If you are a Christian, what is the real reason for you not being a Catholic?

[whatisthetruth]

Hi Jimmy B

So you noticed fbl9’s comment too,

oh good now that i am “saved” i can go rape and pillage to my hearts content with no fear.

To that you were alarmed. you said,

"hold on a minute, I think that there are some Christians who might actually agree with you to a certain extent"

I don’t know how I missed this one. I see in your profile that you indicate that you are Catholic, so I didn’t quite understand your comment here at first. I guess you were just goofing around, and sort of responding to the ‘Once Saved Always Saved” (OSAS) belief.

To answer your question,

I wonder if that belief allows for a certain degree of sin. That based on the “degree” or “seriousness” of a sin or sins that one could actually lose their “guaranteed salvation? If so, where is the “cut-off”, I would like to know, which sin is it that will push you over the top?

Jim. I believe all sin is on equal level through God’s eyes not man’s and there is no guarantee salvation for tomorrow.

However, I believe one can be assured of their own salvation should they die right now.

I also addressed fbl9’s comment. It was my first post on this thread #257.

Did you notice it?

In case you did not, here it is quoted. Both issues are addressed

Hi fbl9 and to whom this message may concern,

I am what you might call a bible believing evangelical Christian.

On behalf of all non catholics who have presented God’s wonderful gift of salvation in a way that would cause you or anyone to say the following…

fbl9
oh good now that i am “saved” i can go rape and pillage to my hearts content with no fear.

May I offer my apology. You posted a smiley face and to tell you the truth I am because there was someone who probably gave you the impression of that is what salvation is about.

fbl9, I have to believe you do not mean a word of what I quoted you as saying. But I believe I can understand the reason for you stating what you did.

Is it because a certain number of non catholics present salvation as once saved, one can sin at will?

Am I on target?

Like they have a free ticket to heaven?

If that is the case, and I am finding this out more and more throughout this community, there is a total misunderstanding of what salvation is.

I believe there is a big problem today,

as Paul Washer said,

I believe the greatest heresy in the american evangelical protestant church is that if you prayed that Jesus Christ would come into your heart, He will definitely come in.

I addressed this very topic in post 106 and 107
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthrea…=206817

Jimmy, I believe you will agree with some of the points Paul makes in regards to salvation saying. I look forward to the first person who acknowledges at least listening to him.

God bless

truth

 

[fbl9]

hi Jimmy B. yes that remark was aimed at the OSAS crowd. i have not the intent to commit such acts it would sicken me to even give such things any thought.BTW you have many posts that i have learned a great deal from.

 

[whatisthetruth]

bump

lets keep this going

 

[CalmDownWisWins]

Jim. I believe all sin is on equal level through God’s eyes not man’s and there is no guarantee salvation for tomorrow.

However, I believe one can be assured of their own salvation should they die right now.

How far off is “tomorrow”?

How close is “right now”?

What is God’s “cut off point from the moving now” for your salvation?

I actually agree with you about there being a time frame between the “now” of true reconciliation with the Body of Christ and the “tomorrow” of my commiting mortal sin.

My problem with the protestant position is that their “reconciliation” is of very dubious quality, and they seem to have very loose and/or conflicting definitions of “mortal sin”.

But, since no Catholic is truly reconciled with the Church (aka The Body of Christ) unless he is truly honest and contrite and penitent, which the protestant can be regardless of the dubiousness of his means of “reconciliation”, we’re both in the same situation as to whether God will be merciful with us at our death.

I just prefer to believe that God would make it less difficult to BE honest and contrite and penitent than by way of what the protestants call their “reconciliation”.

 

[D317]

JimmyB, reference your Post #1: You rock & are right. In my case, I walked out of Church one Sunday and became a “non participating Catholic” (if there is such a thing). I thought that I was a good person and if ever asked about Heaven I thought “well yea, I’m a good guy I deserve to go!” Now I realize that I don’t deserve anything and must rely on the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ.

I reverted back from the lies of the secular world to the RCC after reading the Bible for the first time almost 30 years later. It became so obvious to me! Shame on me for falling away & I only pray that God will have mercy on me and that others will pray for my salvation.

