S
- Status
S
steve_b
Guest
Well, outside of being the chair of Peter, which carries all of Our Lord’s promises
there is also Paul who writes,
Rom 1:
7To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.
11I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— 12that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.
Now do you think this ended? Especially when Paul says
Phil 1:
6* And I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ
Why then would you ask, is the RCC following Christ? Isn’t the Church of Rome headed by Benedict XVI, 266th successor to St Peter? Yes. Is the Catholic Church and this great faith all over the world just as Paul said in Rm 1? Yes. Is Jesus going to fulfill His promises? Yes
To doubt this as St Padre Pio would say, is to insult the Divinity
J
Janet1983
Guest
Well in Germany every church is state-sponsored except for a few that call themselves free churches (because they do not want government subsidies and have the government collect church tax instead of their members tithing).
I never said that I excluded protestant churches from that. I am sure that there are many lost people sitting in the pews each Sunday getting their ears tickled by preachers who do not preach the gospel and quite a few sitting in the pew every Sunday not listening to their preacher, but hoping to get home quick as to not miss too much of the game.
R
Roman_Catholic_1
Guest
Janet do you not see the double standard that I am trying to point out to you? Read what you just posted above and then read what you said to a Catholic who you felt had disrespected your faith:
I am still at a lost as to how you can feel so offended when you have offered equally harsh words towards not only Catholics and their faith but fellow Protestants as well.
God bless you Janet
J
Janet1983
Guest
Double standard? I am just commenting on the fact that there are lost people whose life does not resemble their faith sitting in pews within the CC and surely within protestant churches as well.
We are to examine ourselves I am sure and I am still growing on my Christian walk, after all I am just a young believer, but there are so many who think that being in a church does get them into heaven. It’s like it was a flu shot… For the Catholics it might be their baptism and then you don’t see them again until they go to the 1st Holy Communion, after that when they go to confirmation and then hopefully when get married. On the next occasion its their child getting baptised and later confirmed, maybe married and then you maybe see them again when their spouse dies.
For others it might be praying a prayer once and then they are declared to be saved even though they aren’t. They go to church for a while and their life does not change a bit. They attitude towards sin stays the same and at some point they “backslide”. Maybe they did never slide forward in the first place.
We need to be aware how many people are out there who may have heard of Jesus, but never grasped what he did for us. My husband recently talked to someone at work and after a while found out that this guy had never even heard about Jesus. One might think that that is impossible, but it isn’t. Why? Because there are so many lazy Christians out there and a few that make us all look like hypocrites. They go to church, talk the talk, but they do not walk the walk because they do not let Jesus Christ lead them.
How can I call myself a Christian when I sin with the same fervour I did before? How can I call myself a Christian if I love to fornicate and hate my brother? Someone who is a Christian is being regenerated by God and separated from the world.
How often do we see spiteful people, loving gossip, being prideful sitting at church and giving us the holier than thou attitude? I know it, because I was exactly that. I know now that I am not much better and I never was much better and it took something to admit that. It also does take something to admit that to the one that I harm with my actions, God that is and my brothers and sisters.
I was a sinner and I am a sinner. The difference is that I am redeemed and God is separating me from the world and from my sin. I do not enjoy the things I did enjoy back then. I did separate from the CC in rebellion inside my own house before I did so openly and before I finally got saved. I know I broke every commandment God has ever given. That does not make me any better or worse than others. That makes me a wretched and vile creature. God however changed me and made me new. I know that there are still quite a few kinks, but God changed me and made me aware of those.
A sure sign that you are saved is that you hate how much you don’t love the Lord.
po18guy
Well-known member
You stand in direct opposition to the words of Christ. He founded one Church, for all believers. If you knowingly leave it, how are you any different from those in John 6:66?
You clearly love the concept of Jesus. It is His reality that you have trouble with.
R
RNRobert
Guest
It is true that there are many church members (Catholic and non-Catholic) who only go through the motions of their faith. This is inevitable. It seems to me that you are looking for some perfect church, where all the members are holy and devout, etc. I’m here to tell you there ain’t no such animal. Just read the New Testament: Paul had to admonish the Corinthians because of the factionalism of its members, others leading openly sinful lifestyles, impropriety in worship, etc.; the Galatians had been led astray and were following false teachings; the Thessalonians had stopped working and were just sitting around waiting for Jesus to return- Paul had to admonish them in 2 separate letters. In John’s letter to the seven churches in the book of Revelation, only two of the churches did not get censured.
The Catholic Church is the Church that Christ founded. The fact that some of its members or leaders do not live up to their calling does not change this.
S
soflochristmas
Guest
Again, you have us confussed with someone else. It’s not Catholics who say “make an altar call”, profess your faith…and your forever saved…nothing else to it.
