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Salvation, A hidden teaching of the Roman Catholic church JESUS plus works for righteousness equals nothing Why would a Church that claims to find its source and continuation in the apostles say so many things that oppose and contradict the Bible whom the apostles and prophets wrote? Why would they add teachings that would end up contradicting the very Scripture they claim to have preserved? Most Catholics would say they do not, but we should examine carefully whether this is true. Because the facts show this and we always need to deal with the facts to get to the truth. If you want to know the truth about Catholicism ask a former Catholic that was born again the biblical way (not born by baptism) and see what they have to say. Sacerdotalism means that salvation is mediated through the priesthood. “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit ….having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever”(1 Pet 1:22-23). Instead of being regenerated by the word Roman Catholics have a completely different approach to salvation. They combine elements from the Old Testament (ie. priesthood, dress, rituals etc.), as the means of grace is dispensed by the priest and through the church. Canon 4 “If anyone shall say that the sacraments are not necessary for salvation, but are superfluous, and that, although all are not necessary for every individual, without them or without the desire of them, through faith alone men obtain from God the grace of justification; let him be anathema.” Why does Roman Catholicism attempt through the sacraments to obtain what Jesus did on the cross did almost 2,000 years ago? Everywhere one looks in the church they find a cross, but they do not tell the people the cross was Christ's final complete work for their sins and that one needs faith to receive the work that Christ did- NOT sacraments. They instead depend on a sacrament blessed and administered by the priest, the wafer becomes the ongoing sacrifice for their sins. So the cross is made of NO effect. Unfortunately, what they add does nullifies the simple gospel. They believe they are saved through the sacraments (which are only symbols of the actual event). They do not trust that the cross that Christ died on can bring full redemption in and of itself; this is why there is a Eucharist. This is what Paul stated as a different gospel. That true sacrifice can never to be repeated because it paid the full penalty demanded by God's justice and made it possible for God to “be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Rom. 3:26). So “there is no more offering for sin” (Heb. 10:18). The cross is crucial for our sin to be taken away, not what a priest does today in administering a sacrament. Constantine when he legalized Christianity had the pagans enter the church by baptism, not by being born spiritually (known today as being born again). Today, in Roman Catholicism, to be born again is interpreted as being baptized to have their sin nature removed. According to Catholic teaching , “Baptism is a sacrament which cleanses us from original sin, makes us children of God and heirs of heaven.” “Baptism is necessary to salvation, because without it we cannot enter the kingdom o f heaven.” Catholics also believe that water by baptism takes away their original sins. Baptism becomes the means of cleansing. Today's Code of Canon Law (Canon 849) declares that those baptized are thereby “freed from their sins, are reborn as children of God and . . . incorporated in the Church.” Canon 204 states: “The Christian faithful are those who . . . have been incorporated in Christ through baptism” and are thereby members of the one, true Catholic Church” The Bible explains that it is the baptism of the Spirit that makes one a member of the body of Christ. 1 Cor 12:12-13 “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-- whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free-- and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.” The Council of Trent (154,5-63) stated that while Christ “merited for us justification by His most holy passion... the instrumental cause [of justification/regeneration] is the sacrament of baptism .... If anyone says that baptism is . . . not necessary for salvation, let him be anathema.” [underlines added] The universal Catechism of the Catholic Church released by the Vatican in 1993: “Baptism is necessary for salvation . . . the Church does not know of any [other] means . . . that assures entry into eternal beatitude .... [underlines added] “. . Baptism is the first and chief sacrament of forgiveness of sins because it unites us with Christ, who died for our sins and rose for our justification, so that 'we too might walk in newness of life'“ (Catechism of the Catholic Church par. 977). “By baptism all sins are forgiven, original sin and all personal sins, as well as punishment for sin”(p.321 Catechism of the Catholic Church (1994 Liguori publications) “baptism is birth into the new life, in accordance to the Lords will, it is necessary for salvation as is the church herself, which we enter by baptism.”( ibid.p.324) If baptism is the new birth then why does one need to continue to take the sacraments to be saved? because it is only good up to a certain point then one needs daily cleansing. The fact is- most Catholics believe baptism only washes away original sin and not the sins we commit each day. The reason they need to be baptized is because they ignore the actual work of Jesus Christ on the cross. The Catholic Catechism says of baptism, for example: “Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes the neophyte 'a new creature,' an adopted son of God, who has become a 'partaker of the divine nature,' member of Christ and co-heir with him, and a temple of the Holy Spirit” (Catechism 1265). Yet it was Peter who they claim was the first Pope who said the