Keep up the good work.

 

[iamACE]

JimmyB, you posted well man. Most Catholics here in the Philippines who are turning away have the same reasons why they’re leaving the Catholic Faith.

 

[iamACE]

Here’s a post from a forum in the Philippines talking about a “Free Ticket or SHORTCUT” to Heaven. I don’t know what denomination the poster belongs to…

ARE YOU 100% SURE THAT IF YOU DIED TODAY THAT YOU WOULD GO TO HEAVEN?

THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT YOU SHOULD KNOW:

1. REALIZE THAT YOU ARE A SINNER AND IN NEED OF A SAVIOR:

Ro 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

Ro 3:10 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:”

This all began with the story of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. God created them perfect, there was no death or sorrow. God told them not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They disobeyed God and as a result, sin entered into the world. The pain which this world sees is the result of sin.

1. BECAUSE OF OUR SINS, WE DIE BOTH SPIRITUALLY AND PHYSICALLY, BUT GOD SENT HIS SON TO TAKE OUR PUNISHMENT AND GIVE US A CHANCE NOT TO HAVE TO GO TO HELL.

Ro 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Ro 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Every person who has ever lived is a sinner and is not righteous because we do bad things. A sin is a crime against God, just as if you steal something at the store, it is punishable by going to jail. It’s the same thing with sin. Even if we lie one time, the punishment is hell, which is a prison for those who commit crimes against God. No matter how well you live your life from then on, you have already committed a sin which will be punished if you are not pardoned. If you commit a crime, and then live as a good citizen you still will go to jail for the crime you committed. Right? Just as the president can pardon a crime so you won’t go to jail, Jesus can pardon your sins so that you do not go to hell, and can go to heaven when you die.

1. IF WE WILL ACCEPT JESUS CHRIST AS OUR LORD WITH OUR MOUTHS AND BELIEVE IN OUR HEARTS THAT HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD, BY DOING THIS WE ARE RECEIVING HIM:

Ro 10:9,10 “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.”

Joh 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: {power: or, the right, or, privilege}
(KJV)

You cannot get to heaven by being a good person, going to church, baptism or any other way other than by turning to Jesus and asking Him to forgive you for your sins and save you. While these are good things to do, some people believe that they will get to heaven if they do these things, but the bible says that there is only one way to heaven and that is through receiving what Jesus Christ did on the cross for you.

Will you do that today? If you will, you can be 100% sure that you will go to heaven when you die.

DO YOU BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST DIED ON THE CROSS AND ROSE FROM THE DEAD FOR YOUR SINS? DO YOU ACCEPT WHAT HE DID FOR YOU TO PAY FOR YOUR SINS?

1. If you are willing to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior please pray this right now, from your heart to God,

“Dear LORD JESUS, I believe that YOU died on the Cross and Rose from the dead for my sins. I ask you to come into my heart and forgive me for my sins, take me to heaven when I die. I now receive You as my Lord and Savior. Thank You for saving me. In Jesus holy name, Amen.”

If you prayed that prayer from your heart to God, and meant it with all of your heart, you are now a child of God and will go to heaven when you die.

 

[whatisthetruth]

Hi CalmDownWisWins

Thank you for your questions,

the answer to your questions and concern I believe can be fully answered in my post #106 and #107 in the following thread
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=206817

Plus, I would highly rocommend listening to the Paul Washer video, link at bottom of #107.

I believe Paul describes salvation in a way that is quite blunt and to the point, shocking and I believe very truthful as if Paul’s words were coming from God himself.

Most of Paul’s message I already was in agreement with even before listening to him. He made a couple points which had a tremendous impact on my spiritual life.

One of them is this, I quote…

I believe
the **greatest heresy in the american evangelical protestant church **

is that
if you prayed that Jesus Christ would come into your heart,
He will definitely come in.
You will **not find **that in any place in scripture.

What you need to know is that
**salvation is by faith and faith alone in Jesus Christ.**And
faith alone in Jesus Christ is
preceeded and followed by repentance.
a turning away from sin,
a hatred for the things that God hates, and
a love for the things God loves
A growing in holiness and
a desire not to be like…the world…but
(a desire)to be like Jesus Christ

Do you agree with what I just quoted?

