have no power to
forgive another’s sin, therefore the context is that we do all we can and cover
or overlook those sins against us. In relation to God and His removal of sin
the Scriptures use quite different terminology such as “blot out”, “blotting
out”, “clears away” and “takes away”.
Catholics see justification as a rebirth and supernatural
life in a former sinner:
(Joh 3:5 DRB) Jesus answered: Amen, amen, I say to thee,
unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into
the kingdom of God.
(Tit 3:5 DRB) Not by the works of justice which we have
done, but according to his mercy, he saved us, by the laver of regeneration and
renovation of the Holy Ghost.
That creates an inner renewal of the soul:
(Eph 4:23 DRB) And be renewed in spirit of your mind:
Resulting in complete sanctification:
(1Co 6:11 DRB) And such some of you were. But you are
washed: but you are sanctified: but you are justified: in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God.
Through this glorious process initiated by God’s grace
the soul becomes beautiful, holy and worthy of heaven where nothing unclean is
allowed. It is not an ugly sinful soul hidden under the blood of Jesus but
instead one sanctified by Him and created anew for His glory.
Matt Slick) “Furthermore, the RCC states that
justification is received not by faith, but by baptism. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says in
paragraph, 1992, that "...justification is conferred in Baptism, the
sacrament of faith." This means
that faith is not the instrument of obtaining justification; instead, it is an
ordinance performed by a priest in the Roman Catholic Church.
Furthermore, baptism is only the initial grace along the
road of justification. The Roman
Catholic is to then maintain his position before God by his efforts.”
(Cristoiglesia) The Church does not deny justification by
faith as you proclaim but we do proclaim that the benefit of the atoning
sacrifice on the cross is that we are
cleansed of original sin and actual sin at baptism which creates a soul void of
both actual and original sin. We are in a state of justification. The Christian
after the initial justification of Baptism maintains that justification
through obedience and devotion that is
the result of God’s continuing salvific grace.
(Matt Slick) "No one can MERIT the initial grace which
is at the origin of conversion. Moved by the Holy Spirit, we can MERIT for
ourselves and for others all the graces needed to attain eternal life, as well
as necessary temporal goods," (Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC),
par. 2027).
The problem here is that the RCC is teaching us to
"merit for ourselves and for others all the graces need to attain eternal
life." You cannot merit grace. Grace is unmerited favor. Merit is, according to the CCC, par. 2006,
"...the recompense owed by a community or a society for the action of one
of its members, experienced either as beneficial or harmful, deserving reward
or punishment..." CCC 2006. This
means that merit is something owed. By
contrast, grace is something not owed.
Therefore, the RCC is teaching contrary to God's word regarding grace
and justification.
(Cristoiglesia) Initial salvation comes through the
encouragement of the Holy Spirit bringing us to faith and sanctification. This
grace given by God is unmerited and certainly not earned. Catholic teaching is
that all works are not the result of our own efforts but are produced by His
grace. At judgment God will see our works produced by His grace as meritorious.
Through God and His grace working in our lives we earn our salvation. Catholic
teaching in regards to merit is very similar if not identical to the Protestant
monergistic view, meaning that all is of God, approach rather than a
synergistic approach, some of God and some of us, as Catholics get accused. The
actual view of Catholics is that God does all the work and we do all the work.
Catholics give all the credit to God but also understand that their response to
grace is deserving of merit.
The way I see it is that we respond to God’s promises He is
obligated to fulfill a debt He has incurred through His promise. We through His
grace put faith and trust in those promises. Since God promises us eternal life
by our faith then He has created an obligation for Himself. It is God’s promise
that makes it a merit and not our work because God represents to us justice and
truth and by us responding to His commands through the Spirit He has created a
debt deserved by crediting us with merit even though it is through Christ and
the Holy Spirit that we responded to His commands and will.
(Matt Slick) The sad result is that in Roman Catholicism,
justification before God is a process that is maintained by the effort and
works of the Roman Catholic. This is a
very unfortunate teaching since it puts the unbearable burden of works
righteousness upon the shoulders of the sinner.