opposite. The Bible teaches that it is the blood of Jesus that can only take away sin. Luke 22:19-20 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. The emphasis is on MY blood not what is being held up in the Passover. This is how Paul explains it in Rom 3:25-26 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” As the hymn goes what can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. By faith is the means that God has required so that we can acquire cleansing and forgiveness. In fact the apostle Paul states, “in whom we have redemption through His Blood” (Col. 1:14). Col 1:20: “and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.” The universal Catechism of the Catholic Church released by the Vatican in 1993: “Baptism is necessary for salvation ... the Church does not know of any [other] means . . . that assures entry into eternal beatitude ....” No other means! This clear where this church stands on salvation, forgiveness of sin, a new creature in Christ. Baptism is an ordinance, to shift the forgiveness of God to a ceremony and not the person of Christ is sacramentalism, Sacraments are an outward ritual that the Roman church claims to give grace. Biblically they are unable to convey grace they are only shadows of the true substance. No one was ever saved by any ordinance. We are saved by the person of Christ and the death of that sinless person, not an image or any man made thing here on earth in any religious ritual. The Church also teaches “... Justified by faith in Baptism, [they] are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians” (Catechism 1271). WHAT DOES THE BIBLE TEACH Can water which is part of fallen creation actually make one a new creature? If Catholics search their Bible and see what Jesus or the apostles taught, they will be hard pressed to prove such a teaching. Only God, the Holy Spirit can make one a new creation or have one enter into the body of Christ and become part of what is called the Church. We are born of God not of fallen creation. They claim one is born again at baptism Jn.3:3-5 states “Unless one is born again (from above) he cannot see the kingdom of God.” It’s not of man but of God the new birth comes from; it is His Spirit, His power and His work. Titus 3:5 state, “through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” The Bible teaches that a man is born of (Greek- EK - out of) God. This description occurs four times in John’s epistle alone, 1 Jn. 3:9, 4:7, 5:1,4. In all the instances where the source of the new birth is mentioned, the language is EK Him, EK God, or EK Spirit. John 1:12-13, we receive Christ by believing in His name, “not born by the will of man . . . but of God.” It is God’s work (by the Holy Spirit) honoring His Word. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that God uses creation as part of conveying the new birth. This why Jesus explained to Nnicodemus, one of the religious teachers of Israel 7 “Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.” The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:7-8) It is God Himself who is the source and the means to salvation. The word “EK” signifies the source. The source is the Holy Spirit who actually gives the new birth and the means is by the Word of God. We are saved by the one who created the water. God will not use fallen creation to institute the new birth. He Himself is the source, the Spirit is the one who gives life. JUSTIFICATION- by sacraments or FAITH The Bible says the justification by faith we have is in Jesus Christ not baptism or sacaraments. It is obvious that what the Roman Catholic church means by justified and the Bibles definition (i.e. the Protestant position) is not the same. It is here where a church becomes aberrant, for if one does not understand what true justification is, they will accept another way to make themselves RIGHTEOUS. The way of works, keeping commandments or a certain way of life. In Ephesians 2:8-10 Paul writes how we receive salvation. Whenever there is a rejection of receiving the grace of God by faith it will be replaced by rules and regulations, rituals or ceremonies. False religions make one work for what is freely given in Christ and received by faith. In Roman Catholicism we see the very opposite of faith toward the real event. We have in its place sacramentalism, a physical object that they claim Christ’s is in the sacraments. Which is given by the priest who changes the bread and the wine. This becomes the means of grace, thus it nullifies true faith in the real atoning sacrifice. Sacraments Looking to the outward physical ritual can make one miss the whole meaning of the inward spiritual reality. In their sacramental rituals this is exactly what takes place. So intent are the Catholics to hold this non- biblical view that they have anathematized themselves by condemning others. Because this affects the very message that can save and has one believe in another Gospel. The Catholic Church also teaches that the mass is a necessary part of salvation as it is the ongoing work of the cross. Vatican II stated: “As often as the sacrifice of the cross by which ‘Christ our Pasch is sacrificed’ (1 Cor. 5:7) is celebrated on the altar, the work of our redemption is carried out” (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Chapter 1, 3, p. 324). On millions of altars Christ is re-crucified, and they accept this without question, without ever going to the Bible to see that it does not teach this at all. There is no forgiveness without the blood of Christ, not the blood of a sacrament. Yet they insist “The Eucharist is above all else a sacrifice. It is the sacrifice of the Redemption and also the sacrifice of the New Covenant ....” (Vatican Council II Vol. 2, p. 75) “No, you don't just invite someone to become a Christian, you invite them to become Catholics. Why would this be so important? First of all, there are seven sacraments, and the Catholic Church has all seven . . “On our altars we have the body of Christ; we drink the blood of Christ. Jesus is alive on our altars, as offering ... We become one with Christ in the Eucharist ...