I would be interested to see your opinion of the complete message presented in Paul’s video.

How far off is “tomorrow”?

Tomorrow is anytime after right this second.

It is 7:30.00AM right now, “tomorrow” is 7:30.001AM

Situation can change in a heart beat.
Satan is hard at work and can strike at any time.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy
John 10:10

 

[whatisthetruth]

cont…

CalmDownWisWins
I just prefer to believe that God would make it less difficult to BE honest and contrite and penitent than by way of what the protestants call their “reconciliation”.

We do have different undestandings of God’s will which can lead into some pretty, let say, “heated” converstions.

I hope and pray for the day that we both can understand and see each other “eye to eye” so we can work through our differences and together we as “one” can be a beacon of God’s light to the lost non-believing world.

That is my dream.

as you saw from my thread I referred to you, I said to jmcrae,

I was waiting for someone to “spell” out the picture “you can sin your little brains out for the rest of your life” that many non Roman Catholics are sending in regard to salvation.

No wonder salvation, which is such a wonderful gift God promised, is not looked at all the times as wonderful because I have to believe there are people who take God’s promise of salvation absolutely the wrong way for which God intended.

and there are a lot of people who believe they are saved and in fact they are not.

We my Christian brother have a lot of praying and work to do.
I believe that is God’s calling on my heart as I type this.

I love the quote at the end of Lion King 2,

Just as Simba and Zira are about to fight,
Kiara and Kovu leap in between them

SIMBA: Kiara?
ZIRA: Kovu! …Move.
SIMBA: Stand aside.
KIARA: Daddy, this has to stop.
ZIRA: {to Kovu} You’re even weaker than I thought. Get out of the way!
KOVU: You’ll never hurt Kiara… or Simba. Not while I’m here.
ZIRA: {gasp}
SIMBA: Stay out of this!
KIARA: A **wise King **once told me, “We are one.” I didn’t understand what he meant… now I do
SIMBA: But… they…
KIARA: Them… us. Look at them… they are us. What differences do you see?
Aren’t we all part of the Circle of Life?

quoted from,
lionking.org/scripts/SP-Script.html

I believe we **all **are part of one family…God’s family.

For whatever reason, there are too many people in the world who choose not to be part of His family and just might be headed for an eternal life in hell.

Our challenge is to show our lost brothers and sisters the true loving grace and mercy of God which can only be found, by faith, through the precious blood Jesus bled and the love He has for all of us.

I believe we can do this in two ways,

1. To illustrate to our lost brothers and sisters that we christians believe we are part of God’s family and even though we do have disagreements, (and what family does not?), we can get along, love and respect each other in Jesus’ name.

To accomplish that I believe we need to take care, not just here but everywhere we meet people, not to speak or act in a way which would cause one to feel insulted, cheap, belittled etc.

1. To reach out in love in any way we can to our lost brothers and sisters. And be a witness of the love we share with God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

As God has commanded us,

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matthew 28:19,20

I believe the way we interact with other people in our walk of life will have in essence one of two effects.

**We as God’s children will either…

draw a lost soul closer to our heavenly Father

or

Push them away from our heavenly Father. **

Our heart and passion, and I have to believe yours is too, is to see that all people come to the knowledge and truth of the love and saving grace which God has for all of us.

Isn’t that your desire??

Let’s show the world the fruit of the Holy Spirit within every on of us

**

the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control
Galatians 5:21-23

**

God

truth

Sorry I was long, the words I spoke came from nowhere else but from my

 

[whatisthetruth]

Hi, D317

In my case, I walked out of Church one Sunday and became a “non participating Catholic” (if there is such a thing).

There is that was me most of my adult life.

I thought that I was a good person and if ever asked about Heaven I thought “well yea, I’m a good guy I deserve to go!”

Right on

Now I realize that I don’t deserve anything and must rely on the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ.

Amen

I reverted back from the lies of the secular world to the RCC after reading the Bible for the first time almost 30 years later.