By contrast, the Bible teaches that justification/salvation is by faith.
"But to
the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his
faith is reckoned as righteousness," (Rom. 4:5).
"Therefore
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ," (Rom. 5:1).
"For by
grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of
God," (Eph. 2:8).
(Cristoiglesia) You are either misunderstanding Catholic
teaching on justification or are intentionally laboring to create a straw man
to argue against that you can defeat with your arguments. The Church does not
teach that it is by the sinner’s efforts that we are justified but instead the
Church teaches that justification is by grace and faith. The Church condemned
“works righteousness” (Pelagianism) Council
of Carthage 418AD, Council of Ephesus in 431 AD and the second synod of Orange
in 529 AD.
Certainly the teaching of Jesus, His Church and the Bible
is that justification/salvation is by
faith but not faith alone as the heretics teach.
(Matt Slick) The Gospel for Roman Catholics
The Gospel for Roman Catholics is the same as for anyone
else and it is obtained by grace through faith in believing and trusting in
Jesus alone, who is God in flesh, for the forgiveness of sins. Salvation is not found in a true church.
(Cristoiglesia)I agree that there is but one Gospel for
all men. We are called to be faithful and to believe and trust in Jesus and His
atoning sacrifice. His sacrifice is sufficient for our salvation.
You say that “salvation is not found in a true Church”.
Am I and others supposed to believe that it is found in a false counterfeit church
like the sects of the Protestant rebels?
If salvation is not found in the true Church founded by Christ which is
the Catholic Church then why did Jesus pray that we be one in unity in His Church?
John 17:20-26(KJV)
20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also
which shall believe on me through their word;
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me,
and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that
thou hast sent me.
22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them;
that they may be one, even as we are one:
23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made
perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast
loved them, as thou hast loved me.
24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given
me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given
me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but
I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.
26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will
declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in
them.
You would have us to believe that Jesus desires that we
be outside of the Church He founded but Jesus clearly reveals His will of unity
which is not seen in the 30,000+ sects of the Protestants and
Restorationist sects. Instead we see disunity
and confusion among them. Each having some measure of truth dispersed among a
greatness of heresy. You are clearly wrong by any measure as Jesus founded one
Church built on an enduring foundation and not the sand of heresy as the
Protestants but the solid foundation of the fullness of truth of the Catholic
Church. The Bible says of this Church that the Holy Spirit protects it from
doctrinal and error in moral teaching. Jesus truly says that we can put our
trust in His Church as it is truly the “pillar and foundation of the truth” as
the Bible clearly states. Jesus said in His colloquy at Capernaum and recorded
in John 6 that we must eat his Body and drink His Blood for eternal life. That
Body and Blood can only be confected by a valid clergy whom the Protestants reject.
So it is this divine feast and sacrifice
of our Lord that Protestants are absent from. As a result they reject His
Commandment that He says allows us to abide in Him and Him in us. He further
says that unless we eat His Body and drink His Blood that we have no life in
us. Protestants are absent from this continuous feast and sacrifice that we
share in with Christ to the Father. Protestants cannot even discern the Body
and Blood of Christ which St. Paul says condemns the non-believer. May our Lord have mercy on them for refusing His
sacrifice to the Father.
(Matt Slick) Salvation is not found in being good. Salvation is not found in good works. Salvation is not found in a sincere
heart. Salvation is not found in making
up for past sins by efforts of restoration, or penance, or indulgences. You can never do enough to please God.
(Cristoiglesia) God has created everything good including
all of humanity. But, we are all born with a propensity to sin and the free
will to resist that sin or embrace it. St. Paul addressed this in the
following:
Romans 3:23 -For all have sinned, and do need the glory
of God.
If one uses their free will to sin they are separating
themselves further away from an eternity with God. Without repentance that will
die in condemnation but if they live a life of repentance they will be saved by
God’s grace.