(On Evangelization in the Modern World). “If anyone says that the sacraments of the new law are NOT NECESSARY FOR SALVATION ... but that without them ... men obtain from God through faith alone the grace of justification ... LET HIM BE ANATHEMA” (Trent, 7th ses., Canon 4) “If anyone says that after the reception of the grace of Justification the guilt is so remitted and the debt of eternal punishment so blotted out to every repentant sinner, that no debt of temporal punishment remains to be discharged either in this world or in purgatory before the gates of heaven can be opened, let him be anathema” (The Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent, Session 6, Canon 30. Shroeder, H.J., Tan Books, 1978, p. 46. The Council of Trent was reaffirmed by Vatican I and II --1960) 6th Session, CANONS CONCERNING JUSTIFICATION: “If anyone says that justifying faith is nothing else than confidence in divine mercy, which remits sins for Christ's sake, or that it is this confidence alone that justifies us, LET HIM BE ANATHEMA” (Canons Concerning Justification, Canon 12). The Council of Trent pronounced anathema after anathema (which is eternal damnation) upon anyone believing what evangelicals believe and practice today. This happened to be what many Christians believed throughout the centuries and were persecuted by the Roman Catholic church. So why do some say that the Catholic church believes the same as the Protestant evangelical church. Yet certain groups of evangelicals think we are saying the same things. While similarities in description are there, the meanings are quite different. The personal Catholic's opinion does not matter when it comes to doctrine, what matters is what is on the books. The Council of Trent pronounced 125 anathemas (eternal damnation) upon anyone believing what evangelicals believe and preach today. What does the BIBLE say? After all the Church is to be upholding the Bible s teaching, not invent their own to self validate themselves as the church. Nothing is more important than when it comes to salvation, because one can be right on the nature of Christ and the practice of a Christian life but if they miss what gives salvation it is all for naught. Romans 4:5 tells us, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” compare this to “If anyone says that the sinner is justified by faith alone, meaning that nothing else is required to cooperate in order to obtain the grace of justification let him be anathema” (Council of Trent) Whom is one going to believe for their eternal destiny? A church or the Holy Scriptures? Gal.3:6-9 “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the gentiles through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.” What is found in THE CANONS AND DECREES OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENT (1545-64) and VATICAN II (1962-5). Trent denied every doctrinethe Reformation brought, from Sola Scriptura to salvation by grace through faith alone. The arguments continue today. “If anyone says that the sacraments of the new law are not NECESSARY FOR SALVATION ... but that without them ... men obtain from God through faith alone the grace of justification ... LET HIM BE ANATHEMA” (Trent, 7 TH session, Canon 4). Man is justified by baptism plus faith, plus additional works through the church ( Catholic Catechism Ref. No. 1265-1271, 1987-1995). Most Catholics who practice their religion are concerned with their “being good enough,” “being able to “earn” their salvation by what they do. If we ask the question do you have salvation, are they saved NOW- the answer the majority of the time will no. No one can know this. Consider their own writing, No one can know with the certainty of faith ... that he has obtained the grace of God [anathema to all who claim they know]” (Trent, 6th Ses., Chap. N.) The Bible says we can. (Eph. 3:18-19) I Jn. 5:13 “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.” Acts 4:12 “Neither is there salvation IN ANY OTHER (than Jesus): for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Jesus said He is the way, the truth the life.” He never gave sacraments to replace him only to give us an illustration of something spiritual. ”But he (Jesus), whom God raised again, saw no corruption. Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man (Jesus) is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him (Jesus) ALL that believe are justified from ALL things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” ( Acts 13:37-39)INDULGENCES Indulgences are dispensed from a “treasury ... (entrusted by Christ] to the blessed Peter ... and his successors ... Christ's Vicars on earth... [to] distribute to the faithful FOR THEIR SALVATION” (Vol. 1, p. 70). “Those who believe in [Christ] have always ... carried their crosses to MAKE EXPIATION for their own sins and the sins of others.” (Vol. 1, p 65) O This treasury includes the prayers and good works of the blessed Virgin Mary ... [plus] the prayers and good works of all saints [who] ATTAINED THEIR OWN SALVATION and at the same time cooperated in SAVING THEIR BROTHERS” (Vol. 1, p. 66). ”From the most ancient times in the church good works were also offered to God for the SALVATION OF SINNERS...”(Vol. 1, p. 68). The uniqueness and exclusiveness of the Catholic Church is based on these religious activities. It is the work of man instead of the work Christ did on the cross. If you do not subscribe to this, the Roman Catholic Church “condemns with anathema those who say that indulgences are useless or that the Church does not have the power to grant them.” (Vatican Council II Vol. 1, p. 71) “the sacrament of penance forgives sins through the absolution of the priest.” (The Converts catechism of Catholic doctrine) The Bible says this in Mark 2:7 Why does this Man speak blasphemies like