We Catholics are the one who have quite high demands of the Faith Jesus handed down to us.
BTW, if you want to get to heaven, it surely can’t hurt to be in the Church He founded.
J
Janet1983
Guest
“A church” and the Church that Jesus Christ founded are two different things.
To be member of “a church” I have to get baptised (sometimes this happens already with infants who can’t decide at all) or undergo some other form of initiation into it.
To be part of the Church Jesus Christ has founded one has to be a true believer in Him and a true follower of Him, one’s sins being atoned for already by Jesus Christ’s sacrifice.
The modern church membership does not matter at all in this case because only Christ matters.
J
Janet1983
Guest
I know the CC doesn’t do altar calls… I’ve been there and you do not need to remind me of that…
i.e. works?
Glad that I am part of the Church Jesus Christ founded…
R
RNRobert
Guest
I disagree. Hebrews 13:17 tells us The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews13:17 “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.” (KJV)
The question is, who should we be obey? This is the problem with Protestantism: it rejects any kind of authority and leads to an unbiblical “Just me, Jesus and the Bible” mentality.
S
soflochristmas
Guest
He who hears you hears me…Jesus referencing the Catholic Church.
G
greggy53
Guest
Then who gives you the correct interpretation?..You answer this with: God himself.
So, you have the Holy Spirit to give you the correct interpretation of all of the scriptures.
Then because we both know that the Holy Spirit is infallible, you then are infallible when you interpret the scripture. Right? Does anybody else posses this power ? Or just you?
Quid est veritas? We know now that you have all the correct answers because you are infallible when it comes to scripture. Right?
S
soflochristmas
Guest
Funny how that happens. Kind of like God’s sign of His covenant with the chosen people of the Old Testament was circumcission…don’t know too many baby boys who decided on that for themselves either. There is nothing NEW under the Son Janet.
He who hears you hears me…Jesus referencing the Catholic Church
S
soflochristmas
Guest
Yeah…we’re not part of those people you were refering to that think by just performing some work you are guaranteed heaven.
S
soflochristmas
Guest
Good grief Janet…make up your mind. Are you PROTESTING Catholicism because we don’t do enough (just go to church and pay our taxes…as you stated in an earlier post) or are you PROTESTING the Church He founded because we expect TOO much? Which is it?
He who hears you hears me…Jesus referencing the Catholic Church
Do you hear Him Janet? Or are you rejecting Him?
Is this teaching “hard” for you?
Are you making up your own man-made traditions?
Are you your own church?
S
soflochristmas
Guest
Janet,
We’ll all pray for you here. And if you come with a spirit of understanding and humility, willing to consider that you might be wrong on some points countless others before us for 2,000 years have been right on, then you will have our ear and we can have a back and forth conversation.
But we will NOT sit back and allow you to misrepresent His Church…the Catholic Church.
We will NOT sit back while you tear the Bride of Christ down.
We care TOO much for YOUR soul to just sit idly by.
We’ll all pray for you here. And if you come with a spirit of understanding and humility, willing to consider that you might be wrong on some points countless others before us for 2,000 years have been right on, then you will have our ear and we can have a back and forth conversation.
But we will NOT sit back and allow you to misrepresent His Church…the Catholic Church.
We will NOT sit back while you tear the Bride of Christ down.
We care TOO much for YOUR soul to just sit idly by.
po18guy
Well-known member
It may bring you comfort to insist on this, but it is neither biblically nor historically accurate.
There is only one Church. Jesus founded it on Peter. All others are more correctly called faith communities.
So, in this trendy and fashionable day, Jesus’ words that we should “be one”, and Paul’s words against “factions” are passe´? You have a better, more modern way? A “different gospel”? Christians, you included, must reject this!
Many of us are only willing to follow Jesus so far. Once it becomes taxing, we search for an alternative to His Church - a divisive alternative that weakens the Body of Christ. The prince of this world is standing at the ready to provide it.
po18guy
Well-known member
Amen!
R
Roman_Catholic_1
Guest
Yes double standard. You are offended by people’s opinion of your faith. You have felt the need to defend yourself by saying that you know Christ and that He is your savior. You have wondered who anyone else is to question your faith, all the while you make sweeping generalizations about Christians (both Catholic and Protestant) and their walk who you don’t even know all the while not seeing the connection between your judgments and the judgments of others about your faith that have offended you . That is a double standard. “Judge not, lest you be judged…” Right Janet?
Generalizations Janet and who are you to, “question these people’s faith in Christ? Is Christ not their Lord? Is He not their Savior?”
Such a disrespectful opinion of not only the Catholic faith but also of Catholics who sincerely practice their faith.
Again, I am at a loss as to how you can feel offended when your opinion (and the words you have used) towards Catholics are every bit as disrespectful.
God bless you Janet
- Status