Now, we know that God’s mercy is without limits but He is
also just. Acknowledging this teaching we realize that we do not know who will
be saved for sin may be private or public, both kinds of sin are known to the
sinner and to God and it is by this unrepentant sin that we will be judged. We
do know that all are called to salvation but that few respond fully to the
call. We know that the path to salvation comes to a narrow gate where many will
be unable to enter.
Mat 22:14- For many are called, but few are chosen.
Luk 13:24- Shall seek... Shall desire to be saved; but
for want of taking sufficient pains, and being thoroughly in earnest, shall not
attain to it.
Here are some of the fallacies of believing that all will
be saved or that all good people will be saved, other than the fact that none
of us are worthy of salvation on our own. It is natural for people to want to
depend on God’s mercy alone for salvation but as I said before God does not
provide mercy at the exclusion of justice. There are also those who believe
that God will even save those who have no desire to be saved. This is an
example of mercy without justice for it would not be just to save someone
without a desire to be saved. He does not give mercy to those who do not desire
it from Him. He allows us and indeed prompts us to come to Him by preparing us
all to surrender to His law written on our hearts. This law is sufficient and
without it no one would be convicted to follow Him and desire Him. Our
conscience is formed by this law which is intuitive and not learned by hearing
His Word or by anything but recognizing His creation which the Bible says is
sufficient knowledge to come to faith and desire Him. In this we surrender to
Him and become obedient to His will to desire Him. By that and a devotion to
repent of our sins is sufficient for salvation. It is the path to the narrow
gate that Scriptures teach. It is His grace through the Holy Spirit that we are
called and convicted of His will which is contained in His law circumcised upon
our hearts. His grace is not forced upon anyone but one must surrender to Him
to receive it. It is a free gift that one can refuse and we must recognize that
many will refuse His gift and fail to surrender to His law which has the result
of one condemning them. So, as much as we desire as Christians that God’s mercy
be extended to all people both good and bad, it will only be given to those who
surrender to His law and recognizing His sovereignty while living in His will.
It is by having a desire for His Grace and repenting when we fail through our
sinfulness which results in His mercy.
For those who believe that all good people will be saved
we must understand that none of us are good enough. We all sin through thought,
word and deed. As a result it is only through Christ’s salvific work that we
can be justified by our contrite repentance and be deserving of His mercy. We
do please God when we are obedient to His will and we will have salvation on
our last day if we are free of unrepentant sin. We do please God when we are
obedient to His will and we will have salvation on our last day if we are free
of unrepentant sin.
(Matt Slick) Because God is so infinitely holy and
righteous, and because we are sinners, we are incapable of pleasing God by
anything that we do. In fact, our
righteous deeds are considered filthy rags before God (Isa. 64:6). You can do nothing to earn forgiveness or
keep forgiveness. Salvation before God
is not administered to us through an earthly priest in the Catholic church by
the sprinkling of water, or giving of penance, or recitation of formula
prayers. Salvation for the Christian is
not kept through the effort of the person who hopes and tries and worries about
being good enough to stay saved.
(Cristoiglesia) I guess you never read in the Bible that
we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.
Phi 2:12(KJV)
12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have
always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
We are forgiven when we ask for forgiveness with a
contrite heart.
(Mar 2:5) And when Jesus had seen their faith, he saith
to the sick of the palsy: Son, thy sins are forgiven thee.
(Mar 2:6) And there were some of the scribes sitting
there and thinking in their hearts:
(Mar 2:7) Why doth this man speak thus? He blasphemeth.
Who can forgive sins, but God only?
(Mar 2:8) Which Jesus presently knowing in his spirit
that they so thought within themselves, saith to them: Why think you these
things in your hearts?
(Mar 2:9) Which is easier, to say to the sick of the
palsy: Thy sins are forgiven thee; or to say: Arise, take up thy bed and walk?
(Mar 2:10) But that you may know that the Son of man hath
power on earth to forgive sins (he saith to the sick of the palsy):
(Mar 2:11) I say to thee: Arise. Take up thy bed and go
into thy house.