this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Salvation is by their church and not by the gospel “There is one holy Catholic and apostolic church, outside of
which there is no salvation . . . . it is altogether necessary for
salvation for every creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.”(Unam
Sanctam AD 1302) The Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Ecumenism explains: “For it is through Christ’s Catholic Church ALONE, which is the universal help toward salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained. It was to the apostolic college alone, of which Peter is the head, that we believe that our Lord entrusted all the blessings of the New Covenant, in order to establish on earth the one Body of Christ into which all those should be fully incorporated who belong in any way to the People of God.” “Our job is to make people as richly and as fully Christian as we can make them by bringing them into the Catholic Church. So evangelization is never fully successful, it's only partial, until the convert is made a member of Christ's body by being led into the [Catholic] Church. Listen to the words of [Pope] Paul VI called 'On Evangelization in the Modern World.' He says: 'The commitment of someone newly evangelized cannot remain abstract ('Oh, I'm a Christian,' now that's too abstract) ... it must be given concrete and visible form through entry . . . into the [Catholic) Church our visible sacrament of salvation.' If salvation was in the person of Christ alone, as the Bible teaches, one would not need the redemptive work of the sacraments found only in the Roman church. Because these are not found in the Bible as conveyers for salvation. Anyone who believes the gospel, finds that it is “the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth” (Rom. 1:16), is saved. It doesn't matter whether the person is a Catholic, Baptist, Muslim, Jew or Mormon. The fact is after they believe, God will work on their behalf to make clear what they are to do, they need to be obedient. The Bible teaches The message is in the word to save- in Catholicism it is in the mass and rituals a symbol. The Bible never teaches one is saved or preserved by communion, but the actual event on the cross. The cross is our only source of God for salvation. The church is the way of salvation not Christ In their Decree on Ecumenism, we read, “For it is through Christ’s Catholic Church alone that the means of salvation can be obtained.” They say Christ makes salvation possible, but He is only one of the means of justification. Other essential means of grace include the Sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist, efficacious only when administered by the Catholic Church. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 25). This is what they truly believe despite all the so called reforms “The most Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that none of those existing outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics, can have a share in life eternal; but that they will go into the eternal fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless before death they are joined with Her; and that so important is the unity of this ecclesiastical body that only those remaining within this unity can profit by the sacraments of the Church unto salvation, and they alone can receive an eternal recompense for their fasts, their almsgivings, their other works of Christian piety and the duties of a Christian soldier. No one, let his almsgiving be as great as it may, no one, even if he pour out his blood for the Name of Christ, can be saved, unless he remain within the bosom and the unity of the Catholic Church.” (Pope Eugene IV, the Bull Cantate Domino, 1441.) “The Saviour Himself is the door of the sheepfold: 'I am the door of the sheep.' Into this fold of Jesus Christ, no man may enter unless he be led by the Sovereign Pontiff; and only if they be united to him can men be saved, for the Roman Pontiff is the Vicar of Christ and His personal representative on earth.” (Pope John XXIII in his homily to the Bishops and faithful assisting at his coronation on Nov. 4, 1958). They believe that through this man they vote in each time a Pope dies that he continues the work that Christ appointed to Peter. So the Pope is instrumental for salvation along with sacraments and the church. “This is our last lesson to you: receive it, engrave it in your minds, all of you: by God's commandment salvation is to be found nowhere but in the Church; the strong and effective instrument of salvation is none other than the Roman Pontificate.” (Pope Leo XIII, Allocution for the 25th anniversary of his election, February 20, 1903; Papal Teachings: The Church, Benedictine Monks of Solesmes, St. Paul Editions, Boston, 1962, par. 653). If you can't believe Christ obtained redemption through the cross then your sins are permanently NOT forgiven. If you also believe redemption is being accomplished through the ongoing work of Catholic sacraments then you have not to Jesus the way He has asked. If you can't believe salvation is by faith and “not of works” then you have not to Jesus the way He has asked. In other words, you can't practice the Bible and the traditions of the church, they are on opposite ends. Though they tell you they go together, they in fact do not. When a Roman Catholic “believes in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ,” he finds himself in a conflict with the doctrines and practices of his Church. As do Muslims, Jews, Mormons, because it is all Jesus Christ and not man. This makes it IMPOSSIBLE for Roman Catholics to truly BELIEVE THE GOSPEL IN THE BIBLE. You cannot hold to the bibles teachings from the apostles and AT THE SAME TIME hold to the tenets of Roman Catholicism. They are diametrically opposed to each other. ...the faithful are obliged to submit to their bishops' decision...in matters of faith and morals....This loyal submission of the will and intellect must be given ...