Praise God He led you back to church

It became so obvious to me! Shame on me for falling away & I only pray that God will have mercy on me and that others will pray for my salvation.

D317, I believe He will answer your prayer for mercy nd salvation when you sincerely ask Him, if you have not done so already.

D317, we are not of the same religion, but we are of the same God.

I believe the same God who had mercy on a thief when he excercised his faith in Jesus, wants also to give you His mercy, grace and forgiveness.

I encourage you, if you have any questions as to what I am saying, I replied Post #18 to AquinasT Post #16 on this very topic in thread,
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=213614

To answer your prayer,

“I only pray that God will have mercy on me”

I believe you can pray to God right there wherever you are and ask Him for mercy and forgiveness and especially for your salvation which only He can give and only in the way God gave it to the thief.

May God bless you

Truth

 

[CalmDownWisWins]

Hi CalmDownWisWins

Thank you for your questions,

the answer to your questions and concern I believe can be fully answered in my post #106 and #107 in the following thread
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=206817

Firstly, , please answer questions with answers, and not links, and if you must use links, please link to the actual posting, which you can do by rightclicking the post number (#771) and copying the link (“copy shotcut”), which you can then paste into the later post. Thanks.

 

[onmywayagain]

I’ve heard alot of people were i live say they are not welcome in a Catholic Church. Why do people assume that they wouldn’t be welcome to any Catholic Parish community? I jsut don’t get it.

 

[CalmDownWisWins]

One of them is this, I quote…

One of them is this, I quote…

Quote:
I believe
the greatest heresy in the american evangelical protestant church is that
if you prayed that Jesus Christ would come into your heart,
He will definitely come in.
You will not find that in any place in scripture.

What you need to know is that
salvation is by faith and faith alone in Jesus Christ.And
faith alone in Jesus Christ is
preceeded and followed by repentance.
a turning away from sin,
a hatred for the things that God hates, and
a love for the things God loves
A growing in holiness and
a desire not to be like…the world…but
(a desire)to be like Jesus Christ

Do you agree with what I just quoted?

Yes I do. AND faith is a “doing”, which contains actually doing what Jesus has told us to do. You choose to do SOME of what Jesus has told us to do, and you think that that is all that is required, while I choose to do ALL of what He has told us to do and I choose that, quite simply, because it is the most efficient way to serve Him as He meant us to so do.

I would be interested to see your opinion of the complete message presented in Paul’s video.

You have summed up the “faith alone” thinking very well, and I find your summation of limited value, but of more value to those without the discipline to do what God has told us to do than not doing anything.

 

[CalmDownWisWins]

Quote:
Originally Posted by CalmDownWisWins
How far off is “tomorrow”?

Tomorrow is anytime after right this second.

It is 7:30.00AM right now, “tomorrow” is 7:30.001AM

Situation can change in a heart beat.
Satan is hard at work and can strike at any time.

How do you maintain your faith from millisecond to millisecond?

 

[CalmDownWisWins]

For whatever reason, there are too many people in the world who choose not to be part of His family and just might be headed for an eternal life in hell.

No one here will argue with you about that!

Our challenge is to show our lost brothers and sisters the true loving grace and mercy of God which can only be found, by faith, through the precious blood Jesus bled and the love He has for all of us.

Amen! And you do a “limited” faith, and I do a more full faith. You think you must simply “believe” and all “doings” will proceed from that belief, which I believe as well, except that I consider one of those “doings” to be actually listening to God’s full Word and doing as they say.

I believe we can do this in two ways,

1. To illustrate to our lost brothers and sisters that we christians believe we are part of God’s family and even though we do have disagreements, (and what family does not?), we can get along, love and respect each other in Jesus’ name.

The “protestant” meaning for “respect” is to “insist on only a lowest common denominator faith”, while the Catholic means to "insist on doing a ‘what is best in the fullest way possible’ faith.

The Church (Catholic) says explicitly that we are all, all of humanity, are by default a part of the Body of Christ and are only separated from the Head in proportion to their distance from following God’s doctrine.

