Some one asked me a question about whether Roman Catholics are Christians or not ..
If they truly believe that Jesus died for their sins, yet they still follow all of the other Catholic teachings are they saved? I have my own opinion but I was just curious what others think.
"Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble." (James 2:19)
In other words, simply believing Jesus died for your sins doesn't begin to explain how YOU really are living and what YOU really
believe.
Sincere practicing Catholics affirm this through attention to the
Catholic Mass believing THAT is where the power of atonement is
brought down for all to see, wonder and worship at .. Sincere
practicing Catholics then devoutly behold the priest who holds up the
wafer and wine of the Mass as the literal body and blood of Christ
and who reinforces 2000 years of error by compelling their "amen" to
his statement "This is the Body of Christ." Sincere practicing
Catholics believe their sins cannot be forgiven outside the authority
of the priesthoods ability to absolve their sins through confession,
proscribed good works and in some cases, self-mortification from
fasting to self-flagellation. Sincere practicing Catholics are fully
and passionately committed to embodying this unbiblical travesty of
the Gospel through a pious, religious and moral lifestyle they
believe is the way to heaven.
If that is "Christian," why then do we not do likewise?
For such people this is how they live out "Jesus dying for their
sins." But the trust exercised in these acts is not true faith. It is works-based righteousness that
ignores and tramples over the simple grace of actual TRUST in JESUS for salvation, a completely naked, unadorned and total faith in what He has done in the past for mankind and what he has promised for the forgiveness of sin, for the answer of prayer, for strength in the time of storms.
"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.
If THAT is what is behind their belief of "Jesus dying for me," they
are lost, living in a tragically unfounded belief and need to hear
about the Gospel of faith in a living Christ who died ONCE and for
ALL, and whose sacrifice THEN does not and cannot be reiterated
thousands of times a day around the Catholic world for salvation.
Jesus alone is the way to God .. not Catholic ritual or dogma. To
suggest that this false teaching can raise men heavenward is at best
naive .. at worst, plain apostacy. It is an insult to the all
sufficiency of Christ who ended all human religious speculation in His eternal
Word: "I AM THE WAY .. THE TRUTH .. THE LIFE .. no man comes unto the
Father but BY ME."
agape
rafael
