The sufficiency of Christ

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Adam also stated, “I love John MacArthur” in an earlier post.

I am hard on Adam because I cannot get a feel for who he really is, I think I know however! One the one hand he preaches ecumenism and then on the other he supports MacArthur and James White. He even links to articles written by them and encourages Catholics to read them. I tend to accept people based on what they do and not what they say!
Roman_Catholic, above is the part of the discussion regarding Adam and MacArthur somewhere way back in pages 53, 54.

As I said, I felt a link out or post with MacArthur’s name was not going to be read with an open mind. Yet, I felt what MacArthur had written was worthy to be read for analysis. I have stated that if I could do it over, I would let you decide instead.
 
Fair enough.

And what is your belief about what’s “central to the Gospel”? Are there any Scripture verses that tell you these are essential? I assume you mean that these are things that we must have the same interpretation of.
What does God require from us to recieve our greatest need, everlasting life? Whatever answers that question, in my view, is central to the Gospel.

Yet, as you grow in your love for Him by growing to Him, your own redemption takes the backseat, and being with Him forevermore is the greater focus. He is a Great and Glorious God.
 
Of course you understand we are talking about a baptism in which is done by God and not the ones in which are conducted by our Pastors and Priests, correct? 😃 Sola Scriptura has its advantages dear sister in Christ.
I suppose there is an advantage in SS for those who wish to create their own doctrines, apart from what the Apostles believed and taught.

One of the things they taught was that there is no separation between the baptism of water, and of spirit. The Spirit of God was joined to the Waters of Baptism from the time Christ entered them. When a person enters the water, and the person baptizing pronounces the baptismal formula, the HS applies the circumcision made without hands to the heart of a person.
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. - Ezekiel 36
The Apostles taught that this is a prophesy about baptism. 👍
For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God. - rom 2
It is interesting that our Evangelical brethren chide Catholics about being “saved” then “unsaved” or “born again” then “unborn again”. However, Paul here makes it clear that circumcision (a permanent state) “becomes uncircumcision” when one falls into sin. What makes you think that the graces that occur when we are baptized into His death cannot therefore be also lost?
 
Can someone be converted to Christ, born from above through faith alone apart from the sacrament of water baptism according to the Catholic Catechism? 😉
God is not bound by the sacraments, we are! Of course, he can save anyone He wants, however He likes. He instructed us to do it this certain way, so we do.

When was Cornelius “born again”? Was it before he went into the water, or after? yet we see that Peter understood there should be no separation between the Spirit,a nd the water. He immediately ordered water baptism.
 
To be fair, Adam will likely argue that Christ’s death was sufficient to save all men but only efficacious for the elect. In other words, Christ could have saved all men but His sacrifice is only efficacious for those who accept Him, the elect. This is where limited atonement comes in.

You see, Calvin has a very sophisticated systematic theology, one where each doctrine leads into the next. That is why it is difficult to speak of one doctrine without discussing the others, they inevitably lead to each other. The 5 points, or TULIP, are only a part of what he taught but they are the key doctrinal issues that separate Calvinism from the rest of Christian thought. I find it impossible to discus one point without an understanding of the others.
I know; but there is also a chink in their armor. Their weakest point is their claim to scripturality—sola scriptura! Unfortunately for them, their theology is not as “scriptural” as they think; and for someone who knows his scriptures well, turning all the yarn that they spin into cotton is a relatively easy task. Calvinism is not a scripturally sound theology, although they like to think it is.
 
zerinus, you reading this text standing alone without the previous chapters where Paul is pleading his case for exactly against what your proposing. There is no mention of “they” being justified. What he is doing a making a point.

We all know there in only one path, right? Not all paths lead to God. Once a man knows this, that Jesus Christ is that path, and rejects it, there is nothing left anywhere that will save him.
I think that you are mistaken. I made it clear that the context of the passages cited implied reference to those who had been justified and sanctified. They had been members of the Church, and then “turned away from holy commandments”.
 
Hey Rocket Man,

Please note that zerinus (Zee) is a Mormon missionary on Catholic Answers when you respond to him.
Ummm, I guess you would say that wouldn’t you, since you are a Calvinist missionary on CAF.
 
What the heck is a Calvinist missionary? I thought Calvinsts believed in predestination, so why would they want to evangelize if God already predestined who would be saved? Sometimes Izoid, you are too difficult to understand.
That is a question for you to answer, not him. Are Calvinists crazy? I don’t know; but judging by their theology and actions, they very well might be:
Oh…I am not hard to understand, actual I am very direct and to the point. I stated earlier, several hundred posts ago, that Calvinists witness out of obedience. They don’t think their efforts will change who is elect and who is not but they cannot deny that they are commanded to evangelize. It really is quite sad; Evangelize because you are commanded but your efforts really have no effect other than to “round up the elect”.😦
:yup:
 
That is a misunderstanding Catholics have about historic Protestant theology.