To accomplish that I believe we need to take care, not just here but everywhere we meet people, not to speak or act in a way which would cause one to feel insulted, cheap, belittled etc.

What of the case where simple mention of the truths of Christ Jesus causes afront? We are in that case to non-verbally show forth Jesus, of course. Is that possible in a forum where all we have is words? No. Thus, our seeming “insult” of each other.

Eventually, confrontation must occur between those who are in full communion with the Body of Christ and those who aren’t.

An unfortunate typically protestant reaction to that inevitability is to claim “martyrdom” (aka protestant victimhood) and leave the scene, and typically “find a more comfortable church”).

The Catholic martyr suffers his martyrdom in full.

1. To reach out in love in any way we can to our lost brothers and sisters. And be a witness of the love we share with God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen! And do it most fully, which requires being as fully in communion with the Body of Christ the Church which is Catholic in scope as well as in name.

 

[fbl9]

one question then i dissappear; if say i asked one of yous to come visit me. you reply yes i’ll come visit you. i tell you to take the bus to get here.but you decided to to take an airplane to visit me instead. did you do what i asked you to do?think on this for a while.

 

[CalmDownWisWins]

one question then i dissappear; if say i asked one of yous to come visit me. you reply yes i’ll come visit you. i tell you to take the bus to get here.but you decided to to take an airplane to visit me instead. did you do what i asked you to do?think on this for a while.

If you’re “God” and GOD tells me to specifically take the bus, and I willfully disobey and take an airplane, I would not be surprised to be rejected for my insolence.

We are to be fully obedient in every way possible, as we don’t know and aren’t WORTHY to know WHY God wants us to do specific things, and can only BECOME worthy of knowing the “whys” of God through the unmerited GIFT of such things through the grace of God.

 

[whatisthetruth]

one question then i dissappear; if say i asked one of yous to come visit me. you reply yes i’ll come visit you. i tell you to take the bus to get here.but you decided to to take an airplane to visit me instead. did you do what i asked you to do?think on this for a while.

Hi FB19

To answer your question, Let me ask myself.

** did I do what fbl9 asked me to do?**

My answer is,

you asked to visit you…which I did
you told me to take an airplane…which I did not do

But I did visit you, The reason I took the bus is I have a fear of flying. I am glad I took you up on your offer to visit you

My question to you is, I am at your doorstep, I ring the bell. Am I still invited in since I did not take an airplane to get to your house?

thanks

truth

 

[whatisthetruth]

How do you maintain your faith from millisecond to millisecond?

I was just trying to say what is true now may change within a heart beat

If by living my faith, I fall off the narrow path and sin, God will forgive me when I sincerely repent and confess and then He will guide me on the right path again.

I have no idea when I will fall again. It could be tomorrow afternoon, next week, in five hours or in 5 seconds from now.

I try not to take anything for granted.

For me Christianity is a way of life
I have a desire to be like Jesus Christ in the way of my thaughts, actions and words each and every day of my life.

Heck 1 minute from now I may get an irate phone call and in anger slip and exclaim “gosh darn” but not that you know what I mean.

Well I just sinned. Now what do I do? I took the Lord’s name in vain.

Do I wait till I go to confession

or

repent and confess to God right there.

I would repent and confess to God right there

How about you?

thank you

truth

 

[whatisthetruth]

Yes I do.

Thank you for agreeing

AND faith is a “doing”, which contains actually doing what Jesus has told us to do.

I agree

You choose to do SOME of what Jesus has told us to do,

I am not going to get upset at this assumption.
You have no idea how involved I am in my church so I will let this slide.

and you think

Again an assumption, and in due respect how can you say WHAT I am thinking

that is all that is required

**Ok now. I am curious. Required for what?. **

while I choose to do ALL of what He has told us to do and I choose that, quite simply, because it is the most efficient way to serve Him as He meant us to so do.

**Have you done it ALL already

or

is it your desire to do it all whatever it is that He asks of you?**

You have summed up the “faith alone” thinking very well, and I find your summation of limited value, **but of more value to those without the discipline **to do what God has told us to do than not doing anything.

Thank you for some credit that is kind of you

God bless

truth