I do not think that you do not believe that Jesus has the
power to forgive sins. Certainly we both agree that He does and the verses you
gave confirm this fact. If Jesus has this power a God I am sure that you can
agree that He has other Divine powers as well. He exercises this power in
giving the apostles and the successors the authority to forgive sins acting in
persona Christi for He knew that this continuing authority would be needed in
the ministry of His Church. But when one hears the Words of the priest that
they are forgiven it is the will of Jesus that does the forgiving.
Christ instituted the sacraments purposefully. The
sacrament called reconciliation or penance is what we call our actions when we
go to confession. Going to confession and confessing to a priest is the
normative way of reconciling oneself back into God's family when we have
committed a mortal sin. It is the biblical way corresponding to Jesus' teaching
as recorded by the apostle John:
(Joh 20:22) When he had said this, he breathed on them;
and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost.
(Joh 20:23) Whose sins you shall forgive, they are
forgiven them: and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.
What we learn from John is the authority given to the
priests is not only to forgive sins but also to retain sins. Jesus commanded
the authority to be used. It is the duty given by Jesus for the priest to
measure the contrition of the penitent and act accordingly.
However, one must repent and pray sincerely to God as an
act of contrition before one enters the confessional. The priest represents
Jesus by acting in persona Christi and for the entire family of God represented
by the Church militant who is harmed by the sin of another. No sin is private
but all sin affects others. Jesus described this relationship as a vine with
Him as the vine and we as the branches (John 15:5). If one member of the branch
is sick then all the branches are affected and suffer as a result. Because of
our familial relationship with each other Jesus created a means of confession
so that all those affected in His family are represented by the priest as is
God. The acts of sin and forgiveness are not private matters.
(Matt Slick)Such error can only lead to despair and
hopelessness and a desperate and unwarranted dependence on the Roman Catholic
Church as the only means by which salvation can be distributed and maintained.
(Cristoiglesia) Jesus established His Church for the
purpose of distributing His grace to the faithful. We do not distribute
salvation but instead Christ’s Church provides the means by which through grace
one may endure to the end in faith. The Church as a result represents hope and
not despair and hopelessness that you claim but instead it is the fountain of
God’s salvific grace.
(Matt Slick) In this error, people far too often seek to
work their way to heaven by being good, by doing what the Catholic Church
teaches them to do, by prayers to Mary, by indulgences, by the Rosary, and by a
host of other man-made works.
(Cristoiglesia) It is by God’s grace that one is good and
not by works although we are called to respond to God’s grace with works. In
that way we reflect God’s love for humanity. We pray to fulfill God’s greatest
Commandment to love one another so we pray for one another out of this love. We invite others of the Church like the
blessed mother of God to be our prayer partners as the Bible teaches that the
prayers of the righteous are of great benefit to us and others. By indulgences
we show contrition. When we pray and reflect on Christ through the Rosary it
brings us closer to our Savior. Surely prayer is not a man-made work as Jesus
gave us example to pray for one another. And neither are any of the other acts
of devotion to God that you claim are man-made.
(Matt Slick) Remember, in the RCC, salvation is through
the Church and its sacraments, not through Jesus alone, by faith alone.
(Cristoiglesia) Yes, salvation does come through the
Church and the Sacraments truly provide us with salvific grace to endure to
final salvation. Our salvation was
atoned for by Jesus alone on the cross. Faith alone is a Protestant heresy that
is condemned in Scripture. See the Epistle of James.
(Matt Slick) “This is exactly how the cults of Mormonism
and the Jehovah's Witnesses work who both teach that true salvation is found
only in their church membership and in following the revelation and authority
of their church teachers and traditions.
Are you tired of the works requirement?”
(Cristoiglesia) Yes, but their Church was not founded by
Christ for the purpose of the salvation of mankind like the Catholic Church. The
Church is not only the fullness of truth but also the arbitrator of truth.
Matthew 18:17-18(KJV)
17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the
church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an
heathen man and a publican.