[to] the Roman Pontiff, even when he does not speak ex cathedra.... For the Roman Pontiff...has full, supreme and universal power over the whole Church....(Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, III, 22., 24.) [underlines added] Here is a clear indication of a man, who is not Christ, wanting to rule His church, trying to find justification with Peter, he has none. When someone must give loyalty submission of the will and intelligence over to another man like this (and not Christ) you have the makings of a cult. “Neither is there salvation in any other. For there is no other name under Heaven given by man by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). May these words sink in your heart! No other sacrament, no other way; no other person, no other church. Nothing but Jesus and His work of love on the cross for you. The Issue of Justification The basis of disagreement focuses on the doctrine of “justification.” Is it by faith alone in Christ alone or in the church? If anyone says that the sacraments of the new law are not necessary for salvation…that without them…man obtain from God through faith alone the grace of justification…let him be anathema.” (Council of Trent,7.general, 4). “If anyone says that the sinner is justified by faith alone, meaning that nothing else is required to cooperate in order to obtain the grace of justification let him be anathema.” (Council of Trent) What is Justification according to the teachings of the apostles? Justification is a divine act by God who declares the sinner to be cleared of his sins. Then a sinner is instantly declared guiltless and free from condemnation. It is a legal act where God declares the sinner righteous -- as though he has never sinned or cleared of breaking the Law of God. It is because of Christ’s perfect obedience to the law and the exchange that happens when one believes by faith in HIS work on the cross. Only by believing- by faith in Christ’s work that results in our justification. Acts 13:38-39 “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins;” and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. Therefore, having been justified by- sacraments-baptism, the priest! At the time of the apostles Rome was the center of Paganism. Paul’s epistle to the growing believers in Rome addressed the problems inside the Roman church. Paul wrote to the Roman church “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1). Nowhere does Paul say we are justified by any other means. There is nothing mentioned by the apostles or Jesus that the Roman Catholic church practices today for salvation. Rom 3:20-26 “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Peter addresses his 2nd letter to “those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:1).”that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation-- as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,(2 Peter 3:15). We have seen what Paul has written on salvation, justification and what saves. Trent anathematizes all who deny that “the merit of Jesus Christ is applied . . . to infants by the sacrament of baptism” or who deny that by baptism “the guilt of original sin is remitted .... “ Today's Code of Canon Law (Canon 849) The Roman Catholic Church has condemned the apostle Paul's message, that is Scripture, as well as all the apostolic writers (even Peter), by their denial of faith in Christ alone for one to be justified and sanctified. CANON 9: “If any one saith, that by faith alone the impious is justified; in such wise as to mean, that nothing else is required to co-operate in order to the obtaining the grace of Justification, and that it is not in any way necessary, that he be prepared and disposed by the movement of his own will; let him be anathema.” Canon 14: “If any one saith, that man is truly absolved from his sins and justified, because that he assuredly believed himself absolved and justified; or, that no one is truly justified but he who believes himself justified; and that, by this faith alone, absolution and justification are effected; let him be anathema.” Canon 24: “If any one saith, that the justice received is not preserved and also increased before God through good works; but that the said works are merely the fruits and signs of Justification obtained, but not a cause of the increase thereof; let him be anathema.” Canon 30: “If any one saith, that, after the grace of Justification has been received, to every penitent sinner the guilt is remitted, and the debt of eternal punishment is blotted out in such wise, that there remains not any debt of temporal punishment to be discharged either in this world, or in the next in Purgatory, before the entrance to the kingdom of heaven can be opened (to him); let him be anathema.” Rom 5:8-9 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Because of this we are promised “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” May the Lord Jesus Christ reveal Himself to Roman Catholics and show them salvation does not come by being baptized, transubstantiation a certain number of times, or any sacrament. Salvation comes through faith in Jesus by what HE did on the cross for him to be our personal Savior. May they learn the simplicity of the gospel, “that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:7).
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