We believe justfication is an act of God alone - monergism

We believe sanctification is a cooperation between God and man - synergism.
Wrong! Both justification and sanctification require the cooperation between God and man. Justification is a legalistic term. It means to pronounce someone just, or righteous. When a judge “justifies” someone, he pronounces him not guilty. Justification comes through faith, repentance, and baptism, which are voluntary actions by the believer. Sanctification comes by the gift of the Holy Ghost. Justification comes when our sins are remitted by virtue of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, through faith, repentance, and baptism, as taught in the following verses:

Mark 1:

4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judæa, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.

Acts 2:

38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 22:

16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

Both justification and sanctification take place through cooperation between God and man.
 
Interesting explanation, Rocket. But please connect the dots for me. I don’t understand the making one’s “election sure”. How do we do anything to make our election SURE? (I get the part about enjoying the benefits of being assured of your salvation–it’s the part about saying we have to DO something to makre our election SURE that seems quite peculiar to me about your theology.)
You are being too smart for these guys. Watch out though. If you prove to be too smart, Adam will soon put you on his “ignore” list! 🙂
 
IMO… These ecumenical sections of the Catholic Catechism about non-Christian religions have caused so much confusion among Catholics, causing many to lose site of the gospel of God and the necessity of faith in Jesus Christ. This kind of view is one of the most grieving things to me to hear about as your sibling in Christ.
Yes, your disappointment is palpable.
 
Hey Adam—You might want to consider abandoning the changing of your name to Rocketman. 😃

Really guys, the 2 of you have now filled us with garbage from MacArthur. One of you loves him and thinks he is a Godly preacher while the other one plagiarizes him.

You criticize us for having an authority in the church and not in scripture alone yet the 2 of you continuously post interpretations from sources other than scripture. Sources like MacArthur and the Westminster Confession. It is clear that you too have an authority that lies outside of scripture, it is just not the Catholic Church.
Agreed, a valid point. Protestant certainly have a “tradition” of their own; they just don’t like to call it that.
 
Through my life experiences, being raised in the Catholic Church, I’ve been able to sample both sides of the claim. The Catholic Church as a mother did not quite hold up to the claims she advertised. On the otherhand, while experiencing a drug, alcohol, and sex infused life, the Jesus of the Bible as I learned it did turn out to be all that He said He would be. Bit by bit these desires faded and was filled by a deeper love for Him. How can I argue with proof like that?
You can’t argue with Jesus or with what He has done in your life. It is unfortunate that you did not know Him when you were in the Church. My story is very similar and I can assure you that Jesus is in the Catholic Church. Everything leads us to Him and brings His fulness to us.

I can say for myself that I was never really looking for Jesus when I was living life my way. Once I did open my mind and heart in search of the truth He lead me to His church.

Try to have an pen mind and spend lots of time in prayer. God will straighten it out for you.
 
In this case, when you have two varying opinions, we would go back to scripture for the answer. Many times, there isn’t a clear answer, especially when it’s not central to the Gospel. Such as baptism for the dead in 1 Cor. 15:29. Mormon’s have built a whole salvation doctrine from this one verse. We on the otherhand, and I think that includes you, find it inessential to the faith.
I think this is a catch 22. Here we have gone to the scriptures and come to a different conclusion than our brothers and sisters have. If I understand it correctly, you say we go back to scripture to determine the proper meaning. Since we had already done this and come to differing conclusions how can we go back and now get it correct? It seems to me that doing this has lead to the many different congregations that we have today. 😦

I think the best approach is to look at early church history and see how the early believers understood this. It is quote easy to find out how the Christians during the first few centuries of the Church understood and practiced the faith.

Since these early believers were al sola scriptura Christians we can have assurance that they got it right. 😃
 
Why did our friends 2ndAdam and Rocketman abandon this thread? Were the questions too difficult?
 
What does God require from us to recieve our greatest need, everlasting life? Whatever answers that question, in my view, is central to the Gospel.
Fair enough. Could you give us a listing of these essentials, with Scriptural references, and the non-essentials?

As a Bible-Christian you ought to be able to pick out these verses quite readily.

However, by your own standards, they ought to include some sort of phrasing that says, “this belief that I say to you today is an essential belief to your salvation” and “these things that I wrote to you today are non-essential”.
 
Fair enough. Could you give us a listing of these essentials, with Scriptural references, and the non-essentials?

As a Bible-Christian you ought to be able to pick out these verses quite readily.

However, by your own standards, they ought to include some sort of phrasing that says, “this belief that I say to you today is an essential belief to your salvation” and “these things that I wrote to you today are non-essential”.
Maybe it would be easier for us if you could copy and paste these same statements from the Catholic Catechism and then we could go through them one by one. Fair enough?

I’m confused if we are to continue posting in this thread or the new one? Help anyone?
 
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