Well, at least he is not afraid to say what he believes. The Pope has once again declared what many of us have already known. That is the belief that salvation only comes through the Catholic Church. You can go here for the story. Of course, once you enter into the Catholic Church, you soon realize that there are quite a few things that have been added to the list of the requirements for salvation.
Just what is then the "true path" to salvation? It is the narrow way.(Matthew 7:14) Jesus said, "I am the way...".(John 14:6) Repent was the message of John the baptist.(Matthew 3:2) Repent and be converted was the message of Peter.(Acts 3:19) Repent and believe was the message Jesus preached.(Mark 1:15) Repent in none of these passages meant to go to a "priest" and say your peace. Repentance meant, and still means, to confess your sins before Jesus, the True High Priest. Repentance also means a turning away from that sin to walk in a new direction. Believing in none of these passages meant to believe that the Pope is a Vicar of Christ. Believing was the settling of one's faith in THE Christ. Paul wrote to the Romans that they were to confess with their mouths the Lord Jesus and believe in their hearts that God had raised him(Jesus) from the dead. IF they did that, Paul stated they would be saved. Nothing MORE, nothing LESS.
No faith in the Pope. No faith in Mary. One does not have to understand the Doctrine of Grace according to John Calvin or any other reformer. In fact, one does not even have to understand the Doctrine of Salvation in order to be saved. Simply being obedient to what the Lord said should be enough. It IS enough. And it needs no flavoring such as men have sought to do since the time of the cross.
Yes, there is only ONE true path to salvation, and it is NOT the Roman Catholic Church/Pope. The ONE TRUE path to salvation is NONE OTHER than the Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 4:12 states that there is NONE OTHER name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. That name is Christ ALONE. Paul wrote to the Galatians this final thought. "Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed."
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4 comments:
Great post and at a great time. Just found out my sister is baptizing my nephew in the Catholic church because he goes to a catholic school and according to her we are all working toward the same path.
Kim,
OH MY GOODNESS! SAY it IS NOT so! She knows so much better than that. May the Lord grant you wisdom and persuasion with her as you get opportunities to talk with her. Isn't it comforting to know that Jesus did all the work to get us onto the path? And now, on the true path, we get to work for Him because we are saved, not in order to earn salvation. Grace be upon you and Marc and the children.
Luke,
You write well of an issue that, to date, has not seen its most prominent discussions--even in evangelicalism. I possess few doubts that even in my lifetime, evangelicals will be discussing whether Jesus is definitively the sole Savior as frequently as we now discuss Calvinism vs. NonCalvinism.
Lord bless you, my Brother. With that, I am...
Peter
Peter,
My greatest amazement was the reaction of the "Protestants" who had been working so closely with catholicism. They just seemed so stunned that the Pope would say such. Saying that, I believe you are very on target when you say that the discussion concerning Jesus as the sole(soul savior)will be amongst those who claim the label evangelical but I will go one step further and say that you will even see it amongst those that claim the label Southern Baptist as well. An interesting result of such would be that those who are presently discussing Cal v Non Cal will once again unite against the real enemy of the Gospel. Thank you for the blessing and I as well wish for you the most pleasant of times with your wife at the beach.
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