18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on
earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be
loosed in heaven.
(Matt Slick) “In great contrast to the position of the
Roman Catholic Church, if you want to be forgiven of your sins, once and for
all, then you need to come to Christ (Matt. 11:28).”
(Cristoiglesia) God forgives all who come to Him with a
contrite heart but He does not forgive those without contrition for their sins.
(Matt Slick)” You need to receive Jesus as your Lord and
Savior (John 1:12; Rom. 10:13). You need
to ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins (John 14:14), and trust in Him alone
and in nothing that you can do.”
(Cristoiglesia) Correct but this is not a onetime occurrence
but an ongoing occurrence to endure to final salvation.
(Matt Slick) Remember, your good deeds have no merit
before God (Isa. 64:6).
(Cristoiglesia) We do good deeds in response to God’s
grace. We must maintain a living faith and not fall into a dead faith as St.
James warns.
(Matt Slick) “Furthermore, if you have faith, it is
because that faith is the work of God (John 6:28-29). If you believe, it is because God has granted
that you believe (Phil. 1:29). It is not
because you were baptized, or have been good, or have been sincere. It is all of God. The Lord must receive all the glory for
salvation because it completely and totally rests in Him. Salvation rests in Christ alone and it is received
by faith apart from works.”
(Cristoiglesia) Correct except works are a response to
God’sgrace.
(Matt Slick) Please read the following scriptures
carefully.
"for
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (Rom. 3:23).
"For
the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord," (Rom. 6:23).
"and
He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and
live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed," (1 Pet. 2:24).
"He
made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the
righteousness of God in Him," (2 Cor. 5:21).
"If
you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it," (John 14:14).
"Come
to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
29"Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in
heart; and you shall find rest for your souls," (Matt. 11:28-29).
"But
as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God,
even to those who believe in His name," (John 1:12).
"I do
not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the Law, then
Christ died needlessly," (Gal. 2:21).
"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the
deeds of the law," (Rom. 3:28).
"For
what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for
righteousness," (Rom. 4:3).
"But
to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly,
his faith is reckoned as righteousness," (Rom. 4:5).
"These
things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in
order that you may know that you have eternal life," (1 John 5:13).
(Cristoiglesia) Done
(Cristoiglesia)A suggested prayer
This suggested prayer is not a formula, but a
representation of biblical principles by which you might better understand the
true gospel and receive Christ as your Lord and Savior. It is not a formula derived from Sacred
Tradition or Stamped with the seal of the Roman Catholic Church's
approval. Its principles are derived
from scripture: we are sinners; God is
Holy; we cannot earn salvation; salvation is a free gift; prayer to Christ;
Jesus is the only way; receiving Christ; faith; etc.
"Lord
Jesus, I admit that I am a sinner and that I have offended you by breaking your
Holy Law. I confess my sins to you Lord
and ask forgiveness from you and do not ask anyone else to be forgiven of my
sins against you. I acknowledge who you
are, God in flesh, creator, humble Lord, who bore my sins in Your body on the
cross and I come to you alone and trust you alone, by faith, that you will
forgive me completely of my sins so that I will have eternal life. I ask you Lord to come into my heart, to be
my Lord, to forgive me of my sins. Lord
I trust in you alone, in the work of the cross alone and not in any church, not
in any saint, not in Mary, not in any priest, but in you alone. Lord, Jesus, I receive you, and come to you,
and ask you to forgive me and justify me by faith as I trust in you alone. Thank you.”
(Cristoiglesia) Do you not see how this prayer is
blasphemous before Christ who personally created the Church as the ark of
humanity from and evil and seductive world? You insult the saints that have
endured to final salvation and directly insult Jesus’ mother whose ministry
given by Jesus to her from the cross is to lead humanity to her Son and to help
the faithful in His Church to endure to final salvation.
(Matt Slick) If you are a Roman Catholic and have trusted
in Christ alone for the forgiveness of your sins, then welcome to the body of
Christ. Welcome to salvation and the
free gift of forgiveness in Jesus.
(Cristoiglesia) We do trust in Christ alone for
salvation.
(Matt Slick) Next, I strongly recommend that you read the
Bible regularly, talk to Jesus daily in prayer, and seek to find a church that
teaches and focuses on Jesus as Lord, Jesus as Savior, and sticks to the Bible
alone.
(Cristoiglesia) You have described the Church except you
have placed the Bible as an authority that it does not have without the Church.
Our Lord after his resurrection and before He ascended to
heaven called together the disciples on a hill in Galilee and told them to teach
all nations. Christ instructed them to teach all the doctrines, commandments
and laws that He had taught to them. It is significant to note that these
instructions are not constricted by the lifetimes of the disciples but was to
be taught for all times which would be completed at the Parousia. This meant
that the disciples were to have successors and that their oral teaching would
be for all times protected by Christ which extended to their successors. In
this way Christ assured that truth would be taught for all time to humanity.
This was the great commission.
To those deep in Scriptures it seems quite odd that there
are some who think that the disciples fulfilled their commission given to all
by writing Scriptures and that they left no successors to continue the fullness
of truth and the authority given by Christ in that commission. If this was the
intent of our Lord it is odd that not all the disciples did what some suppose
our Lord commanded which is to write Scriptures. In fact, only five disciples
continued their teaching by writing Scripture. To those who believe that it is
the Scriptures that continue the great commission then it is difficult to
ignore that less than half of the disciples followed Christ’s commission. The
disciple Matthew wrote a Gospel. John wrote a Gospel and three epistles. Peter
wrote two epistles and James and Jude wrote one apiece. If the written Word was
so important in Christ’s structure of the Church then it would be logical that
there would be at least one epistle from Jesus; perhaps in which He would
instruct us to give the written Word His only authority and not the 12
disciples as was His instructions in the great commission. But of course, it
was obviously not His intent for His teaching to be spread only from written
means but instead through the solid foundation He had built on which the
disciples would continue to build with their successors which passed on the
chrism from Christ through the disciples and their successors which has
resulted in infallible truth for all times.
Another oddity for those who believe only in the written
Word is why the Church founded by Christ existed for only a half century as a
teaching Church and then is replaced by inspired books alone?
With changing circumstances it would seem reasonable that
there be someone or some authority that can apply the apostolic teaching to the
change of circumstances lest there be chaotic frustration instead of the
application of truth. Take for example the doctrines; these doctrines may be
studied with an almost equal danger of error as truth if there is no infallible
teacher. An infallible authority would not restrict an enlightened development
of truth for those who are seeking the question of what Christ meant in His
teaching. Without it there is great possibility and indeed a certainty of error
because there is not a word of Christ’s teaching that has not been subject to
diverse interpretations. Many of these interpretations are compelling either by
their scholarship or their application but are in contradiction of one another.
Consequently the following question is illustrated by these facts; how are we
to know the truth as these words surly are not enough for the truth to be
known? Therefore it is necessary to have an infallible teacher to separate the
diversity of opinions into the truth of Christ’s teaching. There must be
revelation to satisfy the seeking soul instead of a growing set of diverse
opinions and confusion. So, there must be an infallible teacher with the
authority from Christ and of Christ as were the disciples for the truth to be
known. The question is to those following Sola Scripture is whether the truth
is essential or does it remain forever elusive depending on individual
interpretation?
I believe the Scriptures demonstrate just how essential
Jesus believed the truth to be. Before His death He gave certain men the
authority to teach. He sent out the 72 disciples to teach with His authority.
He said to them as well as the original 12, “He that hears you, hears me” which
illustrates a transfer of the teaching by oral means to the Church across time
to ensure the truth to all generations. It is through the oral teaching that
the truth is found by the authority of Christ for truth. That truth is
contained within the leadership of the Church and is today the Magisterium
which is made up of the successors of those original disciples continuing the
chrism given to them by Christ. God bless!
In Christ
Fr. Joseph
